Sweet Stuff (31 page)

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Authors: Donna Kauffman

BOOK: Sweet Stuff
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Epilogue
R
iley glanced at the clock in Quinn’s kitchen, and sidled over to the crystal cupcake display. Half past one in the morning. The poker tournament had finally wound down and was officially over. Thank God.
“Lost twenty bucks,” Quinn said as he came in through the door from the deck.
“How’d that happen?” Riley eyed one of Lani’s few remaining dark chocolate and raspberry cupcakes, but decided it was just too late to give in to temptation.
Quinn bent down and pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. “There was a pool going as to whether the police would be summoned before or after midnight. Person picking the closest time in a fifteen-minute interval wins.”
“The police weren’t here, were they? What did I miss?”
“Nothing,” he said, turning her into his arms. “That’s why I lost the twenty.”
“Ah,” she said, smiling. “Sucker.”
“Apparently.” He leaned down and trailed his tongue along her jaw, to her ear. “And yet, you never seem to complain ...”
As tired as she was, he stirred her body to life. She should be used to that by now. Or dead. She had no idea where their stamina was coming from. She figured it was a good thing they both had jobs to do or they might never wear clothes. Turned out naked sunset cruise time was pretty fun.
“How did that last part of the scene you were working on go?” she asked. “Did you get all the right info for the dressage stuff, for the horse show?”
“I did. Then they ended up not going.”
“Why?”
He grinned. “Never could get them out of that damn hayloft.”
“Ungrateful characters. After you did all that research.”
He shrugged. “That’s okay. It didn’t suck to be me today, either way.”
“Well, when you put it like that.” Riley leaned up and kissed him. “Although I’m beginning to see a trend with this sucking thing and you, today.”
“Day’s not over either.” Quinn plucked a cupcake from the display and dangled it in front of her. “Pirate’s ship or knight’s castle?”
“I’m so tired, I don’t know if it’s going to matter. So don’t go dangling your ... cupcakes at me.”
“Still in public,” Char sang as she swooped into the kitchen with another bag of trash.
Riley looked past Quinn’s shoulder. “You said get a room, you didn’t specify which one.”
Quinn turned her around and pulled her back against him, looping his arms around her waist as he rested his weight on the breakfast nook table. Only Riley understood the real reason for his snuggled pose. It was presently pressed against her backside.
She wiggled, just slightly, and his arms tightened like steel bands. He leaned down and pressed a kiss near her ear. “Careful what you wriggle for,” he whispered.
“Do you need a hand with that,” Riley asked Char, then wriggled, just a tiny bit, once more.
“No, this is the last round.”
“Outstanding menu,” Quinn said to Charlotte, who was scooping up the last few disposable plates and cups and adding them to her trash bag. “The savory and the sweet. Please give my regards to Carlo. I’ll pass the word to my agent and publisher. They often have to entertain at things like regional book-fairs, writers’ conferences, that sort of thing, and are always looking for the best and most interesting.”
Charlotte smiled. “Thank you. That’s very kind.” To Riley, she said, “Okay, we’ll keep him.” Adding the full trash bag to the ones already lined up along the wall, Char snatched up another empty tray and bustled to the door, at which point she glanced over her shoulder.
But Riley beat her to it. “It’s only still in public because the public isn’t leaving.”
Quinn chuckled as Charlotte sailed out.
“She’s just grumpy because her panky isn’t here,” Riley told him.
Char’s catering service had been double booked at the eleventh hour. By stepping in and taking over a birthday celebration bash for one of the mayor’s closest aides when his caterer backed out at the last minute, Char and Carlo were likely to get many other bookings, not to mention being owed a favor by the mayor. It meant Charlotte had run Alva’s event, while Carlo had done the birthday party.
“What’s a panky?” Quinn asked.
“Long story,” Riley said, just as Dre hustled in with another loaded tray. Because of the double booking, she’d stepped in to help serve.
“She was dealing off the bottom,” Dre was saying. “Hey, Riley. Hey, Quinn.” Dre turned back to Franco as he came in behind her. “I saw her with my own eyes.”
“No one said a word to her,” Franco responded, and Dre leveled a look of disbelief at him. “Okay, fine,” he went on, “but if Alva was dealing from the bottom, why wasn’t Beryl getting better hands? Suzette took half the pot tonight.”
“I said I saw her deal from the bottom. I didn’t say she was any good at it. And, if you noticed, Beryl won the trip to Baxter’s taping
and
one of Quinn’s books.”
“This is true.”
Charlotte came in again. “This is the last of it.” To Quinn, she said, “Are you certain you don’t mind me coming back tomorrow to get all my stuff? Carlo is stuck in Savannah. The party is going way over, and I won’t get our van back until—”
“It’s fine, really,” Quinn assured her. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No. I’ll have some helpers with me tomorrow. We need to come get all the equipment for another event the day after tomorrow.”
“It’s an anti-versary party,” Franco added. “For a group of divorcees. Should be interesting.”
“Interesting is certainly one word,” Charlotte said. “Can you still drive me back tonight?”
“Of course, ma petite.” He looked at Dre. “You ready?”
“As ever.” Dre took off her Sweet and Savory server’s jacket.
“You are godsends, both of you,” Char said. She turned back to Riley and Quinn. “We leave you in privacy.”
“You did good,” Riley told her. “All I heard were raves.”
“Except for old Mrs. Lauderberg,” Dre added. “But considering she was sampling all the garnishes and not any of the actual food, I don’t think that counts. She kept complaining how bitter everything was. I tried to tell her parsley snips weren’t part of the serving menu, but she smacked my hand when I tried to take her plate.” Dre examined the back of her left hand. “Turns out she wears a lot of rings. Heavy ones.”
“Tough audience,” Quinn offered.
