CHAPTER 3.24 G
SWEET AND SAVORY
Kingdom of Ravaryn
5th Spirtday of the Full Moon
Ginka walked back to Zippy’s Thorn with her new cookware in her magic bag. She had Dhurfac create her multiple circular pans to make cake layers in. Entering the inn’s kitchen, she found Vastra tossing a ball and the little Rubrafeet running after it.
“He’s not a dog, Vastra!”
“He doesn’t care. Rudbi loves going after it. His kind were the apex predators on their planet, Ginka. Poor kid hasn’t had anyone to play with,” said Vastra.
“Kid?”
“Oh yea, his kind get tall, and they age slowly like the Elves. Rudbi is what we may think of as a kid, not even a teenager.”
“Oh my, and he’s already been put through so much.”
Ginka left the Bast to play with Rudbi and began planning out the cake she would make for the event. She planned on making four variants; Ravyn’s blood with butter and cream cheese frosting and moon orb with both frostings. After creating the batter, she allowed Rudbi and Vastra to have a spoon of each to try out. Both of her taste testers came away impressed.
By the day’s break bell, she had all of the layers done for the Moon Orb cakes and began to mix the two frostings. When Ginka believed she had enough, she had Rudbi come over and picked him up, placing him on the large center table.
“Ok, Rudbi, this is the part I’d like you to help me with. We need to frost the cake layers and stack them up. We can then decorate them and make them pretty. Would you like to learn and help me?” asked Ginka.
“Yes! I would love to help Ginka make delicious food. That’s worlds better than other jobs I’ve had to do.”
Ginka patted Rudbi on the head. She brought over two layers of cake and showed the Demon how to frost the layers evenly. She was surprised at how fast Rudbi caught on after being shown only once. After the third layer, he became a cake layering machine. Ginka would bring over a layer, and Rudbi would take a large and primarily accurate scoop of frosting out of the large pot and evenly layer it on the cake. Rudbi would then carefully pick the layer up and stack it perfectly on the others.
“How tall do I make it?” asked Rudbi.
“Let’s do six layers for these smaller cakes,” replied Ginka.
As the layers began to vanish off the cooling rack, Ginka started on the Moon Orb batter and baking those layers. As they waited for those to bake, Ginka showed Rudi how to decorate the top of the first cake. She made sure to give him very clear instructions on using a knife so as not to cut himself. Ginka then showed Rudbi how to cut the Ravyn’s blood into little pieces and place them in a pattern on the cake’s top. Then with a piping bag, she made buttons of frosting between each piece of fruit.
“It’s so pretty. I’ve never seen such beautiful food before. Can we eat it now?” said Rudbi.
Ginka laughed, “No, this is for our first customer. We need to make food and sell it so I can get money to buy cores. That way, I can keep you and others around.”
“Ginka will bring more Rubra here? Can you bring my eldest brother Zandbi? He would do anything you ask to have a bed like the one you bought me yesterday,” said Rudbi with a smile on his face as he walked around the cake, plopping the fruit pieces down.
“I’m not sure if I can, Rudbi. I’ll see what I can do when I try next time.”
Rudbi looked up at the emerald-haired Human, smiled, and nodded. He then began to hum as he went back to finishing the top of the cake. Ginka checked on the next batch of layers and removed them a few minutes later to cool. When she walked back to the center table, she was stunned to find Rudbi had finished two cakes already, but his last one looked like a mosaic of fruit on the cake’s top.
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“Rudbi, that looks incredible! You’re an artist with fruit. What is that, a tree?” asked Ginka.
“Yes, a tree. Can I do more like that?”
“Yes, you can. Give me a bit, and I’ll get you other fruit with different colors.”
Ginka ran out and over to the market. Finding the vendor with the fruit, she bought a few of each kind he had. Thanking the vendor, she hurried back to the inn and began cutting one of each of the fruits and tasting them.
“Here, Rudbi, you can use these here. They would go well with the cake.”
Ginka placed the few fruits of each she thought tasted great into a bowl so Rudbi could reach them. The other fruits were tossed into the runed ColdBox. While the little Demon finished decorating the frosted cakes, Ginka began mixing the batter for the large centerpiece cake. While the first two large layers baked, Ginka started to frost and stacked the layers for the Moon Orb cakes.
“Absolutely stunning. I can’t believe a Demon could make food look so spectacular,” said a voice behind Ginka.
Turning around, Ginka found the duke’s head chief looking down at the cake Rudbi was currently decorating with the new yellow and green fruit.
“Oh, didn’t hear you come in. You’re not mad I have a Demon working with me?”
“I couldn’t care less. The duke may, but I won’t be telling him. How many cakes have you made?” the chef said, looking at the counters almost full with them.
“We’ve already finished with twenty of the smaller cakes. Each should be enough for eight or ten guests. I’m waiting for the last two layers of the centerpiece to cool off now. Speaking of the centerpiece, considering Rudbi’s talent for fruit art, does the duke’s son have a personal emblem or some type of symbol? Something Rudbi could replicate with fruit on the cake’s top?”
