Work Text:
london fog cake, by ginny dyer
for cake mix:
3 tbsp earl grey tea
1 tbsp culinary lavender
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
10 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
1 cup buttermilk
for tea milk soak:
1/2 cup whole milk
2 tbsp earl grey tea
1/2 tbsp culinary lavender
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
for cream cheese frosting:
1 tbsp culinary lavender
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, cold
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Hayato walks into Café Pothos on an early Sunday morning. A very, very early Sunday morning. He yawns, blinking the tiredness out of his eyes.
He can see eggs and butter ready on the counter at room temperature, and not for the first time he’s relieved that he doesn’t have to bring all the ingredients on his trusty little bike again. Baking those cookies with Sakura and Nirei had been worth it, but biking them all up the hill was taxing.
When Kotoha had first suggested baking together, Hayato was surprised. Especially when she suggested a cake Hayato’s never heard of before: London Fog Cake. It’s apparently a kind of tea cake, and Kotoha swears up and down that it’s the best she’s ever tried.
”The bakery had a special order for it recently,” she had told him last week. ”It was absolutely divine. Sakura and Nirei told me you were good at baking, so do you want to help me recreate it?”
She then looked at him with large puppy eyes, and even Hayato couldn’t say no to that. He kind of gets why Umemiya is so sweet to her now. She’s endearing and welcoming.
Hayato’s never had close friends before high school, though it’s not like he ever tried to make them. He preferred keeping people at a distance, observing them and maintaining friendly communications, but that’s just about it. It wasn’t until he met Nirei and Sakura did he finally allow himself to get a little closer, to have that friendship he’s always observed but never had.
But he wasn’t expecting Kotoha to reach out to him like that.
They’ve never really talked one-on-one before. Hayato has the feeling that she asked him to join her for more than just wanting him to help her. She’s already good friends with Sakura; perhaps she wants to get to know his friends better, too.
“Good, you’re here,” Kotoha says, emerging from the kitchen with a terrifying amount of ingredients. Hayato suspects he’s going to be stuck here for several hours. “Let me finish setting everything up, then we can get started.”
She scurries around the Café’s kitchen with a skip in her step and a big grin on her face. Hayato doesn’t think he’s ever seen her this excited before. She’s usually switching between smug and grumpy when Umemiya and Sakura are around.
Hayato places his bag on one of the empty tables near the counter. It’s so early in the morning that the sun isn’t out yet, but Kotoha wanted to use the Café’s kitchen, so they had to use it during closing hours.
Hayato yawns once again. He’s usually a morning person, but this is early even for him. Kotoha seems unbothered, though, as she neatly separates all the ingredients and cookware into stations. She’s probably used to early mornings, working at the Café.
There are three major steps to this recipe: the cake itself, which should be pretty straightforward; the milk soak, which Hayato has never made before; and the cream cheese frosting.
Hayato looks over the copy of the recipe he brought with him. He has to admit, it does look pretty good. He’s always been partial towards tea after all, though he doesn’t usually go for black tea.
Yeah, he’s admittedly a bit of a tea snob.
“We’re all set,” Kotoha says, clapping her hands together. “You ready?”
Her excitement is infectious. Hayato smiles. “Of course.”
Step 1: The Cake
After preheating the oven and setting up the baking tray, the two of them crowd around the food processor. Hayato brings the culinary lavender up to his eye, giving it a sniff. The strong smell is enchanting, and he can’t wait to see how it affects the taste of the cake.
Kotoha hums as she cuts open three tea bags of Earl Grey. “I don’t have any loose leaf tea. The customers here mostly prefer coffee and I can’t compete with the tea shops nearby anyway,” she says. Hayato nods; he frequents those tea shops himself.
They grind up the lavender and the tea leaves, filling the Café with a powerful yet calming scent.
“Thank you for coming here,” Kotoha says. Hayato turns to look at her from where he’s putting the lavender and Earl Grey through a sieve, but she’s focused on measuring the flour.
She’s being meticulous, using a food scale instead of a measuring cup. She’s clumsy with it. Hayato suspects she’s never used one before. The London Fog Cake must’ve made a strong impression on her, for her to be putting in so much effort.
