LUCY BURDETTE: We are delighted to have an old friend visiting today with a new book! Please welcome Daryl to talk about all that, plus offer a coffee cake and a giveaway!
At Open Your Imagination, a fairy garden shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a charming town on the coast of California, you will find items to delight your inner child and inspire you to make your own fairy gardens. If you’d like, you can even sign up for a fairy garden class given by the owner, Courtney. On the weekends, Courtney serves afternoon tea. Fairies love tea, and there are fairies that populate my stories. Yes, real fairies. Fiona, a righteous fairy who is in the human world to help humans solve problems, lives in the ficus trees that populate the shop’s lovely covered patio.
I have had such fun making tea treats to include as recipes in the books, like tea cakes, brownies, cookies, and scones. In the fourth edition, I share a gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake recipe. The flavors are warm and inviting; the texture is perfect. Why gluten-free? Because I’m a celiac. *If you want to make this using regular flour, substitute out the flour for the gluten-free flour, and omit the xanthan gum.
Savor the mystery!
Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Gluten-free Version
(Yield: 12-24 slices)
For the cake:
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sour cream, divided
3 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
2 2/3 cup gluten-free flour blend (*see blend below)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces, softened
1 tablespoon cinnamon
For the topping:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
5 teaspoons milk
Cinnamon for dusting
To make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an angel food-like tube pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1 cup of the sour cream, and 1 tablespoon of the vanilla.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or in a food processor, mix the gluten-free flour blend, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum until combined. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sour cream and softened butter, and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened and the butter is the size of peas. Gradually add the egg mixture in small portions to the dry mixture, beating after each addition. When it’s all added, scrape down the bowl, and then beat on medium-high until the batter is fluffy, about 1 minute. This will be a thick batter.
Put 1 cup of the batter into a small bowl and add in the remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and cinnamon.
Pour the regular batter into the tube pan. Drop dollops of the cinnamon batter on top. Using a knife, work the cinnamon batter into the regular batter, swirling so the cinnamon batter will be inside the cake. Don’t overmix.
Bake the cake for 45—55 minutes. Remove from oven and let the cake stand for 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool on a wire rack for an hour.
For the topping:
In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Pour the glaze evenly over the top of the cooled cake. Dust with cinnamon, if desired.
Tip: Coffee cake is best eaten right after it’s been baked, but you can save this by cutting slices and wrapping them individually in a good saran wrap. It should last at least 3 days, and if frozen, up to 3 months.
Gluten-free Flour Blend: I like to combine 2 cups (less 2 tablespoons) of sweet rice flour and 2/3 cup tapioca starch, plus 2 tablespoons of whey powder. The total will measure 2 2/3 cup of blended flour.
About A FLICKER OF A DOUBT
With a theater foundation tea and an art show planned at Violet Vickers’s estate, Courtney is hired to create charming fairy gardens for the event. It’s not so charming, however, when her best friend Meaghan’s ex-boyfriend turns out to be Violet’s latest artistic protégé. Even worse, not long after Meaghan locks horns with him, his body is found in her yard, bludgeoned with an objet d’murder.
There’s a gallery of suspects, from an unstable former flame to an arts and crafts teacher with a sketchy past. But when the cops focus on Meaghan’s business partner, who’s like a protective older brother to her, and discover he also has a secret financial motive, Courtney decides to draw her own conclusions. Fearing they’re missing the forest for the trees, and with some help from Fiona the sleuthing fairy, she hopes to make them see the light . . .
“Plenty of suspects, gardening tips, and fairy lore combine for a sweet treat.” ~ Kirkus Reviews
Giveaway: Daryl is giving away, to one commenter, a choice of Fairy Garden Mysteries (print or ebook) and a Savor the Mystery tote bag.
About Daryl: Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling mysteries, including the Fairy Garden Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes suspense novels and short stories. Fun Tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” She loves to cook, fairy garden, and read. She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. And she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. You can learn more on her website:
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