Cinnamon Roll Murder

“She’s right!” Cammy declared, and then she started to laugh. That was contagious, and all four of them laughed until they were gasping for breath.

When Hannah had regained some measure of control, she motioned for the waitress. But instead of coming over to their table, the waitress motioned to someone in the kitchen, and Sally came bustling out.

“No dessert menu for you,” she said, smiling at them. I need all four of you to do a taste test for me. I tried a new dessert this morning, and I need to know if it’s good enough to put on the dessert cart in the dining room.”

“What is it?” Andrea asked her.

“Tapioca Pie with dark chocolate and white chocolate drizzled on the top.”

“Oooh!” Lynnette’s expression was almost beatific. “I just love tapioca!”

“Me, too,” Cammy agreed. “My grandma used to make it all the time. She put chocolate chips on top.”

“My grandma did the same thing, and it was a great combination. That’s why I thought I’d dress up the pie with two kinds of chocolate.” Sally turned to Hannah. “Do you girls want coffee?” When both Hannah and Andrea nodded, she turned to Lynnette and Cammy. “How about you? More hot water?”

“Not this time,” Cammy told her. “This tea isn’t good enough to be on the same table as your pie. Lynnette and I would like coffee, the stronger the better!”

TAPIOCA PIE

You don’t have to preheat your oven. This pie doesn’t have to bake!

For The Crust:

2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (measure AFTER crushing)

? stick melted butter (6 Tablespoons, 3 ounces)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Hannah’s 1st Note: If you want a change from vanilla wafers, you can make a shortbread crust using Lorna Doone shortbread cookies. You can also use chocolate wafer crumbs. They’re both good. And if you don’t feel like making a cookie crust yourself, or you simply don’t have time, you can buy one ready-made at the grocery store in the baking section.

To make the crust yourself, pour the melted butter and vanilla extract over the cookie crumbs. Mix them up with a fork until they’re evenly moistened.

Spray a 9-inch pie pan with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Place the moistened cookie crumbs in the bottom of the pie pan and press them down. Continue to press them until they reach up the sides of the pan. Place the pie pan in the freezer for 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the pie.

For The Tapioca:

1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk (I used Dole)

2 large eggs

? cup quick-cooking tapioca (I used Kraft Minute Tapioca)

? cup white (granulated) sugar

1 teaspoon coconut extract (If you don’t have coconut extract, you don’t have to rush out to buy it—just use vanilla extract instead. Or if you’d like to try a combination of both, use ? teaspoon coconut extract and ? teaspoon vanilla extract .)

Hannah’s 2nd Note: You don’t absolutely positively have to use coconut milk. You can substitute half and half or heavy cream if you can’t find it in your store. And if you can’t find the quick-cooking tapioca, you can still make this pie. Just use the amounts given in the recipe and follow the directions on the box of regular tapioca to cook it.

In a medium-size saucepan, off the heat, whisk the coconut milk and eggs together until they’re a uniform color.

Add the dry quick cooking tapioca and the sugar. Mix it all up and leave it on a cold burner for 5 minutes. (Don’t worry—I didn’t forget the coconut extract. It won’t be added until AFTER the tapioca is cooked.)

Cook the tapioca mixture over MEDIUM-HIGH heat, stirring CONSTANTLY. (Be careful—it’s easy to burn.) Bring it up to a boil and then pull it off the heat, give it a couple more stirs until it’s no longer boiling, and add the coconut extract. Let it cool while you whip the cream.

Hannah’s 3rd Note: You can take another shortcut here if you want to. You can buy a container of frozen sweetened whipped cream and use 1 and 1/2 cups of that instead of whipping your own cream. If you decide to do it yourself, the instructions are below.

To Make Homemade Whipped Cream:

? cup whipping (heavy) cream

cup white (granulated) sugar

Whip the cream with an electric mixer until it holds soft peaks. (When you shut off your mixer and you dip the blade of your rubber spatula in the bowl and pull it back up, soft peaks kind of slump over. They’re there, but they nod their heads. Hard peaks stand straight up like little spears.)

With the mixer running on HIGH speed, GRADUALLY add the sugar. When it’s all mixed in, shut off the mixer and give the bowl a final stir with the rubber spatula.

Hannah’s 4th Note: Of course you can whip cream by hand with a copper bowl and a whisk, but it does take some time and muscle. Lisa and I wimp out and use an electric stand mixer.

Take the bowl out of your mixer and set it on the counter. Feel the sides of the bowl with the tapioca and see if it’s room temperature. If it’s not, slip the bowl with the whipped cream into the refrigerator and let the tapioca mixture cool to room temperature.

When the tapioca mixture is cool enough, remove a bit of whipped cream (about a quarter cup), and add it to the bowl with the tapioca mixture. Stir it in gently. This is called “tempering.” If you simply mix the whipped cream and the tapioca mixture together all at once, you’ll flatten the whipped cream too much and it will lose its volume.

Now use your rubber spatula to scrape all the tapioca into your bowl with the whipped cream. “Fold” it in, keeping as much air in the mixture as you can. To “fold,” dip your rubber spatula into the center of the bowl, and bring it along the bottom up to the side. Turn the bowl a bit to change the orientation, and do it all over again,