Christmas Caramel Murder Read online

  Books by Joanne Fluke

  Hannah Swensen Mysteries

  CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE MURDER

  STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE MURDER

  BLUEBERRY MUFFIN MURDER

  LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER

  FUDGE CUPCAKE MURDER

  SUGAR COOKIE MURDER

  PEACH COBBLER MURDER

  CHERRY CHEESECAKE MURDER

  KEY LIME PIE MURDER

  CANDY CANE MURDER

  CARROT CAKE MURDER

  CREAM PUFF MURDER

  PLUM PUDDING MURDER

  APPLE TURNOVER MURDER

  DEVIL’S FOOD CAKE MURDER

  GINGERBREAD COOKIE MURDER

  CINNAMON ROLL MURDER

  RED VELVET CUPCAKE MURDER

  BLACKBERRY PIE MURDER

  DOUBLE FUDGE BROWNIE MURDER

  WEDDING CAKE MURDER

  CHRISTMAS CARAMEL MURDER

  JOANNE FLUKE’S LAKE EDEN COOKBOOK

  Suspense Novels

  VIDEO KILL

  WINTER CHILL

  DEAD GIVEAWAY

  THE OTHER CHILD

  COLD JUDGMENT

  FATAL IDENTITY

  FINAL APPEAL

  VENGEANCE IS MINE

  EYES

  WICKED

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  CHRISTMAS CARAMEL MURDER

  JOANNE FLUKE

  KENSINGTON BOOKS

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2016 by H.L. Swensen, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 2016946393

  ISBN: 978-1-6177-3228-7

  ISBN-10: 1-61773-228-1

  First Kensington Hardcover Edition: October 2016

  ISBN-13: 978-1-61773-229-4

  ISBN-10: 1-61773-229-X

  First Kensington Electronic Edition: October 2016

  VD1_1

  Table of Contents

  Also by

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements:

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Epilogue

  Banana Cream Pie Murder

  Christmas Caramel Murder Recipe Index

  Baking Conversion Chart

  This book is for lovely Frida Giselle.

  Acknowledgements:

  Big hugs to the kids and the grandkids.

  Thank you to my friends and neighbors: Mel & Kurt,

  Lyn & Bill, Gina, Dee Appleton, Jay, Richard Jordan,

  Laura Levine, the real Nancy and Heiti, Dr. Bob &

  Sue, Dan, Mark & Mandy at Faux Library, Daryl and

  her staff at Groves Accountancy, Gene and Ron at

  SDSA, and everyone at Boston Private Bank.

  Thanks to Brad, Stephanie, Eric, Amanda, Lorenzo,

  Nancey, Meg, Bruce, Alison, Cameron, Gabriel,

  Barbara, and everyone at the Hallmark Movies &

  Mysteries Channel who gave us the Murder She

  Baked Hannah Swensen movies. What fun to see

  Hannah on TV!

  Thank you to my Minnesota friends: Lois & Neal, Bev

  & Jim, Lois & Jack, Val, Ruthann, Lowell, Dorothy &

  Sue, Mary & Jim, Pat and Gary at their Once Upon a

  Crime Bookstore, and Tim Hedges.

  A grateful hug to my multi-talented friend and

  Editor-in-Chief, John Scognamiglio.

  Thanks to all the wonderful folks at Kensington

  Publishing who keep Hannah sleuthing and baking

  up a storm.

  Thanks to Meg Ruley and the staff at the Jane

  Rotrosen Agency for their constant support and their

  wise advice.

  Thanks to Hiro Kimura, my wonderful cover artist for

  the incredibly delicious-looking caramels on this book

  cover. My caramels don’t come close to looking this

  delectable, but they do taste better!

  Thank you to Lou Malcangi at Kensington Publishing,

  for designing all of Hannah’s deliciously stunning

  covers.

  Thanks to John at Placed4Success.com for Hannah’s

  movie and TV placements, his presence on all of

  Hannah’s social media, the countless hours he puts in

  on my behalf, and for always being there for me.

  Thanks to Rudy for maintaining my website at

  wwwJoanneFluke.com, his talent behind the camera,

  and for giving support to Hannah’s social media.

  Big thanks to Kathy Allen for the final testing of every

  single one of Hannah’s recipes.

  Hugs to Judy Q. for helping with Hannah’s e-mail at

  [email protected] and searching for answers

  to research questions.

  Grateful hugs to my super friend, Trudi Nash, for

  going on book tours with me, for keeping me on an

  even keel, and for thinking of new and innovative

  recipe ideas for us to try.