“You said it.”
Saying their good nights, they all headed to the door.
“We’ll see ourselves out,” Franco said.
Char was the last one out, then turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot. When you see Lani tomorrow night—tell her I’m sorry I won’t be there. I have to get all this transition and prep done, but let her know I think I have the perfect person for her to talk to.”
Riley frowned. “About?”
“The mail-order business she’s thinking about starting, as an adjunct to the cupcakery. Requests for mail orders keep flooding in every time the
Hot Cakes
road trip show is repeated. With Baxter being a constant draw to the area, and their joint cookbook coming out sometime next year, she thought it would be a good idea to get the mail-order division up and running. I’m surprised she hasn’t said anything about it, with all the time you’ve spent working on the cookbook.”
“She mentioned it. I just didn’t realize she was going to move on it so fast.”
“Well, only if they can find someone she can trust who can handle it, and hit the ground running. Anyway”—Charlotte fished in the pocket of her chef’s jacket—“I’ll just put her card here. Her name is Kit Bellamy.”
“I’ll make sure Lani gets it. I know she was bummed she couldn’t be here.” At one time, Riley had hoped she’d get sick so she could miss the tournament, but Lani actually had.
Char smiled. “Between you and me, I don’t think she was that bummed.”
Riley’s eyes widened. “Are you saying she played hookey?” “Maybe. Baxter got back from New York a day early. But you didn’t hear it from me. Okay, I’m really leaving now.” She looked at Quinn, then back at Riley. “Nice panky, I will give you that. Have a good night.”
“What is it with this panky business?” Quinn said, barely waiting for the front door to close before he turned and neatly pinned Riley between him and the breakfast nook table behind her.
“No hanky-panky in the kitchen on club night unless everyone’s hanky has a panky. Or something like that.”
“Ah. That clears it right up.”
“It made perfect sense at the time.”
“So ... I’m your official panky, am I?”
“That you are.”
“Well, it’s awfully convenient that we’re in a kitchen. And you’re the only hanky here.”
“Hmm. You make a good point.”
He pressed against her, and she grinned. “More than one, it would seem.”
He lofted the cupcake again, then peeled the paper liner off with his teeth. “Did I mention that I’m plagued by this fantasy I’ve had? It involves you, a cupcake, some amazing chocolate frosting ... and me getting the chance to lick it off.”
“Funny, sounds like I’ve heard that story before.”
“All but the licking it off part.”
She pretended to think about that. “No ... that was definitely part of the story.” A slow smile spread across her face. “At least that’s how I remember it playing out. And I remembered it ... a lot.”
“Funny, so did I.”
“Huh. What should we do about that?” she asked.
“I think we should compare stories. See how they ... stack up.”
“Hmm. I think you’re the one who told me that writers should always show ... not tell.”
“It really is the best way.” Quinn popped open the buttons down the front of her blouse one at a time with his free hand.
Riley looked down. “You’re very good at that.”
“I’m very motivated at the moment. I’m really good when I’m motivated.” He pushed her back onto the table, her blouse sliding down her arms as she braced herself. He flipped open the front catch of her bra on the first try.
“I’ve noticed that.” Her breathing started to hitch a little as he spread her legs with his thighs ... and dragged his finger through the thick, dark chocolate ganache frosting.
“Now, in your version of the story did I paint the frosting on?” He drew his frosting covered finger down the center of her torso. “Or did I decorate the cupcake with a little ...” He pressed the top of the cake onto her nipple, making her gasp.
“I—can’t remember. Maybe ... refresh my memory?”
Quinn pushed her all the way back on the table and leaned down over her, so he could retrace his actions ... with his tongue.
“Still not sure,” she managed, and earned a wicked chuckle as he lifted her hips off the table and slid pants and panties off.
“What time are you meeting Chuck to look at final brochure prints tomorrow?” he asked, as he reached for his pants buckle.
“Eight.”
He grinned. “You might make that.” Then he dipped her other nipple in frosting. “Or not.”
She smiled up at him, then reached up and yanked him down on top of her. “I’ll just blame it on the cupcakes.”
In
Sweet Stuff
, Lani has Quinn and the rest of the Cupcake Club crew taste-test her newest creation, the Reverse Caramel Apple Cupcake. Just like a caramel apple, but with the caramel coating on the inside as filling. Now, this was a fictional cake—I just made it up—but it got me to thinking ... hmmm ... that
would
be yummy! So, as part of my ongoing research into all things cupcake, I set about figuring out how to make my own.
Naturally, the first step was to call my mom and find out if we had any great apple cake recipes in the family, and sure enough, we did! She sent me her Johnny Applesauce Cake recipe, which I adapted from loaf pans to cupcakes. Next, I had to figure out the caramel filling. I’m envisioning getting caramels and melting them, or using ice cream topping heated up—something like that. Color me surprised when I found out that you can make your own caramel. From scratch. I mean, of course
someone
had to make the first caramel at some point, but I thought it was kind of like Oreo cookies, i.e., you can’t make them yourself. Wrong! You can. And I did! (And lived to tell!)
Of course, as soon as I saw words like “candy thermometer” and “360 degrees Farenheit,” I immediately put my local hunky EMT on speed dial. Partly because, if you’ve read my cupcake research blog at
www.cakesbythecupblog.com
, you know that I’ve learned a local hunky EMT can come in really (really) handy at those times when you’re trying not to blow things up or burn things down. And partly because, if you have a hunky EMT in your life for any reason, why not keep him on speed dial?
So, below is my “every baker” version of Lani’s Reverse Caramel Cupcake. You don’t even have to be a big-time fancy pastry chef to make them. Enjoy!
Reverse Caramel Apple Cupcakes
 
