The Great Bake Off Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1: The Missing Ingredient

  Chapter 2: A Delicious Deal

  Chapter 3: Helpful Hints

  Chapter 4: Flavor-ite Flavors

  Chapter 5: Recipes Gone Wrong

  Chapter 6: A Parade of Sweets

  Chapter 7: A Bellyful of Butterflies

  Chapter 8: The Cookie Challenge

  Chapter 9: Mint to Be

  Chapter 10: And the Winner Is . . .

  About the Author and Illustrator

  chapter 1

  The Missing Ingredient

  “Sophie,” came a voice from downstairs. “Could you come down here?”

  In her bedroom—which doubled as an art studio—Sophie set down her paintbrush right away. It was her mom calling, and she sounded worried.

  Sophie knew her mother had a lot of baking to do that day. Lily Mouse’s bakery had gotten three big orders: a wedding cake, two dozen birthday cupcakes, and a batch of scones for the mayor’s tea. And everything needed to be done by tomorrow! She’d brought her work home with her so she didn’t have to spend day and night at the bakery.

  Sophie scurried down the stairs. In the kitchen, her mom was frosting a layer of the wedding cake. Bowls, baking pans, and utensils crowded the countertop. Mrs. Mouse’s apron was covered in flour. Her whiskers were drooping.

  But she perked up when she saw Sophie.

  “I sure could use an extra set of hands,” she told Sophie. “I know you’re busy working on a painting, but . . . would you mind?”

  Mind? Sophie thought. She loved helping her mom bake. “What can I do?” Sophie asked. “Make the cupcakes? Glaze the scones? Decorate the cake?”

  Mrs. Mouse smiled apologetically. “It’s not that much fun,” she explained. “I just realized I’m out of lemon extract. I need it for the scone glaze.”

  Oh no. Sophie felt an errand coming on.

  “Would you run to Hattie’s house?” Lily went on. “See if they have any? If they don’t, I’m not sure what I’ll do. I know I’m all out at the bakery!”

  It wasn’t really what Sophie felt like doing. But she wanted to help.

  So Sophie went off down the path toward Hattie Frog’s house. Hattie was one of Sophie’s best friends—and closest neighbors. Hattie, her big sister, Lydie, and their parents lived on the bank of the stream.

  What are the chances they have lemon extract? Sophie wondered. It was an unusual ingredient.

  Halfway to Hattie’s, Sophie’s eyes fell on a patch of three-leaved plants.

  “Wood sorrel!” she cried. “Yum!”

  She picked a few leaves. She nibbled as she walked on. Sophie had always loved its fresh, lemony flavor.

  Sophie stopped again. She stared down at the leaves in her hand. Lemon! Could wood sorrel work in her mom’s recipe?

  Sophie backtracked to the patch of wood sorrel. She gathered as much as she could in her arms.

  Then she hurried home to see what her mom would say.

  chapter 2

  A Delicious Deal

  Sophie watched her mom’s face as she tasted the wood sorrel.

  She took one bite. Then another. Then a third. And broke into a genuine smile.

  “I never would have thought of this,” Mrs. Mouse said. “But let’s try! Let’s make the glaze with these leaves and see what happens.”

  Mrs. Mouse handed Sophie a mortar and pestle. Sophie put some wood sorrel into the bowl of the mortar. Then she used the pestle to grind it into a powder.

  Meanwhile, Mrs. Mouse gathered the other ingredients. She measured and poured them into a mixing bowl.

  Sophie added the ground wood sorrel. Lily whisked it all together.

  “Time for a taste!” Lily said. She dipped two spoons into the glaze. She handed one to Sophie.

  They tasted it at the same time.

  Mrs. Mouse beamed. “It’s—”

  “Really, really good!” Sophie cried.

  Her mom took another taste. “Sweet. Lemony. Fresh and light,” she said. “And I like the color!” The scone glaze was usually white. This version was a pretty pale green from the wood sorrel. “Green is perfect for the mayor’s tea. I happen to know it’s her favorite color!”