  Thanks to food stylist and media guide extraordinaire

  Lois Brown for her friendship and her talented

  assistance.

  Hugs to the Double D’s, Alicia, Fern, Leah, and

  everyone on Team Swensen who helps to keep

  Hannah’s Facebook presence alive and well.

  Thank you to Dr. Rahhal, Dr. and Cathy Line,

  Dr. Wallen. Dr. Koslowski, Drs. Ashley and Lee, and

  Dr. Niemeyer (who reminds me of Doc Knight) for

  putting up with my pesky Hannah-book-related

  medical and dental questions. Norman and Doc Knight

  would be lost without you!

  Grateful thanks to all of the Hannah fans who share

  their favorite family recipes with me, post on

  Facebook, watch the Hannah movies, and

  devour each and every book.

  I hope you love reading Christmas Caramel Murder

  just as much as I loved writing it.

  Prologue

  The dining room at the Lake Eden Inn was festive with corn shocks, hay bales, pumpkins, and giant beer steins made of papier-mâché. It was clear that the owners, Sally and Dick Laughlin, were getting ready for their Oktoberfest celebration over the weekend.

  It was Thursday night, and Hannah Swensen smiled at Ross Barton as she finished the last delicious bite of her dinner. “That was wonderful. Thank you, Ross.”

  Sally, who was waiting on them personally, must have had a version of dessert radar because she approached just as soon as Hannah placed her flatware on the plate.

  “I’ve got a new dessert for you to try,” Sally announced, motioning to the nearest busboy to clear their plates. When there was room to display it, she placed a large silver dessert tray on the table.

  “Something for Oktoberfest?” Hannah asked her.<
br />
  “No, for Christmas. I decided to feature chocolate and caramel, the way you did in the children’s gift bags last year. That’s why I’m featuring chocolate flan with caramel whipped cream.”

  “I’ve never heard of caramel whipped cream before,” Hannah told her.

  “It’s easy to make. I couldn’t find a recipe, but I followed your advice. We were talking about recipes and you said, ‘If you can’t find a recipe, make one up.’ So that’s exactly what I did.”

  “And it worked?”

  “Not the first time, and not the second time, either. But I revised it again, and the third time was the charm. I tried it out on Dick first, and he said he loves it. The only problem is, Dick has a sweet tooth and he loves everything I bake. I’d really like to try it out on you if you’ll promise to tell me exactly what you think.”

  “It looks wonderful!” Hannah said, watching as Sally cut two slices from the flan that was sitting in the center of the silver tray and placed them in crystal dessert dishes. She added several dollops of caramel whipped cream, and placed the dessert dishes in front of Hannah and Ross.

  “Be honest,” she warned them. “And be critical, too. Tell me if I need to add something to make it better.”

  Hannah and Ross picked up their dessert spoons and took bites almost simultaneously. Then both of them smiled.

  “Delicious!” Hannah declared.

  “Oh, yes!” Ross concurred, taking another bite. “The chocolate is really rich, and it’s perfect with the caramel whipped cream.”

  “Thanks!” Sally said, looking relieved as she turned to Hannah. “I’m still trying to figure out how to decorate this flan to make it even more Christmassy.”

  “It looks great just the way it is,” Hannah told her, “but it could be more festive for Christmas. I’ll let you know if I think of anything. And I’ll ask Lisa. She’s my decorating expert.”

  “Just one more thing,” Sally said, picking up the platter. “What do you think I should call it?”

  “Call it exactly what it is,” Hannah suggested. “Chocolate Flan with Caramel Whipped Cream. If you call it something else, your wait staff will have to answer questions about what it is.”

  Sally nodded. “That’s a really good point. Thanks for the help and enjoy the rest of your dessert.”

  When Sally had left their table, Ross turned to Hannah. “I’ve never tasted Lisa’s chocolate caramels. Are you making them for Christmas this year?”

  “Only if you really want us to,” Hannah said, frowning slightly. “I know it’s silly to be superstitious, but . . . well . . . they were bad luck last year.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, last Christmas was . . . pretty strange in the giant scheme of things. You weren’t here, so you wouldn’t know, but something bad happened with the caramels.”

  “Something bad?”

  “Yes. I found some of them at a murder scene.”

  “Tell me all about it.” Ross leaned forward and covered Hannah’s hand with his.

  “Well . . .” Hannah drew a deep breath. “This is going to take a while. It’s a really long story.”

  Ross glanced at his watch. “That’s okay. It’s only six-thirty. What time does Sally close the dining room?”

