NOVEL NEXT Chapter 615 – Drunk Sui
Author: Eguchi Ren
Eguchi Ren: Thank you to everyone who watched the anime!
“Right, I’m going back to the kitchen,” I said to my drowsy familiars.
Even though the dragon meat was not a lot by their standards, the unexpected treat was very much welcomed. Anyway, while they lolled about without a care, I still have work to do. So, off to the kitchen I go.
The ingredients for my next cook had already been decided and were lined upneatly on the kitchen counter. That’s because some of the ingredients had to be thawed to room temperature, which was why I had them out so early.
“Right, shall we get started?”
The plan is to make pound cakes. [1] I remember giving Ugor-san some pound cakes the last time I was at Doran. Although it’s a simple to make cake, I’m sure it would be welcomed by everyone. Also, I didn’t want to give them cakes from Fujiya, not because I’m stingy or anything, but the buff effect!
I can’t give people food with a buff effect!
If I make the pound cake myself, even with [Next Super] ingredients, the buff effect would be minimal at best. In fact, let’s make some for Jorgen as well.
Everyone likes sweet things, right?
Can’t go wrong with cake.
Speaking of cake…
I had better make extra for a certain Deplorable Goddess before she whines at me to make some for her later.
This is just in case.
[1] If she doesn’t actually request it, well, I have lots of people I could give them to, or my familiars could eat them.
Anyway, the cakes I’m planning to make are Regular Pound Cakes and Black Tea Pound Cakes. After giving it some thought, I decided to make Rum Raisin Pound Cakes as well, soaked in plenty of rum since Moira-sama and Jorgen seemed like the type who would like alcohol. Ugor-san was a dwarf, so I might just give him two Rum Raisin Pound Cakes and omit the Plain Pound Cake for him.
Of course, since Pound Cakes are delicious with coffee, I look forward to them as well.
To make the pound cakes:
[2] First, measure out all the ingredients. One pound of unsalted butter to one pound of flour, one pound of sugar and three chicken eggs for the basic cake mix to start with. A little baking powder (one teaspoon) to help with the rise and a bit of milk for a smoother result.
Next, mix everything except for the flour and baking soda in the bowl until the ingredients become fluffy and white. For Regular Pound Cakes, I would add a little vanilla essence at this moment before folding in the sifted flour and baking powder.
There, simple, right?
The only problem is…
“Ugh, my arm… [3] Where’s Sui? Let’s get her to help me…”
[3] In the end, I managed to recruit both Sui and Dora-chan to help me.
[3] “”So, I just gotta mix this?”” said Dora-chan with a whisk in hand. It looked huge next to his little body.
[3] Sui was already furiously mixing on the other side. She had helped me with this recipe before after all.
[3] “Yup, and you get first-taste privilege,” I said with a wide smile. “Start slowly first, if any of the ingredients fall outside the bowl, you’ll have to start over. So, be careful, okay?”
[3] ““Eh, sure,””
[3] Contrary to my expectations, Dora-chan did quite well.
Well, with the basic cakes being mixed. I can now focus on other elements of the cakes.
To make the Black Tea Pound Cake, I first brought out one of the Western-style black teas that I had gotten from [Net Super]. [1] For some reason, most Western-style back teas come in a very fine, almost powder-like form, which makes them ideal for making cakes. To make sure that the texture of the tea was fine enough, I even sifted it before mixing it into the flour.
By now, Sui and Dora-chan were done with the first batch of cakes.
I had already prepared the cake moulds, with only two filled by my pitiful attempt earlier. However, with Sui and Dora-chan helping, I quickly filled up all six moulds and into the oven they go~
I continued to imbue the next batch of flour with grounded tea while Sui and Dora-chan continued to mix.
Since the cake moulds I chose were small loaf-type moulds, the cakes were quickly made. After checking them with a toothpick, I removed the cakes from the oven and placed them on the cooling racks.
The next batch of cakes was ready to go into the oven almost immediately. I must say, having a time-stop [Item Box] was really convenient since I could pause the time when the cake mixtures were at their absolute, fluffiest best.
Clearly unable to stand it any more, Sui bounced stealthily over towards the cooling cakes. I caught her extending a thin tentacle towards the cakes and said casually, “Sui-tan, could you help me mix these as well?”
Sui snatched her tentacle back and bounced over guiltily.
“”Ye~es?””
I decided not to bust her secret sneaking and just handed over the mixing bowl to her.
“”Aww, can’t we have a bit now?”” Dora-chan whined.
“No, it’s best when cooled a little. If you eat them now, they won’t be as sweet or flavourful.”
““Tch.””
For the Rum Raisin Pound Cake, things were a little bit more complicated. Pound Cakes were meant to be made with an equal amount of butter, flour and liquids which included eggs. [4] To do this, I had been soaking some raisins in rum on the side. In fact, these raisins had been soaking since before lunch and should be ready to use now.
“”It smells nice~”” said Sui as she bounced over to the little jug of rum and raisin mixture.
“Nope, you can’t have this!” I said, lifting the jug away. The expensive Jamaican dark rum sloshed inside the jug. I especially bought rum that Tanaka Liquor Store had described as ‘perfect for making desserts’.
