Sisters Libby and Bernie Simmons know very little about quilting, but they’re experts when it comes to catering. Thus, they’re thrilled to be able to provide refreshments for the Longely Sip and Sew Quilting Circle’s first ever exhibition, held at the local library. The eclectic group of quilters is far from what the Simmons sisters imagined they would be, but on the whole, the circle members seem harmless if a little eccentric.

That impression changes when one of the quilters is found dead in her own home, having apparently committed suicide. Cecilia Larson, the glamorous kindergarten teacher who hired the Simmons to cater for the circle, refuses to believe that her friend Ellen Fisher killed herself. The two women had just been discussing exciting plans for the near future, including the continuing recognition Ellen was getting for her quilts. Having heard of the Simmons’ reputation as investigators, Cecelia wants to hire them to look into Ellen’s death. The police and medical examiner may have ruled it a suicide, but Cecilia knows that something far more sinister is at play.

Intrigued, Libby and Bernie accept the case and soon discover that Cecilia was right to be suspicious. Quiet, industrious Ellen had a lot more turbulence going on in her life than anyone expected. But who would have wanted to kill her—and been calculating enough to frame her murder as a suicide? The more the sisters investigate, the more they uncover about Ellen and her seemingly wholesome circle of quilters—and the bigger the target they place on their own backs, as a ruthless killer prepares to strike again.

This is an intriguing installment of the Mystery with Recipes series, as Isis Crawford examines how well we can really know our friends and neighbors. The banter between the sisters is even more on point than usual, as they bluff and charm their way in and out of various predicaments. As always, their retired police chief father, Sean, is the level-headed foil to their shenanigans.

There were three recipes included here, and since I love olive oil cakes, I absolutely had to try out this one:

Betsy’s Orange Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups extra-virgin olive oil

3 large eggs

1 ¼ cups whole milk

¼ cup orange juice

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

¼ cup Grand Marnier (or similarly flavored orange liqueur)

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting the finished cake

Instructions

Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper and then spraying the bottom and sides with Pam or a similar cooking spray. Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a large bowl, combine the olive oil and eggs, and whisk vigorously until well blended. Add the milk, orange juice, and orange zest and whisk to incorporate. Fold in the sugar and mix until blended. Add the sifted flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix just to incorporate. Do not overmix, or the cake will be tough. The batter will be on the thin side. Don’t worry. It’s supposed to be.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 70 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Start checking for doneness after 60 minutes.

Remove the cake to a wire rack and allow it to cool for about 1 hour before releasing the clamp on the springform pan and removing the pan’s sides.

Dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

I was so excited to make a new kind of olive oil cake that I actually bought a springform pan for the very first time to use with this recipe! I did coat the sides with a little bit of olive oil instead of using a spray. And since I didn’t have any orange liqueur to hand, I cheated by adding a little orange extract to moonshine; it was a perfect substitute.

What threw me about the result of this recipe is how the texture less resembles a Western-style cake—much less than any of the olive oil cakes that I’m such a big fan of—than it does one of my favorite traditional Malaysian desserts, kuih bakar. This recipe makes for a very soft, almost custard-like cake, which is delicious but quite different from what I expected. My mind automatically associates this texture with pandan and sesame flavors, so it was something of a surprise to taste orange and olive oil instead. It was a pleasant surprise, however, and likely a conundrum that people who aren’t familiar with kuih bakar won’t have to contend with. This is definitely an unusual dessert that’s perfect for when you want to make something tasty that’s also a little bit out of the ordinary.

Next week, we head south to investigate another suspicious death while whipping up a tasty vegan-friendly dish. Do join me!

See also: Cooking the Books: Molten Death by Leslie Karst