Читать книгу Christmas Cupcake Murder - Joanne Fluke - Страница 11

Chapter Three

Breathing a sigh of relief once she was out of sight, Hannah walked down the hall to the lobby. She found Delores and Carrie sitting at a table, sorting through ornaments.

“You’re here!” Delores said, spotting Hannah the instant she came through the door. “We haven’t put the lights on yet, dear. Will you help us with that?”

“Of course,” Hannah said, but inwardly she was groaning. The tree, which was standing tall and proud in the center of the lobby, was at least fourteen feet high. As she’d feared, there would be a ladder involved.

“Freddy Sawyer should be here any minute,” Carrie told her. “He’s going to climb the ladder and we want you to hand him the strings of lights. Is that all right with you, Hannah?”

“That’s just fine with me!” Hannah said immediately, feeling the jolt of trepidation she’d felt when she’d seen the height of the tree disappear completely. “Have you tested the lights yet?”

“Not yet,” Delores said. “We were saving that for you. And you got here just in time. Thank you, dear.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Hannah!”

Hannah turned around to see Freddy Sawyer standing by the lobby door. “Your mother said you were coming here.”

“Hi, Freddy,” Hannah greeted him. “I’m glad you’re still working here.”

“Me too!” Freddy grinned back at her. “They all like me here, ’specially Doc. I lift things for him almost every day. I’m strong.”

“You certainly are!” Delores told him. Then she turned to Hannah. “Freddy carried all the decorations in here for us. We didn’t have to lift a thing.”

“My mother said ladies shouldn’t lift very much. She died.”

“I know.” Hannah walked over to give him a pat on the shoulder. “Come on, Freddy. Let’s plug in all those strings of lights to make sure they work before we put them on the tree.”

Freddy nodded. “That’s smart. It’s the way my mother used to do it. Then she could re . . . re . . .” He stopped speaking and looked at Hannah for help.

“So she could replace them?”

“That’s it! Then she could re . . . place the bulbs that didn’t work. Let’s do it, Hannah. I want to make the tree really pretty this year.”

“We will,” Hannah promised, leading him over to the box that had LIGHTS written on the cover.

As Freddy plugged in the strings and tested them, she thought about how much better he was now that he had a job, and Doc and the nurses had taken him under their wing. Freddy was what some people called slow several decades ago. When his mother died, Freddy lived in her little house for a while, but everyone knew he needed some help. The people in Lake Eden liked Freddy and he had plenty of what his mother had called odd jobs around town, but it was clear that he needed someone to guide him. That was when Doc Knight had stepped in and offered Freddy a job at the hospital three days a week. Freddy loved working at the hospital and everyone there liked him. Freddy had found his niche.

“I did it, Hannah!” Freddy said proudly, once he’d tested all the lights. “Do you think we’ll have enough? This tree is fatter than last year’s tree.”

“There’ll be enough, Freddy,” Delores answered, overhearing the question. “I bought extra strings of lights, just in case.”

“Shall I start from the top or the bottom?” Freddy asked.

“The top,” Carrie said.

“The bottom,” Delores said at the same time.

“Oh-oh!” Freddy said, almost under his breath as he turned to Hannah. “What do we do now?”

“I’ll start from the bottom and you start from the top,” Hannah said quickly, knowing she was bound to receive complaints from both Carrie and her mother.

“You can’t do that!” Carrie said immediately.

“Carrie’s right.” Delores gave a little nod. “You’re bound to come out uneven near the middle of the tree, and that’s right at eye level.”

“Right. People will notice if it’s not symmetrical,” Carrie added. “Since you’re used to starting from the bottom, you had better do it that way. If you’re not used to starting from the top and stringing the lights vertically, it might be more difficult.”

Freddy exhaled in relief so loudly that all three women heard him. “Okay. That’s what we’ll do,” he said, “but Hannah will have to walk around the tree to hand me the lights.”

“I can do that,” Hannah agreed. “I’ll string the lights as high as I can reach and you can do the rest.”

