The Classmate Who Is Adored by Everyone Smiles Teasingly Only at Me-Chapter 2Volume 3 .6 - Autumn Festival and Baby Castella

Autumn Festival and Baby Castella 6

“That’s a problem. This won’t serve as a reference for the cultural festival.”

“Shall we try baby castella from another stand?”

“That sounds good. Let’s do that.”

They went to another stall and bought a bag for four hundred yen.

“Here, ahh—”

“You open up too.”

They fed each other and continued sampling the taste.

“This one has a strong honey scent. It’s richer in sweetness and flavor, and it’s delicious.”

“Yeah, this one is better. I see, adding more honey is the way to go, huh?”

He was about to rejoice at finding a reference point, but Chika shook her head, negating that idea.

“It’s definitely tastier, but I think we should avoid using honey for our mock shop at the cultural festival.”

“Why’s that?”

He looked puzzled, and she held up two fingers to explain.

“There are two reasons. First, pure honey without any additives is expensive. In fact, this stall is more expensive than the previous one. I think it’s not an ingredient we should use given the limited budget of the cultural festival.”

“…I see.”

The budget was definitely a critical factor.

“The second reason is that honey makes things burn more easily. Sōma-san, since you’re skilled at baking, it wouldn’t be a problem for you. But you’re not going to bake all the baby castella yourself, right? If we consider that beginners will also be baking, it’s not advisable to unnecessarily raise the difficulty level.”

“You’re right about that too. I had been thinking about the cost and ease of preparation.”

Sōma had planned to use pancake mix to make the baby castella. Using pancake mix would make it easy to prepare, ensure uniform taste, and be cheaper than buying flour, sugar, and baking soda separately.

However, using just pancake mix would result in ball-shaped pancakes.

He had wanted to add something to elevate the taste to the next level, which is why he wanted to sample commercial baby castella for hints.

“Honey seemed like a good idea though. It improves both the flavor and the smell.”

“How about using vanilla essence? It enhances the aroma, and since you only need a small amount, it’s cost-effective.”

“Vanilla essence? But is that really appropriate for baby castella?”

“There’s no such thing as an absolute answer when it comes to sweets. If there were, we wouldn’t see the creation of new confections.”

“Well… you’re right about that.”

“Still, there might be other ways to maintain the characteristic baby castella flavor while keeping it delicious and affordable. Shall we sample from other stalls?”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

Agreeing with Chika’s suggestion, they dived into the crowd of people to search for a third stall.

“I was skeptical about the vanilla essence earlier, but adding a nice fragrance might be a good twist. Walking through the festival like this, all the different aromas really stimulate your appetite.”

The savory smell of sauce, the sweet scent of candy, the buttery aroma of popcorn, the smoky fragrance of grilled meat—just walking by made their stomachs growl with hunger.

Chika nodded in agreement with Sōma’s opinion.

“Scent is an important element in confectionery. Just a good smell can make a confection seem many times more delicious. That’s why there are ingredients used solely for adding fragrance. Vanilla essence is a prime example. It’s incredibly bitter when tasted directly.”

“True. Aside from vanilla essence, the first thing that comes to mind as a patissier would be cinnamon.”

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“Cinnamon has a strong impact, but it’s a divisive scent among Japanese people, especially children. How about using liqueur?”

“Minors can’t buy that. It’d be fine if our teacher could run out and get it for us though.”

While feeding Chika baby castella and pondering other options, she suddenly chuckled.

“What? Did I make a funny face?”

“No, it’s not that. I was just thinking how you seemed unenthusiastic when we decided on the event, but now you’re taking it so seriously.”

“When it comes to sweets, I can’t afford to slack off. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to proudly say, ‘My dream is to become a patissier’ in the future.”

“That’s very like you, Sōma-san. It’s a wonderful mindset. It makes me want to support you even more.”

“…Thanks.”

It’s a bit embarrassing to be praised directly to his face.

“So, I have a suggestion. How about mixing matcha into the batter? It would give it a Japanese confectionery feel and improve the fragrance. If we add anko inside, it would be even better.”

“Matcha sounds good, but anko might be too expensive. Hmm, how about adding tea leaves like in a pound cake?”

“In that case, we should lightly roast the tea leaves and then grind them in a mortar. That way, we won’t have tea leaves hitting the tongue, and the fragrance will be enhanced.”

“That’s more work. I’m fine with it, but I wonder if the others on baking duty will do it without complaining. I still think we should focus on perfecting the plain flavor.”

“Then we’ll need to find something other than honey to bring out the essence of baby castella.”

While searching for the next baby castella to try, they continued their discussion.

They were so focused on the debate that they completely forgot about Miki and Shōhei.

“――Kikuchi, shall we go somewhere else?”

“Huh!?”

“What’s wrong? Why so surprised?”

“No, it’s just… I never imagined you would suggest that, Saito-san. And is it really okay? Sōma and Satomi-san are totally lovey-dovey. Don’t you like watching that sort of thing?”

“They’re being serious, not lovey-dovey. We would just be in the way. I want them to talk seriously until they’re satisfied.”

“Well, I see.”

“Since we’re at the festival, let’s enjoy the other stalls.”

“Right. Let’s do shooting. Let’s make it a contest like the fighting game we played before.”

“Challenging me to a shooting game? I’m not bragging, but I’m good at knocking down small items.”

“Small prizes, not big ones? That’s not really something to brag about.”

“I prefer quantity over quality.”

As Miki and Shōhei left with such a conversation, Sōma and Chika didn’t notice at all.

It was only when Sōma’s phone rang that they realized the two were gone.