fandomhigh | Entries tagged with cupcakes

Yes, Stark had brought Summer with him to class today. He didn’t trust that Leroy or raccoons or something or someone else wouldn’t get into either of their apartments. He had also, of course, brought the tote bag with the fluffy pink robe in case of sudden transformation. Not that he thought she’d be turning back to herself soon. He was fairly sure that since it hadn’t just lasted the weekend this was going to last the week. At least. He was trying not to think too hard about that.

“As you may have noticed,” he said, “Summer is a squirrel at the moment so I have no evil cupcakes to share for your final exam today. You can still make evil ones, if you like. I certainly can’t stop you and I’m sure she’ll enjoy seeing them.”

If she was offended by any of them, well, she still had her knife with her and good luck to you, students.

“I've got an assortment of things we've used already for this class to make our cupcakes both good and evil and I've brought extra nuts today.”

Summer rolled her little squirrel eyes at that, made some disparaging chittering noises and squeaks, and moved further into the nest she’d made of the robe.

“So, make something from things we’ve used this semester. Try not to poison anyone, including yourselves, though Will ought to be at the clinic today in case of emergencies. I would prefer if you made things that were edible and tasted good but I know Summer will be disappointed if that’s all that gets made today.”

stykera

Stark was looking somewhat subdued this morning. He had a lot on his mind and some of it even related to class. Sort of.

“We have something a little different for you today,” he said. “Inspired by the weekend’s visitors. Inspired by our,” he paused and nodded to Summer, “visitors. They helped us plan today’s class before they had to leave.”

He flashed a fleeting grin at Summer, and Summer returned it with an encouraging one. “They chose the ingredients we’ll be working with today. All of them. The idea is to use all of them in your cupcakes. For good or evil, I suppose, though whether both are possible is something of a mystery.”

Inside each basket were conversation hearts, fresh ginger, a durian fruit, and, as a nod to their half-sister, some coffee.

"So it's liked Chopped," Summer offered, "only cupcake-specific and with ingredients picked out by two kids that are probably exactly what you'd expect by mixing our," she gestured between her and Stark, "DNA."

What a poetic way to put it, Summer.

"Let's see what you've got."

stykera

"So, we just had Easter last weekend," Summer said, which, hey, could be a promising start? "So, you know how it is, lots of candy, chocolates, jelly beans….but another iconic symbolic part of Easter is an egg. And I know what you're probably thinking, you're probably thinking, 'but Summer, cupcakes usually already have eggs, don't' they? It's often an essential part of the batter!' And, yes, that's true, that's egg inside the cake of the cupcake, but what if we put the eggs on the outside?

"Like, here I have some maple bacon egg cupcakes, and, while the original recipe I found called for a gummy egg, I, of course, put a real fried egg on top. I guess if you were fancy you could do fondant, too!”

“Fondant looks nice,” Stark said. “It doesn’t taste very good. But probably better than a fried egg on the top of a cupcake…but we have plenty of egg-shaped candies that will work even better. Don’t we?”

They did. They had so much candy. It seemed like maybe T&C hadn’t sold as much as candy last week as they might normally have done leading up to a candy holiday. For some unknowable reason, clearly.

“We have mini eggs that can sit in little frosting nests,” Stark suggested. “Those are nice. Everyone likes chocolate and every part of them is meant to be a dessert.”

"I also made deviled egg and ham and egg cupcakes, too!" Summer reported, because of course she did.

Honestly, y'all were getting off easy this week. ~~Even if getting off was easier last week.~~

Stark sighed a little and shook his head. “Summer. Why?” He knew the answer. He had to ask anyway. “Ham doesn’t go in cupcakes or on cupcakes and even bacon is questionable, really. And…deviled eggs? Really?”

"Yes," said Summer, confidently, and why ask questions you already knew the answer to, Stark? "Really."

stykera

"I know we've covered alcohol in this class already," said Summer, which sounded like a promising start to the class already, didn't it?, "but I want to bring it back a little bit, because it compliments this other idea I came across which gives us beer and sauerkraut fudge cupcakes, and, you know what? There's a lot to be said about fermented foods in cupcakes."

Even if the less said, the better, probably.

“I can think of some things to say,” Stark agreed dryly. “I'm not sure I ought to though.”

"This is a classroom setting, after all!" Summer agreed cheerfully, and then proceeded to do things that no one should ever do in a classroom setting or any setting at all in life ever.

"And you can't talk fermented without also talking of pickled," she stated, "which is why we've also got both kim chi and pickle cupcakes!"

Lucky, lucky you!

“You did all this yesterday when you weren't feeling well?” Stark asked suspiciously. “It didn't make things worse? Couldn't we just have beer cupcakes without anything else?”

"No," said Summer, which answered both questions. "I did it all this morning! Oh. And pickled beets, too!"

“You woke up that early? And why?”

Because she could, Stark. Obviously.

“I found a recipe,” Stark continued “for beer cupcakes with Irish cream frosting that I could have made for you…Too bad.”

stykera

"Usually," said Summer, as she got things started with her usual peaceful smile that suggested choppier waters up ahead, "we talk in this class about putting things into cupcakes that you might not normally find there, but in a way that hides them and makes them a little bit of a surprise. Today, I want to propose the question to you of what to do when the cupcake itself is hiding.”

Stark, somewhat shockingly, didn’t look very concerned at all this week. He looked rather relaxed. Did that make any of the students concerned? Maybe it should have.

"Today," she explained further, "we're talking about cupcakes that look like other things. LIke, here, I've got Spaghetti and Meatballs, Peas and Carrots, Mashed Potatoes, Popcorn…Those still kind of look like cupcakes if you look below the surface, so I'm also a big fan of these cheeseburger ones where they legit look like little sliders if you're not looking too closely, and these ones that look like succulents."

"And herein," Summer said, "lies the real fun of it, because you see, I may have been a little untruthful."

GASP. SHOCK. DISMAY.

"Only some of these are cupcakes. Some of them are actually what they look like. Are you willing find out which by taste alone? I dare you to try! And then, for the rest of the class, it's up to you to decide: are you going to make your cupcakes look like something else, or are you going to make something else that looks like cupcakes looking like something else but are actually what they are?"

Stark shook his head a little. “I’ve had cupcakes that looked like spaghetti before. That doesn’t mean these ones are cupcakes but it doesn’t mean they aren’t. Any of them might be or they might not. You’ll have to see for yourselves. Or…Summer, I could give a hint?” He was not going to give any hints.

Good, because Summer's response to that? "No. No hints. Only pain."

stykera

Smiling sweetly as ever, Summer stood in front of the classroom and, once everyone was settled in, she held up something dark green and round, almost like some kind of tiny dragon egg from times of yore, but most people would recognize it for what it truly was.

Stark, of course, recognized it but he had the advantage of knowing in advance what the theme of the week was. Also he knew what Summer had in her hand was not merely an avocado but a device capable of culinary horrors.

