Strawberry Shortcake Murder

Cool in the pans on a rack for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edges of the pans to loosen the cakes and turn them out on the rack.

After the cakes are completely cook, wrap each one in plastic wrap, sealing tightly. Wrap these packages in foil and store them in the refrigerator for 48 hours. Take them out an hour before you serve, but don’t unwrap them until you’re ready to assemble the dessert.

THE STRAWBERRIES

(Prepare these several hours before you serve.)

Wash 3 boxes of berries and remove stems. (The easiest way to do this is to use a paring knife to cut off the top part of the berry.) Slice all but a dozen or so, reserving the biggest and best berries to top each portion. Taste the berries and add sugar if they’re too tart. Stir and refrigerate, covered tightly.

HANNAH’S WHIPPED CREME FRAICHE

(This will hold for several hours. Make it ahead of time and refrigerate it.)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cups sour cream (you can substitute unflavored yogurt, but it won’t hold as well and you’ll have to do it at the last minute)

1/2 cup brown sugar (to sprinkle of top after you assemble the dessert)

Whip the cream with the white sugar. When it holds a firm peak (test it by dipping in your spatula), fold in the sour cream. You can do this by hand or by using the slowest speed on the mixer.

ASSEMBLING THE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE SWENSEN

Cut each Pound Plus Cake into 6 pie-shaped wedges and place on dessert plates. Top with the sliced strawberries. Put several generous dollops of Creme Fraiche on top and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Garnish with the whole berries you reserved. Serve and receive rave reviews.

Made this for Norman, Carrie, and Mother. Used only one Pound Plus Cake and froze the other —Reduce Creme Fraiche recipe by half and used only two boxes of berries.

Chapter Two

Hannah added sugar to a bowl of heavy cream and finished whipping it during the weather report. It was hot under the lights, and she hoped it wouldn’t turn to soup. When it was stiff enough to hold a peak, she folded in the sour cream. In addition to adding a new taste dimension, the sour cream helped the sweetened whipped cream keep its shape. Just as she was about to dip her finger into the bowl, she remembered that she was on camera and settled for tasting it with a spoon. Then she ladled a big scoop of Lisa’s homegrown strawberries onto the slice of cake, put on generous dollops of her whipped cream mixture, popped a perfect whole berry in the center, and sprinkled brown sugar over the top. Her original creation, Strawberry Shortcake Swensen, was ready to serve to the newscasters.

The stage manager, a short, heavyset man who possessed more energy than anyone Hannah had ever met before, gave her a signal to get ready. The weather report had concluded and Chuck Wilson, the handsome, chisel- faced anchorman, was just winding up with a reminder for the viewers to stay tuned for the Hartland Flour Dessert Bake-Off, right after the network “World News”.

Hannah’s heart started to pound as she picked up the serving tray. She’d practiced all this in rehearsal, but carrying an empty tray wasn’t the same as managing a serving platter loaded with cake, plates, and forks. Careful not to trip over the heavy cables that were taped to the stage floor with something Mason Kimball called “gaffer’s tape,” but looked like plain old duct tape to her, Hannah put on the brightest smile she could muster and made her way to the long curved news desk, where the four newscasters sat. Careful not to let her smile slip, Mason had warned her about that, she presented her dessert to each of them in turn.

Hannah stood by while they oohed and aahed and then tasted her dessert. Chuck Wilson, the anchorman, made a comment about how expensive out-of-season strawberries could be. Where did Hannah find them this time of year? Hannah smiled and replied that her assistant, Lisa Herman, had grown them in her greenhouse. Dee-Dee Hughes, Chuck’s anorexic co-anchor, asked how many calories were in each slice of shortcake. Hannah said she really didn’t know, but she didn’t think it mattered because people on diets usually passed when it came to dessert. Wingo Jones, the sportscaster, said he thought pro athletes should use Strawberry Shortcake Swensen to carb up before each game. Hannah’s smile was wearing a little thin by then, but she managed to say that she thought it might be a good idea. The only member of the news team who didn’t make some sort of insipid comment was the weatherman, Rayne Phillips, who continued forking shortcake into his mouth until he’d finished every bite.

The moment the news was over, Hannah went back to the kitchen set to pack up her supplies. She opened the oven and found it as bare as Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard. Edna had already whisked the unbaked cakes away to the school kitchen. Rather than juggle all the half-filled bowls, Hannah decided to assemble the dessert and carry it home that way. She dumped the rest of Lisa’s strawberries over the top of the cake, frosted with the whipped cream mixture, added the whole berries she’d reserved for a garnish, and sprinkled on the extra brown sugar. Then she clamped the domed lid on her cake carrier, stacked the utensils and bowls she’d used in the cardboard carriers she’d brought, and lugged everything backstage.

“You were great out there, Hannah.” Andrea was waiting for her in the wings, and she helped Hannah carry her things to the metal shelves that had been set up against the back wall.

“Thanks,” Hannah acknowledged the compliment, and looked around for her niece. When Hannah had repeated Norman’s conversation and Mr. Hart had learned that one of his judges had to be excused, he’d asked Tracey to choose the fifth member of the panel from a glass bowl containing the names of the Lake Eden Town Council. “Where’s Tracey?”

“She’s still in makeup. Bill’s bringing her here just as soon as she’s through.”

“She’s not nervous, is she?”

Andrea shook her head. “She thinks it’s fun. You’re taping it, aren’t you, Hannah? Bill set our VCR before we left the house, but I need a backup copy.”

“You’ll have two. I’m taping it, and so is Mother.”

“Mother?” Andrea’s eyebrows shot up. “She still hasn’t figured out how to set her VCR. When our cable was out, I asked her to tape a movie for me and she got two hours of Richard Simmons.”

Hannah reached out to pat her sister on the shoulder. “Calm down, Andrea. Lisa’s taping it, and so are most of my customers. You’ll have dozens of backups. I can almost guarantee it.”

“I hope so. This is Tracey’s very first television appearance, and you never know when a big-name producer might be watching. That’s how they discover child stars.”

Hannah managed a smile, the same smile she’d used when she’d been forced to listen to the idiotic comments three of the four newscasters had made about her shortcake. She wasn’t about to tell Andrea how unlikely it was that any big-name producer would be watching KCOW local television.

“I’d better go see what’s keeping Tracey.” Andrea took a step toward the door, then turned back. “You should try to do something with your hair before the contest starts. It’s all frizzy from the lights.”

* * *

Hannah felt awkward and self-conscious as the cameraman panned the judges’ table. At least she didn’t have to worry about being discovered. No big-name producer would look twice at a too-tall, slightly overweight woman pushing thirty with a perpetual dusting of flour on her face. But Tracey looked beautiful, and Hannah was proud of her niece. Tracey’s blond hair resembled spun gold under the lights, and she was poised as she dipped her hand in the large crystal bowl and drew out the name of the replacement judge.

“Thank you, Tracey.” Mr. Hart beamed at her as she presented him with the slip of paper. “You didn’t draw your daddy’s name, did you?”

Tracey shook her head. “He’s not on the city council, Mr. Hart. My daddy’s a detective with the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Station.”