Chapter 71: She Creates A Mysterious Dessert
While Ponzu was gone, Robin worked on making some homemade parchment paper on a clean wooden slab. After melting the butter using "Warm" a suplementary heat spell, she spread the butter evenly on both sides of the page using a spatula. Then, she blotted up the excess butter off the page. Voila! Baking paper.
While it didn't keep well, as opposed to the modern baker's parchment paper, it was good if used within a few days. Robin made a few more sheets before putting them all away in a cloth sheet, and stuffing them in her magic bag.
Ponzu soon came back with the stones. After cleaning them with 'cleanse', she put them off to the side. They would be important for later.
Then she retrieved a cake pan from her bag, and measured both the height, and the diameter of the pan. After roughly measuring, she cut a single baking paper in half, and lined the walls so that the paper exceeded the height of the pan by two inches. She also cut out two semi-circles from the other baking sheets, and lined the bottom with them.
"What are we making?" Ponzu asked.
"You'll find out." Robin said brightly. The preparations now complete, Robin was ready to work on the actual food part.
She assembled the ingredients:
6 eggs
1+1/4 cups white sugar
2+1/2 tablespoons water
1+1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1+1/2 teaspoons almond extract
as well as strawberries, sugar, and cream to the side. Those last three were for the toppings later.
"Are we baking a cake?" Ponzu asked, seeing the ingredients. Well, the cake flour did seem to be pretty straightforward.
"Nope. not baking." Robin said.
"Roasting?" Ponzu asked.
"Nope."
"Flambe?"
"Noope."
"Cooling?"
"Nooope." By this time, Robin had a silly grin on her face.
"I give up. What are we making?" Ponzu had exhausted all his methods for cake making.
"I told you, you'll find out." Robin said.
"It's going to at least be a dessert, right?" Ponzu asked.
"Hmmm~Hmmm~!" Robin refrained from commenting as she began the mixing process.
First, she separated the eggs into yolks and egg whites in two different bowls. Inside the bowl the yolks were in, Robin also added the sugar and water. Then she had Ponzu beat them together until the mixture has increased about three times in volume.
While Ponzu was beating, Robin whisked together the flour and the baking powder. Then sifted the combination over the -now larger- egg mixture, and had Ponzu fold it in, gently. After that, she also blended the almond extract in.
It was at this point where Ponzu's arms needed a break. Robin took over the rest of the preparation as Ponzu watched carfully.
Robin turned back to the egg whites. She whipped them in a clean bowl until they had stiff, moist peaks. If the peaks were dry, then she would've gone too far. She folded the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Then she poured the batter into the round, papered pan she had prepared earlier.
She smoothed the batter out evenly up to the paper liner. Then she did something unexpected. She rapped the pan on the table they were using.
"Do you know why I did that?" She asked Ponzu.
"To settle the batter?" Ponzu said.
Robin shook her head.
"To get rid of any large bubbles inside the batter before we begin."
"Oh? And what exactly are we going to do?" Ponzu was still confused. Surely now, Robin would let him know, right?
Robin took out the three stones. "We are going to use these." She said.
"I don't see how those stones will accomplish anything." Ponzu said, immensely puzzled.
"Watch." Robin placed the stones in the bottom of a pot wider than the cake pan. She then put water in the bottom of the pot until it was about 2 inches high. Next, she placed the pan on top of the stones. She covered the top of the pot with a thin towel, and placed the lid on top.
"Um, I still don't see how you're going to cook this thing. Are you going to stew it? Please, just tell me!" Ponzu begged.
Robin tapped the bottom of the pot, silently using heat mana to cause the water to start boiling when Ponzu wasn't looking. The spell would maintain itself for about twenty minutes. The pot was placed on a nearby stone bench in the meantime.
"Don't touch." Was all she said about the pot.
"How am I going to learn anything if you don't explain it to me?" Ponzu said.
"For now, I need you to watch closely. the explanations can always come later." Robin replied.
"Or you're just pulling my leg." Ponzu mumbled. "You can be as moody as a girl, sometimes!"
Then Robin turned back with the bowl of cream in hand, and smiled brightly at Ponzu. Although the smile was brilliant, the eyes told him different.
"Looks like you've rested your hands long enough!" She said, handing him the bowl.
Ponzu's face fell and his arms throbbed, as he realized what Robin was going to say next.
"Whip it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
When everyone had returned, they found Ponzu sitting there, massaging his aching arms.
"Robin taught you another new recipe, didn't he?" Gerard asked.
"Yes, but the stubborn man isn't telling me what we've made!" Ponzu complained with a small wail. "It could be anything from custard pudding to dessert soup, for all I know!"
Christian patted Ponzu on the shoulder.
"Cheer up! Robin always has his reasons. He'll probably tell us tonight after dinner. It's possible that the dessert you made has some kind of story behind it."
"Yeah! Robin never said that he wasn't going to tell you about it, right?" Gerard piped in.
"Well...come to think of it, no. He never said that. He only mentioned that I would know what it was, later." Ponzu admitted.
"See? You're taking this too much to heart. Just relax and wait until after dinner with the rest of us, okay? It won't be too long until it happens then." Christian chuckled.
"All right...But I am blasted curious about it, I am, sir!" Ponzu gave in. It was a good thing he did, too.
"Where I come from, we have the saying: 'curiousity killed the cat'." A voice came from the doorway behind him. Ponzu turned around to see Robin sporting a wry smile as she leaned against the side of the doorway.
"Badmouthing your teacher, I take it?" She drawled lazily, as Ponzu's forehead began to collect sweat upon it.
"No, of course not!" Ponzu shook his head, quickly.
"Come now, it'll do you no good to start lying like that." Robin snorted. "I am infamous for being stubborn, after all."
Ponzu's tanned complexion blanched for a moment. Robin had heard everything! Then he bowed his head, guiltily.
"Yes. I'm sorry." He answered honestly.
"Good. You may not understand many of the things I do until much later, but one of the things I demand from my students is honesty." Robin nodded, satisfied.
Ponzu looked up.
"Um, for future reference, what are the other demands?" He asked.
"Obedience, Attention to details, and moral integrity." Robin answered pointedly.
"Whoah. Looks like you're in a short bitt for a long walk, Ponzu~!" Keith teased. "You'll be hen-pecked even before meeting any hens!"
Ponzu just rolled his eyes at Keith.
"It's better than running for your life through the castle halls!" He retorted.
"Hey, how did you hear about that!?" Keith exclaimed.
Ponzu smiled slyly. "The castle maids do love their gossip, after all. Did you really think you could hide that from us?"
"No." Keith replied. He smacked his fist into his palm demonstratively. "But I know a sure-fire way of making you forget about it! Shall we test it out?" Keith's white teeth flashed with light as he broke into a rather evil-sounding chuckled.
Ponzu shook his head and changed his tune. "Master, Keith is bullying me!" Ponzu shamelessly tattled.
"Hey! You're not playing fair!" Keith lamented.
"All is fair in war and food." Ponzu replied.
"Is that how it went?" Christian frowned in thought.
"No. It's the chefs version of the saying." Ponzu replied.
"All right, that's enough, the whole lot of you!" Robin scolded.
"Since we're all here, let's board early and try to make it to the next town before dark."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BriarRose
BriarRose And here is yet another chapter today, phew! I almost didn't make it on time for this one.
Comment below on what kind of dessert you think Robin is making!
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