“I must ask,” Hayato says. “Why me?”
“Well, you’re the only one I know who also bakes.”
“That can’t be true. You get a lot of customers here from across town. Surely one of them would be happy to help you.”
Kotoha is quiet at that. She whisks the dry ingredients together, though Hayato can see in her eyes that she’s still thinking about what to say.
She and Hayato are similar in that regard. They both think before they speak, picking their words carefully. They’re so unlike Sakura and Umemiya, who speak without thinking, always following their gut instincts.
Hayato likes being in the shadows, watching, listening, learning. He thinks Kotoha is the same way, always behind the counter and observing the people that come in day after day. She’d make a good fighter.
“You know, I’m not exactly sure why I asked you,” she says, turning to him. “I don’t know you well at all, and I can’t seem to read you. But I want to get to know you better anyway.”
“Is it because I’m friends with Sakura?”
“No,” she says simply, returning to her whisking. Hayato hums. What an odd girl.
He decides to take her word for it
They break out the electric mixer for the butter and sugar, creaming them together, then adding the eggs and vanilla until everything is pale and smooth.
“It’s fine if we overmix them,” Kotoha says, peering carefully at the recipe. “We’re just adding air to the eggs here, which is good for the cake.”
The recipe they’re working on is well articulated and easy to follow, which is good because the recipe is definitely labor intensive. They haven’t even gotten started on the milk soak or the frosting yet.
The sun is starting to appear over the horizon, bathing the Café’s windows in an early morning light. It’s nice watching the dawn. Hayato should do it more often.
Things have been mostly silent between Kotoha and him since their last conversation, and it was now bordering on awkward. It appears neither of them know what to do with the genuine intent of getting to know each other better, so Hayato sighs and wracks his brain for something to say.
“Do you think Sakura is a morning person?” he asks. He already knows what her answer will be, but common ground is a good place to start.
Kotoha snorts. “Definitely not. You should see him when he comes on for breakfast; he totally looks like a zombie.”
Hayato smiles, easily imagining it in his mind's eye. “Sometimes we catch him when he’s walking towards school. He’s completely out of it, and he looks like he just rolled out of bed.”
Conversation flows between them easier after that. They move from their love of teasing Sakura, to asking each other their favorite drinks, to the interesting people they’ve seen around Makochi.
Hayato was right; Kotoha is the observing type, and she’s noticed some things about the people around town that surprises even Hayato, like the fact that the liquor store owner used to be a karate champion.
They add the buttermilk and the flour mixture a little bit at the time. Hayato makes sure they mix it at a slow and steady pace, remembering the way Sakura got covered in flour the last time they baked together. They then pour the batter into the pan, putting it into the Café oven.
Kotoha wipes her forehead with a proud huff. “That’s step one done. Hopefully the next one won't be as messy.”
Hayato looks over at the counter. Despite their best effort, they’ve created a bit of a mess behind them. It could be worse.
Step 2: The Milk Soak
The town is coming alive outside, waking up after a restful sleep. Some people pass by the Café’s front, waving at Kotoha from outside. They give Hayato a curious look, but smile at him too.
It really is a special town, Hayato thinks.
Then Umemiya appears, pawing at the closed front door with puppy dog eyes.
“I’ve never made a milk soak before, but it should be easy enough,” Kotoha says, pouring some milk into a saucepan and heating it up on the stove. She ignores Umemiya with practiced ease. Hayato doesn’t know whether to be impressed or amused.
“Should I let him in?” Hayato asks.
“No.”
Hayato lets him in anyway. It’s cold out there.
“What are you making?” Umemiya bounds up next to Kotoha, trying to give her a side hug. Kotoha expertly sidesteps it, leading to Umemiya leaning awkwardly on Hayato. Hayato is starting to feel like collateral damage.
“We need to soak the milk in lavender and Earl Grey tea, then mix it with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla,” Hayato explains, slipping out from under Umemiya and measuring what they’ll need. They won’t have to cut open the tea bags this time; simply putting them in the milk and steeping for fifteen minutes will be enough.
Umemiya smiles. “That sounds wonderful. Can I taste test when you’re done?” He slinks closer to the stove, smelling the mixture with a pleased expression.
