Adventures in Cat-Napping

Chapter 21

Fortunately, the kitchen was equipped with most of the ingredients that Nora needed for the cake she had in mind. The only thing missing was icing sugar, and so she had sent her brother and mother off to buy the extra ingredients, glad to be without their critical eye, as she turned on the oven.
Having made eggless cakes for almost 5 years for her stepmother, she knew exactly what she needed to do, and set to work immediately. The family would lose the venue in just over an hour, and so when she had insisted on creating a simple cake, she had meant it.

She envisioned a Victoria sponge, sandwiched together with a layer of raspberry jam and buttercream. Anita and Leo were also in charge of buying the jam, but until they arrived, it would mean the cake had time to cool. A second novelty of baking a cake was that if all went to plan, the cakes would be baked to perfection, and she should have enough cooling time for her to pipe on the white rosettes, that would make the dessert look more wedding-y. Or that was what she had hoped.

Ali and Millie had joined her ten minutes ago, and she'd shot them both dirty looks when they attempted to speak. Her red dress was covered in flour, and she was currently sitting on the floor, watching the batter bubble in the oven, praying her stare would quicken the process. It was the fastest she had ever baked, but she couldn't deny the thrill of the feeling. It was as if she thrived off it, and when the timer buzzed, she promptly stabbed the cakes, delighted to see that they had cooked through.

After turning them out onto plates, she sourced a chopping board and began to fan, as her friends joined her at the table.
"They look really good," Millie complimented as Nora released a small grin. "Very fluffy,"

"Well I should hope so, this recipe is full proof," She confessed, "How many people would you say are still here? This should feed sixty...forty-five if you wanted to offer generous slices,"

"The dancing has begun so quite a few, we'll let Leah decide," Millie suggested, and Nora nodded, stirring the buttery mixture that was in her bowl. She wanted to wait at least another ten minutes until she added the filling, but they were on a tight schedule. It was far more stressful than the times she was running her own kitchen, but as soon as her mother and Leo appeared, bags in hand, she leapt back into action.

The jam was spread thickly, followed by a thick coating of the buttercream. She could feel the anticipation as she added the second layer of cake, but ignored the trickle of anxiety that leaked into her stomach as she smooshed the cakes together. Considering her tight time margins,, she was doing great, and Leo was quick to comment, leaving the room with her mother when she shot them a frantic look. It was not the time for compliments, despite how much she appreciated them. Her mother's surprise and small look of awe however, was not an expression to be missed, and Nora did her best to hide the mixed emotions she felt as she maintained focus on her work of art.

The cakes were holding well with the wooden skewers she had found; they looked the kind used at barbecues but they were sturdy and should maintain the upright structure until the end of the evening. The white crumb coat and additional layer had also set the the canvas for a perfect design and Nora smiler as she realised it had been a while since she had felt this form of joy.

Spooning some of the white butter cream into a cloth bag, she expertly piped the rosettes along the perimeter, before adding a second layer. The white quickly appeared boring however, and so she used a palate knife to swipe away her work, before sectioning the cream into separate bowls.

"What is she doing?" She heard Ali whisper as she added a different amount of purple to each portion.

"She's creating art," Millie grinned, and the smile Nora returned was fuelled by excitement, as she filled the clean piping bags, and created her ombré design expertly, keeping the flat top empty, except for the rosettes she added to one side.
Swapping the nib of her bag was a messier task, and her hand were caked in mixture, but Nora didn't mind as she scripted the word 'congratulations!'. Now, that was a wedding cake, but based on the expression her father had when he appeared...it was too late.