“While you’re doing that, we’ll set out all the decorations we want to use,” Delores told them.

“And we’ll tell you where we want you to hang them,” Carrie added.

“The breakable things should go on the upper half of the tree just in case Reverend Bob brings Vespers with him when he visits this year.”

Delores laughed. “You’re right. I almost forgot about Vespers. He came very close to eating an antique gold ball last year.”

“Don’t blame Vespers. Dogs play with balls,” Freddy pointed out. “We’ll put those on the top half where Vespers can’t reach them. I really like him. He wears a little Santa hat and all the patients like to pet him and give him treats.”

Hannah chuckled. Vespers usually spent nights at the hospital if there were young patients who needed to stay over Christmastime. He slept in the corner of the child’s hospital room on a bed that Reverend Bob brought, and the young patients seemed to find comfort in that. There was one drawback though. The children gave Vespers so many little treats that he gained weight over the holidays. Grandma Knudson, Reverend Bob’s grandmother and housekeeper, had told Hannah that she needed to put Vespers on a diet after every Christmas season he spent at the hospital.

With all four of them working, the huge Christmas tree was decorated in less than an hour. Freddy went to close the lobby door. They’d all agreed that they didn’t want anyone to see the tree fully lighted before the official ceremony.

“Beautiful!” Delores breathed, as Hannah stepped on the foot switch that was attached to the extension cord.

“Yes, it is,” Carrie agreed. “I think it’s even better than last year.”

“Pretty,” Freddy said, but his voice sounded a bit hoarse.

Hannah looked at him, realized that he had tears in his eyes, and walked over to slip her arm around his shoulders. “Does the tree make you miss your mother?” she asked.

Freddy didn’t say anything. He just nodded, but he gave her a little smile.

“Your mother would be very proud of you, Freddy. The tree looks beautiful.”

“Let’s do the staff lunchroom next,” Delores suggested. “I have a big wreath to hang in there and a little tree for the table where they keep the coffeepot.” She turned to Freddy. “Do you think you could hang some big Christmas ornaments from the ceiling the way you did last year?”

Freddy smiled. “Sure. I know how to do it now, and I like to climb ladders.”

Delores looked at Freddy gratefully. “Well, I don’t and neither does Carrie. We’re glad you’re helping us, Freddy.”

Freddy looked proud as he picked up the boxes that Delores indicated and led the way to the lunchroom. They left Freddy there to finish up and went off to decorate the patients’ rooms.

“Let’s split up,” Carrie suggested. “It’ll go faster that way. We’re doing each room the same, aren’t we, Delores?”

“Yes. We’ll do the first one together, so that Hannah can see what to do, and then we’ll split up.”

Hannah nodded. “That sounds like a plan to me. Where shall we meet up when we’re finished?”

“The lobby,” Delores told her. “Then all three of us will go to decorate Doc’s office.”

It took several hours to complete the hospital rooms. By the time she finished, Hannah was tired of stretching and bending. She hurried back to the staff lunchroom to get a rejuvenating cup of coffee and carried it to the lobby to wait for her mother and Carrie.

Christmas music was playing softly over the loudspeakers in the lobby and Hannah leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Even though she’d gotten a full night’s sleep, she was tired. And although she loved providing sweet treats for her customers, she sometimes wished that she could take a little time off during her favorite holidays. Baking was always a joy for her. The scent of vanilla, chocolate, and spices was practically an addiction, but there were times when she wished that she could take a little time for herself. Today had been one of those days. Helping her mother and Carrie decorate was a welcome break, and Hannah found she was relaxed for the first time since the overwhelming holiday orders had begun to pour into The Cookie Jar.

Listening to the Christmas music brought happy childhood memories. She remembered stretching out under the branches on the Christmas tree and gazing up at the colored lights. It was an early memory, back before Andrea was born. It was so pretty, she had begged to stay there instead of going up to her bedroom to sleep. Her mother had objected, claiming that regular bedtimes were good for children, and that Hannah had already stayed up too long. Luckily for Hannah, her father had overruled Delores. And when she’d finally fallen to sleep, her father had carried her up the stairs and tucked her into bed.

