bookcooker: Secrets of Eden and Maple Crumb Cake

This cake doesn't really go with Chris Bohjilian's Secrets of Eden, but it is hard to come up with an appropriate recipe for a book about domestic violence. I am a big fan of Bohjilian's books. They are mostly set in Vermont, where Bohjilian lives, and each book deals with what I would call a "hot button" issue of the day. His past books have dealt with midwives, alternative medicines, gender reassignment, gun control, and homelessness. He deals with these issues through great stories of real people dealing with difficult and dramatic things. Secrets of Eden continues this trend and tells the story of the murder of Alice Hayward, who died at the hands of her abusive husband George. It was a great Bohjilian book, with more of a suspense/murder mystery vibe than past books. Because no recipe or food is really appropriate for the subject matter, I went with something Vermontey and something I wanted to make and eat - a maple infused crumb cake which came together quite easily.

Secrets of Eden is about the murder/suicide of Alice Hayward and her abusive husband George in a small town in Vermont near Bennington. The novel is narrated by four very different perspectives. First is the local pastor, Stephen Drew. Drew is not a warm and fuzzy country pastor but a cold and cynical man who becomes disenchanted with his relationship to God and his parishioners after the Hayward's death. His narration is somewhat detached and very defensive. As it progresses it becomes clear that he becomes a major suspect in the death of both Alice and George Hayward as a result of his inappropriate behavior with Alice. The day Alice dies Drew had baptized her in a local pond, and her last words to him haunt him after her death. He blames himself for her death which is what leads to his crisis of faith. He is an unlikable and creepy character for sure, the reader senses this in his own narration and it is driven home more with the next narrator, the local prosecutor Catherine Benincasa. She suspects Drew almost immediately when she is tasked with investigation the Haywards death, which at first appears to be a "simple" murder/suicide - Alice Hayward was found strangled and her husband was found dead with what looked like a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Benincasa soon discovers that the wound suffered by George Hayward could not have been self-inflicted and a murder investigation begins. Benincsasa could easily be a character on Law & Order - hard-nosed and serious with a sympathetic side. She serves I think mainly to move the story along and to cast suspicion on Drew. The third narrator is the strangest I think - Heather Laurent, a famous author of books about angels. Yes, angels, she believes that angels surround all of us and protect us. Heather grew up in an abusive home and her parents died in a murder/suicide somewhat similar to what the Haywards' appeared to be. After hearing about the murders, she traveled to Vermont, met Drew and offered support to the Hayward's orphan daughter Katie. Laurent and Drew soon embark on an inappropriate relationship which further casts suspicion on Drew. The last narrator is the best, in my opinion, Katie Hayward. Bohjilian captures her teenage voice perfectly, and her take on her parents deaths and the situation leading up to is is the most compelling. The last line of book is Katie's and I must say it took my breath away - the surprising end to this engaging mystery.

(Vermont) Maple Crumb Cake
Adapted from Epicurious.com
I altered the original recipe here by removing some maple extract, which I don't really like - tastes and smells artificial. I substituted a yummy thick maple yogurt for the sour cream. And to just make it more maple-y I added a maple glaze...

Crumb
1 and 1/2 cups All Purpose flour
1 cup walnuts
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Batter
2 cups All Purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup full fat maple yogurt

Glaze
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour or spray with nonstick stuff a 9 inch springform pan. To make crumb, in a Cuisinart flour, sugar, butter, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt and pulse till crumb like. Add maple syrup and pulse till incorporated.

To make batter, combine the flour and other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. You could also sift these together, but I was too lazy. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the sugar and butter till light and creamy. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Add the eggs one at a time till fully combined. Then add half the flour and then half the yogurt, then the other half of the flour and then the other half of the yogurt. Mix until just combined.

Spoon half the batter into the cake pan. Sprinkle half the crumb mixture on top. Add the other half of the batter and then add the rest of the crumb mixture. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes till lightly browned. Let cook on rack for 5 minutes, then remove from pan by unlocking spring lock and sliding out bottom. Cool on rack completely.