Johnny Applesauce Cake
 
½ cup butter (1 stick, cut into pieces)
1¾ cups sweetened applesauce (1-pound can or jar)
2 cups flour (not self-rising)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup raisins or chopped nuts (
optional
)
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 20–24 muffin tins with paper liners.
2.
In a small sauce pan, melt cut-up pieces of butter over medium heat.
3.
In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients except raisins and nuts.
4.
If you’re making the cake, add in raisins or nuts and stir thoroughly. (For the purposes of caramel-filled cupcakes, I left out the raisins and nuts.)
5.
Add in the applesauce and melted butter, and stir until well blended.
6.
Spoon the batter into the paper cups until each is two-thirds full.
7.
Bake 20–22 minutes until test toothpick comes out clean, or until a cupcake springs back when lightly touched in center.
8.
Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
9.
Use a paring knife or apple corer to remove the centers of each cake. (Reserve the cored pieces.)
Salted Caramel Filling
 
2½ cups sugar
cup water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
2½ teaspoons sea salt
1.Heat sugar with the water and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high heat, stirring occasionally, until syrup is clear; clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and stop stirring.
2.Cook until syrup comes to a boil.
3.Boil until mixture is caramelized and just reaches 360 degrees F. (You can swirl the caramel in the pan as it boils to keep it from sticking to the sides, but be very careful as this mixture is very hot.)
4.Remove from heat and slowly pour in cream, stirring with a wooden spoon (plastic can melt at this temperature) until smooth.
5.Stir in sea salt.
5.Fill cupcakes immediately. If caramel begins to harden, heat again until soft.
6.Use a spoon to fill each cupcake with the caramel filling. The caramel will seep into the cake, so add a bit more to fill.
7.Plug the top of the cupcake with a piece of the cored filling before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
 
