Cooking the Episode: How to Bake the Perfect Buttermilk Chocolate Cake from 'Recipes for Love and Murder' - Parade Magazine

If you enjoy watching a good whodunit murder mystery peppered with delicious recipes, then Acorn TV's original series Recipes for Love and Murder is for you! 

Based on Sally Andrew's best-selling novels, A Tannie Maria Mystery, the 10-part series premiered earlier this month and is available to watch on Acorn TV through October 3rd. 

A quirky mix of food and mystery, it has everything you need for good TV—including mouth-watering culinary creations.

Related: 30 Best Baking Shows Streaming on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Disney+

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Advice columnist Tannie (aunt) Maria, played by Outlander star Maria Doyle Kennedy, solves crimes in between baking, but the show takes an unexpected turn when a woman who writes to her is found dead. Maria joins forces with a local risk-taking, rookie journalist—and sometimes rival—to investigate the murder and catch the killer before the police find any more victims.

In her pursuit for the killer, Tannie Maria is cooking up a storm, as it helps her think through the clues of the crime. The Perfect Buttermilk Chocolate Cake shows up in episode 2, as a way to bribe others for information and clues. You'll need to keep watching to see what other show-stopping recipes are she dreams up though.

Related: 30 Foodie-Approved Streaming Cooking Shows

What is the Perfect Buttermilk Chocolate Cake?

This beautiful cake is a delicious combo of brown sugar, cocoa powder and buttermilk, topped with a rum-infused chocolate frosting. Let's just say it's to die for.

Ingredients Needed

Recipe Card

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• ¼ cup water
• 8 oz. butter (2 sticks)
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 1 3/4 cups soft brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• 1½ cups sifted icing sugar
• ½ cup butter
• ¼ cup sifted cocoa

How Make Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat oven to 360°F and line and grease the base and sides of an 11-inch baking tin.
2. Heat water and butter together in a saucepan, then add cocoa powder and stir until dissolved; do not boil.
   Beat the sugar and eggs together until doubled in volume.
3. Add buttermilk and vanilla, then add hot cocoa mixture and give it a really good stir.
4. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together, then add to the cocoa mixture and mix well again.
5. Pour mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50-55 minutes. Let it cool in the tin.

Mixing the cake

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Don't forget the frosting:

Heat all the ingredients except the rum in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking out any lumps. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and whisk in the rum. Let it cool completely before icing the cake. Garnish with fresh flowers.

What to Serve With Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

I'm going old school and recommending serving this cake with a frothy cold glass of milk. Seriously, is there anything better? 

What More Delicious Cake Recipes? Try These: