The Story Behind Vanilla Vengeance by Molly Maple

By Molly Maple

“Vanilla Vengeance” is a cozy mystery that takes place in the small town of Sweetwater Falls. Charlotte McKay is a home baker who dreams of someday opening her own cupcake bakery. Whenever she has too much on her mind, she escapes to the kitchen to mull things over while she whips up a batch of cupcakes. My daughter and I are avid cooking show fans. Whenever we get the urge, we like to make cupcakes together using unique ingredients. When we watch “Chopped” she gets inspired, runs around the kitchen and pulls out three random ingredients that we have to somehow figure out how to bake into a delicious cupcake. Some of our wonky creations are:

1. A strawberry, black pepper cupcake with a fluffy buttercream and a balsamic vinegar glaze
2. A vanilla, banana cupcake with a blue cheese cream cheese frosting (that was an acquired taste)
3. A brussels sprouts cupcake with a peach cream center and a cayenne vanilla buttercream frosting

They always manage to turn out tasty, despite our strange ingredients. We laugh a lot while we make them, and truly create some fantastic mother-daughter memories. There’s something about cupcakes that make for good conversation. I wanted to take a little of that kitchen magic and put it into a cozy mystery novel. In “Vanilla Vengeance”, in the kitchen is where Charlotte McKay does her best pondering about the unsolved murder mysteries that occur in the small town of Sweetwater Falls. At the end of each novel, there is a cupcake recipe that is featured in the book for you to try. I happen to think there is nothing a little sugar, a lot of heart, and a dozen cupcakes cannot solve.

Molly Maple is the author of the new book Vanilla Vengeance.

Connect with Molly Maple Author Site Facebook

Buy The Book