Dumping the almonds into the food processor, she set to pulverizing them into a light fluffy flour. She pulled out a few of the best sayings in the conversation hearts box to set aside for garnish, just in case.
Crazy 4 U, I <3 U, XOXO, Soul Mate, Best Day, True Love, and Only You. There were a lot she didn’t remember seeing when she was a kid. Things like Text Me and Tweet Me. Times were changing.
She powdered the conversation hearts into a sugary mixture in a blender to use in the cake.
Melting the chocolate, her skin moistened under the heat of the lights above. The butter was soft before she even went to put it in the pan. She stirred until it was silky smooth, then whisked eggs in a big bowl and started adding the other ingredients, finally working in the chocolate mixture.
She buttered the ramekins, then filled each one and popped them in the oven.
They would take thirty-five minutes to bake. She glanced at the timer. Cooling the cakes to be able to frost them would be the trickiest part. She got right down to work on the frosting, first chopping the cayenne peppers. She beat the butter, then started creaming in the other ingredients. She tasted the frosting. The cayennes weren’t quite adding the heat she needed to be sure the judges could taste them. She added a little more and tried it again. Another taste, and she was satisfied.
The timer went off, and she tested her cakes. The toothpick came out completely clean. Ready to go.
She pulled them out of the oven and put them on the cooling rack. While waiting for the cakes to cool, she piped six chocolate circles and put them in the freezer to harden.
Glancing at the clock, she took a breath.
She rolled out sculpting chocolate into an even quarter-inch thickness, and then cut precise 5’s and 0’s for the toppers to cover in edible gold leaf. The numbers turned out quite elegant. She set them aside by each charger plate to save time when she was doing the final garnish. She piped a swirl around each plate, then cut a cayenne in slices, removing the seeds to make tiny pepper flowers along the design.
The cakes finally cooled to the touch. She topped each one with a perfect swirl of frosting, then tucked a dark chocolate circle into the top of the frosting, followed by a gold leaf 50 in the center of each circle. She set one on the charger plate and stepped back, trying to see it from the judges’ perspective. She could do more, but she didn’t want to overdo it either. The dessert looked elegant as it was.
She finished the other five and plated them. On the show it always seemed as if the contestants were working to the very last second. She went back through the ingredients in her mind. She had incorporated each and every one of them. Everything tasted good, and the plates looked pretty. She was going to have to trust that her practice had paid off and that was why she’d finished a little early.
She washed her hands and tidied her kitchen.
“Contestants. Five minutes.”
Her breakfast tumbled in her gut. To keep her nerves at bay, she concentrated on memorizing everything in the refrigerator and where things were in the pantry. Any time she could save would give her an advantage in the next round.
It was the longest five minutes she’d ever experienced.
“One minute.”
She stood in front of her finished product, praying they were enough.
“Time’s up. Please step away from your counters.”
She raised her hands and stepped back.
The LIVE light went red, and she grabbed her bottle of water and took a long sip.
The desserts had turned out exactly as she’d hoped. Now it was up to the judges.
A woman wearing a white chef’s coat came in with a metal cart and asked Kelly to place all six of her plated desserts on the cart, then left the room with them.
Kelly ran a shaking hand through her hair.
Brenda came running into the room. “You did great. You seemed so relaxed.”
“I wasn’t! I got done so early. It kind of freaked me out.”
“You did fine. Don’t worry. I watched for each of the ingredients. You got them all. I bet they taste amazing.”
“I feel good about this round. I just wonder what everyone else did.”
“You can take a little break while the judges get a look at each of the dishes. It’ll be a while before you go in for your judging. When it’s over, before you find out who’s eliminated, you’ll be able to see and taste the other three entries.”
Butterflies jumped around in her stomach. She couldn’t wait to see how her work stacked up against the competition.
“You’ll be the last one to go into judging on this round. We probably have a couple of hours. Let’s go get you some lunch.”
Kelly followed her down the hall. “Those last five minutes were torture.”
“It’s out of your hands now. And if it’s any consolation, I think yours is the prettiest and really fit the theme the best.”
“Yes, that helps!”
Brenda laughed. “I might be biased, though. I want you to win, but that also means I have to keep you alive through all these rounds. Lunch is waiting in your dressing room.”
“I can’t eat. My stomach is spinning.”
“Please try to eat a little something. I promise you it’ll help with the nerves.” Brenda guided her down the hall, talking on a walkie-talkie to be sure the coast was clear for her to move Kelly back into her dressing room. “Okay, we’re good. Let’s go.”
Brenda used her key to unlock the door and let Kelly in.
“Where’d these flowers come from?” Kelly said. “They’re beautiful.”
Kelly leaned her head back and closed her eyes. One down, three to go…if she did her job right. It was so nice of the producer to send flowers for her dressing room.
