Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Valentine's Day cake

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Dark Chocolate Cake with Pomegranate Glaze @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I wanted to make a cake for a celebration that looked fancy but wasn’t too demanding. I found a recipe for a chocolate cake on Hidden in Paris author Corine Gantz’s website that I wanted to try. Then I spotted a pomegranate glaze on the King Arthur Flour website that I thought would be beautiful and amazing. They used this glaze on a pistachio cake, but why not chocolate? Bonus, if any of your guests need to eat gluten-free, this cake fits that bill!

Ingredients for the cake

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1⁄4 tsp salt

1⁄2 cup granulated sugar

1⁄2 cup brown sugar

1 cup ground raw almonds

1⁄2 cup potato starch

Ingredients for the glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

About 5 tsp pomegranate juice

Seeds of 1 pomegranate for decoration

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips together with the butter. Mine took about 60 seconds, so watch you don't overheat. Set the bowl aside to cool and stir until smooth.

In a second bowl, beat the eggs with the two kinds of sugar. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Add the ground raw almonds and the potato starch and mix all this until well combined.

Beat the chocolate mixture into the sugar almond mixture.

Butter a nine-inch cake pan, line it with parchment and butter the parchment as well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the edges are crisp like a brownie, but the center of the cake is soft without being gooey. You can check this by dipping a knife into the center at the 20-minute mark.

Set the cake aside to cool.

In a small bowl, place the powdered sugar, pressing out any lumps with a fork. Gradually stir in the pomegranate Juice until the icing is the consistency you like. I added about 5 teaspoons.

Once the cake is cool, remove it to the cake plate. Spread the lovely pink icing over the top, and decorate with pomegranate seeds. We served it with chocolate malt ball ice cream, but honestly, that was gilding the lily. Serving this cake would be such a treat for your Valentine!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS.

You can order that wherever books are sold. If you’re all caught up, try Lucy’s first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS.

If you are in need of a special foodie gift, Lucy Burdette's Kitchen is now out in large print hardcover!

Also follow Lucy on Facebook, and sign up for her mailing list right here.

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Easy Cherry Streusel Pastry Cake for #ValentinesDay from author Cleo Coyle

From Cleo Coyle: Truth? I have never been a big fan of Valentine's Day. When I was a singleton, I felt left out. As part of a couple (though I do dearly love my husband), I find the whole holiday somewhat forced. Not that it's a bad idea to enrich hardworking chocolatiers, restaurateurs, and greeting card companies. The economy can use as much activity as earnest sweethearts can give it!

On the other hand, I can't help thinking of the many people who are not in the hearts and flowers mood this week. If you are among them, I'm here to help (if only a little) by suggesting...

(#1) We include our beloved pets in the

"Valentine Sweetheart" category and...

(#2) We indulge in a little baking therapy. To wit...

This beautiful Cherry Streusel Pastry Cake that I'm re-sharing today is insanely easy to make yet impressive to serve. So bake up this blushing Valentine breakfast, brunch, or coffee-break treat, and consider celebrating Valentine's Day not as a couple's holiday, but as one that celebrates all who have love in their hearts, including love for children, grandchildren, siblings, best friends, and even those furry little souls (our pets) who bring so much joy and love into our lives.

☕ A Recipe Note from Cleo

Cleo Coyle has a partner in
crime-writing—her husband.
Learn about their books
by clicking here and here.

This recipe came to me years ago from an enthusiastic reader of our Coffeehouse Mysteries. I've adapted it slightly, writing my own directions, tips, and notes.

Thank you to Shirley Jackson for the original inspiration. I know she would join me in wishing you boundless joy in baking, eating, and living!

Note from Shirley: "I made this cake for the first time in Houston for a group of Red Hat friends. This cake tastes just like a yeast bread that has taken you a long time to make. Sure does make your kitchen smell cozy."

Note from Cleo: Shirley is absolutely right about the yeast and the coziness of this cherry streusel cake, which is why I call it a pastry cake. Over the years, I've seen many cake recipes with a cake mix as starter. I've seen many "pie-filling-over-cake-mix" recipes, too. But I've never seen yeast used as an ingredient. The use of yeast in this recipe gives the streusel cake a sweet bread-like flavor and texture, but without kneading or rising time. It's great with coffee so it works as a breakfast treat, afternoon snack, and an after-dinner dessert. May you bake it with love and eat with joy! ~ Cleo

To download this recipe in a

free PDF that you can print

save, or share, click here.

Click for free recipe PDF.

🍒 Cherry Streusel Pastry Cake

from Cleo Coyle via Coffeehouse Mystery
reader Shirley Jackson!

Ingredients:

For the dough base:
1 package yellow cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour, unsifted
1 packet (1/4 ounce) dry yeast
2/3 cup very warm tap water
2 large eggs, whisked with fork

For the topping:
5 Tablespoons butter (salted is fine)
1 can (1 pound 5 ounce) cherry pie filling
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

Step 1 - Make dough base: First preheat your oven to 375° Fahrenheit and coat a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan with cooking spray (or grease and flour it to prevent sticking). Then, into a large mixing bowl, measure out 1-1/2 cups of the dry cake mix. (You are setting aside the remaining mix, which you will use for the topping.)

Add the flour and dry yeast to the bowl. Now add the 2/3rds cup of very warm tap water. Allow the yeast to come alive and bubble for a minute. Finally, add the 2 eggs. Beat everything for 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping bowl often. Dough will be thick. Using a rubber spatula or back of a spoon, spread it across the bottom of your coated baking pan.

Step 2 - Make streusel topping: Melt butter in a saucepan and pour it over the remaining dry cake mix, which you set aside in Step 1. Mix the butter in well with the dry mix. It should be lumpy and crumbly. (See photo below.)

Step 3 - Assemble pastry cake: Spoon the cherry pie filling evenly across the top of the dough in the baking pan. Sprinkle sugar on top of the filling. Finally, using your fingers, crumble the streusel topping over it all. NOTE: Because there was so much topping, I held back some of mine so the bright redness of the cherries would show through, making a prettier presentation.

Step 4 - Bake and glaze: Bake the cake for 30 minutes in your preheated oven (375° F). Cool the cake on a rack, allowing air to circulate under the hot pan bottom. When the top is cool, drizzle with glaze. See my Quick Glaze recipe below. After cake is served, refrigerate leftovers to keep fresh. This cake is also delicious chilled!

Cleo's Favorite Quick Glaze

Cleo's glaze note: Shirley's cake glaze used corn syrup, water, and powdered sugar. With her indulgence, I am giving you my favorite butter glaze instead, which is what I use when I make this cake. Here is the simple recipe...

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter (salted is fine)
2 Tablespoons whole milk (cream or half-and-half)
1 cup confectioner's (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

Directions: Over medium heat, warm butter and milk in a saucepan. Do not let this mixture brown, burn, or boil or you will have a scalded taste in your glaze. As soon as butter has melted, whisk in the sifted confectioner's sugar, a little at a time, until it is completely melted. You must work with the glaze quickly, while it is still warm. Drizzle the warm glaze over the cake using a rubber spatula, the tines of a fork, or a spoon. If the glaze hardens up on you, place the saucepan over the heat again and whisk well until liquefied and smooth once more.

Happy Valentine's Day to all those with love in their hearts, including all of you pet moms and dads out there. So many of us dearly love our furry friends. (Two of our many New York strays are featured in my photos today.) Without a doubt, they're our Valentine's, too.