Page 31 of The Great Maple Mistake (Love in Maplewood #8)

“Alright. It’s time, everyone. Our first contestant in the dessert division is Noah Buchanan.

Noah is a local resident and a sophomore at Maplewood High.

He works part-time at Dough Boy Donuts in New Island and at their booth in the Maplewood farmers’ market.

” Noah comes on stage to lots of clapping.

He hurries to his workstation and stoically nods to the crowd.

“Next, we have one of our very own Rocktogenarians, Rae Moan.” The crowd whoops and whistles as Rae bounds onto stage, waving like she’s hyped up for a concert.

She even gives a quick curtsey before practically skipping to her workstation.

“Our third contestant is someone I know very well, so it’s a good thing I’m not judging this competition.

” The crowd can guess who it is so there are quite a few chuckles.

“Please welcome my brother, Luke MacDougall.” Everyone claps, and from somewhere in the back of the crowd, a group of what sounds like high school girls yell, “We love you, Luke!” I watch my brother’s cheeks turn pink, but he’s grinning and waves as he steps up to his station.

“Luke’s a foreman for Grossman Contracting by day and loves spending his spare time in the kitchen making lots of wonderful dishes.

” I pat my flat stomach. “He’s the reason I run so much.

” That earns me an even bigger laugh from the crowd.

“And our fourth contestant today is Sheila Zervudachi, who runs the farm shop at Moon Meadows Maple Farm.” There’s more clapping as Sheila walks on stage and steps to her designated station.

Evan, Jessica, and I will have a bird’s-eye view of the proceedings since we’re right there with the contestants, but the crowd will too, thanks to the large screens situated on either side of the stage. They’ll be streaming the feed from each of the cameras.

I step up to Noah. “Hey, Noah.”

“Hey, Alex.”

“What recipe are you making today?”

Noah’s expression is serious, and I’m not sure if he’s very focused or very nervous. “I’m making a Vermont maple oatmeal pie with maple cinnamon whipped cream.”

I smile and make a yum sound, though I’m not completely sure about the oatmeal pie part. “That sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Thanks, Noah. And good luck.” I move on to Rae. “Hi, Rae.”

“Hi, sweetie.” The audience laughs.

“What are you whipping together for the judges today?”

Rae winks at me, and it’s a bit disconcerting since she’s old enough to be my grandmother.

“Maple-Apple Upside-Down Cake. It’s an old family recipe, and I’m sure the judges will love it.

I’ll even save you some because you won’t want to miss it.

” I chuckle and shake my head. Glancing up, I see Cody watching with an amused look.

Rae must follow my gaze. “None for Cody. He’s allergic. ”

I can hear him sputtering, but in the middle of the cook-off is not when we need to straighten that out. “Sounds delicious. Thanks, Rae. Good luck!” I hurry over to Luke. “Luke. What are you making?”

“Hey, Alex. I’m making a version of an Apple Charlotte. This one is made in a skillet.”

I have to ask. “As you know, I’m not much of a baker. How is it usually made?”

“In a molded pan of some kind, like a bundt pan.”

“That’s an interesting twist, then. Well, we’ll leave you to get ready. Good luck!” I move to our final contestant, Sheila. “Hi, Sheila.”

“Hey, Alex.”

“What do you have going on here?”

“I’m making maple gingerbread cake with maple cream frosting. I wanted something that was a little different, but fancy enough to serve for special occasions.”

God, that sounds delicious. “Gingerbread and maple. It makes sense, but it’s not a taste combination you see frequently.”

She shakes her head. “It’s a little unique, but as you said, it makes sense.”

My mouth is watering and I can’t wait to sample all of the desserts once we’re done with the competition. “Thanks, Sheila. That sounds incredible. Good luck!” I step back to the front of the stage. “Okay, contestants, we’ll leave you to it. Remember to use your time wisely!”

Each contestant reviews their station to ensure they have everything they need for their recipe.

They each give me a thumbs-up when they’re done.

In turn, I give the judges the same sign, so they know we’re ready to go.

Joe rings the bell on the judges’ table and speaks into his lapel mic.

“Contestants, begin.” Like a flash, they get to it.

While Evan and Jessica go from contestant to contestant, filming them combining ingredients, I chit-chat with the judges, and then drift back to have small chats with the competitors as they work.

I announce the winners of the small appliance giveaways sponsored by Patten appliances, and then review who won the other cook-off divisions.

