Cakes and Apples by Ruby Nye
Mar. 19th, 2005 05:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamflower posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
shire_kitchenIn Cormallen, Pippin craves a treat...
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rubynye
Title: Cakes and Apples
Rating: PG
Characters: Merry, Pippin, cameo by Legolas
Word Count: 1008
Recipe: Apple Syrup Cake
"What's this, Pip? You, not hungry?" Merry spoke lightly, though worry
knotted cold within him. Pippin had barely eaten all day, and though he
denied any pains in his belly he was quiet and peaked and pale.
And he smiled ruefully. Rue, on Pippin's sweet cheery face! "I don't want
the soup," Pippin said, a little guiltily. "You should eat it."
"What do you want?" Merry set the tray aside so he could climb in beside
Pippin, who curled into him as best as his splints and bandages would
allow. "Tell me, and I'll fetch it for you."
"You can't." Pippin tucked his face into the crook of Merry's neck, and
the skin there prickled as if it were happy all on its own to feel his
breath. "I want an apple cake, and it's springtime and we're in the
middle of an army. There aren't apples to be had."
"Let me worry on that." If there were an apple for leagues around, Merry
swore to himself he'd have it for Pippin. "What sort of apple cake?"
"The kind made in a skillet, with butter and sugar and cider in a syrup on
the bottom, you know?" Pippin sighed a little, his smile curving across
Merry's skin. "We'd slice the apples and fan them out in the pan, sprinkle
on a little cinnamon and cook them a bit, while we'd whisk up a batter
with melted butter and an egg, sugar and nutmeg and soft flour. Then in
goes the batter, and the whole thing into the oven for a quarter hour."
"More like a half hour," Merry parried absently, nestling his face into
spice-colored curls, calling up memories of such cakes, and Bag End
mornings with them: Pippin bouncing about the warm sweet-smelling kitchen,
impatient and half-dressed; Frodo muzzily peering over the edge of his
teacup; Bilbo at the great stove, didactic and precise, laughter in his
eyes as he regarded his young cousins and more and more often the
gardener's boy from down the Row. Then Bilbo was gone, and Bag End was Frodo's, and Sam was the cook, at first hesitant and unsure till with Frodo's encouragement he cooked as confidently as if the kitchen were his own. All the while, across all those visits, Pippin grew taller and longer-limbed, and ate a larger share of the cakes, but he always bounced around the kitchen and he never wanted to wait.
Would Pippin ever bounce like that again? Would Frodo and Sam even awaken?
Merry pushed away the worries before he could bog down in them, and did not let himself weep into Pippin's hair. Instead he kissed the top of
Pippin's head, and smiled when the only reply was a drowsing mumble.
Carefully disentangling himself, Merry kissed Pippin's cheek just to feel
the warmth of it. Pippin was alive, Frodo and Sam were alive. And if
Pippin wanted an apple cake, Merry would see to it that he had one.
After all, they had allies.
Merry climbed from the cot, pulled the blankets up over Pippin, and left
the tent.
*
Apple and cinnamon perfuming the air, soft blankets round his shoulders,
Pippin drowsily thought himself waking in Bag End of a morning, asleep
beneath the skylight in the guest room that was always his. Except that
the bed was too hard, and the light was wrong, and, oh, yes, he ached all
over. Pippin woke to afternoon sunshine in a tent on Cormallen, opened his eyes, and breathed, and then grinned when he realized that the mouthwatering scent at least was real.
"Pippin Took, will you ever wake?" Merry's voice vibrated with laughter,
and when Legolas stepped over to help Pippin sit up he winked, which made Pippin gape in shocked delight. A winking Elf was surely a portent.
"The trouble I go to for you," Merry continued, and when Pippin was
upright he saw that Merry held a plate in his hands, and on it was a dark,
glistening, redolent apple cake, just the sort Pippin had described.
"Oh, Merry," Pippin cried before he caught himself enough to add, "But I'm
worth it, am I not?"
"I suppose you are, at that." Carefully holding the cake steady, Merry sat
on the side of the cot. Pippin reached up with his good hand, and Merry
held the cake out, but what Pippin wanted, even more than a piece of cake, was to thread his fingers through Merry's and squeeze his hand. "Thank you," Pippin murmured, blinking fast because his eyes watered nearly as much as his mouth.