[4] Anyway, after pouring the rum through a sieve to catch the plump-up raisins, I poured the rum into a pot with some granulated sugar and heated it through. The idea is to make a rum syrup that could be brushed over the hot pound cakes.
Wow, I really look forward to this one!
While the rum was reducing on the stove, the oven pinged and I took out the freshly baked Black Tea Pound Cakes. The regular Pound Cakes have cooled down enough to be wrapped in plastic wrap, ready to be gifted.
Sui stared as I worked, her little button-like eyes fixed on the cakes.
“Do you want to have a taste?”
“”Yes~ yes~”” she bounced in place.
“”Hmm, I wouldn’t mind a slice,”” said Dora-chan.
“Oh, you’re here too?”
“”Hey! I even helped you mix the eggs!!””
“Fufu, as my helpers, you get first taste privilege,” I said as I cut off a slice of the Regular and Black Tea Pound Cakes and set them in front of my familiars on little plates.
Both of them reached for the yellow, Regular Pound Cakes first.
““Delicious!””
“”Yummy~””
“”These are a lot like pudding with its rich, eggy smell. I like it!”” said Dora-chan.
“”Aruji~~ it’s sweet and- and yummi~””
Ah, Sui-tan’s vocabulary is limited, but I could still feel your sincerity~
“How about the Black Tea one?”
“”Hmm, this one has a nice fragrance too, but I still prefer the other one,”” said Dora-chan thoughtfully.
“”Sui helped Aruji to make this~~””
“Hoho, I’m glad you two enjoyed it.”
“”Sui will help Aruji again~!””
“”Me too~!””
“Hehe, I’d be happy to have your help~”
Just then, the oven pinged, and the Rum Raisin Pound Cake was done.
Well, not quite.
While the cake was still warm, I spooned the rum syrup over it. The alcoholic raisins had already been folded in, here’s to hoping that the raisins did not sink to the bottom of the cake- A friend had told me about the cooking hack of soaking the raisins first before mixing them into the batter to prevent sinkage, but this was the first time I’m trying it out, so I was kind of excited to see the result.
Once the cakes had cooled down enough, I cut off one slice of the Rum Raisin Pound Cake.
“Woah, nice! The raisins are all evenly spread…”
[5]
“”Aruji~ Sui wants some of that one too~”” Sui cried and bounced over to snatch the piece of cake from my hand.
“Ah, no!”
However, it was too late. Sui had already absorbed the alcoholic Rum Raisin Pound Cake into her body. Oh no!
“Sui!” I immediately grabbed her and shook her desperately, trying to dislodge whatever crumbs of cake I could. “Sui! Sui! How do you feel?!”
““Hmm~? Sui feels~ hic!””
“AHHHH!!!”
““Tsk, tsk,””
“Sui!!!”
“”Aruji~~ Sui feels warm~~~””
“Aaawawawawawaaaa~~”
Sui had flattened and melted through my hands.
“”Ehehehehe~ Look Sui goes… boom~!””
“B-boom?”
“”Sui will show Uncle Fer and, and, others too~!!””
“No, wait, Sui~!!”
““Is she drunk? She sounds like Grandpa Gon when he’s drunk,”” said Dora-chan.
“B-but how?! I cooked the rum until it was almost gone! There shouldn’t be any alcohol left in the syrup!”
““You mean this syrup?”” Dora-chan stuck his head into the jug to lick the sides. “”It’s faint, but there’s still some alcohol left.””
“”Uncle Fer~! Grandpa Gon~! Look~!! Boom~!””
Dora-chan and I exchanged a look before rushing towards the living room. We practically bounced off Sui’s enlarged body which had filled up the entire room.
“Ugh… S-sui?”
“Oi, why did you suddenly grow big here?!”
““Ehehe~ Look at me~~!!””
“Oi! You’re going to destroy the house! Master will be angry!” Fer shouted desperately.
“”Aruji~? Angry~?””
Shyuu~ shyuu~
Thankfully, Sui literally depressed herself at the thought of making me angry.
Then, “” Look~!! Bang~!””
Suddenly, Sui exploded into hundreds of Suis. For a moment, we were all buried under a pile of Suis…
“Oi! What happened to Sui!” Fer yelled faintly from under a pile of Suis.
“H-help me…”
““”Sui had some alcoholic cakes,”” said Dora-chan.
“WHAT!!”
“”Aruji~! Aruji~! Look~! Bam~!!””
“Auggghh!!!”
[Gumihou: Okay, I shortened the action scene to make it more immediate]
Does Alcohol Really Burn Off When Cooked –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxqAGbJ3bSA
The end result was ‘2 grams isn’t going to do anything’. However, since Gumi gets tipsy on alcoholic fumes… Yeah, I remember lying down on the kitchen floor that one time I made a Shiraz soak fruit cake
[1] Add more cake-related details
[2] Adjust the recipe information to something more interesting.
[3] In the manga, Sui is shown helping Mukouda cook. Therefore, it is not a stretch to imagine her helping him beat the egg and butter mixture. The two smaller familiars were later lured into the kitchen by the ‘sweet smells’ later anyway. After all, it’s not like Dora-chan was doing anything useful in the living room either.
[4] Giving everyone my Rum Raisin cake hack, because to make a decent cake with raisins that do not sink to the bottom, a little trick is needed.
[5] Fixed the Drunk Sui Scene to make it more dramatic.