The restaurant ‘Rocinante’ had shortened its business hours for almost a week. The lunch service ended early, and the evening service started late. On weekends, a sign read ‘Closed due to manager’s personal matters.’ The time that was carved out was poured into making cakes.
Of course, this was to make Andromalius’s cake.
They were already possessed by a strange energy that could only lead to finishing the cake.
They baked cakes several times a day, and the entire family participated in tasting and reviewing them.
They had just finished the 23rd experimental trial and were summarizing their findings.
“Bake slowly at a low temperature. Separate the egg yolks from the meringue and make the batter separately. That’s the key…”
Roland’s muttering was met with serious nods from Jill and Chelsea.
“If it’s undercooked, it ends up too loose and almost half-liquid, and if overcooked, it becomes two layers instead of three… But I feel like we’re getting the hang of it.”
“The egg yolk batter needs to be mixed thoroughly. But when you mix it with the meringue at the end, I think it’s best not to mix it too vigorously.”
Everyone was starting to get the feel of it.
Next time, they would succeed.
That certainty filled the air.
“Alright, let’s do this…!”
At Roland’s command, everyone moved into action in the kitchen.
First, Mars mixed the egg yolks, sugar, melted butter, honey, milk, and cake flour thoroughly. This was the main batter. Next to him, Jill was whisking the egg whites to make the meringue.
“I think the parts with more meringue or flour are separating and becoming sponge cake. Here you go, Mars.”
“Thanks, Jill.”
After handing over the finished meringue to Mars, Mars began to mix it with the batter using a spatula.
After a quick mix, the batter was poured into a round cake mold.
“Dad, the batter’s ready.”
“Over here, too. The preheating’s done.”
Roland had been preparing a bain-marie in the oven.
A bain-marie is a method where water is poured into a tray in the oven, and the cake mold is placed in it to steam and bake. The gentle heat from the steam helps the cake cook slowly and results in a moist texture. It’s often used for making custards and soufflés. However, it is not used for recipes where a crispy or firm texture is desired.
For Andromalius’s cake, they adopted a bain-marie method at an even lower temperature than for custard.
“Alright, here we go.”
This was done deliberately to make the ingredients separate during baking.
Sponge cake, custard, and pudding. These three desserts are made with almost the same ingredients: eggs, sugar, milk, melted butter, and flavorings like vanilla beans or honey. The only differences are the addition of cake flour and variations in the balance of ingredients.
Each of these ingredients has different densities and fat contents. If the mixing or baking process for custard fails, the result is a half-soft, half-firm dish.
But in Andromalius’s cake, this separation was intentional. This mysterious cake consisted of three layers, the boundaries of which were barely distinguishable.
“…It’s about time.”
About an hour later, Roland opened the oven.
“Now we need to chill it. This is where the pudding layer sets properly.”
“Dad, the ice chamber is ready.”
“Great, thanks.”
Tina opened the lid of the ice chamber.
Cool air flowed out from the entrance.
Roland placed the cake inside.
Now, the cooling process to set the layers began.
It would take about two hours.
Chilling the heated custard was just like the previous step.
Usually, during the cooling process in their experiments, they would temporarily disband, but this time, no one left the kitchen.
They all shared a certainty that this time, they would succeed.
“Alright, let’s cut it.”
Roland took the cake out of the ice chamber and placed it on a plate.
He began slicing it with a knife.
“Oh…”
The cross-section revealed a perfect three-layer structure.
The top layer was a fluffy sponge cake.
This was because the lightly mixed meringue rose during baking and ended up with a texture similar to sponge cake.
The bottom layer was a firm custard.
With fewer egg whites, it had developed a solid texture with a good bite.
And the middle layer resembled custard cream.
It wasn’t raw, but it hadn’t fully set either.
This was due to being sandwiched between the top and bottom layers.
“Alright, let’s dig in.”
With serious expressions, everyone took a bite.
And those solemn faces soon turned into bright, joyful smiles.
“We… we did it! It’s a success!”
“We did it, Roland!”
“Dad, this is amazing!”
“Damn, Andromalius… what a cake you’ve created…!”
Before anyone noticed, tears welled up in Roland’s eyes.
Jill was on the verge of tears too, overwhelmed with joy.
A sense of accomplishment filled everyone’s hearts, as if they had truly achieved something great.
“But isn’t making this every day going to be tough? Baking it at a low temperature like this takes some finesse.”
Mars, having regained his composure first, muttered softly.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, it’s definitely a hassle… If Jill hadn’t used her magic to control the temperature, we might not have finished this so quickly.”
