Bakers on Board Read Free

think Captain Jack Sparrow is going to be cruising with Jenna.”
    But Jenna was too busy trying to figure out the blueberry cobbler cupcake recipe. “The question is, how much blueberry pie filling do we put in the batter?” she said. “Too much, and you get a mushy cupcake. But too little, and you lose the whole blueberry flavor.”
    She looked at the muffin tins filled with cupcake liners. “Batter first, then un poco blueberry filling on top,” she decided.
    â€œWhat’s a poc o ?” Delaney asked, studying her measuring spoons. “Is that like a teaspoon?”
    â€œ Un poco . It means ‘a little,’” Jenna said. “In this case, a little more than a teaspoon but a little less than a tablespoon.”
    â€œI’m confuzzled,” Delaney said. “I thought we should never guess ingredient amounts.”
    Herbie weighed in. “Yes, baking is a science. Precise measurement is key.”
    â€œYou’re both right, but I gotta go with my gut here,” Jenna insisted. “Have I ever steered us wrong?”
    The girls looked to Kylie for her decision. “Jenna is our official cupcake taster. What she says goes.”
    When the cupcakes came out of the oven twenty minutes later, Jenna gently removed one from the tin and placed it on a plate to cool. She peeled the wrapper back and squeezed the warm cake gently with her fingertips. “Spongy—not mushy. So far, so good.”
    Then she took a bite.
    â€œWell?” Lexi asked. “Don’t leave us in suspense.”
    Jenna didn’t say a word. She took another bite. Then another, and another.
    When she had devoured the entire cupcake, she wiped the blueberry stain off her mouth with a napkin. “It’s not good,” she said slowly.
    Kylie’s face fell. A bad recipe meant back to the drawing board. “Really? Not good at all?”
    â€œNo,” Jenna said, sighing. Then she smiled brightly. “ Es perfecto ! ”
    She handed each of the girls a cupcake. “Try it. I think it’s one of the best recipes we’ve ever made.”
    Delaney, Lexi, Sadie, Herbie, and Kylie each dug in. Like Jenna, they couldn’t speak—they were too busy gobbling up every last crumb.
    â€œYummo,” Sadie finally said. “Is that a Spanish word?”
    Jenna chuckled. “No, but it sums it up perfectly.”
    â€œThe fund-raiser is a week from Saturday,” Kylie said, checking her binder. “Which means we bake Thursday, decorate Friday, and deliver Saturday afternoon.”
    â€œAnd I set sail the next day,” Jenna pointed out.
    â€œGo ahead, rub it in,” Delaney said, groaning.
    Jenna picked up a piping bag and squirted a dollop of pink frosting in the palm of her hand. Then she rubbed it across Delaney’s nose and cheeks. “You said to rub it in,” she teased.
    Delaney shrugged, wiped the frosting with her finger, and took a lick. “ Un poco messy, but still yummo,” she said, laughing.

Kylie and the girls were packing the red, white, and blueberry cupcakes in the back of her dad’s car when her phone suddenly rang.
    â€œIs this Peace, Love, and Cupcakes?” a harried woman asked on the other end.
    â€œYes, it is,” Kylie replied. “But we’re about to make a delivery. Can we call you back?”
    â€œIt’s the delivery that I’m calling about,” the woman continued. “The cupcakes for the Mount Vernon Library fund-raiser. This is Ms. Cushman, the head librarian.”
    â€œOh, yes!” Kylie replied. “We’ll have them there soon. Five o’clock sharp, just like we promised.”
    â€œThere’s a little problem,” Ms. Cushman said, hesitating. “It seems we underestimated how many guests would be coming tomorrow. We need a few more than I originally ordered.”
    â€œNot to worry,” Kylie said. “We always bake some extras just in