Memories of her father brought tears to Hannah’s eyes and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. He had died several years ago while she was in college working on her doctorate, but she still missed him. Lars Swensen had been a loving father, full of fun, and never so busy that he didn’t have time for his children. Even though he’d worked a full day in the hardware store he owned, he’d never been too tired to attend a school play, take them on long drives through the countryside to see the fall leaves, or play games in the backyard with them. He had died several years ago, but Hannah missed him as much now as she had back then.

“Frosty the Snowman” played over the loudspeaker and Hannah began to smile as another, happier memory surfaced. It had been a sunny winter afternoon and her father had told her to put on her parka and snow pants because they were going out to play in the snow. Andrea had been very young, so Delores had stayed in the house with her, but Hannah and her father had gone out to build a snowman outside the living room picture window. The snow had been the perfect consistency, sticky enough to roll into large balls that left patches of bare frozen lawn. They’d rolled three balls, one large, one medium-sized, and one, Hannah’s ball, small enough for the head. Her father had stacked them up so that Delores and Andrea could see.

Hannah remembered hearing a tapping on the glass of the window and turning to see her mother holding up an old top hat and the broom she used to sweep the back porch.

“Go get the hat and the broom from your mother,” her father had instructed, and Hannah had hurried to the front door. Delores had handed over the things she found for their snowman and Hannah had rushed back to give them to her father.

“Will he have a face?” Hannah had asked after her father had perched the hat on top of the smallest snowball.

“Yes. I’ve got buttons for his eyes right here,” he told her, patting his jacket pocket. “Let’s go inside and ask your mother if she has something we can use for his nose.”

Hannah had rushed back to the door with her father, but before they could open it, Delores stepped out with several vegetables in her hand. “I’ve got a little cucumber, a mushroom, and a carrot,” she told Lars. “Which one do you think will work best for a nose?”

“Hannah?” her father asked, turning to her. “Which one would you like to use?”

“The carrot,” Hannah said immediately, remembering the picture of Frosty, the snowman shown on the Christmas paper her mother had used to wrap her presents.

“That’s a good choice,” her father complimented her, and then he turned to Delores. “Go back inside, honey. It’s cold out here.”

Delores handed the carrot to Hannah and stepped back inside. “I’ll put on some hot chocolate for you two,” she promised before she shut the door.

“Our snowman doesn’t have any arms,” Hannah reminded her father. “And he doesn’t have any legs, either.”

“We’ll pretend that he’s sitting on his legs,” Lars explained, “and I’m going to get two branches for his arms.”

Hannah watched as her father went to the lilac bush in the corner of the lawn and broke off two long branches. “Will those work?” she asked him.

“I think so. Just watch while I attach them.”

Once the branches were in place, Hannah began to smile. “It’s perfect,” she told her father. “I like our snowman, Dad.”

“So do I, but you have to do one more thing before we go back inside.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to choose his name. We can’t have a snowman without a name.”

Hannah thought for a moment and then she began to smile. “Chilly,” she said.

“You’re cold?”

“No, Dad. His name is Chilly.”

“That’s perfect,” Lars had told her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and leading her back to the door. “Let’s go see if your mother had time to make that hot chocolate for us.”

Memories of hot chocolate with miniature marshmallows floating on top brought a smile to Hannah’s face. She shut her eyes, remembering how comforting it had been to sit next to her father and mother at the kitchen table and enjoy the rich chocolate flavor.

“Hannah? Are you awake?” a female voice asked.

Hannah opened her eyes and stared up at the young woman who was standing next to her. “Yes. I’m awake.”

“I’m Rachael,” the young woman said, sitting down in the chair next to Hannah. “You probably don’t remember me. I’m Lisa’s cousin.”

“Nice to meet you,” Hannah said, smiling back. “Did you bring the cupcakes?”

“Yes. Actually . . . I brought two kinds of cupcakes. I brought yours and the ones Lisa let me bake this morning. I wanted you to taste mine to see if you like them.”