Merry smiled lopsidedly, his eyes warm and dark, a tear running down one
cheek. "You're welcome," he said softly; then, more loudly and brightly,
with an energetic flourish that nearly concealed the swipe of his sleeve
across his eyes, Merry said, "it's all Legolas' doing, at any rate. When I
told him what I wanted, he found me a good sound apple and a cup of sugar and even a kind old cook to let me use his kitchen tent. Thank you, our gracious prince."
Pippin laughed at that, and Legolas smiled with a little bow. "It was my
pleasure to be of aid."
"Thank you indeed, Legolas. You simply must share this with us," Pippin
offered, and Legolas inclined his head. "Once you eat, Peregrin. Your
strength is still not what it was."
"Well, if you insist." Pippin broke a crisp edge off the cake, and it came
away with a tender, glossy slice of apple. Merry watched so intently that
the smile was sliding off his face, so Pippin nudged him with his better
foot and, when Merry opened his mouth, shoved the bite of cake in. "Just
making sure it doesn't have salt instead of sugar," Pippin said cheekily,
grinning all the wider at Legolas's genteelly muffled snort. Merry's
eyebrows fairly danced on his brow, saying all his full mouth couldn't.
Pippin's smile softened in response, as he broke off a bite of cake for
himself, licking the cider syrup from his fingers as the apple melted on
his tongue. It tasted even better than he remembered.
Apple Syrup Cake
A sort of upside-down cake.
1 oven-safe frying pan
2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
1 cup apple juice or cider
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
dash of nutmeg
another dash of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup all purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter in the frying pan. Pour it off
into a mixing bowl; do not wipe the pan. Add to the frying pan the
cinnamon, the dash of salt, the brown sugar, and the apple juice. Stir and
bring to a boil; carefully lay in the apple slices, reduce heat to medium,
and cook till apple slices look soft and translucent.
While the apples cook, mix the melted butter and the eggs with a fork.
Beat this for about a minute, then add the sugar, salt, and nutmeg and
beat that in, then add the baking soda and flour and stir just till
combined. When the apple juice has reduced by half and the apples are
just fork tender, remove the pan from the heat, dollop the cake batter
into the center of the pan and smooth it out (but don't let it touch the
sides), and slide the whole works into the oven for approx 20-25 minutes.
Let cool 5 min before removing from the pan.
Author:
rubynyeTitle: Cakes and Apples
Rating: PG
Characters: Merry, Pippin, cameo by Legolas
Word Count: 1008
Recipe: Apple Syrup Cake
"What's this, Pip? You, not hungry?" Merry spoke lightly, though worry
knotted cold within him. Pippin had barely eaten all day, and though he
denied any pains in his belly he was quiet and peaked and pale.
And he smiled ruefully. Rue, on Pippin's sweet cheery face! "I don't want
the soup," Pippin said, a little guiltily. "You should eat it."
"What do you want?" Merry set the tray aside so he could climb in beside
Pippin, who curled into him as best as his splints and bandages would
allow. "Tell me, and I'll fetch it for you."
"You can't." Pippin tucked his face into the crook of Merry's neck, and
the skin there prickled as if it were happy all on its own to feel his
breath. "I want an apple cake, and it's springtime and we're in the
middle of an army. There aren't apples to be had."
"Let me worry on that." If there were an apple for leagues around, Merry
swore to himself he'd have it for Pippin. "What sort of apple cake?"
"The kind made in a skillet, with butter and sugar and cider in a syrup on
the bottom, you know?" Pippin sighed a little, his smile curving across
Merry's skin. "We'd slice the apples and fan them out in the pan, sprinkle
on a little cinnamon and cook them a bit, while we'd whisk up a batter
with melted butter and an egg, sugar and nutmeg and soft flour. Then in
goes the batter, and the whole thing into the oven for a quarter hour."
"More like a half hour," Merry parried absently, nestling his face into
spice-colored curls, calling up memories of such cakes, and Bag End
mornings with them: Pippin bouncing about the warm sweet-smelling kitchen,
impatient and half-dressed; Frodo muzzily peering over the edge of his
teacup; Bilbo at the great stove, didactic and precise, laughter in his
eyes as he regarded his young cousins and more and more often the
gardener's boy from down the Row. Then Bilbo was gone, and Bag End was Frodo's, and Sam was the cook, at first hesitant and unsure till with Frodo's encouragement he cooked as confidently as if the kitchen were his own. All the while, across all those visits, Pippin grew taller and longer-limbed, and ate a larger share of the cakes, but he always bounced around the kitchen and he never wanted to wait.
