British Bake-off!

Posted on Mon Nov 10th, 2025 @ 11:09am by Lieutenant JG Jezra Siv MD & Lieutenant Commander Eirly Andersen

1,737 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Side Plots
Location: Deck 9: Sugarplum Cafe
Timeline: Backpost

Following on from their conversation the previous night when everyone was out drinking and having fun, Eirly and Jezra had decided to try their hand at a bit of a bake-off of sorts, with the winner having the bragging rights for however long until the next time they did it. Thankfully, Eirly was still in good standing with Dominique, the Sugarplum Cafe owner, after her last attempt at baking, and the other woman had agreed again to let her use the bakery for it after hours.

Eirly figured she should get to know the other woman a little bit better, seeing as both Malcolm and Kasper would basically be spending most of their time with her anyway. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have a new friend too. Sitting outside at one of the little tables with a chair either side of it, Eirly waited for Jezra to arrive.

There were several reasons to accept the bake-off invitation. The first was so Jezra could get a little more familiar with the ship, followed by the anticipation over making a new friend. Finding the right place, Jezra approached the Sugarplum Cafe, spotting Eirly waiting outside. "Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long," they said with a smile.

Eirly shook her head in response and smiled, the flyaway strands of her braid fluttering with the movement, "I've really only just gotten here myself, so you're fine." She stood up and walked toward the closed cafe and unlocked it with the swipe card Dominique had given her, "I hope you found this place alright; it's a bit out of the way but the owner loves me and agreed to let us use it for tonight."

"I admittedly took a few wrong turns," Jezra answered with a chuckle, following Eirly. "I'm not used to the Galaxy class." Knowing they were in for some baking, the Trill had on casual attire: a merch shirt for a band that peaked maybe 80 years ago, and comfortable pants.

Eirly laughed in reply, "I'm sure you'll find your way around here in no time. Trust me, it took a little while for me to find everything too, so I downloaded a little map that pinpoints the fastest route. I can give it to you if you want, I don't mind." She smiled and walked into the shop, turning the lights on. Inside, the walls were coloured a cozy peach colour with some food-related prints on the walls, there were a handful of small tables and chairs in the front of the shop with a long counter on the right-hand side with a refrigerated section covered by a large piece of cloth, and the full kitchen was located at the back.

"Come on through!" She said with a wide smile, grabbing two aprons off one of the hooks and tossing one to Jezra, "Everything is here, and I'm sure if I call Dominique and say we need anything, she'll bring it down right away."

Catching the apron, Jezra secured it around her waist, the motion familiar. "I might take you up on that map, at least until I get more acquainted," they admitted. "This is a nice place. Comfortable."

"That little map makes life a lot easier for when you first arrive on this ship, trust me, but there's no need to thank me for it, I'm happy to help," Eirly replied as she got out some bowls and looked around, taking in the surroundings, "Malcolm and I came here on our first unofficial date, and I find this is like my little retreat when I need to work out some frustrations or whatnot. Rolling and kneading dough is much more cathartic and stress relieving than a workout at the gym, if I'm honest."

Jezra chuckled. "Baking is a fantastic stress reliever. So, what's the plan?" Last night, after Eirly saved Jezra from a rather overwhelming mass of chatter, they had gotten to know each other a little, and the topic of baking came up. Judging by the excitement that immediately followed, they had a common interest, and the Trill was curious to see what Eirly had in store.

"There's no plan," Eirly shook her head and smiled, "We've got as much time in the world as any, so whatever you can come up with in say, a couple of hours, whether it be muffins, a cake, pastries, you name it, then you can consider it an accomplishment. Back home, I chose to specialize in pastries and sweet treats, whereas my mor is known in the town for the to die-for loaves of bread she makes."

The response made Jezra practically buzz with excitement. Yarem loved bake-offs like this, and the emotions that came with the memories were strong to say the least. They had tried some of Yarem's recipes before but never got around to trying the baked goods. "I tend to make savory things, but there is a sweet bread I've been meaning to try," she thought out loud.