“I’d love to try one. What kind are they?”

“They’re called White Chocolate Eggnog Cupcakes. My college roommate’s older sister works at the Kraft test kitchens. She sends us some of their new recipes and we test them for her. How about some fresh coffee to go with it? You take it black, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. How did you know?”

“Lisa mentioned that you’d probably want coffee about now, so the hospital cook put on coffee for us.”

Hannah watched as Rachael hurried back to the kitchen to get her coffee and one of the Kraft test kitchen cupcakes. In less time than she’d expected, Rachael was back. She was carrying a tray with three cupcakes, three cups, and a carafe of coffee.

“Here they are,” Rachael said, lifting one cupcake onto a napkin and pouring a cup of black coffee for Hannah. “Let me know if you like the cupcake and I’ll text my roommate so she can tell her sister.”

“Who are the other cupcakes for?” Hannah asked, reaching for her cupcake so that she could remove the paper.

“Your mother and her friend. I ran into them in the corridor and they said they’d be here in a couple of minutes.”

“These cupcakes smell like Christmas,” Hannah said, enjoying the scent of eggnog spices. “Do you use real eggnog when you make them?”

“Yes, the commercial kind. There’s a cup of it in the batter along with a little extra nutmeg. I really hope you like them, Hannah. My roommate and I made them right after her sister sent us the recipe, and I brought some to Lisa and Herb.”

Hannah took a bite of the cupcake and her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “There’s whipped cream inside!” she said.

“Actually, it’s Cool Whip. And it’s mixed with cream cheese, butter, rum extract, and powdered sugar. You have to refrigerate it while the cupcakes are cooling, and then you inject some of it inside each cupcake.”

Hannah smiled. “It sure makes the cupcake more interesting.”

Rachael looked pleased. “That’s exactly what my roommate’s sister said!”

“You use the same combination on top for a frosting, don’t you?”

Rachael nodded. “That’s right, except you sprinkle a little nutmeg on the top after you frost the cupcakes. Lisa thought you could use the recipe in the coffee shop, but there’s a little drawback.”

“What’s that?”

“You have to keep the cupcakes refrigerated because of the Cool Whip.”

“Of course you do,” Hannah said. “That’s not really a drawback, Rachael. We have a walk-in cooler in our kitchen at The Cookie Jar.”

“I can help you make them the first time,” Rachael offered. “I discovered some shortcuts.”

“Shortcuts can be very helpful. Which one saves the most time?”

Rachael thought about that for a moment and then she smiled. “Not having to use a pastry bag.”

It took Hannah a moment, but then she understood. “To inject the Cool Whip frosting inside the cupcake?”

“That’s right. I’m really not very good at using a pastry bag, so I tried to think of what else I could use. And I discovered another way that I could do it.”

“Tell me.”

“The cupcakes have to be cool before you inject the Cool Whip in the middle. You need something that’ll hold the right amount of Cool Whip and it has to have a hollow point on the end.”

Hannah nodded, going through the possibilities. “A large syringe or a turkey baster?”

“Those would work, but there’s something that’s easier. It’s called a Jell-O shot injector.”

“What’s a Jell-O shot?”

Rachael looked at her in disbelief. “Didn’t you ever go to college parties?”

Hannah shook her head, “Not really, I was too busy studying. ”

“OK fine, let me explain. A Jell-O shot is Jell-O made with booze instead of water. You pour shots into little plastic shot glasses and refrigerate it. Then you set them out on a tray and everyone parties with them. You can use any flavor Jell-O, but most people prefer to use vodka or tequila because they don’t change the color of the Jell-O.”

“We’re here!” Delores called out, coming in the doorway with Carrie in time to save Hannah from the necessity of making a comment. Jell-O shots didn’t sound very appealing to her, but the Jell-O shot injectors were interesting. She’d never been very proficient with a pastry bag, so she would ask Michelle to look for the Jell-O shot injectors online.

“We hurried through the last two rooms,” Carrie said, sitting down on the couch by the coffee table.