  Mrs. Mouse pulled Sophie in for a hug. “Thank you, Sophie,” she said. “You are a huge help.”

  Sophie’s heart swelled with pride.

  Mrs. Mouse went back to working on the wedding cake. Meanwhile, Sophie washed dishes and tidied up the counter. She picked up the recipe card for the glaze and put it back in her mom’s recipe binder. As she did, a piece of paper fell out.

  Sophie held the paper up. “Mom, are you going to enter this year?” she asked.

  She had always wanted her mom to enter the bake off. It was a big baking contest held in a nearby village, and animals from all the surrounding villages came out to watch. The winner won the title of Year’s Best Baker. Sophie just knew her mom could win!

  But Sophie was also pretty sure she knew the answer to her question. Her mom never entered the contest—usually because she was busy with one thing or another.

  Mrs. Mouse turned and saw the paper. Suddenly her eyes twinkled and her whiskers twitched. Sophie knew that look. Her mom had an idea.

  “I will make you a deal,” Mrs. Mouse said. “I will enter the bake off . . . if you agree to come along and help me.”

  Sophie jumped up and down with excitement. “It’s a deal!”

  chapter 3

  Helpful Hints

  Sophie woke up bright and early the next morning. She was going to help her mom deliver all the finished baked goods.

  “I’ll drop off the wedding cake this afternoon,” Mrs. Mouse said. “And I’ll take these cupcakes in to the bakery. The customer will be there to pick them up soon.” Mrs. Mouse handed Sophie the basket of scones. “When we get into town, do you think you could take these to the mayor?”

  Sophie nodded, excited to handle the job on her own.

  Together they walked along the path that led into the downtown of Pine Needle Grove. Then Lily went to the bakery while Sophie headed for Town Hall. That was where Mayor Squirrel hosted Tea for the Town. It took place one Saturday a month. Citizens came to chat with the mayor. They asked questions or gave suggestions about improving the town.

  Inside Town Hall, Mayor Squirrel was putting out chairs. On a table were several teapots and dozens of teacups. And there were vases of pretty wildflowers.

  The mayor hurried over when she saw Sophie come in.

  “How wonderful! The main attraction has arrived,” Mayor Squirrel said with a chuckle. “I think some folks come just for your mom’s treats.”

  Sophie presented the basket of scones. “I helped with the glaze,” she said proudly.

  The mayor peeked inside. “These look simply fantastic! And the glaze is green, my favorite color!” Mayor Squirrel reached out to shake Sophie’s hand. “Well done, Sophie!”

  Sophie beamed. Getting a compliment from the mayor felt pretty special.

  “I’m going to help my mom next week too!” Sophie blurted out. “She’s entering the bake off in Firefly Springs!”

  The mayor’s eyes went wide.

  “Well, well, well!” Mayor Squirrel said. “Pine Needle Grovers in the bake off! Why, we haven’t had a contestant since . . . oh, it must be three years ago now! Mrs. Reeve, the librarian.”

  Mayor Squirrel shook Sophie’s hand again. “Good luck to your mother, and good luck to you, Sophie Mouse! I know you will do a great job representing Pine Needle Grove.”

  Sophie said good-bye and headed for the bakery. But as she passed the library, she felt the urge to duck inside.

  Sophie had questions for the librarian.

/>   Mrs. Reeve was behind the check-out desk putting books on a rolling cart.

  “Mrs. Reeve!” Sophie called out. In her excitement, she forgot where she was. Sophie covered her mouth, then continued in a whisper.

  “My mom is entering the Firefly Springs Bake Off. And I’m going to help out! Mayor Squirrel said you entered a few years ago?”

  Mrs. Reeve smiled. “Yes, indeed,” she said. “Sadly, I did not win. But it was a wonderful and interesting experience.”

