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Round 5 - Kazutaka Muraki, "Okashi", Fic & Photos & Video & Recipe (○)
Pseudonym: Kazutaka Muraki
Title: Okashi
Characters/Pairings: Shindou Hikaru, Touya Akira
Rating: Suitable for all ages.
Warnings/Contains: Contains peanuts, milk and wheat ingredients.
Summary/Notes: Touya takes cooking classes and ends up with a birthday gift for Hikaru. (This is a fic. And a dessert. And a plushie.)
Akira had baked before, but never quite like this. His mother had an oven installed in her kitchen years ago just so she could trade off recipes with some of the other wives she had met while traveling with Akira's father. To that end, it wasn't uncommon for Akira to find her wearing an apron with flour and butter smeared on it when she had a little extra time on her hands. To help his mother, Akira had cracked eggs into bowls and mixed up dough with a wooden spoon, but now he was confronted with just how little he actually knew of the practice. The thought that different kinds of sugar were measured in different ways seemed so confusing, but now that he'd actually gone through the process of measuring out everything and combining it, he could understand. Sort of.
He'd come to the class to learn how to cook since his parents were going to be away more often than not now. He'd enrolled in the cooking class and had come once a week for the last two months and learned a variety of different techniques. But each time more and more students had wanted to learn about sweets, and the teacher had finally given in. Akira hadn't known until he arrived at the class that tonight would be all about dessert, from the baking to the decorating.
In the beginning, he was going to make cake. But with his parents out of town, he couldn't make something for them. And while he could make something for himself, eating dessert in an empty house seemed like a lonely prospect. Ogata would eat it, but Akira wasn't sure he'd actually appreciate it. Ashiwara on a sugar high was not a pleasant sight. Ichikawa was on a diet. The only person left he thought might actually eat something he made was Shindou. After he'd decided on that, he'd realized it was fitting since the boy had been talking about his birthday all week when they met at the go salon. He was reasonably certain it was tomorrow. And anyone would appreciate a homemade dessert for a present, right?
Only he'd remembered just before putting on the silly chef's hat he had to wear during the cooking portion of the class that Shindou didn't actually like cake. It was something about the texture. So he'd asked the teacher for an alternative which had led to the blondies. Which was why he had a pan full of peanut butter blondie batter in front of him that was destined to be decorated as... something. He just wasn't sure what yet.
As the cakes (and blondies) were baking, the class was led through different techniques for how to decorate their creation. It took a while, but Akira finally decided what he wanted to do. Other people might not have appreciated it (except maybe the chocolate), but he thought Shindou might.
When he left the class three hours later, he carried a box that smelled like he imagined a candy factory would. He'd bring it to Hikaru tomorrow and hope it was well-received.
The next day, Akira dressed in casual clothes (for him, anyway) and took a moment to call Hikaru's house. His mother answered and confirmed that Hikaru would be there all afternoon since the family's celebration had been postponed until the next day. Soon, Akira arrived at Hikaru's front door and knocked. It took a moment, but Hikaru answered the door. "Touya?"
Akira bowed his head. "I, um, I brought you a present. Happy birthday."
"Cool!" Hikaru stood back and gestured Akira inside. "What is it?"
Akira placed the box on the table in the living room. "It's just something I made. I'm taking a cooking class and we made these yesterday evening."
Hikaru tilted his head a little as he smiled, and then turned his attention to the box. "You and your classes. Always having to learn more, like go isn't enough." And then he pulled back the lid of the box. "Oh my god! Touya!"
Akira glanced at the dessert. It had held up well enough on his journey. "Do you like it, then?"
"I-" Hikaru sat down on the couch. "Is that my game against Hon Su-yeong?"
"Yes, actually. It was the first game that came to mind when I started to make this for you."
"But why did you make me a cake? You aren't asking me out or something, are you? And why that game?"
With a blush, Akira shook his head. Trust Hikaru to jump to some strange conclusion. "No! It's just that you're my rival! Also, it's not cake. It's a frosted peanut butter blondie."
"But why that game?"
Akira looked at the dessert for a long moment. "Because it was the game that made me give you a second chance."
"What do you mean, second chance?" Hikaru asked.
"After the game we played in the school tournament. You were horrible that game. I couldn't believe you were the one I'd been chasing after. So I gave up on you for a long time and wouldn't hear of it when people like Ogata-san were trying to tell me just how quickly you were improving. And then I saw this game and found out it was yours. It..." Akira trailed off for a moment as he tried to put words to the emotion. "It was like reigniting a fire from a single ember."
Hikaru stared at him for a long moment in silence. Just as Akira prepared to say something to fill the void, Hikaru jumped up and said, "Let me get a few plates."
"What? Why?"
Letting out a bark of laughter, Hikaru shook his head. "Did you expect me to just keep it my bedroom on a shelf? It's my birthday. I'm going to have a piece. You might as well have one, too."
