“I think the customers will enjoy seeing your innovations. And they can always go next door to the cafe to get the good old standby flavors you always bake.”
“Exactly. Okay. Good.” She widened her stance and gestured to Sara. “I’m ready. Bring it on.”
Sara held up a finger. “Baked dessert. Whatever you like.”
“Easy.”
“But…” She held up two fingers. “Your dessert must include both of these ingredients. Old Bay seasoning and figs.” Holding up three fingers. “You have forty-five minutes. Go!” She dropped her arm down to her side as if starting a race.
“Do we even have any Old Bay?”
Sara laughed. “Only because I picked some up at the store today for home. It’s with my stuff. I’ll bring that for you while you raid the pantry.”
“Oh, man. Game on!” Kelly started the timer on the oven, and then raced to the stock room to gather ingredients. Hopefully the pantry on set would be close to the kitchen. Then again, she knew where everything was in her pantry. That would be a whole other challenge there. She’d eat up a good seven minutes just getting what she needed back to her kitchen here.
Kelly ran back into the kitchen with items on the rolling cart. She’d even grabbed a couple of extra things, still trying to come up with the dessert she’d make.
Racing against the clock, she shot a glance at the oven timer. She set the oven temperature to 350F. A safe temperature for just about anything.
She decided to go with something that would tickle the memories of whoever ate it. A savory twist on sweet potato pie. She went to work, encouraged by the preliminary tastes. She’d just plated the desserts and was dabbing whipped frosting stars to the top of each one when Sara got back.
Sara waved a flour sack towel in the air. “Time!” And just as she said it, the oven timer began to ping.
Kelly stepped back from the table and raised her hands in the air. “Got it!” Four dessert plates were filled with identical pastries. Picture perfect.
“Okay, let’s see how you did.” Sara lifted one of the plates and smelled it. “That Old Bay has a distinctive smell, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. I hope I got the ratios right. It’s either going to be amazing or awful.”
“Explain what you’ve brought to us today,” Sara said, doing her best Martin Schlipshel impression.
“I’ve made for you a savory twist on a fall favorite, sweet potato pie. I think the spicy Old Bay and sweetness of the sweet potato make for a light and wonderful accompaniment for summer seafood boils.”
“Nice.” She lifted a bite to her mouth, taking her time with a reaction.
“Come on already!”
“Well…” She looked to the ceiling, then took another bite before smiling broadly. “This is really good.”
“You had me going there for a minute. The batter tasted good. Let me try it.” She reached for a bite of the one Sara had set back down on the plate.
Sara smacked her away. “Get your own!”
“That’s an excellent sign,” Kelly said. “You never mind sharing with me.” She grabbed one of the other plates and held it up, taking the time to smell it and touch it, looking for any flaw. Then she sliced it in half. The pie looked moist and held its shape. Finally, she took a bite. “This is surprisingly good. Why haven’t I ever tried that before?”
“I don’t know, but it’s another keeper.”
“I’ll write it down before I forget.” Kelly grabbed for a pen and paper.
“Can you imagine how good these would be with a low country boil out on the deck in the summer? You should send a box of these to Ned and Hailey for their Bed & Breakfast housewarming in Sand Dollar Cove next weekend since you won’t be here.”
“You’ll have to take them for me. Did you see the pictures of the kitchen? I’d pay to cook there.”
“I’m sure they’d let you cook for free,” Sara teased.
“Wouldn’t it be fun to do beach theme mini cakes? Oh gosh, and we could do kind of a sweet-salty, like the margarita cupcakes or salted caramel ones. And shells, starfish, even maybe some colorful flip-flops out of fondant on the top. It would be so cute.”
“See? That’s why you are going to win this thing. Hands down. There’s no one better than you at this stuff. You’re so creative.”
“Don’t jinx me.”
“I’m not. I’m spreading good vibes.” Sara skipped around as if tossing fairy dust. “Acting as if it’s already happened. Don’t you know the difference?”
“Apparently not.”
Sara grabbed a whisk from the white stoneware crock and held it up to her mouth. “And introducing the winner of this round of Pastry Practice,” she said in an exaggerated TV host voice. “The grand prize? The right to make me more fabulous treats to try, even though I’m going to have to double my visits to the gym next week!”
“Now to round two,” Kelly said.
“I’ve already filled your buckets with ideas.” Sara glanced at her watch. “I’m out of here for the day. Good luck with practice. I can’t wait to see what you came up with when I come back to work in the morning.”
“Me too.” Kelly watched Sara leave. She was lucky to have such a good friend. It was perfect that she’d been here when the folks from the show had come. If she’d had to keep this news totally to herself, she’d have burst for sure by now.
It had been a busy work day, but even with the steady stream of customers and more than enough to keep her busy, Kelly’s mind had wandered way too many times back to Andrew. She had a lot more important things on her plate than an old flame. Especially one who’d broken her heart. She wished he’d just leave town already.
She was able to try out another challenge after she closed for the night. With nothing better than baking to do on a
