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DELICIOUS
D E AT H

Jane Asher’s exclusive

recipe for a murderous
celebration cake
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“There is nothing more indulgent than afternoon

tea. I have particularly fond memories of the lazy
afternoons spent with my grandmother, Agatha
Christie, at Greenway as she tried out her latest
ideas on us over a pot of tea and delicious cakes.
As a thank you to her fans the world over we
have invited the queen of party cakes, Jane Asher,
to create a recipe for Delicious Death as a novel
way to mark the 120th anniversary. The recipe is
inspired by a passage in one of the Miss Marple
books, her 50th novel, A Murder is Announced.
I hope that you will enjoy this truly decadent cake;
the dark Belgian chocolate centre and the zing of
its brandy soaked cherry and ginger filling. I’m
certain my grandmother would have loved it.”

MATHEW PRICHARD
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INSTRUCTIONS
INGREDIENTS:
175g dark chocolate drops
(50-55% cocoa solids)
100g softened or spreadable butter
100g golden caster sugar
5 large eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
100g ground almonds
½ tsp baking powder
FOR THE FILLING:
150ml rum, brandy or orange juice
150g raisins
55g soft dark brown sugar
6-8 glace cherries
4-6 pieces crystallized ginger
1 tsp lemon juice
Pre-heat the oven to 150ºC, (300ºF,
135ºC fan assisted). Grease an 8”
deep cake tin and line the bottom with
baking parchment or silicone.
PREPARE THE FILLING: in a small
saucepan, combine all the ingredients
and stir over heat until the mixture is
bubbling. Allow to simmer gently, while
stirring, for at least 2 minutes,
or until most of the liquid has
evaporated and the mixture is
thickened. Allow to cool.
In a small heatproof bowl, melt the
chocolate drops over simmering water

FOR THE DECORATION:

175g dark chocolate drops
(50-55% cocoa solids)
150ml double cream
2 tsps apricot jam
10g crystallized violet petals
10g crystallized rose petals
1 small pt of gold leaf
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or in a microwave, being careful not
to let it overheat. Set aside to cool
for a few minutes.
Using an electric mixer, cream the
butter and sugar together in a large
bowl until very pale and fluffy.
Separate the eggs, setting aside the
whites in a large mixing bowl, and,
e one by one, add 4 of the yolks to
the butter/sugar mix, beating well
between each one.
Add the melted chocolate and
fold in carefully, then stir in the
vanilla extract. In a separate bowl,
mix together the ground almonds
and baking powder, then stir them
into the cake mix.
Whisk the egg whites until
peaked and stiff, then fold gently
into the chocolate cake mix.
Spoon the mix into the prepared
cake tin, leveling the top, and bake
on the middle shelf of the oven for
55-65 minutes, or until firm and well
risen. Allow the cake to cool in the
tin for 10 minutes before turning it
out on to a rack to cool completely.
Using a serrated knife, slice the
cake in half horizontally. Spread the
cooled fruit filling onto one
half and sandwich the two halves
back together.
TO DECORATE: put the chocolate
and cream in a heatproof bowl and
melt them together over simmering
water or in a microwave. Spread the
cake all over with warmed apricot
jam and place on a rack over a
baking tray. Keeping back a couple
of tablespoonfuls, pour the icing
over the whole cake, making sure it
covers the top and the sides
completely, scooping up the excess
from the tray with a palette knife as
necessary. Add any surplus to the
kept back icing. Carefully transfer
the cake to a 10” cake board or
pretty plate.
Once the reserved icing is firm
enough to pipe, place it in a piping
bag with no. 8 star nozzle and pipe
a scrolling line around the top and
bottom edges of the cake. Leave for
2-3 hours, to set.
Place the violet and rose petals
into a plastic bag and crush them
into small flakes. Sprinkle these
liberally around the chocolate
scrolls. Finally, with a cocktail stick,
pull off some small flakes of gold
leaf and gently add them to the top
of the cake.
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FROM A MURDER IS
ANNOUNCED (1950) . ..

‘The cake that you want me to make,

it is the –?’ Mitzi uttered a sound that
to Miss Blacklock’s English ear
sounded like Schwitzebzr or alternatively
like cats spitting at each other.
‘That’s the one. The rich one.’
to
‘Yes. It is rich. For it I have nothing! Impossible
cake. I need for it choco late and much
make such a
butter, and sugar and raisins.’
us
‘You can use this tin of butter that was sent
were
from America. And some of the raisins we
keep ing for Chris tmas , and here is a slab of
chocolate and a pound of sugar.’
s.
Mitzi’s face suddenly burst into radiant smile
,’ she cried , in
‘So, I make him for you good – good
a melti ng richn ess!
an ecstasy. ‘It will be rich, rich, of
–I
And on top I will put the icing – chocolate icing
on it Good Wish es.
make him so nice – and write
tastes of
These English people with their cakes that
have tasted such a cake.
sand, never never, will they
Delicious, they will say – delic ious –’
Her face clouded again.
cake!
‘Mr Patrick. He called it Delicious Death. My
I will not have my cake called that!’
lock.
‘It was a compliment really,’ said Miss Black
it was wort h dying to eat such a cake. ’
‘He meant
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THE QUEEN OF CRIME

YEARS

In a remarkable career 2010 is also the 80th

spanning over 55 years
Agatha Christie not only
wrote 71 novels and 165
short stories but also
published two volumes of
poetry, wrote two
autobiographies and a
number of very successful
plays. Her most famous play,
The Mousetrap, holds the
world record for the longest-
running play and she has,
to date, sold over two billion
books, making her the most
widely published novelist
of all time.
anniversary of Miss Marple’s
first appearance in print and
the 90th of Christie’s Belgian
sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Over
4 million books, graphic novels,
audiobooks, DVDs, games and
items of merchandise are sold
each year, which means
something Christie-related is
sold every eight seconds
somewhere in the world.
You can find A Murder is
Announced, and other
Agatha Christie books,
published by HarperCollins,
in all good bookshops.

We’d love to see how you got on with creating your own
Delicious Death cake. Send your photographs to
www.agathachristie.com and find out how other fans
around the world are celebrating Christie’s birthday.

AGATHA CHRISTIE and DELICIOUS DEATH are registered trade marks

of Agatha Christie Limited (a Chorion Limited company). All rights reserved.

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