It's

Cozy Food Friday

That means it's time to share a recipe from 

another great cozy mystery!

Today I'm featuring a recipe from

Book 1 in the Kay Driscoll Mysteries

THE GINSENG CONSPIRACY

by

Susan Bernhardt

On her way to attend a Halloween Ball, Kay Driscoll, a newcomer to town, witnesses the murder of a local professor. When the official coroner's report rules the cause of death to be accidental and the community accepts the judgement, Kay decides to uncover the truth for herself. Through her personal investigations, Kay exposes a complex conspiracy, woven deep within the thriving local ginseng industry, that involves some of the more prominent figures and families of Sudbury Falls. 

With her new friends, the free-spirited herbalist Deirdre and the untamed modern woman Elizabeth, Kay discusses new clues over tea and pastries at Sweet Marissa's Patisserie, their crime-fighting headquarters. As Kay gets closer to the heart of the conspiracy, additional murders happen in quick succession. Before long, Kay learns that the villains are gunning for her, too. Phil, her musically talented but preoccupied husband, determined to keep her safe, withholds from her the one thing she needs most: the truth.

**********

In the Kay Driscoll mysteries, Kay and her friends, the free-spirited herbalist Deirdre and the untamed modern woman Elizabeth, discuss new clues over tea and pastries at Sweet Marissa's Patisserie, their crime-fighting headquarters.

Below is Kay's favorite chocolate dessert featured in the first mystery, THE GINSENG CONSPIRACY. Kay has two pieces of this shockingly rich, chocolate torte at Sweet Marissa's as she agonizes over the frightening events that occurred the evening of a Halloween Ball, when she witnessed a murder.

On to the recipe!

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TRUFFLE TORTE

 – This recipe is tried and true. 

Photo courtesy Susan Bernhardt

INGREDIENTS

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups sugar
Pinch of salt 3/4 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp raspberry-flavored liqueur or 2 tsp. vanilla extract
Cocoa powder, for garnish
Raspberries, for garnish

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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper. Butter the paper and the sides of the pan.

2. Combine the chocolate, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until the chocolate is finely ground. With the processor running, add the boiling water through the feed tube and process for about 15 seconds, until the chocolate is completely melted. Scrape down the sides of the processor bowl, then add the butter and process for about 5 seconds, until the batter is smooth. Add the eggs and raspberry liqueur and process until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until the edges of the torte are puffy and cracked and the center is just set (it will still look moist). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes (the torte will sink as it cools). Cover the pan and refrigerate for 3 hours.

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4. Remove the sides of the springform pan and invert the torte onto a flat serving platter. Lift off the bottom of the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to garnish the torte.

5. Sprinkle with cocoa powder and garnish with the raspberries.

Google Images

Oh my goodness! 

My mouth is watering and my stomach is growling!

Susan Bernhardt writes the Kay Driscoll series. Like Kay Driscoll, in her cozy mysteries, Susan is a retired public health nurse who volunteers at her local free clinic. An avid reader of mysteries, she is a member of Sisters in Crime. Susan's town in northern Wisconsin is the inspiration for the quaint setting of her novels. When not writing, Susan loves to travel, bicycle, kayak, and create culinary magic in her kitchen. She works in stained-glass, daydreams in her organic garden, stays up late reading mysteries, and eats lots of chocolate.

Recently reduced from $5.95 to $3.95!!!

The Ginseng Conspiracy (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 1) 

http://amzn.to/1oPTsiw

Murder comes to town and so does Kay Driscoll, whose tenacious nature tells her city officials are attempting a cover-up and she must expose the truth.

Recently reduced from $5.95 to $3.95!!!

Murder Under the Tree (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 2) 

http://amzn.to/1tC5krR

During the season of peace on earth, good will to men, Kay uncovers sinister plots of corruption at a retirement home, while investigating the suspicious death of a beloved caretaker.

Murder by Fireworks (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 3) 

http://amzn.to/1MBKRd4

An obnoxious member of Kay's book club is found dead on the beach. When Kay investigates, she discovers that the death, covered-up to look like suicide, was in fact murder. 

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Please keep reading and check out my 

installments of 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

and

The Friday 56

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Book Beginnings and Friday 56

 for this week are from 

MURDER BY FIREWORKS

Book 3 in the Kay Driscoll Mysteries

Wedding bells are in the air, and so is murder. 

Kay Driscoll's son's wedding reception for two hundred guests is in her backyard. As if that wasn't enough, a precocious and troubled twelve-year-old is foisted on her two days before the wedding. When the happy day arrives, one of the guests disrupts the event and is asked to leave: a womanizing member of Kay's book club. 

A few days later, after a Fourth of July fireworks show, he is found dead on the beach. Kay and her ever-present friends, Elizabeth and Deirdre, investigate the death, which at first is declared a suicide. They believe this is a cover-up and go about to prove their theory, an arduous task because the potential suspects are many, and few (if any) will regret the victim's death.

Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader

Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading

My Book Beginnings

Thursday, June 29

"What else could I have said, Kay?" Phil followed me into the kitchen. "He sounded desperate."

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice

Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's okay.) *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you. *Post it.

My Friday 56

But something was waiting. Something was going to happen. I didn't know

what and I didn't know when, but I could feel it. I could feel it! A shiver went

through me.

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