Читать книгу Mariella Mystery Investigates a Cupcake Conundrum - Kate Pankhurst - Страница 9

6:30 PM

MYSTERY GIRLS HQ

Violet had the day off from school today to go to the next round of auditions and she was just here with some AMAZING NEWS! She is through to the finals of Bake or Break, on actual TV! And extra amazingness – the TV company has chosen our school field as the location for the Bake or Break tent! Poppy and I are going to be there to support Violet through the whole thing. (I hope there are loads of free cake.)

So, instead of Mystery Girl team meetings, Poppy says we need to cover every aspect of Coping at an Extreme Baking Competition in Intensive Preparation Sessions.

Tonight we’ve been recreating conditions Violet might experience in the Bake or Break kitchens. I created extreme heat by blasting hot air into HQ from Mom’s travel blow dryer and Poppy banged some pans together to represent distracting “sounds of the kitchen.” Violet coped really well in Mystery Girls HQ but she’s still worried about what it will actually be like in the competition.

Violet worries about stuff all the time. It’s our job to make sure she keeps calm. (I’ve had loads of practice at this – detectives need to be calm and level-headed in all sorts of tricky situations.)

“I feel so nervous,” said Violet. “What if my baking is terrible compared to the other contestants?”

“They might be talented, but I’m sure none of them will have the same mysterious edge as you,” I said. (Auditions have been held all around the country so we won’t know who the other four contestants are until the competition starts next week, but I’m sure this is true.)

Violet learned to bake with her Grandma Maple.

Grandma Maple is really well known in Puddleford as the only person to ever win the Puddleford Summer Festival’s “Best Bake in Show” award ten years in a row.

One of her recipes, the Maple Marvel, became famous after it received the highest score EVER.

Lots of people asked Grandma Maple for the recipe but she said it was absolutely top secret.

Grandma Maple is away at the moment on a cooking cruise, tasting cakes from other countries.

She mailed her recipe book to Violet, saying she hoped it would bring her luck in the competition. It definitely has so far!

Violet has come up with loads of cake ideas that she’s been adding to the recipe book for Grandma Maple to read when she gets back.

“Just remember Grandma Maple’s advice,” I said to Violet. (Grandma Maple has written lots of good baking advice in the recipe book.) “Keep calm and concentrate on the cakes!” That’s my favorite one.