Monday, March 14, 2011

My next book, The Diva Haunts the House...


My next book, The Diva Haunts the House, won't be out until September 6th, but I wanted to share my cover with you. Once again, talented artist Teresa Fasolino has created a cover that I want to walk into. I can just imagine walking along the sidewalk on Sophie's street and seeing this scene!




That's Sophie dog, Daisy, looking up at the bat. Teresa captured her perfectly!


And now to food!

When I was in grade school, once a year my mom made Faschingskrapfen. (f-awe shings kr-awe pfen) Not as hard to say as it looks. Even better, how about carnival doughnuts? It was always a special treat to come home from school and find a platter of them on the table. Mardi Gras is big in Germany and Austria, and the celebratory food that is found in bakeries is an apricot jam-filled doughnut. I was a little late making them this year, but they're every bit as good. Unless you've given up sweets or doughnuts for Lent, it's not too late to celebrate Mardi Gras with a carnival doughnut.

What I love about this recipe is that the mixer does all the work, even most of the kneading! It's also fun to watch them puff up when they're cooked in hot oil -- not to mention eating them. They're not as light as Krispy Kremes, but they would be fabulous dunked in a cup of Cleo's coffee!

Faschingskrapfen


1/2 cup milk
7 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 cups flour
1 packet yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 egg white

canola oil for frying

1 jar apricot preserves

powdered sugar


Place the butter and milk in a microwave safe bowl and microwave briefly (30 to 50 seconds) to melt the butter and warm the milk. It should not be hot. Set aside to cool to lukewarm.

Use a large bowl that fits into your mixer and a bread hook. Sift the flour into the bowl. Mix the yeast, sugar, and salt with the flour. Slowly add lukewarm butter and milk. Whisk the eggs a bit and add them to the mixture along with the vanilla. Beat with the bread hook for about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer, cover with a kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm draft-free area to rise.

When the dough has roughly doubled in size, knead briefly and roll out. Using a cookie cutter or a glass, cut out rounds approximately 2 3/4 inches in diameter. Place on sheets or plates and allow to rise in a warm draft-free area.

When the doughnuts have risen, heat the canola oil. It should be hot enough to sizzle slightly around the edges of a test doughnut. The doughnut should fluff up a bit on the upper side. After about a minute, flip to fry the other side. You can cook several doughnuts at once, but don't crowd them. Place the fried doughnuts on a paper towel. Ideally, they will have a characteristic light ring around the sides, but if they don't -- not to worry, they still taste good!

Put the preserves through a sieve to eliminate any chunks. Using a long decorating tip, fill a pastry bag with the preserves, insert the tip into each doughnut and fill. Hint: Most of the doughnuts will have an empty spot inside. You can feel it when you insert the tip. Do not overfill! It will ooze out of the doughnuts if you use too much.

Dust the doughnuts with sugar and enjoy!



11 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous cover! I love it. :)

    Faschingskrapfen? I think I'll use that at the doughnut store and feel clever! As I'm drinking coffee right now and thinking about light and delicious stuffed doughnuts, I think I'm going to need to find a snack! These look wonderful, Krista.

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  2. A Halloween book! That is terrific! Just imagine the specialty seasonal recipes... Looking forward to it. So, is this a theme you will be doing, with a different holiday each book (since your last one was a Christmas theme)? Personally, I think Arbor Day is overlooked. But that will probably be years from now.

    Fall is such a great time for cooks. Will be first in line for this one.

    And love the Beignets without the filling. I would make them more single bite size with no filling.

    Bookmarking this one!

    BTW... When is the next book scheduled to come out of the six of you???

    Dave

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  3. Oh my gosh, this is the best! I want one of these *right now*!! But I'm eating healthy... er... right? I think I'll go have some oatmeal while I dream about sinking my teeth into one of these!

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  4. Love the book, love the Daisy and the crow and the bat, and the fire in the window. Great!

    The recipe looks delicious. I won't be able to try these or even recreate them. Waaah. But I remember something just like them when I was a kid and they are fabluous!!!!

    ~Avery

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  5. Love the book cover! I didn't notice the bat at first, but then I saw it and immediately smiled. So sweet.

    Looks like an amazing recipe, thanks.

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  6. Waving my hand like mad to pre-order your book AND eat your faschingskrapfen! I do love Halloween, and I can't wait to see what Sophie has in store for us in A DIVA HAUNTS A HOUSE. On the Carnival Doughnut front – they look amazing, and my taste buds are dancing at the idea of apricot preserves as a doughnut filling. Never tried that before, but it's just brilliant! Now to put on a pot of coffee and get that mixer going… :)

    ~ Cleo Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  7. Elizabeth, I wish I could email you one to have with your coffee!

    Hi Dave! Can I tell you how much fun it is to write a mystery set at Halloween? There's a variety of recipes in this one, more than usual actually.

    I didn't set out to do holiday books, but holidays are so big for domestic divas they often figure into the plots. After Halloween I have a summer book coming, with a gardening theme.

    By the next book out from all of us -- do you mean a cookbook? LOL!

    ~ Krista

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  8. Julie, the apricot jam must have vitamin C in it -- that's healthy! Sorry, these certiainly don't fall into the healthy diet plan. : (

    Thanks, Avery. I'm sorry you can't eat them. You and Julie can eat something healthy and the rest of us will feel guilty.

    Thank you, Sarita. The cover is so wonderfully detailed that it's easy to miss the bat initially. But Daisy didn't miss it!

    Cleo, I filled a couple with a mixed berry jam, and I have to tell you, it's not the same. The apricot preserves are like a burst of sunshine. And really, does anything go together as perfectly as doughnuts and coffee?

    ~ Krista

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  9. Love the cover. And the recipe looks delish.

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  10. Thank goodness for Lenten denials..or I would face plant myself into this photo!! But...I'm bookmarking this for Easter morning, Krista :-) The cover art is wonderful, by the way!!

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  11. Thanks, Erin!

    Nanc, I love my cover artist. She's talented and very nice, too!

    I ope you enjoy the recipe. But -- Easter? Gee, we'll have more recipes up by then!

    ~ Krista

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