“Yes we did,” Delores added. “We’re looking forward to tasting your White Chocolate Eggnog Cupcakes, Rachael. ”

“Well, here they are,” Rachael told them, gesturing toward the tray on the coffee table. “Help yourselves, ladies. I really hope you like them as much as my roommate and I do.”

For at least fifteen seconds, no one spoke. They were too busy eating and it was clear that they were enjoying every bite.

“Wonderful!” Carrie was the first to offer her opinion. “They’re so light and fluffy, I could eat at least one more.”

Delores nodded. “I agree. And the whipped cream in the center is just delicious.”

“Hannah?” Rachael looked slightly worried as she turned to Hannah. “What did you think?”

“They’re absolutely delicious, Rachael. And I think we’re going to sell tons of cupcakes, if you teach me how to use a Jell-O shot injector.”

WHITE CHOCOLATE EGGNOG CUPCAKES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix (the kind that will make a 9-inch by 13-inch cake or a 2-layer cake) with or without pudding in the mix (I used Duncan Hines)

1 cup eggnog

⅓ cup vegetable oil (use pure vegetable oil, not canola, or olive oil, or corn oil)

3 large egg whites

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly ground is best, of course)

1 package (4 ounces by weight) Baker’s White Chocolate, chopped (or ½ cup white chocolate or vanilla chips, chopped)

Frosting Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces by weight) cream cheese, softened (NOT whipped cream cheese—I used Philadelphia in the silver package)

¼ cup salted butter (¼ stick, 2 ounces), softened

½ teaspoon rum extract (if you can’t find it, substitute vanilla or brandy extract)

3 cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar (no need to sift unless it has big lumps)

1 cup original Cool Whip, thawed (measure this—even a small tub contains more than a cup)

½ cup additional powdered sugar to use, if needed, to thicken frosting

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg (freshly ground is best, of course) to sprinkle on top of each frosted cupcake

Before you begin to make these cupcakes, prepare your cupcake pans by lining them with cupcake papers. (You will need 2 cupcake pans, the kind that will hold 12 regular-size cupcakes). If you use the kind of cupcake papers with foil on the outside, you don’t have to use more than one. If you don’t, use double cupcake papers so it’s easier to peel off the paper before you eat them.

Hannah’s 1^st Note: Both Lisa and I still call them “cupcake tins” when we bake cupcakes at The Cookie Jar, even though they are no longer made of tin. Lisa’s mother used to refer to them that way and so did my Great-Grandmother Elsa.

To Make the Cupcakes:

Hannah’s 2^nd Note: It’s possible to make these cupcakes by hand, but it’s a lot easier with an electric mixer!

Open the package of cake mix and dump (yes, that’s a baking term at The Cookie Jar) it into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Add the cup of eggnog and mix it in on LOW speed.

Add the oil and continue to mix on LOW speed.

Crack the eggs, separate the whites from the yolks, and add the whites to your bowl. (You can put the yolks in an airtight bowl, refrigerate them, and add them to scrambled eggs in the morning.)

Mix in the egg whites on LOW speed.

Add the half-teaspoon of ground nutmeg and mix that in at LOW speed.

Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and remove it from the mixer.

Give your cupcake batter a final stir by hand with a wooden spoon or your favorite mixing spoon.

Use the mixing spoon to stir in the chopped white chocolate pieces.

Hannah’s 3^rd Note: Lisa and I chop the white chocolate in the bowl of a food processor. We chop it in an on-and-off motion with the steel blade until the pieces are the size of coarse gravel.

If you haven’t done so already, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Transfer the batter to the paper-lined cupcake cups, filling them ¾ full.

Hannah’s 4^th Note: The easiest way I’ve found to transfer the cupcake batter to the baking cups is to pour it into a measuring cup with a spout. Then all you have to do is pour and that prevents batter spill in the spaces between the cupcake cups. You can also use a 2-Tablespoon scooper to do this, but you’ll have to be careful that it doesn’t drip.