  She told Sophie about the different rounds of the contest. “The first round is pretty simple. Bakers bring a sampling of their best baked goods. The judges taste them and give each baker a score. They say they like new, unusual flavor combinations. The more unique, the better. All this information is in the contest rules.”

  Sophie nodded. That sounded like useful advice.

  “But the second round—phew!” Mrs. Reeve rubbed her brow as she remembered it. “It was a baking challenge. There was a lovely workstation with baking tools and a big brick oven. But the judges didn’t tell us what the challenge was until the last minute. Then we had to decide what to make and bake it in one hour! It’s a different challenge each year, so I have no idea what yours will be!”

  Aha, thought Sophie. Suddenly a line from the flyer made more sense. Come ready to think on your feet!

  Sophie thanked Mrs. Reeve for the advice.

  “You’re very welcome,” the librarian replied. “Good luck! I will be rooting for you both.”

  chapter 4

  Flavor-ite Flavors

  Sophie decided they needed to be better prepared. At the bakery, she asked her mom if she had read all the contest rules. Lily looked on the back of the bake off flyer.

  “ ‘First round,’ ” Lily read. “ ‘Bakers may bring four types of baked goods for tasting and scoring by the judges.’ It says they love unusual flavors.”

  Just like Mrs. Reeve said, thought Sophie.

  “So we’ll put our thinking caps on,” Lily said. “Like we did for the Maple Festival. You had such great recipe ideas.”

  Sophie had so much fun helping her mom come up with new treats to sell at the festival. Orange and clove cakes. Poppy seed doughnuts. Cranberry-nut cookies. Lots of apple-maple combinations.

  But this task seemed harder. They needed not just new recipes. They needed new and unusual flavor combinations.

  “What does that mean exactly?” Sophie asked her mom.

  Lily paused to think. “A combination that most folks wouldn’t think of.”

  Sophie laughed.

  “So things that sound like they’ll taste bad together,” she said, “but they actually taste good?”

  “That’s one way to look at it!” Mrs. Mouse said, also laughing.

  This was going to be a challenge. It was time to start a list. Sophie pulled out her sketchbook and found a blank page. She wrote across the top:

  Odd Flavor Combinations

  Then Sophie started asking around.

  On Monday, she told everyone at school about her mom entering the bake off.

  “She’s coming up with new recipes,” Sophie said. “And I’m making a list of flavor combinations. What do you like that sounds weird but tastes great?”

  Ben Rabbit opened his lunch box. “Here’s one!” he said. He showed Sophie his sandwich. “Radish and jam!”

  The other students wrinkled their noses—except for Ben’s brother, James. “He’s right!” James said. “It’s good!” He took a big bite out of his own radish-and-jam sandwich.

  Sophie wrote it down on her list.

  Hattie spoke up next. “I like sweet with salty,” she said. “I put salt in my hot cocoa!”

  Sophie made a note of it.

  “Yum,” said Sophie. “That does sound good.”

  After school, Sophie and her little brother, Winston, stopped at the general store for a treat. Sophie bought a peppermint. Winston went for his usual—a giant gumball.

  “Why do you get those every time?” Sophie asked.

  Winston popped the gumball into his mouth. “It’s two flavors in one!” he cried. “The outside is super sour. But the inside is super sweet!”

  Sophie pulled out her list. Sweet + sour (like Winston’s gumball), she wrote.

  All around town, folks had ideas.

  “Coffee with cinnamon,” said Mrs. Follet at Little Leaf Bookstore. “It’s bitter but also spicy and sweet.”

  “Apples and peanut butter!” said Miss Olsen from the orchard.

  “Potato chips on a sandwich,” said Mr. Handy at Handy’s Hardware. “Any kind of sandwich!”

  By the end of the day, Sophie had a good list—and the town was abuzz with the news. Their very own Lily Mouse was going to be in the bake off!

  chapter 5

  Recipes Gone Wrong

  Every evening that week, Sophie and her mom tested out different recipes in their kitchen at home.

  They had gathered a bunch of ingredients. Sophie had sorted them into flavor types.