"Avocados!" she announced. "Or, if you're fancy, freesh avah-cadoo, staple for Mexican cuisine and the downfall of many of a millennial. But ingredient for cupcakes? Hmmm. Maybe! Anything could be an ingredient for a cupcake if you try hard enough, and, actually, avocado is often used in a lot of vegan baking, to add a sort of richness without the use of eggs or butter. It's actually known to pair very well with chocolate, a combination of which could make for a really rich cupcake.

"They're also very well known for being the base of guacamole," Summer continued happily, "and guacamole is exactly what I decided to make my cupcakes with this week!"

Stark had been watching and listening with interest. He had used avocados before and that had been fine but guacamole was something entirely different. “With onions, Summer? In the cupcakes?” He sighed and shook his head. “Or something worse?” There were so many options!

“I’ve used avocado with chocolate before. Summer’s right,” Stark continued. She usually was. “It does work well even though it seems odd. So I’ve made some chocolate avocado cupcakes again today. They’re vegan, too.” Maybe Stark ought to offer some to Steven or Watts.

“So, go ahead and try to make something of your own. I would prefer you avoided onions but I can’t stop any of you.” And Stark wouldn’t even dream of trying to stop Summer.

stykera

"Last week," Summer started cheerfully, in a way that might make some be a little wary that she'd actually managed to find something even worse than last week's contribution, but, rest assured, she was merely just riding the high the the pus cupcakes…probably, "we talked about how much of an impact what you put in your cupcakes can make with filling them. This week, we're going to be looking at the impact of what can happen when what you put into your cupcakes is alcohol."

Stark, for his part, was always somewhat wary when it came to Summer’s food ideas. Stark was no fool. Usually. “Like the champagne I used last week?” He was foolishly hopeful sometimes though. “Or sangria? Maybe bourbon?”

"Or Malört"!" Summer said cheerfully, clearly the one word that everyone definitely wanted to hear just then, as she gestured to a tray of otherwise innocuous looking cupcakes in front of her.

“Summer, no,” Stark said. “Nobody wants that in a cupcake! I’m not sure anyone really wants to drink it, either.” It existed just so people could torture others by making them try it, didn’t it? “I have champagne, again. This time for these cranberry mimosa cupcakes.”

"Hmmm," Summer looked a little thoughtful for a moment. "Do you think maybe the PBR cupcakes would be better, then?"

“Beer in cupcakes is fine,” Stark said, looking at her a little suspiciously. “Unless you’re doing something else to it? Or is that terrible beer? Does it taste like the Malört? Or worse? I don’t know.”

Turning back towards the students, he continued, “if it’s worse than Malört I don’t recommend it. But there are plenty of options for things that aren’t worse. We have many of them here for you to utilize if you wish.” He just hoped nobody was going to use the Malört, Anakin.

stykera

"You know what, guys?" Summer asked at the start of the class, with that grin on her face that you should be pretty used to by now. "You wanna know what I want to talk about this week? Meat."

Oh, this should go well.

Stark sighed, looked upward for a moment, and then sighed again as he looked back at Summer. “I was hoping this day wouldn't come.” No, he didn’t actually look at all upset about it. The protests were mostly just for show at this point.

"Now, there's a lot to be said about mixing a little savory with your sweet," Summer continued, "and I'm sure some people would argue that, when you start adding meat to your cupcakes, where's the line before they cross over into being muffins? That could actually be an interesting point of discussion, so if you've got opinions on it, I'd love to hear 'em, but, if you ask me, I think it all comes down to the frosting."

“Cupcakes need frosting,” Stark agreed. “And muffins don't have any. Of course, cupcakes are meant to be sweet and not meaty.” Alas, it was too late to get out of the meat now.

"And I actually went a little overboard in making examples to inspire you guys, too," Summer admitted, almost a little sheepishly, but, come on, when would she ever feel embarrassed about doing more weird foods to foist on people? "But I've got one that has bacon, two variations of chicken cupcakes, and, of course, meatloaf."

“Meatloaf and cupcake are two words that do not go together,” Stark said plaintively. “So are chicken and cupcake.”

"Well, I'm glad the bacon, at least, is acceptable!" Summer beamed happily. "What other meats might be acceptable? Let's find out!"

“Bacon is special,” Stark said. “It can go with anything.” He was almost certainly going to regret having said that, someday.

Maybe he just ought to be grateful Summer hadn't found anything with brains in it or something equally horrifying.

stykera

"We are," said Summer, once it was time to get the class started, "pretty much in the smack dab dead of winter now, which means it is cold and it is gloomy and that means it's a good time to add a little spice to things to help keep you warm through the chilliest of months. Now, I know what you're thinking. Spice? In cupcakes? And chili spice, not pumpkin spice?"

“It’s not all horrifying, I promise,” Stark said quickly. “Spicy with chocolate can be very good.” Even if he was worried about someone encouraging ghost pepper frosting or something equally terrible. “And spicy things can be good when it’s so cold out.” Yes, he was taking the recent weather as a personal attack.

"Balancing spicy and sweet has definitely gained a lot of popularity in the culinary world, and there are some pretty good examples of it working well. For example, you might be willing to give these double chocolate cupcakes with a chili cream cheese frosting. It's a way to sort of cut the bite of the chili while still giving it a fun kick!"

“See,” Stark said, “chocolate and spice is good. Other things…may not be.” He looked over at Summer expectantly. “Or definitely aren’t good?”

"Meanwhile," Summer continued, just g r i n n i n g as she gestured to the other cupcake in front of her, "this one? Not so much. I decided, for this one, to go with a pistachio cupcake, stuffed it with jalapenos, and topped it off with a salsa verde frosting with a nice sprig of cilantro for garnish!"

“Frosting,” Stark said with a sigh, “is not meant to be made of green tomatoes, Summer.” At least, being an alien, he didn’t have to worry about having the gene that made cilantro taste of soap.

"But look how cute it is! Which just goes to show you, just because something is cute does not mean it's not terrible, so there's your real lesson on the day!"

Once more, Summer gestured, this time toward one of the tables that had several baskets on it, all of them containing a wide variety of peppers, with little paper signs accompanying each with the name of the pepper and a little heat scale for each one, "we have a wide selection of peppers for you to try and incorporate into your cupcakes today. Will you choose a path of good? Or will you descend into evil? Let's find out!"

“Try not to be too evil.” Stark was resigned to his fate when it came to Summer’s creations but the rest of you could pleasantly surprise him. Especially you, Anakin.

stykera

"Hiiiii, everyone!" said Summer, getting class started out with a pleased, eager, and terribly excited grin, because in front of a cooking classroom about to unleash uncertain horrors on unsuspecting (well, no, everyone probably expected it now) students had clearly developed into one of her happy places. "And welcome to In the Cupcake of Good and Evil, a cupcake baking class where we will introduce you to some interesting concepts in cupcake baking and you have the power to decide whether you are going to use that knowledge for good," she gestured toward Stark, "or evil," gesturing to herself.

“She isn’t really evil,” Stark said. “But her food is often evil. Or at least horrifying.” He didn’t sound horrified at all. He sounded very fond.

"Today however," Summer continued, "in the grand tradition of the first week, we're going to be doing introductions, especially since I do see an unfamiliar name on the roster."