Bake your cupcakes at 350 degrees F. for 18 to 20 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a cake tester, thin wooden skewer, or long toothpick in the center of a test cupcake. Pull out the tester and if any sticky dough clings to it, your cupcakes are not yet done. Bake them for another 2 or 3 minutes and then test again, using a different cupcake.

When your cupcakes test as done, remove the cupcake pans from the oven and set them on cold stovetop burners or wire racks.

Begin to make the frosting now. The instructions for the frosting are below:

To Make the Frosting:

Rinse out the bowl of your electric mixer and dry it with paper towels. Do the same with the beater(s).

When everything is back in place, put the softened cream cheese in the bottom of the bowl.

Add the softened, salted butter and the rum extract.

Turn the mixer on LOW and mix until the ingredients are thoroughly blended together.

Beat in powdered sugar at LOW speed, one cup at a time.

Turn off the mixer, move the bowl to the kitchen counter, and stir in the cup of thawed Cool Whip.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

If you choose to use a pastry bag with a large, round tip, spoon the cold frosting into the pastry bag.

Hannah’s 1^st Frosting Note: If you’d rather not use a pastry bag, you can use a bulb turkey baster or a cupcake injector (similar to a large syringe without a needle). The cupcake injector is sometimes called a Jell-O shot injector and is available online.

Insert the point of the pastry bag (or cupcake injector) into the center of each cooled cupcake and inject approximately 1 Tablespoon of frosting inside the cupcake.

Hannah’s 2^nd Frosting Note: Don’t worry about the little hole that the pastry bag or the cupcake injector will leave in the top of each cupcake. It will be covered with frosting.

Hannah’s 3^rd Frosting Note: If the frosting is too thin, this is where you will mix in the additional half-cup of powdered sugar to thicken it.

Spread the tops of your White Chocolate Eggnog Cupcakes with the remaining frosting. (If you’re using the pastry bag, just pipe it on and then spread it out with a frosting knife.)

Store the frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve them, then sprinkle on the extra nutmeg just before you plate them.

Yield: 18 to 22 regular-size cupcakes, depending on how full you fill the cupcake papers. Both adults and children will enjoy these light, tasty, and flavorful treats. Serve with cups of hot chocolate or strong coffee.

Hannah’s 4^th Frosting Note: Most grocery stores consider eggnog to be a seasonal item, and it is available only over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. I’ve included my recipe for English Eggnog, just in case you want to make these cupcakes at other times of the year. The recipe follows:

This recipe was exclusively created for Hannah Swensen by

ENGLISH EGGNOG

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

½ cup whipping cream (heavy cream)

¼ cup white (granulated) sugar

1 cup whole milk

½ cup half-and-half (light cream)

2 teaspoons rum extract (you can substitute brandy extract)

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

Instructions:

Crack the eggs and separate the whites and the yolks into two bowls.

Beat the egg whites with a whisk or an electric mixer until they form soft peaks.

Hannah’s 1^st Note: Soft peaks are peaks that droop over a bit when you dip the flat side of a rubber spatula into the mixture and pull it up.

Pour the whipping cream into a bowl and beat it until it forms soft peaks. You can do this with a whisk or with an electric mixer.

Fold the whipping cream into the beaten egg whites and set the bowl aside on the counter.

Beat the egg yolks until they are light colored and fluffy.

Mix the sugar, whole milk, half-and-half, and rum extract into the bowl with the egg yolks.

Fold the contents of the bowl with the egg white and whipping cream mixture into the bowl with the egg yolk mixture.

Carefully, so that you do not flatten this creamy mixture, stir in the ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground cardamom.

At this point, the mixture can be refrigerated in a tightly covered container for up to 12 hours.

Hannah’s 2^nd Note: To use in White Chocolate Eggnog Cupcakes, stir the mixture, measure out one cup, and use it in the cupcake recipe. Use the rest of the eggnog mixture for a refreshing drink.

Hannah’s 3^rd Note: If you like, you can add rum or brandy to the eggnog mixture to serve as a delicious adult beverage.

Yield: Approximately 3 cups of delicious, refreshing eggnog.