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Chapter 5: Keep calm and bake on
Carrying several bars of high quality dark chocolate, Kai returned to his kitchen stall, where Crystal, his baking partner, had already started to prepare the crumb base for 'their' cheesecake.
As his 'teammate' completely ignored his presence, the Master of Fire wordlessly took out the longest and sharpest kitchen utensil from their knife block and began chopping up the chocolate.
"I've found the desiccated coconut. Do we have everything we need?" Cole asked his baking partner. The Master of Earth had been very surprised to see how many different ingredients go into an ordinary carrot cake, even before his modifications.
"Let's better check now before we get started." Lia looked at her recipe. "All the standard ingredients, like flour, sugar, oil, eggs, and butter are here." The girl explained. "And then we got the coconut, cream cheese for the frosting, cinnamon, a tin of pineapples, walnuts, raisins and, of course, carrots."
"And don't forget these." Cole handed her a green bag he had taken from the communal freezer.
"What are those?" Lia looked confused – and slightly nervous.
"Peas." Cole simply stated.
"Peas?"
"Yes. You know, people always seem to complain about the different ingredients in my dishes not going well together. So, I thought about what would go well with carrots. And there's simply nothing better than peas with carrots."
And I can't believe no one has tried this before.
"Uhm, but this cake already has a lot of ingredients that work well with carrots but not so much with peas… Like… the… uhm, raisins…"
The Black Ninja was glad to have an experienced baker on his team, he hadn't thought of this possibility at all. But luckily, he already had a solution to this problem. "Why don't we just replace the raisins with the peas?" He suggested. "Then we don't have to worry about adjusting the total amount either."
"I don't think… the… walnuts would taste nice in a cake without raisins."
It was obvious that the brown-haired girl still didn't agree with his idea. But then, much to Cole's surprise, she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, if it doesn't work out, there will always be the next baking competition." She grinned. "But making a Cole Brookstone original is a once in a lifetime opportunity I just wouldn't want to miss. So, let's do it."
The Black Ninja broke out in a huge smile. "Thanks. And I'm sure it will be great."
"Maybe we could decorate the cake with peas and carrots made from icing and food colouring." Lia suggested.
Cole nodded in agreement. "And marzipan potatoes please."
Kai was so caught up in his work that he didn't stop until all eight bars – including his own 'emergency supply' – were cut into perfectly shaped and sized chocolate chips.
He looked around, curious to see what was happening around him.
In front of him, Jay and Tori were speed-talking their way through what appeared to be all levels of all 22 instalments of the Serpentine Tomb Raider video game series while grating orange zest at lightning speed (Jay) and sifting the dry ingredients for their orange cake into a bowl (Tori), respectively.
Beside them, Arctic interestedly observed as Zane gently folded the beaten egg whites into the chiffon cake batter for their Mango Cake.
Behind the white team, next to Kai's own kitchen area, Cole and Lia were caught up in a friendly discussion, most likely about Cole's interpretation of the recipe.
As their team had been the last one announced, Nya and her baking partner were still introducing themselves to each other, it looked like they were getting along quite well.
From behind him, Kai could hear the playful banter going on between Lloyd and Ashley. The Red Ninja decided not to turn around and risk embarrassing his little brother. Instead, he directed his attention on his own partner.
Crystal had put the tin with the cake base to the side and was now measuring the ingredients for the cream cheese mixture. Kai was rather impressed that he didn't need to use a recipe to know the exact quantities.
"Uhm, I am finished with the chocolate chips." He carefully told him.
"Great, thanks." The black-haired boy replied, much to Kai's surprise. Apparently, Crystal was so focused on his job that he even forgot to insult his baking partner. This was a good opportunity for the Red Ninja to have a normal conversation with his teammate and maybe even find out a bit more about him.
"Wow. You're really good. How come you don't need a recipe?" He asked.
"I do a lot of baking. And especially this cake."
"Why that?"
"It's my boyfriend's favourite cake."
A small smile formed on Crystal's face as he absentmindedly fiddled with the silver raindrop charm hanging around his neck on a silver necklace.
"That's a nice reason. What's his name?"
"It's Kasen."
"Nice. Is he here in the audience?"
Unfortunately, Crystal was just finished with the balance and broken out of his previous state. He looked up and eyed the Red Ninja sharply. "I don't think that is any of your business. Don't you have anyone else to annoy with your presence?"
Kai felt the anger rising inside him. He was just trying to be nice. But the other one didn't seem to care about even pretending to work together.