You poor, poor soul, who probably had no idea what you were getting yourself into. Stark was sorry for what you were about to experience. He thought Summer probably wasn't at all.

"But....we're doing it cupcake style! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, which you should, because otherwise, you're kind of missing the point, is to make a cupcake that you feel represents you in some way, shape, or form. For example, Stark? You made…."

“Mine,” Stark said, holding up his cupcake with both hands, “is yellow cake with chocolate frosting. That's my favorite sort of cupcake.” He then pulled half of the cake away to reveal the inside of the cupcake. “But it's not just plain yellow cake. It's full of more chocolate, see?” And yes, he had put some sparkly gold star sprinkles in there as well because he thought it was amusing. “And Summer, you…?”

"And I put a shrimp in mine," Summer announced proudly, gesturing toward, yes, a very pink cupcake, with sparkly sprinkles, and a big old pink shrimp stuck right in the very center of it, which she looked at with a great deal of fondness, "because Stark asked me not to."

Which might not seem like much of an introduction, but that really was a good amount of what you needed to know about Summer.

“Of course you did,” Stark said with a shake of his head. “Of course.”

"Now," said Summer, "if you need help with actually baking the cupcake, just let me or Stark know and we'll help you through the process; if you're still feeling a little intimidating baking on Day One, though, we do have some default chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla base-cakes that, like, you can just decorate to suit who you are as a cupcake. And, when time is up, we'll all take turns introducing ourselves and sharing our cupcakes!"

stykera

As he had been nearly every week previously, Stark was standing at the front of the room when everyone arrived for cupcake class.

“It’s our last class today,” he said, looking around. “I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Odd ingredients and all.” He didn’t need to know if anyone enjoyed the odd ingredients more than the planned ones. “I did.” Maybe not when the boxes involved seafood. That was just upsetting.

“We’ve nearly run out of colors, so today’s ingredients will be black. There aren’t many in here.” Or so Stark foolishly thought as he patted the box in front of him. If he’d picked it up he would have noticed it was clearly much heavier than it ought to be. He ought to know better by now.

“I have black licorice to start. I like it. Not everyone does. But it’s candy and it’s black so it works well for this, I think. Then there’s blackstrap molasses. I also have blackberries and black currants if you’d like to use fruit.”

This was going well so far and Stark relaxed a little before reaching into the box once more for another ingredient. “There’s black coffee which goes very well with chocolate, like black cocoa. And I have Oreos. Cookies are always good. I also have black tea which I think ought to work but I’m not entirely sure. I think I only put the coffee in. Not tea. Maybe,” he started to say, feeling foolishly hopeful for a brief, shining moment, “maybe this is all…oh no. It’s not.”

Stark sighed and started pulling out a few more things. “We have black sesame seeds. That’s not terrible. I’ve had good cookies with those. There’s also black pepper which maybe shouldn’t go in cupcakes but it isn’t too bad an ingredient.”

Stark’s face fell as he peered into the box once again. “Now there are black beans. And there are black olives. Why are there so many olives? Olives don’t go in cupcakes.” Lots of things didn’t go in cupcakes. So many things. More things that had yet to be removed from the box, in fact.

“And now black...garlic?” One student was getting a betrayed sort of look right now.

“Oh dear. And we have…activated charcoal? That isn’t even food. We have that in the clinic.” Stark’s face now was the very picture of dismay. It was only going to get worse with the final item. “And squid ink. I…why?”

What had he ever done to deserve these things in his cupcake ingredients?

“If anyone wants help I can help. If you like.”

Fair warning: he might cry if anyone asked him to help with most of the later ingredients. Or if anyone had brought the non-pasty beaver tails in from Summer’s class.

"Wait...where did the littler box with the holes come from? NO, we are not putting a chicken in anything!"

stykera

“Hopefully no live animals in the box this week,” Stark said, eyeing the box of ingredients warily once everyone had arrived in the classroom. “It doesn’t seem to be moving, at least.” He tapped the box with one finger, hesitantly, then gave a small, satisfied nod when no noises came from within.

“Only two classes left, counting today, so today we’ll be working with brown ingredients. Maybe even the brown things I meant for us to have today.” Stark lived in hope, somehow.

“Oh, good, this is meant to be here,” he said, pulling out some salted caramel. “Caramel is a good choice. Potatoes...are not so good. But not terrible. That may be fine? I don’t know. Oh. Maple syrup. That’s fine. Very sweet. And there’s cinnamon and I like that too. Maybe you could mix them?”

Maybe the potatoes were an aberration and this basket would be fine! Or… “Why are there mushrooms? Those don’t go in dessert,” Stark said with a sigh and a despairing look at Summer ~~assuming she was there~~. “Neither do these mushrooms!. Please don’t use mushrooms.” Summer.

“What else is here…” Stark frowned at the box before peering back in to it. “Peanut butter! Much better. And chocolate. This is good. Much better. And Nutella is good as well. But then I always like chocolate.” Try to contain your collective shock, students.

“And we have cashews. I suppose that’s find, and almonds which are also fine. Pretzels could be fine, too. I think. And I have something called cookie butter? That sounds promising at least. But the pine nuts seem less promising. And…chickpeas?”

Stark sighed and shook his head before tipping the box over and giving it a good shake in case anything else was in there. “That seems to be everything. I think. I hope.”

He was going to judge you if you used those mushrooms. He might be willing to allow the potatoes. Maybe.

stykera

Cupcake class was back in the Home Ec room once more and Stark was at the front of said room with a box in front of him. All usual for a Friday.

“I thought we could make blue cupcakes this week,” he said once everyone had arrived. “I like blue.” And possibly another student (or two) had mentioned a fondness for blue as well. Perhaps one of them was getting a hesitant smile right now.

He eyed the box warily before opening it up. “Let’s see what the box has in store for us this week. Perhaps it will only be what I expect.” Stark paused, then shook his head. “No, I don’t think so either.”

“We have blueberries, which are supposed to be here. That’s good. Blue marshmallow Peeps, which are just marshmallow so that’s fine too. Good. But these things often start out well…” He gave a soft sigh and started removing more items from the box. “And blue cotton candy.” He smiled slightly at that because it was just a lot of sugar, after all, and he did love sugar. “There’s blue raspberry flavoring as well. And Blue Curaçao.” This was going too well and now Stark was getting suspicious as he pulled out an assortment of blue sprinkles and sugars to add to the tops of cupcakes.

“Oh. There we are. Of course. Blue corn. That’s not terrible, I suppose. Blue cheese. That isn’t for cupcakes. Or it ought not to be. And I don’t even know what butterfly pea flowers are.”

“Wait. Why…something is moving. Oh, no. Nonono. Absolutely not!” Stark glared at the box before reaching in and pulling out a very much alive blue lobster followed by a very much alive blue crab. “No. No. Those are going back in the box and nobody will be cooking them and I’ll…take them to Furnado. Or to the beach. We’re not eating them.” Stabby would never forgive him.

Summer being safely tucked away in her warehouse as a squirrel meant he couldn’t look at her in dismay and possible accusation yet again this week. Alas.

