Strawberry Shortcake Murder (Hannah Swensen, #2)

by Joanne Fluke

Hawaiian Flan Preheat oven to 350° F., rack in the middle position. 1 cup white sugar ½ cup water 6 eggs 1 can sweetened, condensed milk (don’t use evaporated—it won’t work) ¼ cup white sugar 1 ½ cups pineapple juice 1/8 teaspoon salt 1 small can crushed pineapple (well drained) Sweetened whipped cream topping (optional) Find an 8-inch-by-8-inch square pan (either metal or glass) or any other oven pan that will hold 6 cups of liquid. Do not grease or butter it. Simply have it ready, next to the stove top. Combine one cup of white sugar with a half cup of water in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring at first, then swishing it around until the mixture turns golden brown. (This gets as hot as candy syrup so wear oven mitts.) Carefully, pour the syrup into the pan you’ve chosen and tip it to coat the bottom and the sides. This is your caramel sauce. (Be very careful. This is extremely hot.) Run water in the saucepan you used and set it in the sink. Then set the baking pan aside while you make the custard. (You may hear cracking noises as the caramel cools. Don’t worry. It’s the caramel cracking, not your pan.) Beat the eggs until they’re light yellow and thick. (This will take a while if you don’t have an electric mixer.) Add the sweetened condensed milk, the sugar, the salt, and the pineapple juice, and beat thoroughly. Get out a strainer and strain this mixture into your baking pan. Find a larger baking pan that will contain your custard pan with at least an inch to spa...