He could feel himself starting to lose his temper and it took him a lot of concentration not to literally burst into flames in front of the cameras.
Not sure for how long he would be able to contain himself and his element, the Master of Fire rushed to the studio exit.
"93 bottles of tea on the wall, 93 bottles of tea.
Take one down and pass it around, 92 bottles of tea on the wall."
Lloyd hummed while greasing the second of three cake tins Ashley had asked him to prepare, while she was gathering the ingredients for their cake.
To his own surprise, the young Green Ninja was enjoying this little task and he was making sure not to miss a single spot.
"Wow, really good job." A female voice said. Lloyd turned around and saw Ashley inspecting the already finished tin. He hadn't noticed her coming back from the pantry. He tensed. I hope she didn't hear me sing.
"Uhm, thanks. My uncle has taught me that, no matter how simple the task may appear, you should always try to do it at your best."
"Your uncle sounds like a smart man. Probably not as smart as me but still pretty smart."
He's definitely not as pretty… Lloyd thought, blushing slightly. "So, uhm… what kind of cake are we going to bake?" He quickly enquired.
"I was thinking of a Red Velvet Cake. It looks amazing and it tastes amazing, too. And it's actually not that difficult to prepare."
"Sounds all good to me." Lloyd agreed.
"Although, if you prefer, we can also make it a Green Velvet Cake instead."
Ashley presented two small bottles containing the two different options of natural liquid food colouring.
"N-no, r-red is fine with me." The Green Ninja's blush deepened when he realized that he was staring at the girl's scarlet hair during his reply. "But we may have to deal with Kai's ego if we make a cake in his colour."
Ashley laughed. "Oh, don't worry. I am sure we can handle that."
Lloyd joined in, feeling more relaxed again. But then…
"So, tell me, what was that song you were singing earlier?" The girl asked.
"N-nothing." Lloyd was sure that his face now matched the red food colouring.
But, of course, Ashley would have none of it. "Well, nothing sounded really nice. And I am an amazing singer, so why don't you teach me something?"
"I-I'd rather not."
"C'mon, you looked really relaxed earlier. Consider it as part of your training."
When she flashed him a bright smile, Lloyd had no choice but to accept his fate. Who would have known that the Green Ninja could be that easily defeated?
"Alright, it goes like this: 92 bottles of tea on the wall, 92 bottles of tea…"
Outside the studio building, Kai leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. He could feel himself regaining control of his emotions and consequently of his elemental powers.
Maybe he should have chosen the party entertainment job instead of the baking competition …
The Red Ninja felt the phone in his pocket giving a short buzz. He removed the device and looked the newly received message. It was an image.
'Keep calm and bake on', it said in capital white letters on, of course, a bright pink background.
Smiling, Kai looked for the sender and instantly recognised the number – although he had not used it for quite some time.
This meant that Skylor really was watching him (and his teammates) on TV …
'Thanks Sky. Feeling much better already.' He couldn't think of any better reply, so he just added a smiley face to make his statement more convincing.
Another message appeared on his screen, sent from the same number.
'You've stood up to so many enemies, including my father. Don't let this guy get to you.'
'I won't.'
'Btw, if you ever want someone to talk to outside of your team (or even just some noodles), you'll know where to find them.'
'Might take you up on both.'
'I hope you will.'
'I promise. But I better go back now before they'll start to miss me. Talk soon.'
'Rumour has it that some people watching the show on TV are missing you already. Bye xx'
Feeling a lot better than before, Kai went back inside.
When he entered the studio, he noticed that the noise level had increased quite a bit during his absence. Jay and Tori had decided to join into Lloyd's singing, very loud and, in the Blue Ninja's case, very much off-tune. He also had changed the lyrics for the occasion, so the wall currently held 56 buckets of frosting.
When she spotted him, Nya waved at her brother, a questioning look on her face. So, Kai walked over to her maroon and light blue kitchen stall.
"Hi sis. How are you doing?"
"I am good. But are you alright?"
"yeah, all fine. Really. I just needed a short break from…him." He gave a nod in the direction of his baking partner. "So, what are you doing?"
The Master of Water laughed. "Baking maybe?" She teased her brother. "We're melting chocolate for the fudge frosting, to be more specific. By the way, this is Dawn." She introduced her baking partner, a freckled girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Nice to meet you Dawn." After shaking hands, Kai then addressed his sister. "In case you haven't noticed it yet, your boyfriend can be just a tiny bit annoying sometimes."