“If anyone needs help, ask. I’m happy to help. Leave the crustaceans alone. Please.”

stykera

“I was a koala last week,” Stark said with a sigh. “That’s why I wasn’t here. I’m myself again.” And very much not making eye contact with at least one person in this class. For reasons.

“This week,” he continued, gesturing the box in front of him where the box of ingredients usually was, “green cupcakes. I know what ought to be in the box. Let’s see what’s actually in the box this time.” Maybe the island would be kind to him?

“I have key limes, and mint chocolates, and green apples.” Stark looked relieved for a moment, nodding at the items as he placed them on the counter. “And some green candies to decorate with, if you like. Plenty of those.” He took out some M&Ms, lime Skittles, green gummi bears, green sprinkles, green sanding sugar, lime fruit slices, and gummi mint leaves.

“And then there’s…this.” Another sigh, this one more resigned. “Why is there celery? And what’s matcha? avocado? And basil and parsley? I don’t think kale belongs here. Or spinach or zucchini. Wasabi should certainly not be in here.”

The ingredient box was full-on betraying Stark today and he couldn’t even look at Summer in horror.

“Brussels sprouts?”

“Is this to make up for not being here next week?” he asked the now thankfully empty box.

“If anyone needs help, please ask. I’m happy to help.” He’d just prefer not to help anyone put Brussels sprouts or kale in cupcakes.

stykera

Once again, cupcake class was meeting in the home ec room. Once again, Stark was waiting at the front of the room. Once again, there was a box sitting on the counter that the teacher was eyeing warily. Maybe it would be a perfectly normal box of ingredients like last week. Maybe that was just wishful thinking.

“Welcome back,” he said, looking around the room. “Today I’ve brought red ingredients for red cupcakes. Or pink ones, since sometimes the red turns pink when it’s mixed in. But it starts out as red and that counts. So…” he let his voice trail off as he looked to the box. “I suppose it’s best just to open this up and see what there is inside. I know what’s meant to be there but that doesn’t always mean anything around here.”

He took a deep breath and opened the box to start taking out ingredients. “I have Swedish Fish which are candy fish and the only acceptable sort of fish to put in a dessert.” Arguments could be possibly be made for pretzel goldfish crackers but not right now. “There are cinnamon candies as well. And I have raspberries and strawberries and cherries.” This was going well enough so far, and Stark was almost optimistic about the rest of the contents of the box. “More cherries, the kind from a jar, and some watermelon, and cranberries.”

“And, unfortunately, we have beets. And more beets. And we have tomato juice and cayenne pepper. And then there are more spicy peppers. Sometimes chocolate and spicy can go well together but these seem…too much. And look, there’s a bottle of hot sauce. Why is there hot sauce?” Stark asked nobody in particular. Not even Summer. He knew there wasn’t an answer.

“Is that everythi-oh no. It’s not everything. There’s also cough syrup. At least,” he said with a sigh as he picked up the box and tipped it over just to be certain, “that’s the end. And there wasn't any seafood.” Certainly not any fermented seafood, Summer.

“So. We have plenty of ingredients to choose from. Please don’t use the medicine.” Summer.

stykera

Class was meeting in the home ec room today as cupcake class nearly always did. Stark was standing at the front of the room as he nearly always did. There was a box on the counter in front of him as there nearly always was. There were also trays of chocolate and yellow cupcakes currently lacking in frosting.

“Welcome. And welcome back to some of you,” he said, looking around the room and turning his head slightly to do so. “I’m Stark, if any of you don’t know me.”

“I thought, today, since this is the first day for some of you, we would wait on baking. I have some unfrosted cupcakes here, and a few types of frosting, and some and you can decorate if you like.”

Stark paused and opened the box in front of him warily. “I have some frosting in here. Chocolate. Vanilla.” He pulled those two out and placed them on the counter before reaching in to the box again. “Peanut butter. And…some candies and fruits you can mix in if you like?” He was frowning at the box now, confused. “It seems that everything in the box today was meant to be in the box today.”

Summer was absolutely getting a confused but relieved look right now if she was there to be looked at.

“Right. Well. You can decorate some cupcakes if you like. First, introductions since I don’t think we all know each other. You can say as much as you like, or as little, but at least your names? Why you’re here, if you want. Maybe your favorite cupcake ingredient?”

Please don’t tell everyone your favorite cupcake ingredient is some sort of seafood or maggots ~~Summer~~. Don’t make the alien sad.

stykera

“It’s our last class today,” Stark said. “I hope you’ve enjoyed yourselves. And your cupcakes. Even with the strange ingredients that kept appearing. Some of you enjoyed those more than others, I think.” Summer.

“This week I brought something from every week. All of the colors so far, and the rainbow ones. You can choose from all of it, if you like.”

He opened the first box in front of him. “For yellow I have lemons, and bananas, pineapple, yuzu, and,” Stark sighed a little, “ corn.”

He moved on to the second box. “For orange, oranges, orange soda, orange juice, carrots for carrot cake, mango, cantaloupe and for some reason still curry powder and sweet potatoes.”

“For white,” he said, opening the third box and hoping the garlic and onion weren’t there, “we have…onion and garlic.” He sighed and shook his head. “Unfortunately. I was hoping we wouldn’t. I was hoping for just other things. Like marshmallow that I forgot last time. And white chocolate, coconut, cream cheese, egg whites, macadamia nuts, and mayonnaise.”

“For pink we have…oh no. Why. We still have the Pepto Bismol. Even though it isn’t even food. And the shrimp. Of course we do. And the smoked salmon.”

“And there’s pink grapefruit, pink lemonade, dragon fruit, pink Starbursts," rose water and rose petals, pink cream soda from Canada, rhubarb, pink salt and pink peppercorns."

“I’m almost afraid to open the rainbow box,” he admitted. “In case there are new horrors contained within it. Maybe it will just be the rainbow trout? Which should not be combined with any other seafood. Or anything else.” Summer.

“I have candies again, rainbow candies. rainbow Nerds, and Skittles, M&M’s, rainbow sprinkles, and rainbow belts. Both of the rainbow cereals are in here. Food coloring, of course, and the rainbow carrots. And,” another sigh, “mixed vegetables. Again.”

“So many things to choose from. Please make good choices.” Yes, Stark was absolutely looking at Summer when he said that. He didn’t have high hopes but he had to try. “And have fun. I'll be making more rainbow ones. I liked the rainbow ones.”

stykera

“Today,” Stark said, “I’ve brought some rainbow things so we can make rainbow cupcakes. For this weekend. Rainbows for Pride.”

He nodded towards the box in the usual spot on the counter. “I brought rainbow candies. And food coloring. I suppose we ought to see what else has appeared. Waiting will only delay the inevitable.”

“I have rainbow Nerds, and Skittles, M&M’s, rainbow sprinkles, rainbow belts...” Stark stopped removing ingredients and eyed the box suspiciously. It was all going too well. What horrors waited at the bottom?

