Chapter 25: Light Snow Silk Crepe
The ingredients that I have in hand are a strong sake made from rice, peach-like pinal fruit, grape-like paple fruit, and kudzu starch. Only these.
However, these are plenty. I can make the best pastry.
“We’ve gathered the ingredients, the cooking preparation can start now. I can handle the rest on my own, so the two of you please go home and rest. Tomorrow will be a hard, long day.”
When I say that, Tina the pretty girl with silver fox ears and Chloe the blonde haired beauty shake their heads.
“Kurt-sama, I’m your partner. Let me help you!”
“I just want to stay and look since it’s interesting. Besides I might be able to help with my water magic arte.”
I smile bitterly. Oh, well, if they want to be my company, I don’t have any reason to waste effort to refuse them, huh?
“I got it. Then I’ll accept your help. I’ll be under your care, okay?”
“Yes, Kurt-sama.”
“Un, leave it to me.”
They look quite eager.
I’m heating up the pot. Then, first I’m boiling down the rice wine that Chloe brought, until the remaining portion is a sweet syrup with the wine’s umami. It’s a feat that can only be achieved with wine of high sugar content.
After that is done, I add water into the sweet syrup, putting in the pinal fruit that has been peeled and cut, then adding in the juice from the grape-like paple fruit. The paple fruit that Chloe has put the effort to gather is added for the acidity.
The scent of wine, peach, and grape is wafting around the vicinity. Then I add the pink peeled skin of the pinal fruit. With this, it will turn into vibrant pink color.
What I’m cooking right now is pinal fruit compote.
Compote is a European traditional fruit cooking process, created by boiling fruit with water, sweetened water, or Western liquor. It’s different from jams, as it retains the fruit body’s mouthfeel texture and flavor, and can be eaten alone.
Absorbing the complex umami and elegant sweetness from rice wine, as well as the acidity from paple, the pinal will become more delicious. Actually, compote is made with lemon and western liquor, but for pinal, paple is a better fit. Products from the same land have great compatibility.
“Uwaa, Kurt-sama. It smells great.”
“Sheesh, I want to eat it right away.”
These two are completely immersed in this fragrance. It’s understandable; even I feel that drool is pooling inside my mouth.
“It’s still far from being finished, it’s on its way, you know. The pastry baking starts now.”
After enough time, I quench the fire. It’s just in the right pink color.
“Now we’ve completed the first step. Next, we need to completely remove the heat and let it sit overnight. Only then the deliciousness will settle in. Tina, can you make a lot of ice?”
“Of course, Kurt-sama!”
I made Tina create ice with her fire magic arte. The essence of fire magic arte is heat manipulation. It’s not difficult to create ice with it.
“It’s a pity but this is all we can do for today. The rest is for tomorrow.”
Hearing my words, the two of them make disappointed faces.
“I see, so we can’t eat it today...”
“Right...... But should we get a small freebie?”
I take out the lukewarm pinal compote and cut it down into small pieces. Then, I toss them into their mouths.
After they’re done with their shocked expressions, they chew into it soundly.
“This is really amazing. Adult taste. Raw pinal is delicious too, but it has a wonderful and more complex flavor.”
I’m smiling. When Tina ate the raw fruit, she looked quite moved. At that time, I vowed to myself that I’d make her feel moved more than eating it raw.
“I’m surprised too. I thought that raw pinal is the best, but it can be eaten like this too.”
Chloe the elf also seems to feel the extreme deliciousness, as she keeps peeking into the pinal compote in the pot after eating her portion just now, looking like she hasn’t had enough.
“I’m happy if it pleases the two of you. But if you’re surprised with this, your body can’t handle it, you know? After sitting overnight, it will become more delicious, and the kudzu pastry made with it will become even more delicious. This is merely the lowest level.”
Their eyes are shining with blatant expectations.
“Aaah, I want to eat it soon!”
“Right? Tomorrow can’t arrive too quickly!”
Being able to please them to this extent, it’s worth making. While continuing in a good mood, I remove the remaining heat and bottle up the pinal compote. And then, I spread ice inside the water jug, putting in the bottle that has been completely wrapped with cloth, and seal the cap. Doing this will make it stay cooled until tomorrow noon.
“Now, let’s go back to our rooms. We can make the best pastry. So let’s have a strategy meeting so that people will eat that pastry.”
“Yes!”
“Right? We have to save everyone!”
With hope in our hearts, we return to our room.
☘
In the next morning, I come back to the kitchen. Of course it’s to start making the pastry. Chloe and Tina are making breakfast in Colt’s mansion.
Cooled down properly, I take out the bottled pinal compote from the water jug. I’m sampling the taste.
“Yes, it’s a great flavor. It’s immersed just right.”
After one night, the flavor has developed well. If there’s anything wrong with adding the acidity from paple fruit, everything will be ruined. But that part is completely satisfying.
In that case, the rest is just to bake a pastry using this ingredient.
First, I boil some water and add kudzu starch into it. The water turns white, but it becomes more transparent as it’s being heated up continuously.
“I’m adding the syrup from the compote here.”
It’s to add sweetness and fragrance. There’s already a gentle sweetness from kudzu. It’s all right to add the sweetness in moderation.
I turn off the heat right after it’s stained with a translucent pale pink color.
“As expected from the 100% kudzu. The smoothness is different.”
Kudzu is a high class item. The kudzu starch circulating in the market is made by adding sweet potato starch or something else into it. However, this is pure kudzu starch 100% made from kudzu. It’s a luxury that can’t be enjoyed on Earth.
