The puff pastry is spiced with cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon which leads to a rich warm flavor that pairs perfectly with the peaches. The novel, written by an author who is passionate about storytelling, has an enticing mystery that will keep you guessing as you learn about the characters.
This is book #1 in the Bakeshop Mysteries series. Set in Ashland, Oregon during the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. The characters are as dramatic and diverse as a Shakespearean cast. Main character Juliet has come home from a job as a chef on a cruise line. Now she is working with her mother at their family bakery.
Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander
Spicy Peach Puff Pastry
from a cozy mystery:
Meet Your Baker
by Ellie Alexander
Book Outline and Tone:
Set in Ashland, Oregon, the home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival , Juliet returns home from her job as a cruise ship chef after finding her husband cheating on her. While this might seem like a tried and true trope, what makes this book special is the setting, the theatre actors, main character, and Juliet’s cruise ship experience. All of these elements combine to make this book anything but typical.
Juliet’s cheating husband, Carlos does not play a major role in this first book, but they are not officially divorced, so I won’t be surprised if he plays a role in other books in the series.
When a board member from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is found dead in Torte, Juliet’s mother’s bakery, the real drama begins. Since Juliet has been away for several years, she no longer knows all of the people that work at or are regulars to Torte. It is a great premise for the first book in a series. Readers will get to know who is who alongside Juliet. Will she stay in Oregon or return to the cruise line? Well, let’s just say I am delighted to report that there are 22 books in this series! Each one has recipes! I foresee as Shakespeare might have penned that fate has brought a future of baking and reading to delight the stars.
The Best Quote:
“‘I headed up to write the specials on the board. Since I’d returned to Ashland, problems had multiplied. Maybe it was me. Dead ovens were a problem I could handle, but Thomas being interested in me was definitely not something I was ready to deal with.”
The setting is best described by this quote from page 2, “Ashland, Oregon, my hometown, is nestled in the foothills between the Cascade and Siskiyou Mountains. It’s home to the world-famous Oregon Shakespeare Festival, an electric community of artists, outdoor adventure seekers, college students, farmers, hippies, rich retirees, and a constant stream of tourists.”
I lived for three years just up the interstate from Ashland in Medford, Oregon, and I can attest that every bit of that description of Ashland is accurate.
Point of View:
The novel is told in first person from Juliet’s point of view.
The Author: Ellie Alexander
Like the setting of her Bakeshop Mysteries series, author Ellie Alexander is a native of the Pacific Northwest. On her website she describes herself as a voracious storyteller and also enjoys testing pastry recipes. These passions are clearly evident with the engaging story and fabulous recipes at the end of the novel. Alexander writes several series in addition to the Bakeshop Mysteries. She has a Rom-Com series, Sloan Krause Mystery series set in a Bavarian village in Leavenworth, Washington, The Secret Bookcase series and more other books. Readers can sign up for her newsletter on the website. There are several ways to follow her and get further inspiration. She is active on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest. Her love for storytelling seems to be what also inspired her to Author Academy that has courses, webinars, and coaching. She has several videos on Youtube on how to write a novel.
What is not to like?:
This is a difficult question for me to answer this time. I feel giddy to have found this series and I have enjoyed every page so far.
The verdict:
Juliet is a strong, smart female lead and the recipe I tried was fantastic. I feel confident in strongly recommending this series.
Disclaimer: In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you).
Spicy Peach Puff Pastry
Assemble the Ingredients
Directions:
Remove pastry dough from the freezer. Jules likes to thaw hers by resting it near the stove while working on the filling.
Peel and slice peaches. It wasn’t peach season when I made this, so I used frozen peaches and it still turned out perfect. Don’t thaw the peaches before cooking them.
Warm butter in a skillet on low heat.
Add the frozen or fresh peaches to the pan.
Add wine, sugar, spices, and peaches.
Grate lemon rind and squeeze juice into the mixture.
Allow to simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes.
* If your peach sauce is too runny, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with two tablespoons of water and add to the sauce to help thicken.
The spices will thicken and cling to the peaches
Once pastry dough is thawed, roll out both sheets and cut into four squares.
Silicone Pastry Mat for Rolling Dough 16" x 24", Red LINK
Scoop peaches onto one square.
Then, fold another square on the top, pinching the corners.
Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar in the raw.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Spicy Peach Puff Pastry
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 lemon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 4 cups fresh peaches, sliced and peeled (frozen works too)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 package puff pastry dough
- egg white
- sugar in the raw
Instructions
- Remove pastry dough from the freezer. Jules likes to thaw hers by resting it near the stove while working on the filling.
- Peel and slice peaches. Warm butter in a skillet on low heat.
- Add wine, sugar, spices, and peaches.
- Grate lemon rind and squeeze juice into the mixture.
- Allow to simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes.
- * If your peach sauce is too runny, mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with two tablespoons of water and add to the sauce to help thicken.
- Once pastry dough is thawed, roll out both sheets and cut into four squares.
- Scoop peaches onto one square.
- Then, fold another square on the top, pinching the corners.
- Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sugar in the raw.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
What would I do differently next time?
I’d love to make these again in the summer when peaches are ripe and plentiful to see how different the recipe is with fresh peaches.
Here are other desserts that use fresh fruit.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins from Death of a Blueberry Tart by Lee Hollis
Strawberry Cake with Whipped Cream frosting from Killer Takeout by Lucy Burdette
Double Blueberry Pancakes from Fatal Reservations by Lucy Burdette
Strawberry and Spinach Salad from Death of a Kitchen Diva by Lee Hollis