In what seems like a blink of an eye, two hours pass and time is up.

Joe rings the bell again and I turn to the contestants.

“Okay, spatulas down!” I glance down the row of faces, and see they all look relatively calm, so hopefully that means they each had enough time to finish.

That part always gives me anxiety when Luke and I watch The Great British Baking Show .

“I hope you’re ready, because it’s time to present your results to the judges.

” I turn and gesture for the panel to move into the cooking space.

“We’ll start on this end with Noah’s Vermont maple oatmeal pie. ”

Joe reaches for the knife that’s next to Noah’s somewhat lumpy-looking pie.

He cuts three narrow pieces and plates them, handing one to each of the other two judges.

They all take a fork and taste a bite. I eagerly watch their faces, and much to my surprise, their cautious expressions morph into disbelief and then excitement.

Joe nods quickly and takes another bite. “Yeah. I’m enjoying the texture differences in the layers. Chewy oatmeal on top, smooth, creamy filling in the middle, and the flaky pie crust on the bottom. Great job, Noah.”

Sam sets down his plate. “I agree. Well done. The flavors balance each other nicely between the sweet maple middle and the oaty topping. It’s not the most attractive pie I’ve ever seen, but it’s also not the worst, and it’s really down to the oats being oats.

Not much you can do to make oats look fancy. ” He grins, and Noah blushes but nods.

“Well, I’m impressed.” Catherine sets her plate next to Sam’s.

“I wasn’t sure what to think because Sam’s right, it’s not an elegant pie.

But the flavors meld into a superb blend.

It could have been overpowering either way.

We’ve all had maple oatmeal where there has been too much or too little maple in the mix.

” The audience groans and laughs. “But this is balanced. Well done, Noah.” He beams and shakes the judges’ hands before we move to the next dessert.

“Next up is Rae Moan’s family’s Maple-Apple Upside-Down cake.”

Sam goes first this time, cutting small slices for everyone and passing them out before taking a bite of his own.

“Oh, this is gooood! The texture is moist but not dense like a lot of upside-down cakes can be. I’m imagining this with a side of my homemade cinnamon ice cream.

” He smiles at Rae, who’s trying to look cocky, maybe like she knew he’d love it, but I can see her eyes have an excited relief in them.

Catherine sets her plate on the workstation, pointing at what’s left of her serving. “Rae, this is the perfect upside-down cake. Is there maple in both the cake and with the apples?”

Rae nods. “I wanted the flavor to carry through both layers.”

Catherine takes another bite. “I can taste it. So good. And yet not overpowering. Delicious.”

Joe takes a bite of his and moans a little.

“Absolutely. Oh, this is wonderful. And the presentation is lovely. I’d have thought it would take much longer to line up the apple slices in the same direction, let alone in concentric circles.

And the glaze.” He kisses his gathered fingertips.

“It’s all too easy to burn the syrup, but there’s no burnt taste, and everything is an even golden brown. Great job.”

Rae beams. “Thank you.”

The judges set down their plates, and we move on to Luke. “Luke, you made a skillet Apple Charlotte.”

He nods. “Yes.”

Catherine eyes the dessert, and I can see she’s considering something. “Cuts down on the baking time?”

Luke grins. “Significantly. My grandma MacDougall made this a lot in the fall. I tweaked her recipe a bit and put it in a skillet to shorten how long it needs to cook. I probably would have run out of time if I’d made it the traditional way.

” I glance at the audience and see my dad wiping his eyes, and I have to look away or I’ll get all choked up too.

Catherine dishes out some of the Apple Charlotte to each judge and adds a dollop of Luke’s homemade whipped cream on top.

“What a great idea. Very creative.” She takes a bite, making sure to get the whipped cream involved, and her eyes widen.

“Oh, this is lovely! The crust is buttered toast?” Luke nods.

“It really works.” He grins, and it’s faint, but I can see the light blush on his cheeks.

Aww. “Is that maple in the whipped cream?” Luke nods again, his gaze fixed on her expression.

“Wonderful use of it, and the light, creamy flavor balances out the heavier dessert. Great job.”

Joe nods. “I taste the maple in the syrup, but is that”—he takes another bite and considers—“honey?”

“Yes. It’s local, from The Honey Spot.”

Joe takes another bite. “It adds a wonderful smoothness to the maple and apple combination. I’m really enjoying it. Great recipe.”

Luke beams, and I’m so proud of him. Even if he doesn’t win, he gave it his all and went big.