“Maybe they had some special magic tools?”
“Probably.”
Roland nodded at Chelsea’s suggestion.
However, Jill had already figured out the mystery.
The key to making this cake was temperature control. If the temperature or timing was off, it would either overbake, causing the cream layer to disappear and leave just two layers, or underbake, leaving the custard layer unset.
(It must have been with the help of a ‘demon’… something that managed the oven’s time and temperature.)
Jill, using her magic, could make precise adjustments to the temperature.
And the owner of Café Andromalius could summon demons.
How many minutes, at what temperature, to bake—such logical tasks were a demon’s specialty.
But she chose not to say it aloud.
Even though they were deceased, as a magician and at the same time a chef, it was a skill that the person had kept hidden.
It was inappropriate to casually talk about it in a casual chat.
“Thank you, everyone. Thanks to you, something truly wonderful was made. I’ll make sure to come back and properly thank you again.”
Feeling a slight sense of guilt, Jill politely expressed her gratitude.
“It’s not something to be thanked for. We made something delicious. That’s enough.”
“Yes, I got more fired up than I should have for my age.”
Roland and Chelsea smiled.
“I think just being able to eat this cake made it worth it.”
“It’s really delicious!”
Mars and Tina were simply enjoying the cake.
It was good to consult them.
A refreshing feeling swept through Jill’s heart.
“More importantly, Jill, your work is just beginning, right? We’re counting on you for the haunted mansion issue.”
“Yes!”
At Roland’s words, Jill nodded firmly.
◆
‘Unlocking.’
Jill headed back to the haunted mansion, accompanied by Matthew and Carol.
When she showed the demon the cake, the demon said just one word and then vanished.
So completely, as if there had never been anything there at all.
“…Alright, that should take care of it.”
With a sigh of relief, Jill exhaled deeply.
“Huh, the demon didn’t actually eat the cake?”
In Jill’s hand, the cake, still in its box, remained.
The demon hadn’t taken a single bite.
“There’s no need for it to eat, after all. I think it only judged based on whether it was shown the cake. Maybe, in reality, it couldn’t even do detailed analysis and something as simple as a shortcake would have worked too.”
“Huh? But it seemed like you went through a lot of trouble…”
“I kind of started enjoying making the cake partway through.”
“…”
“…”
Matthew and Carol looked at Jill with a gaze that seemed to say, “What a strange person.”
“Oh, no! I’m just joking!”
“Your eyes looked pretty serious, though?”
“Uh, anyway, let’s get back to the topic. I think the unlocking mechanism was a simple password, but this time it felt a little more secure. I thought if we kept getting it wrong, it might lock permanently or the contents might automatically get destroyed. Maybe it had a stronger anti-theft measure.”
“Oh, so there was a reason behind it.”
Matthew muttered with relief.
But Jill didn’t mention that she truly had fun making the cake.
“Um, Jill. Could I…take a closer look at that cake?”
Carol was staring at the cake, completely entranced.
Without hesitation, Jill handed her the entire box.
“Here you go. This is the popular café menu item… ‘Andromalius’s Cake.’ Have you tried it before, Carol?”
“Maybe… just once, a long time ago. But to see this magical cake, *Gâteau Magique*, again…!”
Carol muttered in awe.
However, Jill had picked up on something more significant than Carol’s wonder.
“…Excuse me, what did you just say?”
“Huh? I said, ‘to see it again’…”
“No, before that. You mentioned something about *Gâteau*?”
“Oh, *Gâteau Magique*! This cake, it’s *Gâteau Magique*, isn’t it?”
Hearing that name from Carol again, the expression on Jill’s face disappeared.
“Carol…”
“Y-yes… did I say something wrong…?”
“I would have liked to hear that name a little earlier…!”
“Wait, Jill, you didn’t know this was *Gâteau Magique*?”
“I didn’t know, so I worked so hard to recreate it! If I had known the name, I could have just looked up the recipe…!”
Jill collapsed weakly.
The biggest reason why she had struggled so much with making Andromalius’s cake was because she hadn’t known its name. If she had, she could have searched for it in the *Acacia Book* by title or text, or asked someone knowledgeable about pastry-making.
“I’m really sorry… I only remembered the name when I saw it…”
“Ah… no, it’s my fault too. I should’ve asked you more questions, Carol. I’m sorry.”
Jill apologized and, regaining her composure, stood back up.
“Alright, let’s move this counter table.”
“Yeah… wait, huh?”
Matthew nodded in agreement but quickly tilted his head.
