Pudding Battle (2)

Chapter 32: Episode 17 - Pudding Battle (2)

After visiting Salon de Marie and challenging Koshiro Miya to a pudding battle, the Sweets Princes and I went back to the cooking lab to discuss the recent matter.

"Are you sure about this, Michiko?" Kashino asked in irritation, obviously angry.

"Yes," I stated bluntly. "I've made pudding in the past… a few years ago…" I avoided his gaze, ready for him to scold me.

"A FEW YEARS AGO?! That long?! If you lose this pudding battle, we'll have no choice but to team up with that Ojou again!" Kashino raised his voice at the thought of teaming up with her.

"At least have some confidence in me, Kashino. I haven't forgotten how to do it, I just... haven't done it in a while," I reassured him but he looked like he still didn't believe me.

"Either way, I still believe in Michiko," Hanabusa gave me an unsure smile.

"Same here," Andou also smiled hesitantly.

"Really? 'cause your faces say something else," I said, turning my head away from them.

'Why do I feel like they all don't believe in me? Are they that worried about teaming up with Koshiro again?'

"Making pudding is simple so I might need to brush up on some information since it's been a while," I said, grabbing the main ingredients for the pudding.

'When was the last time I made pudding? I think it was when I was 8 and Mom was still around. She always gave me helpful tips and aided me when I baked, though she was always busy because she was popular in the media. Regardless, I want to go to the Grand Prix with everyone too, so I can't fail!'

I grabbed sugar, eggs, milk, water, butter, ramekin cups, and pots.

"Keiko, let's have Caramel help us with the caramel sauce since it's her specialty," Fraise suggested as I got ready the ingredients.

"Okay," I agreed and Caramel flew over towards us.

"Hello, Miss Michiko and Miss Fraise!" Caramel greeted with a happy smile. "Just leave the caramel to me!"

I nodded my head and we focused on the task.

"Caramel sauce is a sauce made by boiling down sugar. It's quite simple," Caramel explained. "Put sugar and water in the pot and wait until it boils to a toffee color."

I followed her instructions and added sugar and water into a pot, waiting for it to turn to a golden brown color. Once it began boiling and turned into a toffee color, Caramel continued.

"Ah, that looks great! Now, turn off the fire and pour in one tablespoon of water," Caramel explained and I followed.

Doing as instructed, I swiftly poured the water into the caramel sauce, trying to avoid getting burned.

Pshhh~

Though the caramel still splattered, it was minimal and I didn't get burned by it.

"Oh, I forgot to say that it'll splatter. Sorry," Caramel apologized but I didn't mind since I at least knew this much after getting splattered in the past when I made this. "Next, pour the caramel sauce into the ramekin cups while it's still hot, or else the caramel will harden immediately."

I followed and quickly distributed the caramel into the ramekin cups.

"Nice! Well, my work here is done. Just ask if you need any help," Caramel bowed her head respectively and flew over to Andou's side as the sweets princes watched me.

"Now it's my turn. The pudding batter is next," Fraise came by me while carrying a giant egg in her tiny arms. "Pudding is made by mixing together milk, sugar, and eggs, and then baking it in a water bath."

I nodded my head and began mixing together those ingredients.

"The trick to making it nice and delicious is to not let "pores" get in. Don't beat the eggs, but mix it in. Be careful not to pour in water that's too hot into the tray."

As I finished making the pudding batter, I added it to the ramekins that were already in a tray and poured some warm water for the water bath. I placed it in the oven and waited.

"When it's done baking, cool it down in the fridge."

* * *

A while had passed since the custards finished baking and I placed them in the fridge to cool off. As we were waiting, we talked about the pudding battle and how that was going to turn out. Though Hanabusa and Andou continued to smile and encourage me, I could tell that they were just as unsure as Kashino when it came to this.

"Okay, it's done," I announced after retrieving the puddings from the fridge and releasing them from the ramekins. I handed them each a plate with pudding. "Try it out."

Everyone grabbed a bite and put it in their mouths.

"Oh, the caramel has a nice taste to it. It's not too bitter or too sweet," Andou said after taking a bite.

"I agree! The caramel tastes nice and you can tell just by the color that it's just right. If it's too dark, it'll turn out bitter. If it's a golden brown color, it's just right. And, if the caramel is too light, it's just sweet," Caramel explained.

Once Fraise and I took a bite of the pudding, something caught both of our eyes.

'Oh no, holes managed to form!"

"There are pores in it, so maybe we put the temperature too high," Fraise pointed out.

"The texture's a bit stiff, too," I said while taking a bite.

"Even the arrangement of ingredients will make a difference. Say, if there are more egg yolks, baking at a lower temperature will make it smoother," Andou told me and I nodded.

"Oh, is that so? Then, I'll research more into it tonight," I said as I added sugar into the pot, repeating the process to get a perfect custard pudding. "You guys can go on ahead, Fraise and I will stay late."

We started again, taking in all of the information that we just learned and putting it to use.

'I need to focus on the temperature of the puddings in order to make sure pores don't get in. If I don't master these puddings, then the sweets princes will have to pair up with that Ojou.'