“Then there’s food coloring. That’s easy enough. You can do lots of things with that. And there’s a cereal called Fruity Pebbles and one called Fruit Loops. I’m not sure about cereal. Probably fine. rainbow carrots. Oh, those are fine. Carrot cake is fine.” Stark was now looking relieved. Foolish man. “And…rainbow mixed vegetables?” He let out a long-suffering sigh, peered back into the box and then let out another. “And rainbow trout. I thought we were safe from fish this week. Please don’t use the fish.” Summer.

Stark shook his head and looked around the room. “At least there was no medicine this time. Have fun. I can help if you need it. Or you can just decorate some of the already done rainbow cupcakes. Without the trout. Please.”

stykera

Another Friday morning meant another box of ingredients at the front of the home ec room along with the teacher. "Good morning," he said. "Welcome back, again. I brought pink things, this week, by request." Hopefully Summer was feeling appreciated. He flashed a quick smile in her direction.

Then, eyeing the box with some trepidation he gave his head a little shake and opened the box.

"I have pink grapefruit, pink lemonade, dragon fruit, pink Starbursts," he said, pulling things out of the box as he spoke and lining them up on the counter. "And I have rose water and rose petals, pink cream soda which has a note on it saying it's from Canada, rhubarb, pink salt and ... pink peppercorns?"

Stark frowned and sighed before reaching back into the box which was somehow still not empty.

"Oh no. There's shrimp." Summer was getting a much different look now. One that was suspicious and tinged with fear. "And there's smoked salmon. I hope that's all…"

He peered into the box, let out a small dismayed noise, and pulled the final item out of the box. "And…there's this. Pepto Bismol. That's…please don't. That's not even food!"

"I have some cupcakes without any seafood in the back," he said, sounding resigned now. "And without any medicine in them either. I like the Starburst ones best, I think. Ask if you want help. Or need help." He was going to be eating a Starburst cupcake to distract himself from the seafood and medicine and hoping nobody tried to combine those things. They would be bad enough on their own.

stykera

Like the last two weeks, Stark was at the front of the room today with a box of mystery ingredients in front of him. “Welcome back. Nothing kraken-themed this week, in case anyone was worried.” There were other things to worry about.

“I thought white cupcakes this week,” he said. “So we’ll have a variety of white ingredients to try.” Ingredients he had not, of course, checked again after packing them into the box to begin with.

“I have white chocolate, coconut, cream cheese, egg whites, macadamia nuts, mayonnaise which sounds like it shouldn’t work in baking but it does, I promise...” Stark pulled out each ingredient and set it in front of him as he listed them off. His voice trailed off as he saw the last two ingredients and he sighed before continuing. “ …and then there’s onion and garlic.”

Yes, he shot a suspicious glance in Summer’s direction (assuming she was there). Not a long one because he was still awkward, but he did look her way.

“I have some already made cupcakes, if you like. None with onion or garlic. That I know of. If anyone wants help I’ll be here to assist.”

stykera

“Welcome back,” Stark said from where he stood at the front of the room. There was a box in front of him, like last week, and he hadn’t double-checked the contents again, like last week.

“I hope yesterday wasn’t too painful for anyone,” he said. Was he avoiding looking at someone in this class? What? Why would he do that?

“If it was you can, ah, ‘eat your feelings.’ Or stress bake. I’ve been told I do that, sometimes. Both things. I thought orange cupcakes, today. So,” he opened the box in front of him, “orange ingredients to choose from.”

“Oranges, orange soda, orange juice,” he said, holding up each one, “sweet potatoes?” Those got a slight frown. “Carrots for carrot cake, mango, cantaloupe…curry powder?”

If Stark were making eye contact with one of his friends today he would certainly be looking at her right now.

“These things were not all in here to begin with. I’m certain of that. Well. There are many flavors to choose from, I suppose. And some premade cupcakes if anyone wants those.” Had he maybe been stress baking last night? It was possible! “I’m happy to help, should you want assistance.”

stykera

Stark, standing in the front of the home ec room, was looking much better this week and not at all like he might collapse at any moment from sheer exhaustion.

"Welcome back. I hope everyone is rested today. Feeling better than last time. Unless you weren’t sleepless last week. Then…I hope you're still fine?" He hadn't really thought that 'unless' through.

"We can actually bake today, I think. Without worrying we might burn the school down or have some sort of terrible baking accident."

"I thought we could try colors as a theme this time. Something different. Yellow, to start," he said, gesturing toward the box on the counter in front of him. "I've brought some yellow ingredients to make yellow cupcakes or at least cupcakes with yellow."

He opened the box then and started removing items one by one. "Lemons. Bananas. Pineapple. Something called yuzu. And…canned corn? I didn't bring that. Why would that be here? I don't want corn."

Summer was getting a suspicious look right about now if she was in the room even though this was entirely a strange island occurrence and nothing to do with her at all.

"There are recipes, if you like, and some already finished yellow cake cupcakes if you'd like to eat one or just make frosting for those."

stykera

Stark had not slept since Sunday night. Stark was exhausted. His eye was red. His shoulders were slumped. He hadn’t shaved in days. Sleeping poorly was nothing new but a complete lack of sleep like this for days was not something he’d had to deal with before. Stark was still standing in front of the cupcake students in the home ec classroom. Perhaps standing was too strong of a word. Stark was upright but leaning heavily against the wall and looking blearily at the assembled students.

“I haven’t slept,” he said, sounding just as exhausted as he knew he looked. “No sleep all week. Not at all. I…I can’t. I know I’m not the only one but that doesn’t make it better. I hope some of you have slept. Maybe all of you. Have you? No. It doesn’t matter. I…we’re not baking today. Not a good idea. Next week. If we’re still functioning then. Am I even really functioning now?” Yes, Stark was talking mostly to himself there.

He shook his head then as if trying to clear his thoughts. “I brought coffee. I brought lots of coffee. If you want that. And coffee cupcakes. If you want them. And…chocolate covered espresso beans. It might help. A little. It might not. I don’t know. At least it all tastes good. Or I think it does. I don’t know what you all think.” If anyone didn’t think coffee or cupcakes tasted good, hopefully they wouldn’t tell Stark that today. He might not be able to take it in his current sleep-deprived state.

throughaphase

"It's our last week of class!" Kitty greeted them. "You made it! Hopefully you had some fun, because this was fun for me, especially when I'm here because of an obstinate moose.

"For this week, it's a free for all. Make whatever kind of cupcake you want. Decorate it however, if you want to add a ton of extras, go for it. Also I brought in a ridiculous amount of stuff and it's gonna go bad if we don't use it."

throughaphase

"All right, we're continuing the holiday theme," Kitty greeted the class. "Today's ingredient is eggnog. I've got a basic recipe, but feel free to try different spices or flavors. Also, let's make them Christmassy. I've got a bunch of things you can use as decorations, but if you're feeling creative, why not put something together yourself?"

Really she encouraged creative chaos.

throughaphase

"All right, we are fully into the holiday season now," Kitty greeted the class. "So this week we're doing something slightly different. There's only one gingerbread recipe, but you have to come up with the flavors for your own icing. Make some kind of holiday decoration. I want to see how creative you're getting by now."