Would Pippin ever bounce like that again? Would Frodo and Sam even awaken?
Merry pushed away the worries before he could bog down in them, and did not let himself weep into Pippin's hair. Instead he kissed the top of
Pippin's head, and smiled when the only reply was a drowsing mumble.
Carefully disentangling himself, Merry kissed Pippin's cheek just to feel
the warmth of it. Pippin was alive, Frodo and Sam were alive. And if
Pippin wanted an apple cake, Merry would see to it that he had one.
After all, they had allies.
Merry climbed from the cot, pulled the blankets up over Pippin, and left
the tent.
*
Apple and cinnamon perfuming the air, soft blankets round his shoulders,
Pippin drowsily thought himself waking in Bag End of a morning, asleep
beneath the skylight in the guest room that was always his. Except that
the bed was too hard, and the light was wrong, and, oh, yes, he ached all
over. Pippin woke to afternoon sunshine in a tent on Cormallen, opened his eyes, and breathed, and then grinned when he realized that the mouthwatering scent at least was real.
"Pippin Took, will you ever wake?" Merry's voice vibrated with laughter,
and when Legolas stepped over to help Pippin sit up he winked, which made Pippin gape in shocked delight. A winking Elf was surely a portent.
"The trouble I go to for you," Merry continued, and when Pippin was
upright he saw that Merry held a plate in his hands, and on it was a dark,
glistening, redolent apple cake, just the sort Pippin had described.
"Oh, Merry," Pippin cried before he caught himself enough to add, "But I'm
worth it, am I not?"
"I suppose you are, at that." Carefully holding the cake steady, Merry sat
on the side of the cot. Pippin reached up with his good hand, and Merry
held the cake out, but what Pippin wanted, even more than a piece of cake, was to thread his fingers through Merry's and squeeze his hand. "Thank you," Pippin murmured, blinking fast because his eyes watered nearly as much as his mouth.
Merry smiled lopsidedly, his eyes warm and dark, a tear running down one
cheek. "You're welcome," he said softly; then, more loudly and brightly,
with an energetic flourish that nearly concealed the swipe of his sleeve
across his eyes, Merry said, "it's all Legolas' doing, at any rate. When I
told him what I wanted, he found me a good sound apple and a cup of sugar and even a kind old cook to let me use his kitchen tent. Thank you, our gracious prince."
Pippin laughed at that, and Legolas smiled with a little bow. "It was my
pleasure to be of aid."
"Thank you indeed, Legolas. You simply must share this with us," Pippin
offered, and Legolas inclined his head. "Once you eat, Peregrin. Your
strength is still not what it was."
"Well, if you insist." Pippin broke a crisp edge off the cake, and it came
away with a tender, glossy slice of apple. Merry watched so intently that
the smile was sliding off his face, so Pippin nudged him with his better
foot and, when Merry opened his mouth, shoved the bite of cake in. "Just
making sure it doesn't have salt instead of sugar," Pippin said cheekily,
grinning all the wider at Legolas's genteelly muffled snort. Merry's
eyebrows fairly danced on his brow, saying all his full mouth couldn't.
Pippin's smile softened in response, as he broke off a bite of cake for
himself, licking the cider syrup from his fingers as the apple melted on
his tongue. It tasted even better than he remembered.
Apple Syrup Cake
A sort of upside-down cake.
1 oven-safe frying pan
2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
1 cup apple juice or cider
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
dash of nutmeg
another dash of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup all purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350F. Melt the butter in the frying pan. Pour it off
into a mixing bowl; do not wipe the pan. Add to the frying pan the
cinnamon, the dash of salt, the brown sugar, and the apple juice. Stir and
bring to a boil; carefully lay in the apple slices, reduce heat to medium,
and cook till apple slices look soft and translucent.
While the apples cook, mix the melted butter and the eggs with a fork.
Beat this for about a minute, then add the sugar, salt, and nutmeg and
beat that in, then add the baking soda and flour and stir just till
combined. When the apple juice has reduced by half and the apples are
just fork tender, remove the pan from the heat, dollop the cake batter
into the center of the pan and smooth it out (but don't let it touch the
sides), and slide the whole works into the oven for approx 20-25 minutes.
Let cool 5 min before removing from the pan.
