Apple Turnover Murder

mashed peaches and add them to the bowl with the butter, sugar, eggs, and flavorings. Mix everything thoroughly.

Gradually add the flour to the peach mixture, beating at low speed until everything is incorporated. If you’re doing this by hand, add the flour in half-cup increments, stirring it in after each addition.

Mix in the chopped almonds by hand.

Gently fold in the beaten egg whites, trying to keep as much air in the batter as possible. It’s okay if there are a few white spots from the egg white that hasn’t been thoroughly incorporated.

Spray the inside of 3 round layer pans, one 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan, or one Bundt pan (don’t forget to spray the middle part) with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, and then dust it lightly with flour. You can also use “baking spray,” the type with flour added.

Pour the cake batter into the pan or pans you’ve chosen.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for approximately 15 minutes for the layers, and 40 minutes for a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. A Bundt pan will take 50 to 60 minutes. Test for doneness by using a cake tester or a long toothpick inserted one inch from the center. When it comes out dry and not sticky, your cake is done.

Let the cake cool in the pans on a wire rack. If you used a Bundt pan, cool it on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then gently pull the edges of the cake away from the sides of the pan. Do the same for the fluted column in the middle of the pan. Then invert the cake onto another wire rack, lift off the pan, and allow it to cool completely.

Yield: One deliciously peachy cake.

Hannah’s 2^ndNote: Rose says that when she makes this cake in layers, she uses peach jam between the layers and frosts it with Peachy Keen Frosting. When she makes this cake in a Bundt pan, she either dusts it with powdered sugar to “pretty it up,” or drizzles the top with Peachy Kean Glaze for Bundt Cakes. Sometimes she puts a few canned peach slices in the bottom of her Bundt Pan so that they’re on top when she turns out her cake.

Hannah’s 3^rdNote: If you want to make cupcakes, pour the batter into greased and floured (or cupcake papered) muffin tins and bake at 375 degrees F. for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Mini cupcakes should bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly golden on top.)

PEACHY KEEN FROSTING

? cup peach jam

(I used Knott’s)

1 egg white

(add the yolk to the 4 others you’ve saved to add to scrambled eggs)

Hannah’s 1^stNote: If you can find peach jelly, (it’s clear with no pieces of peach in it) by all means use it. It will eliminate one step in making this frosting. I’ve never seen peach jelly in any store, so I use the jam.

Hannah’s 2^ndNote: You can do this with a portable electric mixer or even an old- fashioned crank-type egg-beater. You might be able to do it with a wire whisk, but it’ll take some muscle.

Puree the peach jam in a food processor with the steel blade or in a blender. Once it has no lumps and is perfectly smooth, measure out ? cup to use for the frosting. (If there’s any left over, just stir it into the jam left in your jar and put it back in the refrigerator.)

Put some tap water in the bottom of a double boiler and heat it until it simmers. (Make sure you don’t use too much water–it shouldn’t touch the bottom of the pan on top.) Off the heat, beat the egg white with the peach jam in the top of the double boiler. When it’s thoroughly blended…

Set the top of the double boiler over the simmering water and continue to beat until the jam has melted. You can tell because it will get thinner, almost like juice (3 minutes or so.)

Shut off the heat, lift the top of the double boiler off the bottom, and place it on a cold burner, or a towel on your kitchen counter. Continue to beat the frosting until it will stand up in peaks. (To test this, just turn off your beaters and lift them from the pan—if they leave peaks on the frosting, it’s ready to use.)

Yield: Enough Peachy Keen Frosting to cover a 9-inch by 13-inch loaf cake or 12 cupcakes.

Hannah’s 3^rdNote: If you’ve used layer pans for this cake, Rose says to double the recipe because there’s nothing worse than trying to make frosting stretch. If you just make double in the first place, you’ll have plenty.

PEACHY KEEN GLAZE FOR BUNDT CAKES

? cup peach jam

? cup powdered sugar

Hannah’s Note: Rose says to tell you that making this glaze is almost as easy as dusting the cake with powdered sugar. You can do it in the microwave and it takes only 2 minutes.

Scoop the jam into a microwave-safe bowl with a pour spout or a 2-cup glass measuring cup.

Heat the jam on HIGH for 20 seconds. Stir. If it’s melted, you’re done. If it’s not, give it another 20 seconds.

Stir the powdered sugar into the hot melted jam by spoonfuls. Continue to add and stir smooth until your glaze is the right consistency to pour on top of your Bundt cake. You’ll want it thin enough so it’ll drip down the sides of the cake, and thick enough so it won’t all just run down in a flood and pool at the bottom of your cake plate.

Drizzle the glaze on top of your cake and let it drip artistically down the sides. Let the glaze cool and then refrigerate your cake until you’re ready to serve it.

Chapter Nineteen

Bright flashing lights, the sound of laughter, and excited voices spilled out of the open double doors to the Jordan High auditorium. Hannah and Norman handed their tickets to a student at the door and entered the transformed space.

Vegas couldn’t have done better. The seats had been removed from the floor of the auditorium and replaced with bistro-style tables and chairs. The area that had housed the last five rows of seats had been turned into four colorful booths. The outer two booths sold tokens to use at the game tables, and there was a line in front of both of them. One of the inner booths featured their apple turnovers for sale, and the other sold Silver Joe’s coffee made in the thirty-gallon coffee pots that the company had donated to the cause. Hannah had expected all that, but the central area between the turnover and coffee booths was a total surprise. It was called “Make Wishes Come True,” and it featured a decorative fountain with a ledge where people could sit. The fountain was a smaller rendition of the famous fountain in Rome, and it was a working fountain with real water jetting up into the air and cascading down to the pool below.

“That’s really something!” Norman exclaimed, spotting the fountain.

“It certainly is,” Hannah said, noticing that the pool was already filled with glittering coins.

“Watch the woman in pink,” Norman said, and Hannah turned to see a woman leave the token booth and toss some coins in the fountain. “She’s the third person to leave that booth and drop her change in the fountain,” Norman commented.

“That figures. It’s in the perfect spot.”

While Norman got in line to get their tokens, Hannah checked in at the apple turnover booth, accepted a small cup of coffee to go, and went back to sit on the ledge of the fountain to wait. Within a minute or two, five