Surely this would go well!

throughaphase

"Hello and welcome to Thanksgiving week!" Kitty greeted them. "If you're new to this, it's a problematic holiday where we celebrate Native Americans helping us with food right before we slaughtered them and stole their land, so now we kind of bypass that and get together to eat a lot and fight with our families."

Well, other people did. Clint and Kitty kept it pretty low key.

"So we're going to make cupcakes with a Thanksgiving theme. See how cute you can make them."

Turkey cupcakes
Acorn Snickerdoodle cupcakes
Cornucopia cupcakes

throughaphase

"Today, we're taking a little trip to the zoo via cupcakes."

Kitty, you absolute dork.

"You're going to get to play with decorating more this week. All the cupcakes will taste the same, but you'll have to decorate all of these: a monkey, an elephant, a bear, a lion, and something I think might be a panda? That's not what pandas look like but all right. You've got all the ingredients you need, so let's get baking."

This was going to go so, so poorly.

throughaphase

"I'm actually really excited about this one," Kitty announced as soon as class had started. "Because it's Halloween week! So I pulled a bunch of cute cupcake ideas for you to try. Feel free to adapt the recipes like adding food coloring if you want, and you can get creative with the decorating. And if you mess up, we'll... it's Halloween."

Spiderweb Cupcakes
Dracula cupcakes (sorry, vampire friends)
Monster cupcakes
Werewolf cupcakes

Please someone try the werewolves. Please.

throughaphase

"Welcome back to classes," Kitty greeted them. "Which sucks, but we're going to at least ease into it with Boston-themed cupcakes. I have a basic recipe for Boston cream cupcakes, but you're going to make it your own. Whether you want to add food coloring or decorations or whatever, I want you to make it look Boston-y. So I'm giving you work, but it's vacation-creative work!"

Boston Cream cupcakes

throughaphase

"I'm going to let you guys get a little creative today."

This announcement courtesy of a girl who had changed her costume every two weeks for a while there and once included roller skates.

"You've making vanilla cupcakes," she went on, "but you have to use food coloring in here somewhere. Whether you just want to do the cake part or the frosting, too, I just want to look at them and see you had fun." And then she added, "Also make them taste good."

Vanilla Cupcakes

throughaphase

The ingredients table had just so much candy on it. You know why? Because there was no way people wouldn't be snacking while they were baking. Kitty was here to help.

"Today we're going to be making cupcakes with candy in or on them," Kitty announced. "Because frankly when they have Halloween candy out already and you knkw it's not gonna last a month you might as well. I've got a few different kinds to try, have fun choosing."

Piñata Cupcakes
Twix Stuffed Cupcakes
Snickers Cupcakes
Starburst Cupcakes

throughaphase

Back in the Home Ec room, and oh no Kitty was maybe starting to get into this class.

"Hello!" she greeted them. "We're going to be making cupcakes with one specific ingredient today: soda. Which might sound weird, but given the number of recipes I found, apparently it's not! I've got a few different flavors, so try to make what sounds most interesting to you.

"Oh, also take the remainder of the soda back to the dorms, my fridge is not big enough for all that."

Strawberry with Leominster Cream Cheese Frosting
Orange Soda Cupcakes
Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

throughaphase

"Sorry about last week," Kitty said once everyone had gotten to the Home Ec room. "Fandom decided to make me a lion and that makes it hard to send a cancelation enail.

"So since we're back at school and halfway through September already, we're doing some fall flavors today. I have some recipes for you to pick and try. If you've never made cupcakes before, I vaguely know how without instructions so we'll be on the same footing, but I'll do my best."

Maple Cupcakes
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
Apple Spice Cupcakes

throughaphase

Honestly, thank god for a small class, because Kitty had been trying for two days to appeal to the moose to no avail, and so she was slightly underprepared for a class.

Also thank god for introduction week.

"Hi, and welcome to Cupcake Skirmishes," Kitty greeted everyone once they'd gotten to the home ec room. "I'm Kitty Pryde-Barton and if you're surprised to see me teaching this, join the club. I'm not much of a baker, and from what I can understand this is Cupcake Wars in class form and I have watched a lot of that, so you're going to get to make and decorate your own cupcakes.

"Starting next week. Today I want to find out who you are and why you're taking this class, and then we're going to talk about flavors some."

stykera

For the final session, the cupcake class was unsurprisingly being held in the Home Ec room, just like always.

“It’s our last class,” Stark said. “The end of the summer. I hope you’ve enjoyed this.” If you hadn’t enjoyed cupcakes? Don’t tell Stark. He was about to have a very emotional weekend and didn’t need additional stress at this time.

“I have new recipes this week. I haven’t tried them yet. Found them a while ago, but I was waiting for a good time. We’re at the end so now seems a good time. At least one of you should enjoy these.”

Stark reached into the box in front of him then and pulled out several boxes of...Jello. Hope you’re here today, Summer!

“I found jello cupcake recipes,” he said, holding up a box. “They seemed worth trying, I thought.”

Strawberry Lemon Jello Cupcakes
Grape Jello Shot Cupcakes
Watermelon Cupcakes
Tie-dye Fruity Cupcakes
Patriotic Jello Poke Cupcakes

“Some of the recipes call for vodka, for the jello. It’s...early for that,” Stark said. “And one of you I probably shouldn’t give alcohol to.” Sorry, Malia. “You can always add the jello on top later.” On your own time, when no aliens might be liable for what happened as a result. "Some of them call for boxed cake mix as well. I have some. Nothing wrong with a box. Saves time."

"I'm here if anyone needs help. Or wants help." He'd be making some of the grape cupcakes, for the purple of it all. For some reason.

stykera

Friday meant cupcake class and that meant Stark was waiting in the Home Ec room once more for any students to arrive.

“Only one class left after this one,” Stark said. The second summer session had gone by so quickly. Maybe because he’d spent a good chunk of it in a hole?

“This week I was looking for something different and found lots of recipes with nuts in them. So I thought you could do that. Cupcakes with nuts.” He opened the box on the counter and started pulling out containers. “I have peanut butter and peanuts and Nutella and hazelnuts and walnuts and pecans and macadamia nuts and coconut. And everything else you might need for the recipes I have today.”

Honey Hazelnut Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Maple Walnut Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Butter Pecan Cupcakes
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cupcakes
Coconut Cupcakes

“I can help, if you need it. Or want it.” Even if he was a little preoccupied today with baking something of his own this week that wasn’t one of the provided recipes.

stykera

Unsurprisingly, Friday morning found Stark in the Home Ec room once more for his cupcake class.

“Welcome back,” he said once everyone had arrived. “There are drinks, if anyone wants.” Because it was summer and it was hot, and because the ingredient of the day was a variety of sodas on the counter in front of him. Because they all needed cupcakes and soda, right? Like a child’s birthday party! “I brought enough for baking and for drinking.”

“I haven’t tried these recipes before, but I’ve eaten cake with cola in it. They’re all similar. Any sort of soda should work, I think. Not just these. But I’ve brought these ones, and recipes for each. You can try what you like.”