Then, my pastry is something that can’t show the umami if not using this 100% pure kudzu. I carefully pour the dissolved kudzu onto the stone board I previously created with my earth magic arte. This board was created yesterday, and has been continuously cooled down by Tina’s ice. On the stone board, there are countless of ping pong ball-sized holes. On top of the half spheres, I fill half of it with kudzu. After all the holes are filled with kudzu, I cover the stone board with cloth.
“Now, it should be better than I thought.”
While waiting for the kudzu to become firm, I peel raw pinal fruit’s skin and slice them. The compoted pinal fruit is indeed more delicious than the raw fruit. However, the raw fruit also has its advantages. My pastry will make good use of the flavors from them both.
When I finish slicing the necessary amount of pinal skin, it’s right on time to uncover the cloth from the stone board to check it out. The kudzu has become nice and firm. Because I added more water before, its color is completely transparent that I can see the stone color beneath it.
First, I put pinal fruit compote into it, then adding raw pinal on top of it. Finally, I pour more dissolved kudzu into the half sphere until it’s full.
Then I cover it again with the cloth. With this, all that’s left is to wait as the pastry is done.
What I’m making is the pastry that will showcase the utmost limit of the ingredients, mizu mochi. Pastries using fruits are the most delicious without many additions.
I sit on a chair, then wait for the completion of the pastry.
“Kurt-sama, breakfast is ready.”
“Everyone is waiting, you know?”
Tina and Chloe come to fetch me.
Before I leave, let’s take a look at the pastry. The kudzu is completely firm now.
“Yeah, I’m going. The pastry is finished too.”
So I shall go back. The moment I think like that, though, the two of them look highly spirited.
“Kurt-sama, so the pastry is done!”
“Show me, Kurt. I’ve been curious since yesterday!”
Such an amazing pressure. I just took a look at it, but this is out of my control.
“It cannot be helped then. This is my pastry.”
I fetch a plate and take out just two of them from the mold. Then I put the pastry onto the plate. When the half-sphere pastry is on top of the plate, it wriggles.
“Uwaa, so pretty.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen it. Amazing, it’s transparent and wiggling.”
My pastry is a beauty, just like these two girls said. The pale pink translucent kudzu skin wraps around the vibrant pink pinal compote. It’s like a jewel inside a crystal. And that crystal is wiggling from the tiniest vibrations.
It’s a western pastry with kudzu sakura reference, a Japanese pastry where a red bean pastry filling is wrapped in kudzu skin.
The outer skin is soft due to the maximum amount of water content, allowing the transparency, and the center filling is fruit compote. For the sake of making it more full-bodied, I added the compote syrup into the kudzu skin.
It’s a simple pastry, but balancing the ingredients’ distribution is extremely difficult.
If the water is too little, it will harden. If it’s too much, it will collapse. Without reaching that utmost limit, it cannot be made.
“Come one, you too. It’s okay to eat.”
They’re admiring the pastry without eating them, so I prompt them.
“This is too pretty, it’s too wasteful to eat.”
“Right? It’s like precious jewel, so.”
Even while saying so, the spoons that I handed to them are reaching the pastry now.
The moment Tina’s spoon touches it, it’s wobbling. She then put more strength into it, and the spoon smoothly slides in. The compoted peach breaks apart easily. Tina brings the spoon to her mouth and hold it in.
“Mmmmm, mmmmmm♪”
Tina’s fox ears point up, while her tail is buzzing.
Yosh, it’s a grand success. It’s the reaction when Tina is eating something truly delicious.
On her side, Chloe is also blankly bringing the pastry into her mouth.
“Amazing. This pastry. It’s jiggling but when I put it in my mouth, it’s springy, but it also disappears like snow.”
“Only kudzu can make something like this, you know.”
Kudzu’s particle is extremely fine. That’s exactly why this smooth, voluptuous texture definitely can’t be found in any other ingredients. The springy texture and the smooth sensation is something unique to kudzu. It’s the texture that can only be drawn out of the purest 100% kudzu starch.
“This is amazing, I’m amazed with the texture, but the skin is lightly sweet. When I bite the pinal filling, a reaaally amazing syrup is overflowing, and they are mingling together. It’s been heated, so why can it give such a strong smell?”
“Along with the pinal compote that’s more delicious than raw, I also added a little bit of chopped raw pinal.”
That’s why I added the fresh pinal. The fragrance and overflowing juice. This is the fresh fruit’s advantage. This pastry showcases the advantages of both compote and fresh fruit.
“Amazing. Humans can make this terrific pastry.”
Chloe’s face turns red, while staring at me respectfully.
“It’s not humans who can make this. It’s because it’s Kurt-sama.”
Somehow, Tina stands proudly with a smug face.
“It seems the pastry is a huge success. Then let’s go back to the mansion. Everyone will be tired of waiting by now.”
“Ah, that’s right. We came here to call Kurt over.”
Chloe stands up in panic.
Tina also stands up while wiping the corner of her mouth. As if she just remembered, she popped a question.
“Oh, right. Kurt-sama, have you decided on the name of this pastry?”
“Un, I’ve decided. Light snow silk crepe.”
“........Light snow. Melting endlessly in the mouth, it’s a perfect name for this pastry.
Tina is precisely reading my intention. The endlessly falling and refreshing coolness of a light snow is this pastry’s uniqueness. Also, the silk-like smooth texture of a crepe is the nuance of the latter half. Crepe has the nuance of a wrapping, so in the broadest sense, this pastry is a crepe.
Afterwards, while soothing Chloe’s grumbling, we return to the mansion and enjoy our breakfast.
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