The Recipe for Chocolate Cake
By: illusionary001
No pairings
Rating: G
Summary: There are lessons to be learned when cooking.
It was early in the morning when Goku woke up to the smell of baking. The warm aroma of sugar, flour and butter all mixed together in one bowl.
Goku sat up sleepily and looked around the room. Gojyo was sprawled out still very much asleep, and snoring on the bed next to him.
"Heh. Stupid Kappa."
Goku then looked across the room where Sanzo was buried underneath a mountain of blankets. Even with the heater on Sanzo had still asked the innkeeper for
more blankets, insisting that the room was a freezer.
They had already stayed in the town for over three days due to the violent snow storms. Sanzo hadn't been happy, but he eventually calmed down because he knew he had no choice. He proceeded to read the paper and smoke threatening to kill anyone who bothered him.
Typical Sanzo.
Goku's eyes then panned over to Hakkai's bed and noticed it was empty and the sheets were pulled neatly over the mattress.
'That must explain the warm smell.' Thought Goku as he pulled off the covers.
The cold air hit his lean body the minute he threw the blankets off his body.
Shivering, he quickly got out of bed and put on his clothing. Once he was fully dressed he left the room to follow the smell.
Goku followed the aroma through the halls and down the stairs until he got to the kitchen where he saw Hakkai, his back turned, busy mixing something.
Curious as to what Hakkai was making Goku walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Hakkai having heard some one come in turned around and smiled.
"Ah, good morning Goku; you're up early. Is everything alright?"
Goku nodded. "Yeah, everything is cool, but I smelled something good. What are you making?"
Hakkai looked at Goku with a gentle expression.
"Why, I am baking a cake Goku."
"Mmm, yummy! Cake! What kind!?"
"Chocolate."
"Mmm. But I don't think I've ever seen you make chocolate cake. You always make yellow."
"Ah, yes, but you see, I found this recipe book in the inn cabinet and found this really delicious recipe for a chocolate one."
Hakkai then showed Goku the recipe in the book. Goku's eyes panned across the pages that read.
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
For frosting
1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
"Mmm that does look good!"
Hakkai chuckled "Everything that is edible looks good to you Goku."
Goku shook his head. "Uh, uh I don't like spinach. Sanzo made me eat that back at the temple. It's so gross!"
"Ha Ha Ha. That's something new; never in this world would I have thought there was something you didn't like to eat."
Goku watched Hakkai pour in 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk into a mixing bowl. A careful amount so that it wouldn't get to watery.
Goku then noticed that there was one cake in the oven behind Hakkai.
"Hey, Hakkai? You already have one cake in the oven. Why are you making another one?"
"Well, I figured, since the innkeeper and his wife were so nice to us, I would make one for them too." Said Hakkai as he spooned in the final ingredients into the mixing bowl. His delicate fingers putting in just the right amount, with such love and care.
Looking at the mixing bowl in Hakkai's arms and the cake in the oven a thought crossed Goku's mind.
"Say Hakkai. Why don't all the ingredients in cake taste sweet?"
"What do you mean Goku?"
"Well, the only ingredients that tastes good are the chocolate and the sugar. Everything else tastes nasty in it's raw form. I would think to make something sweet such as cake; you would need all sweet tasting things."
Hakkai smiled at Goku. "Well Goku, you need a balance of bad tasting things to balance out the good ones. If you just have good tasting things it would be too
sweet and boring. By themselves the raw ingredients may taste bad, but when put together and meshed into one they make something good."
Goku thought for a moment, and then said. "It's kind of like us in a way."
"What do you mean Goku?"
"Well, the four of us, when we are alone we're weak, frustrated, and lost. But when we're together everything just seems to fall into place and make one good thing…
Don't you think?"
"I think you have a good point there Goku."
"Yeah, each of us is an ingredient. Let's see I can see Sanzo as the flour, because he is the core of the group. Gojyo's the baking powder because he's all flakey and I can see you as the eggs."
Hakkai laughed at this. "Why would I be the eggs?"
"Because you are the mother hen."
"Really? Wow." said Hakkai chuckling. "Well personally I can see you as being the cocoa."
"Why?"
"Because you are the sweet part of the group that complements us plain ingredients." said Hakkai as he began pouring the cake mix into baking pans.
Hakkai then put the new cake in the oven and took the finished one out to begin adorning it with homemade chocolate icing.
Goku then thought again.
"Then I think jeep would be the frosting."
"Why is that Goku?"
"Well, because he is the one that keeps us all together."