“That is a great idea if I’ve ever heard one. Here little guy, could you create this crest?”
The older Elf removed a pin brooch from under his outer coat and handed it to Rudbi. The small Demon looked down at it and looked back up at the Elf.
“Easy peasy!” Rudbi said as he placed the brooch onto the table’s top and went back to his current cake.
Ginka went back to frosting the larger layers and stacking them. After finishing with the fourth layer, she grabbed two of the Ravyn’s blood and cut them into tiny pieces. Ginka then dumped the fruit into the cream cheese frosting and began to stir and mash, turning the white frosting into a dark shade of purple with bits of fruit throughout.
The Elf watched as Ginka applied a large portion of the mixture to the large cake, covering every inch with the purple fruit-filled frosting. Satisfied with the results, she picked up the tray and brought the cake to the center table, where her Demon assistant waited.
Both Ginka and the duke’s chef stood back and watched as the Demon picked the brooch back up, studying it very carefully. Rudbi then began to chop the fruit up and run around the massive cake placing pieces to create an outline for the coat of arms. Over the next thirty minutes, Rudbi would cut up more fruit into various sizes and then placed them on the cake. When he was finished, the cake looked absolutely gorgeous to Ginka.
“Can we eat one now?” asked Rudbi.
“No, the kind Elf paid for these cakes and will be taking them now. But, we are going to make cupcakes for dinner tonight, and you can have one of those.”
“Okay!”
“I must thank you again, Ginka. I believe your cakes are going to be the talk of the court for the next few weeks. Please make sure to reserve some time in case the duke requires another cake soon. I feel you may find yourself surprisingly busy in the near future.”
The Elf then walked up to the center table, and with a flick of his wrist, the large cake with the duke’s coat of arms vanished. The chef then began walking around the room, the cakes all following the larger one into the ether.
“Here is the second half of your payment. Use it to help start your bakery next door. Your friend up front told me all about it. I look forward to stopping by and trying your goods.”
The Elf flicked another red, white, and blue coin to Ginka, who snatched it out of the air.
“Thank you. Tell the duke’s son I wish him the best of birthdays.”
“Birthday? I like that version of Phaseday. I shall, Ginka. You have a great day as well. The same to you, Rudbi.”
Rudbi looked up at the mention of his name and began waving goodbye to the departing Elf.
“Okay, Rudbi, we need to begin making the cupcakes and start on dinner for Vastra as well. While they bake, I’ll show you how to make pizza rolls. Those and the cupcakes should be a hit tonight.”
Once Ginka got the trays of cupcakes into the oven, she began to make the dough for the pizza rolls. She explained everything to Rudbi as she went along. The little Demon sat Indian-style on the countertop, watching Ginka’s every movement. Once the dough was finished, the two began cutting meat and cheese into tiny pieces.
After removing the cupcakes from the oven and putting them aside to cool, Ginka began making her purple tomato sauce. Again she explained, explaining every step to Rudbi as she worked over the stove. She didn’t want the wooden boy to be anywhere near the fire.
Once the cupcakes cooled, she pulled one out and was happy to see the butcher’s paper she had bought worked perfectly. Placing all of the baked goods on a try, she brought them to Rudbi, who began to frost and decorate each with fruit pieces.
While the Demon worked on the cupcakes, Ginka began stretching out the dough. Once she had it to an appropriate thickness, she began spooning the purple sauce over it. Next, she placed a layer of chopped meat and cheese. Lastly, the whole thing was covered with more dough. With the pasta crimper she got from Dhurfac, Ginka began to separate the pizza rolls.
Finished with the first batch, she placed them in a large bowl, and off to the runed ColdBox they went. Seeing Rudbi was almost half finished with the current batch of cupcakes, she began to cut the butcher paper and then fill the trays with more batter. A few minutes later, that batch of cupcakes was ready for the oven.
It took Ginka and Rudbi about an hour more before the last of the cupcakes were finished, and she had the Demon wash himself in the sink. Ginka almost died of laughter as Rudbi used the sink as a shower to clean himself of the flour and frosting he had accumulated all over his entire body. As she was helping to dry him off, Vastra came in to announce people were coming in looking for food.
Setting Rudbi down to relax on the counter, she handed him a cupcake to eat. Ginka watched as, like a shark, he opened his mouth impossibly wide before tossing the pastry in and then beginning to chew.
“You need to learn to eat slower, Rudbi.”
Rudbi began to chew very slowly, causing Ginka to laugh.
“No, I mean, take smaller bites, so the food lasts longer, you goofball.”
Ginka placed three trays of pizza rolls into the oven. When she saw the first tray done, she counted out twelve rolls for each plate and a single cupcake.
After bringing out the first two plates, Ginka was mobbed with orders. Both the pizza rolls and cupcakes were an overwhelming hit with the inn’s diners. By the time the day’s end bells tolled, the common room of Zippy’s Thorn was filled with patrons wanting to try out the new sweet and savory foods. Ginka and Rudbi found themselves working well into the night to make sure there was enough for all of the seemingly ever-expanding crowd.