Another Delicious Death by Cake Recipe

Another Delicious Death by Cake

“‘He called it Delicious Death. My cake! I will not have my cake called that!’
“‘It was a compliment really,’ said Miss Blacklock. ‘He meant it was worth dying to eat such a cake.’”
–Mitzi and Letitia Blacklock, A Murder Is Announced, 1950

Before World War II, Britain imported about 70 percent of its food, but Nazi blockades severely disrupted this trade and created rampant shortages. The Ministry of Food enforced a rationing system, which inevitably led to black markets that flourished even after the war ended. People traded with neighbours, and each village became a bartering network. This shadowy system serves as backdrop for this classic Miss Marple mystery. Neighbours slip into and from one another’s homes, illegally trading goods: a pound of sugar for a pound of bacon, an extra yard of cloth for a pound of butter. Alibis become meaningless. This recipe isn’t for the chocolate cake that Mitzi baked for Dora “Bunny” Bunner’s birthday celebration, but Patrick Simmons probably would die for this delicious chocolate cake, too.

Yields two 9-inch (22-centimetre) round cakes

Ingredients 

Cake

  • 1¾ cups (210 grams) bleached all-purpose (white) flour
  • 2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
  • ¾ cup (90 grams) cocoa powder
  • 1½ teaspoons baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (112 grams) unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup (240 millilitres) buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1½ ounces (45 millilitres) espresso

Frosting

  • ½ cup (112 grams) unsalted butter, softened
  • ⅔ cup (80 grams) cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (130 grams) confectioners’ (powdered or icing) sugar
  • ¼–½ cup (60–120 millilitres) whole milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

  2. Lightly grease 2 round 9-inch (22-centimetre) cake pans.

  3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

  4. In a medium bowl, melt the butter and beat the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract into it.

  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until smooth.

  6. Stir in the espresso and ½ cup (120 millilitres) hot water.

  7. Divide the batter between the pans, bake for 30–35 minutes, and toothpick-test for doneness.
  8. Let the cakes rest for 1–2 minutes, remove them from the pans, and let them cool to room temperature.
  9. When the cakes have cooled, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, mix the butter, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, confectioners’ sugar, and milk.
  10. Spread the frosting evenly over the top of one cake, place it under the other cake, and spread the frosting evenly over the top and sides of the stacked cake.