fandomhigh | Baking Workshop 8/14, Monday Morning

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cooking

Baking Workshop 8/14, Monday Morning

"Good morning," Piper greets as the students arrive. "Today, you're going to make cheesecake. I brought a sample as well as muffins. Take whatever you want."

"I'd like each of you to bring a recipe of your choice next week. That's what you'll be making," she continues. "Try not to use a recipe that requires open flames."

She hands them a list of ingredients and instructions. "As always, I'm around if you have questions."

Equipment Needed

Measuring Cups

Measuring Spoons

Bowls

Springform Pan

Mixer

Knife

Crust Ingredients

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

Filling Ingredients

3 packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 cups sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Heat oven to 325°F.

Combine all crust ingredients in medium bowl.

Press onto bottom and 1-inch up sides of ungreased 9-inch springform pan.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

Combine cream cheese and sugar in large bowl.

Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy.

Gradually add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce speed to low; add 1/2 cup sour cream and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat until well mixed.

Pour cream cheese mixture into baked crust.

Bake for 80 minutes or until set 2 inches from edge of pan.

Meanwhile, combine remaining sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in small bowl.

Evenly spread over top of hot cheesecake.

Continue baking for 7 minutes.

Loosen sides of cheesecake from pan by running knife around inside of pan; remove sides of pan.

Cool completely (about 2 hours).

Leave uncovered until completely cooled. Store refrigerated.

[ooc: ingredients and instructions from here]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That's a sentiment I have to agree on," Alphonse said. "As another very clichéd saying goes, only one way to find out..." He took the bowl and poured it into the crust, then, very carefully, for some reason, slid it back into the oven. "... Now we wait for an hour and twenty minutes."

Sakurazaki sighed; it seemed so much longer when it was converted to hours and minutes. "What are we supposed to do for that long? Just sit here and wait?"

"I guess so," Alphonse shrugged. "Unless you know a way to pass the time..."

Slumping into a chair, Sakurazaki sighed. "Not really." They could talk, she supposed, but talking wasn't something she really wanted to do right now. But the only other option to talking was thinking, and that was even less appealing. So talking it was.

"Well, how are you today, Alphonse?"

"Same as always, I suppose," he replied, leaning against the counter. He stared at the oven, willing the cake to bake faster. "Haven't really done much aside from being lazy in my room the past week." Alphonse scrubbed the side of his head. "Okay, not really being lazy, more like working on my theories again, but to everyone else it sure seems like doing nothing."

Sakurazaki smiled a little. "Have you come up with anything yet? I mean, you always seem to be working on these theories of yours; anything particularly notable come from all your hard work yet?"

"Well... kinda? I was the one who drew the array with our last attempt, so I might've messed up there. I've jotted down a few other arrays that might work... The Mutus Liber is a tricky thing to make heads or tails of. I haven't really worked much on the actual ingredients of the thing, mostly the arrays, since Ed doesn't really draw those."

Okay, that? Made absolutely no sense to Sakurazaki. She hoped that Alphonse couldn't really notice the blank look in her blinking eyes. But she wanted to sound encouraging, at least, and said, "Sounds like a bit of progress, then, and that's good, right?"

"I sure hope so," Alphonse said. "Can't really say unless it can be tested out again, which... I'm not going to be doing by myself, that's for sure. Especially not after last time."

He had to have seen this coming.

"...What happened last time?"

"Ah," Alphonse rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, feeling oddly relieved she hadn't been enrolled back then. "Second floor common room? Went boom."

Sakurazaki gaped, wide-eyed, a little disbelieving. "You blew up the second floor common room?"

"Not just me, it was Ed, too!" Alphonse hastily added. "It was his idea, you know. I just went along with it!"

"Okay, so you...and your brother...blew up the second floor common room." Sakurazaki was feeling pretty astonished. But mostly confused. "How? And the whole fact that it certainly doesn't seem like it's ever been blown up before?"

"That's what I've been trying to find out," Alphonse said meekly. "I mean, it was supposed to be a fairly simple transmutation. None of the instructions were difficult at all, and it didn't ask for too much, even for a fake stone. But, eh, I guess Lully turned out to be one of those alchemists who really had no idea what he was babbling on about in the end. And... no, it doesn't, thankfully, otherwise I'm sure a lot of people would still be mad about it. It was cleaned up within the week."

"Huh." Sakurazaki would have never imagined that Alphonse had it in him to be a demolitionist. She was strangely very impressed.

"... So I'm trying to figure out a theory that won't, y'know, backfire on us; or at least, to that degree," Alphonse crossed his arms, still leaning against the counter. "It's even harder when you've got next to nothing to go by, but I know for sure there's a way."

"What do you mean, next to nothing to go by?" Sakurazaki knew that she didn't understand Alphonse's alchemy stuff very well, but she still had it in her mind that maybe she could help.

"Well, we're both kinda starting from scratch," Alphonse replied. "And I don't remember a thing about the stone, as frustrating as that is. So now it's just a matter of prodding around through enough books and finding out what sounds plausible and what sounds like mindless babbling."

Sakurazaki grinned a little wryly as she figured that it all mostly sounded like mindless babbling to her, but she wouldn't admit to that. "I hope some things start surfacing in your reading, then. Things that won't get other room blown up."

...Speaking of which, she leaned forward a little to peek into the oven, just to check on the cake a little. All the talk of explosions had her a little nervous.

"I sure hope so, too. But, hey, the library's bound to have something that works," Alphonse nodded firmly. "If I need to, maybe I could find a teacher who'd be willing to let us into Special Collections. This place has insane amounts of information just floating around, I bet." Alphonse watched as Sakurazaki peeked into the oven, and looking back at the timer, he sighed. Hardly ten minutes had went by!

No signs of exploding cake yet. That was good. Sakurazaki settled back in her chair.

"Maybe I could ask around to some of my collegues when I'm in Japan next week. With the wide range of skills and attributes over at Mahora, I'd be shocked if someone didn't know anything about alchemy."

A thought hit him, and she snapped her fingers at the realization. "Library Island, of course! Mahora is home to one of the largest libraries in the world. I'll just have to ask Honya or Ayase-san if they know of anything, and see about maybe an extended loan." Sakurazaki beamed at her cleverness, rather pleased to have found something she might be able to do to help. Even if she'd be finding the books pretty blindly.

"Oh! Hey, could you?" Alphonse nearly bounded to his feet from against the counter, but managed to refrain from doing just barely before he did. "I-- I mean, if it's no trouble? That would be great if you could! But-- you don't have to if it'll get in the way."

"It's no trouble at all," Sakurazaki nodded, grinning at his enthusiasm. "I'm sure they'd love to help. And, with it being Library Island, we might get an adventure out of the whole deal, too."

"That'd be wonderful!" That grin on his face was one of a true, genuine geek in his field. "That makes me wish I could go, too... But thank you!"

Baking Workshop 8/14, Monday Morning

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