Without hiding her exhaustion, Jill slumped onto the table, while Roland smiled wryly.
“Hmm, I thought I was good at solving things like this…”
“There’s no way you’d figure it out with just that little hint, especially in just a few days.”
“Well, when I think about it calmly, you’re right…”
Jill sighed.
(Even when I tried looking it up in the ‘Book of Acacia,’ there were too few hints to figure anything out… What on earth is this magical cake?)
Jill had been reading books, baking flan and pudding cakes with ingredients Roland had taught her, and experimenting with various methods. However, she hadn’t arrived at a clear answer. There was simply too little information, and she hadn’t even found a starting point.
“Hmm, it’s frustrating…”
Until now, Jill had solved various problems using the ‘Book of Acacia.’ She’d deciphered branding for leatherwork, tackled yuzen dyeing, and used her knowledge to overcome challenges. But this time, she couldn’t seem to find an answer.
“Oh, Jill! Big sis Jill!”
“Oh, hello Tina. How have you been?”
As Jill was mulling things over, Roland’s daughter, Tina, approached her cheerfully.
Seeing Tina’s bright demeanor brought a sense of peace to Jill.
“You know, I’ve been learning how to cook from Dad lately!”
“Oh, that’s great! What kind of dishes are you making?”
“Pudding!”
“So Tina, you really like making sweets, huh?”
“Yup!”
Tina beamed, while Roland looked slightly tired.
“I was hoping to stick to things that didn’t use fire, but she insisted on making pudding.”
“Yeah, and… I want to try making pudding now. Is it okay if I use the oven?”
Apparently, fire-related tasks were forbidden when the parents weren’t around.
Roland had a troubled look on his face.
“Mom’s at a neighborhood meeting… Could you wait until I’m free?”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Shall I help?”
“Really!?”
Tina’s eyes sparkled.
Behind her, Roland looked apologetic.
“Sorry about that.”
“Not at all. You’ve been helping me out with advice, so if this is all I can do in return, I’m happy to help. So, Tina, shall we make pudding together?”
“Yup!”
◆
Even though Jill offered to help, there wasn’t much for her to do.
This was because Roland’s educational philosophy was, “You won’t learn unless you try it yourself and fail.” Therefore, Jill tried to intervene as little as possible, simply watching over the process. Although Roland operated the oven, he still had Tina decide things like the heat level and baking time.
He also had Tina critique the final product herself.
“So, Tina, how is it?”
“…Not good.”
“In what way?”
“It’s overbaked, and it has air pockets.”
Tina muttered in disappointment.
“And the aroma is gone too. I need to add more flavoring.”
“But if you add too much, won’t it leave a bitter aftertaste?”
“Uh…”
“Not everything needs to be mixed and baked all together. If you want to enjoy both the aroma and flavor, you could try serving it with fruit preserved in sugar on the side. There are many ways to approach it. I know you want to make something that stands on its own, but don’t get too fixated on that.”
Jill thought Roland’s advice was spot-on.
However, she wondered if Tina was mature enough to accept such advice yet.
Jill glanced at Tina, concerned.
Sure enough, Tina was on the verge of tears.
“Tina…”
“It’s so frustrating…!”
“Oh, that’s what it is.”
Once again, it wasn’t that Roland’s advice had hurt her feelings.
Tina was crying because her own skills fell short of her ideal, and that frustration overwhelmed her.
“Don’t worry, Jill. Tina won’t give up over something like this,” Roland said, smiling as he patted Tina’s head.
Still, Tina’s expression didn’t brighten.
“But I can’t make it the way I want…”
“Honestly, just getting it to this point is impressive… Plus, most people tend to be biased when it comes to their own creations, but you don’t have that problem.”
Tina had a sharp sense of taste.
And because of that sharpness, she was keenly aware of her own shortcomings.
It was an unnecessary struggle for someone who was only cooking as a hobby.
A burden too heavy for such a young child to bear.
But Jill thought that this sense of frustration was essential for a future chef. To aim higher, you need to be able to critically assess your current abilities.
(Will Tina be able to overcome this?)
Worried, Jill gazed at Tina.
But Tina, brushing away her tears, looked straight at Roland with determination in her eyes.
“Let’s make it again!”
“Hey, hey. We’ve got evening service coming up, you know.”
“Just one more time, only once more!”
Tina had completely forgotten how she had been on the verge of tears earlier, now pestering her father.
“This will be something to look forward to in the future.”