  “She’s open until ten.” Hannah was silent for a moment, and then she looked amused. “It could take almost that long to tell you. Are you sure you want to listen to a long story now?”

  “I’m positive. You’ve got me curious, Cookie. Tell me.”

  “Okay.” Hannah gave a mock sigh. “Just remember, you asked for it. But first, we’ll need more coffee.”

  Hannah waited until one of the waitresses had brought a fresh carafe of coffee, and then she began her story.

  “It was the first Monday in December, and Lisa and I were in the coffee shop at The Cookie Jar. It was early, an hour before we were due to open, and we were decorating for Christmas. We were almost finished when everything started to happen. . . .”

  CHOCOLATE FLAN WITH CARAMEL WHIPPED CREAM

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

  For the Chocolate Flan:

  1 and ¾ cup whole milk

  1 cup (6-ounce by weight bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)

  4 large eggs

  1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk (I used Eagle Brand)

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ____________________

  chocolate curls for a topping are optional (Make them by scraping them from a dark chocolate bar with the blade of a sharp knife.)

  For the Caramel Whipped Cream:

  1 cup whipping cream

  5 Tablespoons caramel ice cream topping (I used Smucker’s)

  Select a round glass casserole that’s approximately 10 inches in diameter.

  Locate a baking pan with 4-inch or taller sides that is large enough to hold your glass casserole with at least an inch and a half of space on all sides.

  Set the casserole you’ve chosen inside the baking pan. Eventually, this baking pan will hold hot water to “bathe” the outside of your flan casserole. This water bath, or bain marie, will keep your flan from baking too rapidly and becoming hard around the edges.

  Spray the inside of the glass casserole with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

  Hannah’s 1st Note: Don’t use anything called “baking” spray on the inside of your casserole. It contains flour and you don’t want flour on the outside of your flan.

  Put two potholders or oven mitts out on the counter where they will be handy.

  Heat the cup and three-quarters of whole milk at MEDIUM heat on the stovetop in a medium-size saucepan until it almost comes to a boil. You’ll be able to tell this is going to happen when bubbles start to form around the edges of the saucepan and steam begins to escape from the milk.

  Pull the saucepan with the milk over to a cold stovetop burner and stir in the cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.

  Stir until the chips are melted and the mixture is a uniform color. If this doesn’t happen, your milk was too cold. Put it back on the burner and stir constantly for another minute to make sure the chips are melted. Then pull it off the heat and turn off the stovetop burner.

  In a large bowl on the counter, whisk the 4 large eggs until they’re light-colored and fluffy.

  Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can also do this in the bowl of an electric mixer.

  Add the can of sweetened condensed milk, the vanilla extract, and the salt to the bowl with the eggs.

  Whisk the contents until they’re well incorporated.

  Carefully, feel the outside of the saucepan with the chocolate mixture. If it’s not so hot that it will cook the eggs, slowly, add the chocolate mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk or beat until everything is well incorporated.

  Pour the resulting mixture into your prepared casserole.

  Set your casserole inside the larger baking pan.

  Run water as hot as you can get from your tap, and fill a large measuring cup with a spout.

  Pour hot water from the measuring cup inside the larger pan. Keep pouring until the water level reaches halfway up the sides of the casserole holding your flan.

  Loosely cover your flan with foil and poke a few holes in the foil to let steam escape as it’s baking.

  Carry both pans to the oven and put them inside to bake.

  Bake your flan at 350 degrees F. for 50 to 70 minutes, or until the blade of a table knife inserted one inch from the center of the flan comes out clean.

  Hannah’s 3rd Note: If your knife has liquid residue sticking to it when you remove it, your flan is not fully baked. Give it another 5 minutes in the oven, wash and dry your table knife in the meantime, and test it again.

  When your table knife comes out clean, use oven potholders to take both pans out of the oven together and set them on a cold stovetop burner.

  Use potholders or oven mitts to lift out the inne
r casserole with your flan and place it on a second cold burner or on a wire rack. Use potholders or oven mitts to dump out the water in the outer pan and set it aside to cool.

  Set your timer for 20 minutes.

  When your Chocolate Caramel Flan has cooled for 20 minutes, cover the top of the flan casserole with plastic wrap. Refrigerate your flan in the casserole for at least 4 hours, or until it’s time to serve dessert. Overnight is fine too, if you want to make it the day before you plan to serve it.

  To serve, run a table knife around the inside rim of your flan to loosen it slightly. Turn it out in a flat bowl or onto a plate with a deep lip. Then make the Caramel Whipped Cream.