Killer Cast & Deadly Splash by Mel McCoy

Author:Mel McCoy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mel McCoy

Chapter 14

Back in the kitchen, Ruth and Loretta were adding the final touches to a five-layer cake with a silky meringue buttercream frosting, while John finished decorating the sea-salt caramel cupcakes—a highly popular treat during Mermaid’s Dinner and other formal banquets aboard the Splendor of the Seas. The five-layer cake, however, was the centerpiece of the desserts—besides the mermaid ice sculpture, of course. Each tier was made up of a white almond sour cream cake. Ruth had picked this particular type of cake for several reasons. First, because it was familiar to most people as the traditional wedding cake taste, which people often equated to a big celebration. Second, it was simple, and she liked simple on these most hectic days.

As for the sea-salt caramel cupcakes, John had argued that they should add a pretzel topping, but Ruth had shot down his idea. She was worried about the texture and that it was against the recipe approved by Janice.

“What if we use thin pretzels and chop them in a food processor and then sprinkle it on top?” John asked.

Ruth shook her head. “It’ll still have a dry texture on top of the silky, smooth caramel frosting.” She understood and appreciated John’s eagerness and enthusiasm to create. She too had that drive to always try to make a recipe even better, but there were rules they had to abide by, and they didn’t have the time to experiment now. All recipes and recipe changes had to be run by Janice, and there was no way she was going to approve anything new this close to Mermaid’s Dinner. “I think it’s best if you just stick to the recipe, John. Add the flaky sea salt on top as decoration. And make sure you use the Maldon.”

“All right, all right,” John said, surrendering in defeat.

Ruth tried the frosting John had been whipping up for the cupcakes. Her eyes went wide. “My, John, this is better than my own!”

John smiled. “I added more dark brown sugar and extra butter. I also whipped the butter and the sugar at a lower heat.”

“This is fantastic,” she said, enjoying another taste.

“Let me try it,” Loretta said, grabbing a clean spoon. She dipped it into the frosting. “Oh, boy. Yes. When I didn’t think this cupcake could get any better.”

Ruth pointed to the open notebook in front of John. “Change it in our recipe binder.” John smiled and grabbed a pencil. Okay, so there were times Ruth secretly overrode Janice’s approval, but it was only when it was absolutely necessary.

“And don’t do that again, John,” Ruth said.

The smile disappeared on John’s face.

“You need to run these changes by me first,” she said, though she couldn’t help but enjoy yet another taste of the icing.

Loretta shifted her weight, jutting out her hip to one side. “Hey, don’t hog it!”

“I need that for the cupcakes, Ruth,” John said, his smile slowly returning.

“I know, I know. Just making sure it’s good enough for the guests.”

“I think we’ve established that it’s more than good,” Loretta said, taking the spoon from Ruth.

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