 Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
Desiree positively beamed at Professor Holden’s greeting. Yes, of course she came prepared! She would’ve been silly not to! If that wasn’t enough to make her beam, Jude’s compliment certainly did. “Thank you,” she replied, all smiles and giggles. She had just enough time to return Perseus’s wave with a very princessy one of her own before Professor Holden explained the contest rules. She listened carefully, making a mental note of everything he said. So far everything seemed pretty clear, except…
She wondered if they were allowed to use magic to assist in their cooking. She had no intention of using spells to do all the work for her- not even if she knew enough spells to do that - but she thought it would be pretty cool to use Colorvaria to decorate her dish as a nod to her dad’s background as a charms professor. The thought crossed her mind to ask, but she thought better of it, worried that she’d look stupid or get into trouble if she did. It was no big deal. She could always use food coloring instead.
Desiree introduced herself when her turn came, giving a princessy curtsey. She applauded politely for the other contestants, especially Jude. Oooh, his first name was Ryder? She didn’t know that! What a cool name! She wondered if he was named after Flynn Rider. Come to think of it, he kind of looked like Flynn Rider. Anyway…
She made her way to her station and quickly set to work the minute the competition officially started. First things first, she preheated the oven to 400 F, then greased and lined a couple of 9x13 baking pans for the sponge cake. Setting the pans aside for now, she started on the sponge cake batter. She sifted almond flour and powdered sugar into a mixing bowl, then added one, two, three, four, five eggs. She softly giggled to herself. Boy, opera cake needed a lot of eggs! She mixed the ingredients until the consistency was sufficiently fluffy, then added all-purpose flour.
When she was done with that, she set that bowl aside and separated five egg whites into another bowl. After adding a pinch of salt, she whipped that mixture until it turned foamy. Then she gradually added sugar, still mixing all the while until stiff peaks formed. Now it was time to combine the egg white and almond flour mixtures! She carefully folded the egg whites into the other bowl and added melted butter. Once the mixture was ready, she divided it as evenly as possible among the two baking pans. She finished just as the oven preheated and placed the pans inside, setting a timer for 8 minutes. While the cake was cooking, she’d get started on the coffee syrup.
__________________ Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led
If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true... |