“It’s a bit of a hassle right now, though.”
At Jill’s words, Roland laughed cheerfully.
◆
In the end, the day ended without coming up with any promising ideas.
After that, Jill continued to stop by the restaurant “Rocinante.” Roland, Mars, and Roland’s wife Chelsea joined in, trying to deduce the secret behind the cake, but they couldn’t quite find an answer that felt right.
“You know, I was thinking maybe it’s not just three layers, but five? Like, layering slightly different batters between the sponge, pudding, and custard to create a middle layer.”
“If it were five layers, not three, we’d definitely notice when eating it. And Dad, could you really bake something like that the same way every time?”
“It’s not impossible, but… making it a regular menu item would be tough. And yeah, you’d be able to tell if it were a five-layer cake. Chelsea, what do you think?”
“I believe the cake at ‘Andromalius’ was limited in quantity. But since the owner and his wife ran the place by themselves, I don’t think a recipe that complex would be realistic.”
“Yeah, that’s true…”
“But it’s the most realistic idea we’ve had so far… Should we give it a try, just in case?”
“Hmm, maybe we should at least give it a shot…”
The discussion seemed to be reaching a deadlock.
But then, a hint came from a completely unexpected place.
“Hey, hey, the pudding’s done!”
Tina interrupted the conversation.
But no one was bothered by her intrusion.
In fact, they were almost grateful for the change in atmosphere.
“Tina, you’ve made a new creation?”
“Yup! I think it turned out better this time…”
At Jill’s words, Tina nodded happily.
Even after her failures, Tina kept trying without getting discouraged. The cost of ingredients wasn’t trivial, and there was a rule that she couldn’t use the stove without an adult, but she would cleverly find leftover ingredients or sneak in a challenge when her parents were free.
“Since we’re here, let’s have tea. I’m getting tired, too.”
“Yeah, I’ll help with that.”
Jill and Mars started preparing tea together.
Roland began setting out the plates.
Everyone was so familiar with the process that they quickly got everything ready.
“Let’s dig in… wait, what?”
“Hmm?”
Everyone took a bite of Tina’s pudding and raised their eyebrows in confusion.
“Tina, this… it’s separated, you know?”
Mars looked at Tina with a puzzled expression.
Jill, too, felt a wave of nostalgia, remembering similar mistakes she had made herself.
Separation is one of the common mistakes that occur when making pudding.
Because the densities of milk and the egg mixture are different, even if you think you’ve mixed them well, the uniformity can break down during the heating process. This results in the pudding splitting into a firm part and a semi-liquid part.
Additionally, egg whites and yolks also have different densities and coagulate at different temperatures, which can cause separation as well.
To successfully make pudding, you need to ensure that all the ingredients are well-mixed and heated at the proper temperature to prevent separation.
“But, you know, this is still tasty in its own way.”
“You couldn’t serve this to a customer, though.”
Jill and Roland laughed out loud.
However, Tina looked completely confused.
“Wait, I can’t serve this to customers?”
“Well, it’s a failure, and—”
“It’s not dry or bad tasting. I did it on purpose.”
“On purpose?”
“I thought it might be delicious to eat hard pudding and soft pudding together.”
“… What did you say?”
Roland asked again in a serious tone.
“Uh… no, you’re right. It’s not bad. It’s not just a little separated; it’s actually separated in a way that’s reasonably balanced. And the boundary… isn’t clear.”
Mars, as if confirming something, continued eating the pudding.
Everyone’s expressions grew more and more serious.
Tina, confused, looked from one person’s face to the next.
“W-Was it bad after all?”
“Tina.”
“W-What is it, Jill?”
“You’re a genius.”
“Huh?”
Tina was completely baffled by Jill’s words.
“This is it! This is exactly the feeling I got from that cake I ate years ago!”
“Amazing, Tina! As expected of my daughter!”
“Indeed, you can sense the difference in texture between the creamy part and the firmer part… I fear for what she might accomplish, even though she’s my daughter.”
The family all showered Tina with praise. But Tina, who hadn’t been part of the discussion about the “Andromalius” cake, only became more confused.
“Dad! So, was it good or not in the end!?”
“Ah, sorry. As a pudding… I can’t quite say, but as a different kind of dish, it’s definitely good. It’s all about the idea.”
“So, are you praising me!?”
“Yes, I am.”
Roland soothed the fuming Tina.
Everyone watched the scene unfold with warm smiles.