Grape Soda Cupcakes
Chocolate Cola Cupcakes
Strawberry Soda Cupcakes
Orange Crush Cupcakes
Cherry Coke Cupcakes
Dr. Pepper Cupcakes
7UP Cupcakes
Root Beer Float Cupcakes

“I’m here if anyone needs help. Or wants help. I’m making the grape ones, I think.” Because they were purple and he liked purple lately. For some reason.

stykera

For the second week in a row, cupcake class was being held where and when it was meant to. Perhaps this would even be a consistent thing for the rest of the session!

“I hope everyone slept longer today than yesterday,” Stark said once everyone had arrived. “Without the alarms. We’ll try not to burn anything today so there won’t be any repeats of that. But at least we’d all be awake for it if it happened now.” Unlike yesterday. In the middle of the night. “I try not to burn anything anyway. If I can help it.”

“I thought we might do coffee cupcakes after the lack of sleep yesterday but I’ve done that before. Wouldn’t want to repeat myself too much. Even if they are delicious.” And caffeinated, which was sometimes very important.

“Instead, I thought flowers. Not the same. Not even close to the same, I know.” He was still on a bit of an outside kick. Flowers made sense to him.

“Mostly lavender. It works well in cupcakes. And lemonade.” Which was last week! See, this all made sense. At least to Stark. “One recipe has sugared flowers, which don’t have to be lavender. They take time to dry and there wouldn’t be time so I have some of those ready, if you want to use them for decorating. All edible, I promise.” He was absolutely not out to poison anyone. Especially not with cupcakes.

“So. There are flowers.” Stark pointed to the parchment lined baking sheet full of sugared flowers in front of him. “And the recipes.” He pointed to the stack of papers on the counter. “There are three of those.”

Lemon Lavender Cupcakes
Earl Grey Lavender Cupcakes
Sweet Lavender Cupcakes with Sugared Flowers and a Honeyed Cream Cheese Frosting

“I’m here if you want help. Or need help. And you can always work together, if you like.”

stykera

Stark was where he was supposed to be for cupcake class today. Aboveground, and in the location he meant to go to, the Home Ec room. So that was a nice change for him after the past few weeks.

He was standing at the front of the room, with a box in front of him on the counter, and a stack of recipes, when everyone arrived.

“I hope,” he said, looking around, “everyone made it here without incident today. No unexpected detours.” And no holes! That was important.

“I missed our first two classes. Unavoidable. I was in the hole.” He glanced towards the door then, as if to reassure himself it was still there. “We’re all out now, and not stuck anywhere else. For the moment. Oh. I’m Stark, if you don’t know me. I think we’ve all met, by now? But introductions might be a good idea anyway. We can do that. And then cupcakes.”

“I thought,” he continued, “something that tastes summery would be good. Something that reminded me of outside ~~but didn’t taste like grass, come on Eric that’s gross~~. So I have a few recipes. Similar, but not all the same. There’s lemonade in all of them.”

Lemonade Cupcakes
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

“If you need help, I can help. Or, if you just want to decorate some and not bake today that’s fine. I have some already baked. It’s been a long week. A long month. Maybe you need something easy. That’s fine.”

stykera

Just as had happened the previous 6 weeks, cupcake class was once again being held in the Home Ec room and once again Stark was standing at the front of the room with a box on the counter in front of him.

“I’ve made cupcakes for everyone to decorate, if you like,” Stark said, opening the box to remove containers full of colorful cupcakes, mostly undecorated. “Or you can try and make them as well. I have the recipe and everything you would need. But the decorating is fun and you can do just that if you prefer.” Eating frosting and/or cupcakes was also acceptable. Stark wasn’t going to stop anyone. Why would he?

“They’re paint-themed,” he added, holding up one of the decorated cupcakes. “They’re even different colored on the inside.” He held up one already cut in half to show off the swirls. “Paint because today is the last day of paintball as well.”

Was one of these cupcakes going to be thrown at Anakin’s head later? Only time would tell. Maybe it would be handed over as a peace offering instead. It could happen!

“There’s plenty of food coloring to make whatever frosting you might want and there are colors already made. Have fun. And I can help, like always, if you need it. Or want it.”

stykera

As always, cupcake class was held in the Home Ec room. Where else would you bake?

“Today,” Stark said from his usual spot at the front of the room, “I hope everyone likes chocolate.” If you didn’t like chocolate, Stark didn’t want to hear about it. “Because I have a lot of chocolate.” He stopped, considering the box in front of him. “At least I think I do? It was chocolate the last time I looked but you never know here. Good, yes, still chocolate.”

“I have dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and ruby chocolate,” Stark continued, holding examples up each type in turn. “I didn’t know there was that fourth type, before. It’s new. It tastes different. There’s enough here if you want to try some first.” There was enough of every type of chocolate for eating. Stark wasn’t a monster.

“I have recipes for each type. You could try changing the frostings around.” Mix it up a little, kids! It might be fun. And delicious.

Ruby chocolate cupcakes
White chocolate cupcakes
Milk chocolate cupcakes
Dark chocolate cupcakes

“I can help, if you like.” Or you can just eat chocolate, honestly. It’s not like Stark would stop anyone from doing that.

stykera

Yet again, cupcake class was meeting in the Home Ec room. That was where the ovens and ingredients lived so it only made sense.

“Today,” Stark said, then stopped, frowning at the box in front of him. He was going to check inside the box to make sure that it actually held what he thought it was going to before he started talking. He didn’t want a repeat of last week. Not that part of last week anyway.

“Right. Good. Today, candy cupcakes!” Because what cupcakes needed was more sugar, right? Stark though, Stark always needed more sugar. “Actually, piñata cupcakes. You don’t have to fill them with candy. You could fill them with sprinkles.” Which was really just more sugar, honestly.

“It’s just a cupcake with a hole in the middle,” he explained. “You cut out a piece and then you can fill it with candy, or sprinkles. Or something else entirely.” If anyone filled their cupcakes with meat or vegetables Stark might start yelling so it was best if nobody tried that.

“I have recipes for chocolate cupcakes or vanilla. Other flavors would work.”

He reached into the box then and started pulling out various ~~moddable~~ candies. “I have M&Ms, Skittles, Reese's Pieces, sprinkles, so many sprinkles, and...licorice? I don’t recommend using that.” Unless you really wanted to. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, he’d just tried absinthe yesterday.

“So. Candy-filled cupcakes. I can help if you need it.”

stykera

Once again, Stark was waiting in the Home Ec room when any cupcake students arrived.

There was a box on the counter, as usual, and a small stack of printed recipes. Perhaps Stark should have looked at them more closely. Too late now!

“Good morning,” he said, once everyone was there. “I thought today we might have chocolate. Lots of chocolate. There’s different types of chocolate.” He reached into the box now, and pulled out...something that wasn’t chocolate at all.

“Oh. That’s…not what I thought it was. There was supposed to be chocolate in here. Lots of chocolates. There's no chocolate. None of this is chocolate.” What it was was maple because the island seemed to have a sense of humor at times and this was the next best thing to turning pancakes into cupcakes.

