Death of a Chocoholic Read Online Free Page A

turned off the TV and walked into the kitchen to shut off the light, and just happened to glance at the calendar on the fridge. There right in front of me in huge glaring red letters were the words BAKE SALE ! Oh, my God! And it was tomorrow!
    I vowed I was not going to miss this one and have those prissy, perfect mothers talking behind my back; so I ran all over the kitchen, throwing open the cupboards and grabbing the ingredients for my German chocolate cake, which I decided to turn into German chocolate cupcakes. I could just double the recipe so there would be more than enough to sell at the bake sale. I was up until the wee hours of the morning, baking and frosting and packing up my moist cupcakes into three boxes, before finally collapsing into my bed, around 3:00 A.M. , and dreaming about that handsome stalker chasing me around the house instead of pursuing that whiny soap actress.
    When I opened my eyes in the morning, the sun was streaming through the window and the house was unusually quiet. I turned to glance at the clock and sat up in horror! It was 7:45 A.M. ! We were late! I leapt out of bed, screaming the kids’ names! They groggily pulled on their clothes as I threw together their lunches while trying to come up with an excuse for Sal as to why I was going to be over an hour late for work.
    Finally the kids, backpacks, myself, and four dozen cupcakes were packed into the car and we raced off to school. Of course, I had to hear about how it was my fault we all overslept because I didn’t wake up Gemma and now her perfect-attendance record was going to be ruined. Note to self: Get the kid her own alarm clock for Christmas. Once we squealed to a stop in front of the school, I shoved everyone out of the car and then hit the gas and sped off to the office. Luckily, the rest of the day was relatively quiet. Until I got home at five and found Gemma standing in the middle of the kitchen with her hands on her hips, staring daggers at me.
    Oh, Lord, I knew that look. It was always followed by an eye roll and a big sigh. Not a good sign. She informed me that once again she was the only kid in her class who didn’t bring something to sell at the bake sale! What was she talking about? I made four dozen cupcakes! And then it hit me. With all of the confusion that morning, the cupcakes were still sitting in the back of the car, where I had so carefully placed them.
    At this point there was only one thing to do. Make a cocktail, grab a cupcake (or two), and sit down and try to figure out how to get rid of four dozen German chocolate cupcakes tomorrow.
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    Red Velvet Cupcake Cocktail
    Ingredients
    2 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce crème de cacao
1 ounce buttermilk (you’ll need
it for the next recipe too)
1 tablespoon chocolate sauce
3 drops red food coloring
8 drops of vanilla extract
Ice, as needed
Frosting for the rim of the glass
(store bought is fine)
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    Mix your vodka with the crème de cacao, buttermilk, chocolate sauce, red food coloring, and vanilla extract in a shaker with ice. Strain and pour into a glass rimmed with frosting.
    Hayley’s German Chocolate Cake
    Ingredients (for the cake)
    1 (4 ounce) package sweet dark
chocolate
½ cup water
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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    Ingredients (for the frosting)
    1 (12 ounce can) evaporated milk
1½ cups sugar
¾ cup butter
4 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2cups coconut
1½ cups chopped pecans
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    Grease and flour the bottoms of three (9-inch) round cake pans, and line with parchment paper. Melt the chocolate and water in a double boiler. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
    Sift flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
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    Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after