Akira nodded. "I'd like that."
Hikaru continued to laugh as he walked into the kitchen. Akira sat down finally and smiled a moment later as he watched Hikaru come back with two plates and a knife. Hikaru cut deftly into the dessert in two directions and carefully lifted out a corner piece onto a plate that he handed to Akira. "Here. You can have this piece. I want the ko fight."
Glancing around on the table, Akira frowned. "Shindou-kun, where are the-"
"Here you are, dear." Akira looked up to see Hikaru's smiling mother holding out a fork on top of a napkin. He was surprised he hadn't heard her come in, but supposed that Hikaru was simply loud by comparison. "Thank you for coming to celebrate with my son."
"Of course, Shindou-san. Thank you for allowing me to, and for the fork."
She set down another fork and napkin near Hikaru and kissed the top of his head which made Hikaru scowl. "I'm in the middle of making dinner or else I'd talk a bit more. Hikaru-kun? Be good."
"Thanks, Mom," Hikaru said as he waved her off.
Akira picked a chocolate chip off the top of the icing and nibbled on it as Hikaru cut another slice and served it up for himself. "Thanks," Hikaru said as he set the knife down and reached for the fork. "Everyone else decided they'd celebrate my birthday tomorrow because it's more convenient for them. This... means a lot."
"It's nothing. I know we're rivals, but we're friends too." Akira dug his fork into the corner of the dessert and brought it up to his mouth. It was sweeter than he was expecting and the layer of icing seemed to stick to the roof of his mouth for a long moment until he could chew and swallow and then dislodge the chocolate. He looked to Hikaru for a response.
Hikaru was making faces of delight as he shoveled bite after bite of the dessert in his mouth. He barely seemed to chew before he was on to the next forkful. When he finally had to pause to scrape the last few crumbs and a blob of icing onto his fork, he let out a contented sigh. "This is so good, Touya. Seriously. I'm so glad we're friends." He slid the last forkful into his mouth and smiled happily with a smudge of chocolate on his bottom lip.
Akira, who had only eaten a few bites because he found the dessert quite rich, smiled. "Me too."
It was only later, after Hikaru had eaten both sets of fondant go ke and finally wiped the chocolate from his mouth, that Akira began to wonder to himself why he'd had their figures joining hands instead of facing off.
Password: hikaruno5
Hikago "Cake": A How-To
To decorate, just do what you like! I like the even coloring of the frosting, but you can leave it off and draw your lines directly on the blondie. A piping bag is best, but a Ziploc bag with a tiny corner cut off will also work. Just go slowly. Also feel free to trace the lines out first using a toothpick or bamboo skewer.
Notes:
If you're intending to make a go "cake" of your own, here's instructions on how to freehand a 19x19 grid. Draw a box around the edge of the cake. Draw one line down the middle both ways to divide it into quarters. Then, each half (both ways) should be divided into thirds both ways, and each of those thirds divided again into thirds.
Go to opponent's entry: Round 5 - Uchida, "Shingata", Fic (●)
Go to vote: Fandom Triforce vs. The White Suit Society - Second Board Match
Title: Okashi
Characters/Pairings: Shindou Hikaru, Touya Akira
Rating: Suitable for all ages.
Warnings/Contains: Contains peanuts, milk and wheat ingredients.
Summary/Notes: Touya takes cooking classes and ends up with a birthday gift for Hikaru. (This is a fic. And a dessert. And a plushie.)
Akira had baked before, but never quite like this. His mother had an oven installed in her kitchen years ago just so she could trade off recipes with some of the other wives she had met while traveling with Akira's father. To that end, it wasn't uncommon for Akira to find her wearing an apron with flour and butter smeared on it when she had a little extra time on her hands. To help his mother, Akira had cracked eggs into bowls and mixed up dough with a wooden spoon, but now he was confronted with just how little he actually knew of the practice. The thought that different kinds of sugar were measured in different ways seemed so confusing, but now that he'd actually gone through the process of measuring out everything and combining it, he could understand. Sort of.
He'd come to the class to learn how to cook since his parents were going to be away more often than not now. He'd enrolled in the cooking class and had come once a week for the last two months and learned a variety of different techniques. But each time more and more students had wanted to learn about sweets, and the teacher had finally given in. Akira hadn't known until he arrived at the class that tonight would be all about dessert, from the baking to the decorating.
In the beginning, he was going to make cake. But with his parents out of town, he couldn't make something for them. And while he could make something for himself, eating dessert in an empty house seemed like a lonely prospect. Ogata would eat it, but Akira wasn't sure he'd actually appreciate it. Ashiwara on a sugar high was not a pleasant sight. Ichikawa was on a diet. The only person left he thought might actually eat something he made was Shindou. After he'd decided on that, he'd realized it was fitting since the boy had been talking about his birthday all week when they met at the go salon. He was reasonably certain it was tomorrow. And anyone would appreciate a homemade dessert for a present, right?
