Recipe & a Giveaway

This giveaway is closed. Find the winner here.

As a follow-up to Mouth-Watering Mysteries, I have a fun prize to giveaway! Joanne Fluke graciously gave permission for me to share a recipe with my readers and donated a couple of her Hannah Swensen books for the giveaway, including the one I reviewed, Carrot Cake Murder. She even autographed them! I can't wait until her next book comes out and she comes on tour here in Arizona - I'm definitely going to meet her. The other book is Key Lime Pie Murder, so if you love key lime pie then enter to win and try out Jo's recipe. (Oh yes, Jo & I are on a first name basis now.) She also included the cutest packet of carrot seeds to plant in your garden. Don't forget to visit her website, Murder She Baked.



To win the books please leave a comment and share your favorite mystery book/series or your favorite thing to make (recipes not necessary in the comments but if you have it posted somewhere please link to it so we can try it!). I will choose a winner on Sunday.

Cocoa Fudge Cake

Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.


2 c. sugar
2 c. flour


1 c. butter
1 c. water
3 Tbs. cocoa powder


1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, beaten


In a large bowl, stir the sugar and flour together. Set aside.


Put the butter, water, and cocoa powder into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.


Pour the cocoa mixture over the sugar and flour, and mix it all up together.


Whisk the milk, vanilla, baking soda, and eggs together in a small bowl.

Add the egg mixture to the large bowl. Stir it until it's thoroughly incorporated.

Pour the batter into the greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. When the cake begins to shrink away from the sides of the pan, it's done.

Neverfail Fudge Frosting

1/2 c. salted butter
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. cream
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional)


Place the butter, sugar, and cream into a medium-size saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes.


Add the chocolate chips, stir them in until melted, and remove the saucepan from the heat.


Stir in the vanilla and the chopped pecans.


Pour the frosting on the cake and spread it out quickly with a spatula.


If you want this frosting to cool in a big hurry so that you can cut the cake, just slip it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a half-hour or so.