Kotoha slaps his hands away. “No, this is for the cake.”
“What kind of cake are you making?”
“London Fog,” Hayato answers.
“That’s a weird name for a cake.” Umemiya takes a seat behind the counter, content on watching them work. The smile on his face turns fond. “I’m glad to see you two working together.”
Hayato wonders why that makes him so happy. Umemiya is an odd one, that’s for sure. Hayato finds him fascinating. Umemiya has sides to him that even Hayato has a hard time reading.
He turns to see that Kotoha is hiding a smile as she passes the mixture through a sieve. She isn’t as annoyed at Umemiya’s presence as she pretends to be.
Step 3: The Frosting
After mixing in the condensed milk and vanilla and setting the milk soak aside, they get started on the frosting.
Hayato’s never been the biggest fan of frosting. They’re always too sweet for him. He’s more partial towards simple pastries himself, but this is for Kotoha, not him, so he won’t complain.
Kotoha puts the culinary lavender in the food processor while Hayato works on mixing the butter until it’s pale and fluffy. Umemiya cheers them on cornily from where he sits. It’s strangely encouraging.
“I didn’t know you were so good at baking, Suo,” Umemiya says.
Hayato smiles indulgently. He’s focused on getting the recipe just right. He needs to add the cream cheese and mix until it’s fluffy, then sift in the powdered sugar, then add in Kotoha’s ground lavender and vanilla, and change mixing speeds again. He needs it to be perfect for Kotoha.
“Sakura told me that he’s the one who baked the class cookies a few weeks ago,” Kotoha explains. She’s pulling the cake out of the oven and letting it cool for assembling later.
“It was nothing,” says Hayato.
“It was not nothing,” Kotoha puts her hands on her hips, giving him a Look. “It was really kind of you to do that for your classmates. They looked beautiful too; Sakura showed me a picture.”
Her words stir up something in Hayato. His cookies, beautiful? How long has it been since someone complimented his baking? Hayato had forgotten how it felt to bake for others, how enjoyable it was. It’s like a fog clearing from his mind.
“Thank you,” Hayato says. Kotoha smiles, like she understands what he’s feeling.
They get back to work.
Step 4: Assembling
“No, not like that! Just give me back the knife,” Kotoha says
“But I wanted to help,” Umemiya pouts, holding onto the knife possessively. They’re supposed to cut off a thin layer from the top of the cake in order to let the milk soak work better, but Umemiya’s having a lot of trouble with it, even after they sharpened the knife.
“Here, let me do it,” Hayato says, swiping the knife from Umemiya and stepping in front of the cake.
He slides the knife gently through the top layer of the cake, working around Umemiya’s butchered attempts and placing the top on a different plate.
Kotoha whistles. “Wow. You’re good at this.”
Umemiya sighs. “I wanted to do it.”
“You can spread the frosting later.”
That gets a smile out of Umemiya.
Hayato then gets a toothpick and pokes holes into the cake for the milk soak. It sort of feels like stabbing. It’s quite fun. A deranged smirk grows on his face.
“Should he be smiling like that,” Kotoha whispers. Umemiya just shrugs.
Kotoha pours the milk soak on top of the cake, then Umemiya excitedly (and clumsily) frosts the top layer with a thick layer. With less than thirty minutes until the Café is supposed to open, they’re finally done with the cake.
“Maybe I should use the knife this time,” Kotoha says, eyeing Hayato and Umemiya with suspicion. Rude.
She cuts the cake into several pieces, then plates three of them for them to try.
Hayato takes his first bite, mindful to not get too much frosting on his fork. The flavor that hits his mouth is entrancing. It’s moist and fluffy, and the mix of Early Grey, lavender, and vanilla makes the whole thing special. Even the frosting is silky and delicious, not too sweet and not too filling.
So this is what a tea cake is.
It was definitely worth the effort. He tells Kotoha so.
She smiles. “This is just how I wanted it. Thank you for your help.”
She turns to Umemiya to thank him too, but he’s already wolfing down his second piece of cake.
Hayato laughs as she hits him with a spatula. What a morning.