1 package powdered sugar (approximately 4 cups)
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
3 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1.
Beat sugar and butter together, then add milk and vanilla with an electric mixer at low speed until well blended and smooth.
2.
If the frosting is too thick, add more milk, one teaspoon at a time, until the frosting is smooth enough to frost the cupcakes.
Makes about 2½ cups frosting for 20–24 cupcakes.
As part of my research for the Cupcake Club Romance series, I’ve been learning all about baking cupcakes. Beginning back in January 2011, I started sharing my adventures in baking with everyone via my author blog at
www.donnakauffman.com/blog
. , as well as my designated research site,
www.cakesbythecupblog.com
(named after Lani’s bakery, of course!) It’s become a fun cupcake recipe destination for both readers and cupcake bakers alike. So, last summer, my wonderful publisher Kensington decided to amp up the cupcake excitement by launching the Original Cupcake Recipe contest. The prize? One very lucky reader would see his or her recipe published in an upcoming Cupcake Club Romance book. The contest was on!
Word spread quickly, and recipes started coming in from all over the world. Then
Amazon.com
heard about the contest, and asked if they could be part of the cupcake fun and judge the final round. Of course, we said yes! It was very challenging narrowing the field down to the final three, but we did, then sent off samples of the finalist cupcakes to Seattle for Amazon’s final decision. They were so torn between Chocolate Meringue, Sweet Peach Tea, and the Fluffy Elvis that they asked to have the recipes sent their way for an in-house bake-off! In the end, it was close ... but see the winning recipe below, submitted by Stephanie Gamverona, all the way from South Korea. (And if you’re curious about the other two finalists, see the blogs mentioned above for those recipes.) We were thrilled with Amazon’s choice. Stephanie’s Sweet Peach Tea cupcake recipe truly embodied everything we thought was perfect for Sweet Stuff and the Cupcake Club Romance series, from the wonderful Georgia locale of the books to the complexity of the flavor profiles in the cake itself. This recipe is truly worthy of a cupcake that would be featured at Lani’s Cakes by the Cup bakery. Enjoy! (I certainly did.)
 
Sweet Peach Tea Cupcakes
 
Sweet Tea Butter
 
1 cup unsalted butter
32 grams (about
cup) whole-leaf or loose-leaf black
1
tea
1.
In a small saucepan, melt butter on medium-high heat until just melted.
2.
Add tea leaves.
3.
Continue heating mixture for about 5 minutes on low heat. Make sure mixture does not reach simmering point.
4.
Remove from heat and allow to stand for another 5 minutes.
5.
Pour mixture through fine sieve, pressing hard on tea leaves to squeeze out as much butter as possible.
6.
Let tea-infused butter cool to room temperature and refrigerate until solid.
7.
Use for Tea Cupcakes recipe below.
Tea Cupcakes
 
1½ cups sugar
Zest of 1 medium-size lemon
cup Sweet Tea Butter
3 eggs
½ teaspoon ground ginger
2
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup milk
1 cup finely chopped overripe peaches
3
1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2.
Line muffin tins with paper or foil baking cups, and spray lightly with cooking spray.
3.
In a small mixing bowl, mix sugar and lemon zest. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.
4.
In a large mixing bowl, stir Sweet Tea Butter with lemon sugar until mixture is smooth.
5.
Beat in eggs, one at a time.
6.
Beat in ginger.
7.
Beat in flour, one cup at a time, alternating with tablespoons of milk.
8.
Gently fold in peaches.
9.
Fill prepared cupcake liners two-thirds full.
10.
Bake 18–23 minutes.
11.
Frost with Peach Whipped Cream Frosting when completely cooled.
Peach Whipped Cream Frosting
 
1 cup heavy whipping cream
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup lightly sweetened peach puree
or
peach preserves
1.
In a large mixing bowl, place whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar, and stir with wire whisk to combine.
2.
Cover bowl, and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
3.
When chilled, beat the mixture until soft peaks form.
4.
Add sweetened peach puree a little at a time, beating just until stiff peaks form when whisk is raised.
5.
Taste, and fold in more puree, if required.
6.
Frost Tea Cupcakes once cupcakes are completely cooled.

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