“No chocolate,” he said again. “But there’s maple syrup.” Multiple bottles! “And maple sugar. And maple candy. And maple...cotton candy?” He pulled everything out of the box, shaking his head, and definitely not making eye contact with anyone.

“I had chocolate recipes but…” He picked up the recipe stack and shook his head as he looked through it. “These are maple as well. That might be better. Hard to make chocolate cupcakes with no chocolate.”

Maple Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
Brown Sugar Maple Cupcakes
Maple Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting
Gingered Maple Cupcakes

“I haven’t made any of these before,” he admitted, because the recipes had just appeared. “Still happy to help if anyone wants, or needs. I may try the ginger ones.”

stykera

Like the previous 2 weeks, Stark was waiting in the Home Ec room. Today he had a large coffee from the Perk with him, one of his usual extremely sugary drinks.

“Coffee,” Stark said brightly, holding up the cup, “goes well with baked goods. Or in baked goods!” He’d maybe already had coffee today. He might need the extra caffeine to get through paintball later. It certainly wouldn’t hurt. “It goes very well with chocolate, especially. But chocolate goes well with a lot of things.”

“I have instant coffee,” he said, pulling a jar out of the box on the counter, “chocolate-covered espresso beans, and there’s regular coffee, brewed coffee, as well. And cold brew. Different recipes call for different things. The beans are mostly for decoration. Or just eating. And of course plenty of chocolate. There’s almost always chocolate.”

“I’ve brought several recipes to choose from.” He pointed to a stack of printed recipes on the counter. "Try one, or more than one if you're feeling ambitious."

Coffee cupcakes with coffee buttercream and raspberry filling
Coffee cupcakes with salted caramel frosting
Mocha cupcakes with espresso buttercream
Cold brew cupcakes with mocha buttercream
Chocolate cupcakes with coffee cream filling

"I can help if you need. Or want. Oh. And there's coffee for drinking, if anyone wants that."

It was just going to be a caffeinated sort of day.

stykera

Like last week, cupcake class was held in the Home Ec room because that’s the best place to bake things in the school.

“This week I was thinking of cookies and cream cupcakes,” Stark said. “Because the idea of Oreos came up. So,” he gestured to a box in front of him, “I brought cookies to add to cupcakes!”

Why not combine two baked goods, after all?

He opened the box and pulled out a package of Oreos, followed by some chocolate chip cookies, and then a package of animal crackers which he held up with a slightly confused expression before shrugging and placing them next to the other cookies.

“I have recipes for Oreo cupcakes, and chocolate chip cookie dough ones. I’m...not sure why the animal cookies are here. But you can use those if you like. Or make something else, that’s also fine.”

“If you need help, I’m here. You can always pair up, as well.”

stykera

As was usual for a cupcake-themed class, today Cupcake Skirmishes was meeting in the Home Ec classroom. That was where the ovens were, after all.

Stark was at the front of the room, looking somewhere between anxious and eager to begin. Not that he had anything to be anxious about. He’d done this before and it wasn’t like much about a cupcake class would have changed. Nothing except for the ingredients provided.

“So. Welcome to Cupcake Skirmishes, which is like Cupcake Wars that used to be on TV but with fewer horrifying ingredients. At least I hope so. This island does strange things at times. If anything too awful appears we just won't use it. But no secret ingredients this week. Normal ones. In plain sight. No surprises.”

“We’ll be making cupcakes.” In case that wasn’t clear from the class name and description and the fact this room had several ovens. “Decorating cupcakes. Eating cupcakes. It’s meant to be fun...and tasty. I hope. Introductions first. That’s what you do the first week. Introductions and then cupcakes. Nothing complicated this week.”

“I’m Stark," he said, offering a hesitant smile at the group. "Sometimes I teach. Sometimes I bake. Sometimes, like now, I do both.”

stykera

The Home Ec room was set up as usual for cupcake class today except there were no covered secret ingredients. Instead there was an assortment of just about everything from earlier classes. There was also Stark at the front of the room, looking tired, though trying not to let it show too much.

“Today,” Stark said, “something a little different. No one theme for ingredients this week. Instead, everything. Pick your favorite from earlier this session, or mix and match. Make something you like. Or just try something you think you might like. Something new?”

Hopefully nobody was going to try mixing, say, oranges and peppermint. Or peanut butter and peppermint.

“Ovens are preheated, there are clean aprons if you want one, and I will be here if you need me.”

[OCD is up, go for it]

stykera

Yesterday’s shenanigans had inspired Stark to plan for cupcakes that smelled fresh and delightful and absolutely nothing like that grease covered pole. Don’t worry, no lard or fish guts or leftover grease here. Especially no fish guts.

That’s why Stark was at the front of the room with the covered box of secret ingredients. Although you might be able to tell by the smell what today’s ingredient was before it was revealed.

“Welcome back. Today we have another variety of ingredients. All related but not all the same.” He removed the towel and began removing items from the box. “Mints! Candies and more candies and extracts and mint cookies and fresh mint leaves.”

Once he was done removing them there were packages of Thin Mints, mint Oreos, Andes candies, crushed peppermints, mint flavored chocolate chips, fresh mint leaves, peppermint and mint extracts ~~and some other moddable stuff~~.

“Some people like mint with chocolate. Some do not. You might also try vanilla and mint, or lemon and mint, or white chocolate and mint since that’s not at all the same as dark or milk chocolate. As always there are clean aprons available, your ovens are preheated, and feel free to team up if you wish.”

[ooc is ~~coming~~ up, go bake something or something]

stykera

Once again the Home Ec room was set up for production of cupcakes. Stark was up front, as usual, with a rather large cardboard box on the counter in front of him instead of the usual covered bowl(s).

“Welcome back,” he said, “Last week’s citrus cupcake winner was Steve.” ~~Apparently he’d figured out how to get to the fruit in that pomelo~~.

“No fruits this week,” Stark continued. “Something different. Peanut butter!” He opened the box and pulled out a jar. “I have crunchy and smooth and…” He frowned as he pulled out a third jar. “Cashew butter?” Another jar came out. “Almond butter? I only ordered peanut butter. I thought.”

He shrugged and continued removing jars from the box. “Walnut butter. Hazelnut butter.” Which was not, unfortunately, the same as Nutella. “Coconut butter. Pistachio butter. Macadamia butter. Pecan butter. Acorn butter?” He’d never heard of some of these things but it was looking like just about any nut could be turned into a spread.

“Sunflower seed butter!” He held up the jar, muttering that that wasn’t even a nut. “Soy butter?” Also not a nut. “Tahini?” That wasn’t even close. “Who packed this box?”

“Well. I meant to have peanut butters,” Stark said with a shrug after lining up the jars in front of him. “I did not mean to have the others. But they are here, and we’re here, someone might as well use them. I don’t think there’s enough peanut butter to go around.”

“Bake some cupcakes, enjoy yourselves. Ovens are preheated, clean aprons are over there. Feel free to pair up.”

[OCD is ~~coming~~ up]

Fandom High RPG

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