Eggs.
Salt.
Sugar.
Cake flour.
Cornstarch.
Cocoa.
Food coloring.
Light corn syrup.
Unsalted butter.
Brandy.
Water.
Molly looked over the recipe what felt like a billion and a half times, her eyes focusing in on each ingredient, wanting to make sure she had each one memorized like the back of her hand.
Baking did not come naturally to Molly Carmichael. Unlike Hannah, Molly’s fingers weren’t as nimble and her personal ability to gauge oven timing or know just the right thing to add to a recipe were passable at best. It took her much longer than she’d ever expected to even feel comfortable in Hannah’s kitchen, after having to locate various ingredients and sort through the pots and pans, the cups and sheets, the rolling pins and the cases of flour.
When Molly finally began the process of making the cake, she followed Hannah’s recipe as closely as she could, and then she baked and baked through the night. She lost all track of time as she focused on twisting pans, rolling up parchment sheets and checking on the oven again and again.
Her first attempts at producing an edible cake were miserable failures, with the taste either being something dull and sour, or the cake sheet itself being uncooked in its middle. She’d gone through more flour and cocoa than she’d ever thought she would, and mentally took a note to pay Hannah back for all the lost baking material.
However, unlike her disastrous history with the cake sheets, Molly’s first attempt at making frosting was an unexpected, undeniable success, with the sweetness of the ingredients all blending together just right.
It took until past midnight when she finally finished the first one. When she finally finished putting it all together, she marveled at the sugared creation, even jumping up and down when she realized that she’d done it. She’d managed to make this complicated cake all by herself without burning down the bakery.
Once Molly added the last touches of frosting to the cake, she set it near the back of one of Hannah’s large fridges. She chuckled at the sight of how odd her one little cake looked, sitting all by itself in such a big refrigerator.
And that’s when Molly had the spark of another idea.
She wiped the flour from her hands onto the sides of her Christmas sweater and turned Hannah’s ovens all the way back on.
Chapter 25
Nicholas
Nicholas stepped into Sweetness & Light the next morning with Luke following close behind him. They were both dressed in their best suits with pricey wristwatches and leather briefcases emphasizing their professional businessmen look. Today was a day to impress.
“I’ve never been somewhere without a Starbucks...” Luke remarked as he reached the front counter. “Is the coffee here any good, sir?”
“Oh, trust me, it’s good,” Nicholas replied. “Just be sure to tell Hannah that you want the real stuff, not the junk that’s going to rot your teeth.”
“Who’s Hannah—” Luke’s question was interrupted by Hannah stepping out of the kitchen.
And Nicholas would swear that he saw Luke’s eyes nearly fall out of his head as soon as he laid them on Hannah Johnson.
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“Hey, Nicholas,” Hannah greeted him. She smiled over at Nicholas before she turned her attention towards Luke. “Hey, Nicholas’ friend! You’re new. What’s your name?”
“L-Luke...” Luke stuttered and stammered over his own name. “Sorry. I’m just not used to this.”