Nya blushed. "I actually think it's kinda cute. And while he is his usual dorky self around other girls rather than acting all serious and trying to impress them, I know that I have nothing to worry about." She lowered her voice: "I am so glad Nellie is too busy talking to the jury, so she won't bother him either."
Kai looked over to the pink sofas where their host was chatting to the three judges, two men and one woman. The first one was Nellie's own manager, the all-famous Brown Ninja.
The Red Ninja somehow recognised the other two people's faces, most likely from those magazines that used to feature the Ninja as well, but he couldn't remember their names.
The second man had dark spiky blue hair and ocean blue eyes, he was dressed in a simple grey shirt and blue jeans. If Kai remembered correctly, he was the chef in one of the most up and rising restaurants in Ninjago City, even at his young age.
The young woman had long brown hair, she was wearing a tight pink short sleeved top and a diamond amulet around her neck. The petite figure and the way she kept her upright posture even while sitting on the soft sofa suggested that she could be a classical dancer.
But Dawn burst out laughing. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry about Nellie hitting on Jay. Haven't you noticed how flustered she is around Dareth?"
After watching the four people on the sofas for a few minutes, Kai and Nya agreed with the other girl's conclusion. Nellie definitely had a thing for the Brown Ninja.
"I think the chocolate is ready to be added to the sugar now." Nya said. "You are more than welcome to stay with us, Kai, but maybe you should try to fix things with your teammate?"
"I guess you are right. I'll leave you girls alone then."
"Excellent." Nya winked at him. "Now we can finally continue our discussion about fashion and make up and so on."
"Do you remember what exactly we were talking about earlier?" She then asked her new friend.
"You were just telling me how you've rebuilt the Destiny's Bounty pretty much all by yourself." Dawn answered.
When Kai returned to the red kitchen stall, the cheesecake was already in the oven, so the Master of Fire helped his partner tidy up their bench.
"I have to admit that the chocolate chips were very well cut. I guess you are able to handle a knife and not as useless as I had thought." Crystal told him.
"Thanks." Kai replied. I guess that's as good a compliment as I will ever get from him.
"They also taste very nice." The black-haired boy added.
Most of the chocolate chips had been used for the preparation of the cake, but some were still left, so Kai took a handful. Crystal was right. They were very well cut and even more delicious.
The team in front of him had finished both their cake and their song and Jay was licking the spatula and bowl with leftover orange chocolate ganache. Kai just couldn't resist but flick a few of the morsels at the Blue Ninja.
"One more and… done."
Jay and Tori high-fived. They had just finished decorating the top of their cake as a 'pac-man' level with mini M&M's.
The blonde girl carefully took the cake to the counter where some of the other completed cakes were already sitting and Jay took the opportunity to taste some of the chocolate orange frosting.
Suddenly, he felt a little pain at the back of his neck, caused by the impact of a small dark chocolate chip on his skin. Jay turned around and, dipping the spatula back into the frosting, grinned at the Red Ninja.
"I think you have just made a biiig mistake my friend… prepare to face the consequences!"
The judges (OCs) are: Rin (Kiritoandrinforever) and Kate (MLPninjagomore13).
This story has only two chapters left and I am really hoping to have it complete for my one-year anniversary at the end of this month (although these plans usually don't work out the way I would like them to).
It shouldn't be too hard to guess what is going to happen in the next chapter :P. And in the final chapter, we will of course have the winner of the Great Ninjago Bake Off. So I would like to ask you to please vote for your favourite team (either in the poll on my profile or in a review):
Jay and Tori / Orange Chocolate Cake
Zane and Arctic / Mango Cake
Kai and Crystal / Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Cole and Lia / (Pea and) Carrot Cake
Lloyd and Ashley / Red Velvet Cake
Nya and Dawn / Chocolate Fudge Cake
Some comments on the cakes:
For some of the cakes, there are many different versions and I had to pick a recipe.
For the chocolate chip cheesecake, I went for a baked cheesecake (I looove baked cheesecake) on a crumb base.
To make an Orange Cake, you can use juice or zest (or both) or just flavouring, I generally like using zest in all citrus-based cakes.
I have never made a mango cake so I had to look up some recipes and really liked the chiffon cake with a mango and whipped cream frosting (need to try it myself soon).
The carrot cake recipe mentioned in this chapter (without the peas!) is my personal favourite version of this cake.
You really can make a Green Velvet Cake and it actually looks very nice
And finally, Chocolate Fudge Cake needs no explanation at all :), it's just sooo good in any version!
