It's

Cozy Food Friday

That means it's time to share a recipe from 

another great cozy mystery!

Today, #BerkleyMystery 

and I are joining to celebrate the April 3 release of 

WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE

Book 10 in the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries

by Jenn McKinlay

For the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew, wedding bells turn to death knells in this latest mystery in the New York Times bestselling series.

With Angie and Tate's wedding just around the corner, it's a happy time for Melanie Cooper and the bakery crew. Not only are they finessing the last minute details of the big day, but their bakery, Fairy Tale Cupcakes, has just been hired to bake cupcakes for the blockbuster book signing of a controversial author who wrote a steamy bestseller filled with juicy local gossip.

But one by one, the people Angie has hired to work at the wedding begin turning up dead. As the body count rises, the bestselling author is the next to bite the dust. Mel quickly realizes she needs to figure out how the murders are connected and why--before the killer brings the entire cupcake crew crumbling down. After all, Angie and Tate deserve their sweet happily ever after.

INCLUDES SCRUMPTIOUS RECIPES!

A Word From Jenn

     It was late at night, I’d been writing all day, so I decided to hit the social media interwebs to distract my brain from plot and character and all that jazz for a while. The plain truth is I’m a sucker for animal videos. I follow all the popular Twitter feeds like Cute Emergency and Fluff Society and when an adorable video comes up that makes me laugh or say “Aw”, it’s like a mini therapy session, or a shot of sunshine on a dark day. I never imagined, however, that it would change the plot of one of my books!

     Why am I telling you this? Well, when I wrote the synopsis for WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE, there was no dog adoption in it. None. But on one of those late night breaks, I watched a video about a Boston terrier, who had gone to town on a feather pillow, ripping it open and leaving a knee deep pile of feathers in the house. OMG! It was madness, delightful, hilarious, unbelievable madness!

     Of course the best part was the dog’s sheer joy with the disaster. She raced around the sofa, kicking up feathers and I swear she was smiling when she did it. There was no regret, no remorse, just a zest for life that was impossible to resist. She circled the couch at top speed again and again, only stopping when she wiped out and skidded across the floor, leaving a cloud of feathers in her wake. I laughed so hard, I just knew I had to add her, or a fictional version of her, to the book.

     Enter Peanut, a puppy that Mel and Joe find in the apartment of one of the murder victims. Of course, they already have a rescue kitten named Captain Jack, so the merging of the pets adds more chaos that is their best friend’s wedding, a murder investigation, and running the bakery. It is a real test for Mel and Joe to see if they can get the canine and the feline to cohabit without the fur flying. So, does Peanut get to stay? Does Captain Jack warm up to his new roommate? You’ll have to read the book to find out!

     Here’s brief description to give you more details about this upcoming release! With Angie and Tate's wedding just around the corner, it's a happy time for Melanie Cooper and the bakery crew. Not only are they finessing the last minute details of the big day, but their bakery, Fairy Tale Cupcakes, has just been hired to bake cupcakes for the blockbuster book signing of a controversial author who wrote a steamy bestseller filled with juicy local gossip.

     But one by one, the people Angie has hired to work at the wedding begin turning up dead. As the body count rises, the bestselling author is the next to bite the dust. Mel quickly realizes she needs to figure out how the murders are connected and why--before the killer brings the entire cupcake crew crumbling down. After all, Angie and Tate deserve their sweet happily ever after.

Happy Reading!

Jenn

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!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

1 lucky reader will win a print copy of

WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE

USA only

Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

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MY REVIEW

Ten books already? In a way, it feels like I just started reading this delicious series. Yet, in another way, I feel like I have been friends with these characters for decades. There’s even a new character that I feel I’ve known my whole life. All I know is this, it’s my extreme wish that I get to spend at least ten more books enjoying the Fairy Tale Cupcakes gang!

As with all the books in the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE drew me in on page one and held me captive until the very end. I didn’t close the book until I had finished the story, and the great recipes included afterwards.

With the time clicking down toward their nuptials, wedding excitement for Angie and Tate can be tasted on every page. But, as a killer mystery will do, that sweet taste is interrupted with murder. Then, author Jenn McKinlay treats us to another murder, because like a cupcake, you can’t have just one. So, wedding plans and investigations intertwine making for a hectic time for our cast of characters, but a thrilling time for readers as the story amps up on every chapter, until it’s final, surprising reveal, and its conclusion.

Oh wait! I totally forgot to mention if Angie and Tate finally take their vows. Well . . . you’ll just have to read WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE and find out for yourself! 😉

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On To The Recipe!

LEMON-LAVENDER CUPCAKES

Photo property of thecakeblog.com

Photos  found via Google Images, and its contributors, with many thanks. 

Your finished dish will vary in appearance.

A tart lemon cupcake with sweet lavender frosting.

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cup granulated sugar

4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6-8 large lemons)

6 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Photo property of whitelightsomwednesday.com

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with paper liners. Cream butter and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. With a mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning, and ending with the flour. Fill paper liners until two-thirds full. Bake 20 minutes.

Makes 24

Pinterest 

Lavender Frosting

3/4 cups unsalted butter, softened

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon dried culinary lavender

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 drop purple food coloring

3 - 4 tablespoons milk

Fresh lavender

Photo property of yummymummykitchen.com

   In large bowl, cream butter, Gradually add confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Add dried lavender, vanilla, and a drop of purple food coloring, mixing well. Add milk as needed to reach desired consistency. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread lavender frosting on cooled cupcakes and garnish with a fresh lavender sprig.

Pinterest

Can't you just imagine how good your house would smell from these yummy cupcakes?

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Please keep reading to check out my 

installments of 

Book Beginnings on Fridays

and

The Friday 56

Both the BB and 56 are from

WEDDING CAKE CRUMBLE

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

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

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 Book Beginnings

"Here comes the bride," Melanie Cooper as she held a bouquet of multicolored snapdragons in front of her as if she were walking down the aisle.  

My 56

 She had the face of a woman who had once been a looker, but wrinkles marred her forehead and the corners of eyes, jowls pulled at the once delicate face, and her teeth, while blindingly bright, were a bit out of alignment, with one incisor protruding on one side of her mouth, giving her smile a sarcastic twist.

GOOD LUCK!

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