When I read Lesley A. Diehl’s
recipe, Butternut Valley Ginger Stout Cake or Muffin, in the Bake, Love, Write
Dessert Cookbook, I couldn’t believe my luck. I’ve always been a proponent of
beer and chocolate as a perfect culinary combo. I discovered the treat in
college. I do not remember the circumstances. It probably had something to do
with being able to afford a nice treat on a student budget. Back then I could
get a beer and a Snicker for just over a dollar.
But
here’s the real reason Lesley’s dessert grabbed my attention. Last January I gave up dark beer
and cut down on my pastry consumption in an effort to lose a pound a month.
Much to my surprise, it worked and I can now get into my skinny pants. How nice
is that? But being a lover of stout beer and muffins, it was a big sacrifice.
|
Lesley A. Diehl |
Even
though the recipe doesn’t actually contain chocolate, Lesley explains why stout
beer pairs well with it, as it does with ice cream and sweet and spicy foods.
The recipe contains cinnamon, ginger, brown sugar and molasses, which all
complement the stout.
With
this dessert I can have my beer and eat my muffin too.
Check
out Bake, Love, Write and also discover Lesley’s recipe for a lasting, loving
relationship and her practical advice on writing.
Lesley
retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country
roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in upstate New
York. In the winter she migrates to old Florida—cowboys, scrub palmetto, and
open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle in the post
office, and gators make golf a contact sport. Back north, the shy ghost
inhabiting the cottage serves as her literary muse. When not writing, she
gardens, cooks and renovates the 1874 cottage with the help of her husband, two
cats and, of course, Fred the ghost, who gives artistic direction to their work.
She is author of numerous short stories and several mystery series including
the microbrewing series (A Deadly
Draught; Poisoned Pairings), two rural Florida mystery series (Dumpster Dying; Grilled, Chilled and Killed), and the Eve Appel mystery series—A Secondhand Murder; Dead in the Water. Other mysteries include Angel Sleuth, and Murder is Academic.
Cookbook authors include:
Brenda Novak, Lois Winston, Debra Holland, Dale Mayer, Shelley Noble, Caridad
Pineiro, Diana Orgain, Lisa Verge Higgins, Lynn Cahoon, Jasmine Haynes, Jan
Carol, Meg Bellamy, Bobbi Chukran, Melissa Keir, Amy Gamet, Kristy Tate, Terry
Shames, Barbara Phinney, Kitsy Clare, Raine English, Cathryn Cade, Haley
Whitehall, Shilpa Mudiganti, Melinda Curtis, Jessa Slade, Jill Blake, Daryl
Devore, Molly MacRae, Elizabeth Rose, Helena Fairfax, Lourdes Venard, Jessica
Aspen, Maegan Beaumont, Kay Kendall, Elizabeth John, Victoria Adams, Cyndi
Pauwels, Alice Loweecey, June Shaw, Donnell Ann Bell, T. Michelle Nelson, Nina
Milton, Pam DeVoe, Skye Taylor, Conda V. Douglas, Pepper Phillips, Judy Alter,
Cadence Denton, Lesley Diehl, Erin Farwell, Regan Walker, Kaye Spencer, Barbara
Monajem, Kathleen Kaska, Catherine Kean, Rose Anderson, Suzie Tullett, Deborah
Hughes, Cynthia Luhrs, Judy Baker, Alicia Dean, Leslie Langtry, Janis Susan
May, Mitzi Flyte, Ruby Merritt, Renee D. Field, Kathryn Quick, Susan Cory, Judy
Penz Sheluk, Kay Manis, Kathryn Jane, Debra Goldstein, E. Ayers, Chantilly
White, Sloan McBride, Triss Stein, Ana Morgan, Adele Downs, L.C. Giroux, Pamela
Aares, Nancy Warren, Barbara Lohr, J.J. Cook, Lynn Reynolds, Cori Arnold, B.V.
Lawson, Lynn Franklin, M.L. Guida, Irene Peterson, Sue Viders, Liese
Sherwood-Fabre, Susan Santangelo, Sheila Seabrook, Elaine Charton, Sharleen
Scott, Kathy Bennett, Jody Payne, Reggi Allder, Ashlyn Chase, Beverley Bateman,
Susan Lohrer, Donis Casey, Barbara Leavy, Stacy Juba, Karen Rose Smith.
Now an Amazon
bestselling cookbook!