  For sweet, there was sugar, of course. But they also had honey, maple syrup, blueberries, strawberries, raisins, and chocolate chips.

  For sour, there were lemons, limes, cranberries, apple cider vinegar, crab apples, and more.

  For spicy, they had all kinds of spices: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and ginger.

  For bitter, there was coffee, baking cocoa, grapefruit, and root beer.

  And for salty, they had salt and celery.

  Sophie and her mom started with some of their favorite recipes. They tried adding one or two new ingredients to each one.

  Mrs. Mouse put some lemon zest into her famous ginger snap recipe. Now they were lemon-ginger snaps.

  “Spicy plus sweet plus sour,” said Sophie.

  Mrs. Mouse served them to Sophie’s brother and dad. They were playing the role of judges.

  “Mmm!” said Winston.

  George Mouse nodded. “Different! I like it!”

  They also liked Mrs. Mouse’s raspberry chocolate torte. She had added a bit of cayenne pepper on top.

  “Sweet and rich,” said Mr. Mouse. “With a hint of spicy heat.”

  The carrot cake muffins were also a hit. Instead of vanilla frosting, Mrs. Mouse made them with coffee-cocoa frosting and cinnamon.

  Sophie experimented too. She made a new version of her mom’s cheesecake: maple-cheddar cheesecake with a celery crust.

  Winston only took one bite. He put his fork down without a word.

  Mr. Mouse finished his piece. But Sophie could tell he didn’t like it. Oh well, she thought. Sometimes experiments don’t work out.

  Next Sophie tried a twist on her mom’s scallion and cheddar biscuits. “Everything is better with chocolate chips,” said Sophie. “Right?”

  Wrong. The flavors just clashed.

  Luckily, her mom was having more success.

  Cranberry-honey tarts? “Zingy!” Winston said.

  Root beer–molasses mousse? “Wow!” Mr. Mouse said.

  Poached crab apples in cardamom syrup? “Yum!” both of the judges said.

  Sophie’s mom was on a roll! She had a growing list of great new recipes. It would be hard to choose which items to bring to the bake off.

  Sophie knew this was a good problem to have. And she was happy for her mom. But she was also disappointed.

  Maybe Sophie’s mom didn’t need her help, after all.

  chapter 6

  A Parade of Sweets

  Finally, it was Saturday. It was the day of the Tenth Annual Firefly Springs Bake Off!

  Lily packed up right after breakfast. She filled two big baskets with the baked goods for round one.

  “Raspberry chocolate tortes, check!” Lily said. “Cranberry-honey tarts, check! And carrot cake muffins with coffee-cocoa frosting.”

  All three were new recipes that Lily had come up with. What would her fourth choice be?

  “And let’s bring the scones with wood sorrel glaze!” Lily said with
a wink.

  Sophie gasped with delight. Her mom was bringing one of her recipes! The scone recipe wasn’t new. But the glaze was unique. Sophie hoped the judges would think so too.

  The bake off started at ten a.m. Firefly Springs was a half-hour walk—at least! So by nine a.m., Lily and Sophie were ready to go. But Winston hadn’t finished his cereal.

  Mr. Mouse shooed them out the door. “You two get started,” he said. “Winston and I will follow in a few minutes. I know the way.”

  So off they went. Lily carried one basket and Sophie carried the other. Sophie’s basket was heavier than she expected. She held on tight, determined not to drop it.

  They took the path into Pine Needle Grove. They would go through the center of town, into the forest on the other side, and on to Firefly Springs.

  Sophie and Lily had only gone a few hundred paces when they heard the snap of a twig behind them. Then there were running footsteps, getting louder and louder.

  Sophie turned.

  Hattie was running after them. “Wait up!” she called. “Can we walk with you?”

  Lydie was right behind her. “I’ve never been to a bake off!” she said. “I’m so excited to come watch and cheer you on!”

  How nice to have company! Sophie thought. It will make the walk feel so much shorter.