Only he'd remembered just before putting on the silly chef's hat he had to wear during the cooking portion of the class that Shindou didn't actually like cake. It was something about the texture. So he'd asked the teacher for an alternative which had led to the blondies. Which was why he had a pan full of peanut butter blondie batter in front of him that was destined to be decorated as... something. He just wasn't sure what yet.
As the cakes (and blondies) were baking, the class was led through different techniques for how to decorate their creation. It took a while, but Akira finally decided what he wanted to do. Other people might not have appreciated it (except maybe the chocolate), but he thought Shindou might.
When he left the class three hours later, he carried a box that smelled like he imagined a candy factory would. He'd bring it to Hikaru tomorrow and hope it was well-received.
The next day, Akira dressed in casual clothes (for him, anyway) and took a moment to call Hikaru's house. His mother answered and confirmed that Hikaru would be there all afternoon since the family's celebration had been postponed until the next day. Soon, Akira arrived at Hikaru's front door and knocked. It took a moment, but Hikaru answered the door. "Touya?"
Akira bowed his head. "I, um, I brought you a present. Happy birthday."
"Cool!" Hikaru stood back and gestured Akira inside. "What is it?"
Akira placed the box on the table in the living room. "It's just something I made. I'm taking a cooking class and we made these yesterday evening."
Hikaru tilted his head a little as he smiled, and then turned his attention to the box. "You and your classes. Always having to learn more, like go isn't enough." And then he pulled back the lid of the box. "Oh my god! Touya!"
Akira glanced at the dessert. It had held up well enough on his journey. "Do you like it, then?"
"I-" Hikaru sat down on the couch. "Is that my game against Hon Su-yeong?"
"Yes, actually. It was the first game that came to mind when I started to make this for you."
"But why did you make me a cake? You aren't asking me out or something, are you? And why that game?"
With a blush, Akira shook his head. Trust Hikaru to jump to some strange conclusion. "No! It's just that you're my rival! Also, it's not cake. It's a frosted peanut butter blondie."
"But why that game?"
Akira looked at the dessert for a long moment. "Because it was the game that made me give you a second chance."
"What do you mean, second chance?" Hikaru asked.
"After the game we played in the school tournament. You were horrible that game. I couldn't believe you were the one I'd been chasing after. So I gave up on you for a long time and wouldn't hear of it when people like Ogata-san were trying to tell me just how quickly you were improving. And then I saw this game and found out it was yours. It..." Akira trailed off for a moment as he tried to put words to the emotion. "It was like reigniting a fire from a single ember."
Hikaru stared at him for a long moment in silence. Just as Akira prepared to say something to fill the void, Hikaru jumped up and said, "Let me get a few plates."
"What? Why?"
Letting out a bark of laughter, Hikaru shook his head. "Did you expect me to just keep it my bedroom on a shelf? It's my birthday. I'm going to have a piece. You might as well have one, too."
Akira nodded. "I'd like that."
Hikaru continued to laugh as he walked into the kitchen. Akira sat down finally and smiled a moment later as he watched Hikaru come back with two plates and a knife. Hikaru cut deftly into the dessert in two directions and carefully lifted out a corner piece onto a plate that he handed to Akira. "Here. You can have this piece. I want the ko fight."
Glancing around on the table, Akira frowned. "Shindou-kun, where are the-"
"Here you are, dear." Akira looked up to see Hikaru's smiling mother holding out a fork on top of a napkin. He was surprised he hadn't heard her come in, but supposed that Hikaru was simply loud by comparison. "Thank you for coming to celebrate with my son."
"Of course, Shindou-san. Thank you for allowing me to, and for the fork."
She set down another fork and napkin near Hikaru and kissed the top of his head which made Hikaru scowl. "I'm in the middle of making dinner or else I'd talk a bit more. Hikaru-kun? Be good."
"Thanks, Mom," Hikaru said as he waved her off.
Akira picked a chocolate chip off the top of the icing and nibbled on it as Hikaru cut another slice and served it up for himself. "Thanks," Hikaru said as he set the knife down and reached for the fork. "Everyone else decided they'd celebrate my birthday tomorrow because it's more convenient for them. This... means a lot."
"It's nothing. I know we're rivals, but we're friends too." Akira dug his fork into the corner of the dessert and brought it up to his mouth. It was sweeter than he was expecting and the layer of icing seemed to stick to the roof of his mouth for a long moment until he could chew and swallow and then dislodge the chocolate. He looked to Hikaru for a response.
Hikaru was making faces of delight as he shoveled bite after bite of the dessert in his mouth. He barely seemed to chew before he was on to the next forkful. When he finally had to pause to scrape the last few crumbs and a blob of icing onto his fork, he let out a contented sigh. "This is so good, Touya. Seriously. I'm so glad we're friends." He slid the last forkful into his mouth and smiled happily with a smudge of chocolate on his bottom lip.
