Mary Kennedy's Easy Chocolate Kahlua Cake

You just cannot celebrate Valentine's Day without chocolate, and our special guest blogger today, Mary Kennedy, has provided us with a sinfully decadent Chocolate Kahlua Cake that is palm-to-forehead smackingly easy to make, too.

(Here's a photo to get your taste buds salivating. The recipe will follow, but first...)

Please welcome national best-selling mystery author and clinical psychologist Mary Kennedy. Mary is a multi-published writer with a wonderful sense of humor and an extraordinarily generous nature. She’s a cat rescue maven and has sent culinary care packages to our troops in Iraq, including these decadent chocolate brownies (click here for Mary's Killer Brownie recipe at Janet Rudolph's wonderful blog: Dying for Chocolate).

Mary is also a licensed clinical psychologist, which gives her the ultimate insider knowledge for creating the witty, intelligent, and appealing new fictional sleuth Dr. Maggie Walsh.

Dead Air is the first book in Mary’s new mystery series that features Maggie. Described as "Frasier meets Murder She Wrote," Dead Air is a witty, clever, fast-paced ride -- and already a national bestseller! So what is Dead Air about?

Here's a brief description...

All the locals in Cyprus Groves, Florida, love Dr. Maggie's new radio talk show, On the Couch with Maggie Walsh, but Maggie is not fond of some of her occupational hazards. Threats start pouring in against one of the radio stations special guests, a self-styled New Age prophet. When one of these threats becomes a deadly reality, Maggie’s new roommate turns into the prime suspect. Maggie decides to investigate and finds herself going up against a killer who needs more than just therapy...

Given today’s auspicious date, I asked Mary if she wouldn't mind telling us a little more about Maggie’s love life in Dead Air. Take it away, Mary… ~Cleo Coyle

As Shakespeare said, "the course of true love never did run smooth." The volatile relationship between Dr. Maggie Walsh and Rafe Martino in The Talk Radio Mysteries is no exception.

Maggie, a psychologist turned radio talk show host, finds herself in an on-again, off-again romance with Rafe, a hunky south Florida detective. What keeps the pair together? What drives them apart?

A major conflict arises from their chosen professions. When Maggie tells Rafe forensic psychology is a science, he counters that it's a "pseudo-science." And a snooze. It becomes increasingly clear to Maggie that Rafe puts psychology on a par with tarot cards and crystal balls.

A die-hard detective who comes from a family of cops, Rafe believes "good solid police work solves crimes, not psychological mumbo-jumbo."

Maggie tries to avoid the issue, but finds herself back in the fray as they exchange friendly barbs. Maggie's outraged when Rafe denigrates her profession, but secretly admits she was happy to sit in a cushy office back in Manhattan, instead of being out in the field, dodging bullets. Rafe worries about her safety when she "meddles" in police work and begs her to "stop playing Nancy Drew."

The most interesting conflicts are internal, not external, and go to the heart of who we are. The conflict between Rafe and Maggie is a very basic one, and it continues throughout the series, along with the white-hot attraction that flares between them.

As Maggie says, "our relationship is like a rubber band, sometimes stretching far apart, sometimes springing back together. Always quivering with tension." Sizzling attraction, along with a hefty dose of tension, conflict and drama. Maggie sums it up: "this is what makes our relationship so exciting."

Read an excerpt from
DEAD AIR by clicking here.

REEL MURDER
Mary’s second book in the Talk Radio Mysteries, is coming to bookstores this June.

To find out more about Mary Kennedy and her books, visit her official website by clicking here.

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And now for Mary’s amazing recipe. Her cake is stupendously easy to make and full of rich, chocolaty goodness. The Kahlua gives it a sophisticated depth that makes the chocolate taste even richer. And when you bake it, the entire house smells of chocolate. It is one awesome way to end Valentine's Day. Thank you, Mary! ~ Cleo

Mary Kennedy’s
Easy Chocolate Kahlua Cake

1 package dark chocolate cake mix

1 small package chocolate instant pudding mix

4 eggs

3/4 C. oil

1/2 C. Kahlua

1 (16 oz.) container sour cream

1 (12 oz.) package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a well-greased, floured (or sprayed) Bundt pan. Bake 65 to 75 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool at least 30 minutes. Invert to remove. Sprinkle with powdered sugar to give a finished look.

You can also bake this cake in a 9 x 13-inch pan but reduce the cooking time. (Check the cake in about 40 to 45 minutes, if still liquid in the center, continue baking and checking until done).

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!

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