Akira, who had only eaten a few bites because he found the dessert quite rich, smiled. "Me too."
It was only later, after Hikaru had eaten both sets of fondant go ke and finally wiped the chocolate from his mouth, that Akira began to wonder to himself why he'd had their figures joining hands instead of facing off.
Password: hikaruno5
Hikago "Cake": A How-To
Peanut Butter Blondies
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened (1 and 1/3 sticks)
1 cup packed brown sugar (or 1 cup of white granulated sugar and 1 tbsp. of molasses)
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup whole milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional)
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Cream together peanut butter, butter, brown and white sugar.
- Mix in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract and milk.
- Add the baking powder, and then add flour in 1/2 cup increments (mixing after each addition) until fully combined.
- Add the chopped peanuts last.
- Pour into a greased and floured baking pan (or use a baking spray like Baker's Joy). You can also line it with aluminum foil first for easy removal.
- If you used an 8"x13" pan, you'll bake for 30-40 minutes. If you used an 8"x8" pan and poured the leftover batter into a mini loaf pan like I did, they'll each take about 60 minutes and the mini loaf will fall significantly in the middle, but still be delicious.
Blondies are done when they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out without a thick glob of batter on it (a thin layer is okay as brownies/blondies are ideally a little underdone).
Marshmallow Fondant
1 cup tightly packed mini-marshmallows
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. cooking oil
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted and divided
- In a microwave safe bowl, stir marshmallows in water until coated.
- Microwave in 10 second increments, stirring after each one, until there are no more lumps. (This can vary greatly depending on the temperature of your water and the wattage of your microwave. Mine took six cooking cycles.)
- Add the cooking oil (vegetable/canola/peanut or whatever you use that isn't olive oil [that taste is too strong]).
- Begin to add the powdered sugar in 1/4 cup increments, stirring after each addition, until the fondant has a consistency of a dough. It should feel slightly sticky, but not have pieces stick to your fingers at the touch. At this point, you'll knead the fondant with more powdered sugar until you can pull it apart a little and it still won't stick to your fingers.
If you want to color your fondant, add food coloring and knead until the color is well mixed. You'll need to knead in additional powdered sugar to keep it from becoming sticky.
You can roll it out between two pieces of greased waxed paper, roll it out like cookie dough (using more powdered sugar instead of flour), or dig in and start molding. If you decide to mold something of any height, consider using an inner "strut" of sorts. Whether it's a toothpick, a pretzel stick or a whole lollipop, it'll keep your figure from drooping too much.
You can also paint directly onto the figures with food coloring (using a gel will allow you to have very dark colors while liquid food coloring will give you more of a watercolor effect).
This amount of fondant is, in theory, enough to cover a 2 layer 8" round cake, or make around 3 figures of the size shown here. This is not your typical cake fondant and does actually taste good.
To decorate, just do what you like! I like the even coloring of the frosting, but you can leave it off and draw your lines directly on the blondie. A piping bag is best, but a Ziploc bag with a tiny corner cut off will also work. Just go slowly. Also feel free to trace the lines out first using a toothpick or bamboo skewer.
Notes:
If you're intending to make a go "cake" of your own, here's instructions on how to freehand a 19x19 grid. Draw a box around the edge of the cake. Draw one line down the middle both ways to divide it into quarters. Then, each half (both ways) should be divided into thirds both ways, and each of those thirds divided again into thirds.
Go to opponent's entry: Round 5 - Uchida, "Shingata", Fic (●)
Go to vote: Fandom Triforce vs. The White Suit Society - Second Board Match
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-17 03:31 pm (UTC)(link)- Muraki
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-17 02:40 pm (UTC)(link)The fic is cute if not incredibly special until the last line, but with everything else, it really comes together. The submission as a whole is creative and adorable. As someone who enjoys baking, I really appreciate the tips. (I've never used fondant, but I DO have some marshmallows in the drawer... Hmm!)
I applaud.
--Fido
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-17 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)- Muraki
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-17 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)- kakari
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-17 05:29 pm (UTC)(link)- Muraki
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-17 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)(I am taking far too much unjustifiable pride in being your teammate. But really, when you produce something like this veritable tour de force, it is impossible not to be absolutely bowled over.)
BRAVO.
-- Ash Landers
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-17 07:53 pm (UTC)(link)- Muraki
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-18 01:26 am (UTC)(link)Yay for cake!!!
♥ Kyuba
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-18 01:51 am (UTC)(link)- Muraki
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-20 12:35 am (UTC)(link)-akota
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-20 12:37 am (UTC)(link)-akota
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(Anonymous) 2012-08-20 10:15 am (UTC)(link)-Uchida.