"Then try it, I'm sure it'll turn out great!" Eirly replied. "Who knows, maybe we'll make a whole range of things that will be delicious enough to take back with us?"

"Maybe!" Jezra said. Briefly closing their eyes, they recalled the recipe, silently counting out the ingredients on their fingers. With a nod, she opened her eyes again. "Ok, I know what I'm making. Let's see if muscle memory transfers between hosts," she joked.

* * A few hours later * *

"I think we've covered everything we needed to, and we've got some amazing finished products to show for it!" Eirly said with a triumphant smile. She walked over to the bench where her own products were sitting under a cloth as they cooled down.

Jezra returned the smile as they did the finishing touches to the bread, a drizzle of clear and faintly citrus-smelling syrup. "These look amazing," they responded. "I made a sweet bread that went out of style on Trill about... maybe 60 years ago? Yarem, the second host, used to make these in his restaurant." She chuckled as she added, "he'd probably lose it if he knew that his treats would be considered ancient. Anyways, it's a sweetbread with just a hint of sweet cheese and topped with a citrus syrup."

"I can certainly smell the citrus in it, and it even looks amazing, so dare I say that Yarem would be proud that you've managed to replicate it so well?" Eirly smiled in reply. Jezra had certainly put her own baking to shame with what they'd made, but she wasn't mad about it at all, she was quite happy someone enjoyed it as much as she did. "Shall we eat some while it's still warm?"

Jezra chuckled as they joined Eirly. "The true test is taste," they commented. Eyeing the cloth, she then asked, "what did you make?"

"Nothing as fancy as what you've just made, I can assure you of that." Eirly admitted with a smile. "It's just a danish with white forest and chocolate filling in it, done my own way. It's a different version of the recipe I normally use, so here's hoping it actually turns out." Maybe she should've stuck to the tried-and-true recipes she usually used.

"Oh, stop it, I'm sure it will be great," Jezra assured with a smile. Using a knife, they cut a piece of the sweetbread and put it on a plate before sliding it over to Eirly, then cut another piece and put it on a second plate for themself.

Eirly did the same and cut the danish she'd made in half so Jezra could have some as well, pushing it toward them. Picking up her own fork, she noticed noticed a slight tremor in her hand that made the fork shake a bit before it disappeared. Paying no attention to it, she shook her head and took a bite out of the sweetbread.

Without the citrus, the sweetbread would've been rather plain but still tasty. It was the right amount of flavour and didn't go overboard. Covering her mouth to finish chewing and swallowing the piece she had, Eirly made a comment while pointing at the dessert with her fork, "This is amazing, you've done so well with it. And it's the perfect amount of citrus too!"

Meanwhile, Jezra took a bite of the danish. It was sweet due to the chocolate, but not overpowering. The richness of a danish came through, and the bread had a satisfying crunch to it. "This is lovely," they commented. "The chocolate is nice and creamy. It's very difficult to get this type of crunch in the bread of a danish, so well done!"

"Do you reckon I can give up this job and go back to being a baker?" Eirly said with a bit of a giggle. She kind of did miss being in the bakery at all hours of the night and day creating delicious masterpieces, but at the same time she knew there was always a possibility down the road to open a bakery once she'd finished with Starfleet. "Or even go and open a little bakery or a food cart that sells sweets and whatnot?"

Jezra gave Eirly a smirk. "We could start a sweet treat mutiny. As Yarem Siv would say, you can get away with just about anything if you can make up for it with sweet treats." She laughed at the quote, then grabbed the plate with the sweetbread with a wink, "come on, we can decide the real winner by having the crew taste test!"

"I quite like the idea of a sweet treat mutiny," Eirly agreed as she started to put everything away and tidy up, making sure to leave Dominique with a sample of the danish as a thank you. "Come on, we can start with Security or Medical and maybe sweeten them up a bit, yeah?"

Setting the plates with their sweets aside, Jezra helped clean up, leaving a piece of sweetbread next to the danish. Once the two were done, Jezra grinned at Eirly. "Sounds like a plan!"

OFF

Lt. Commander Eirly Andersen
Second Officer
USS Astrea


Lieutenant J.G. Jezra Siv
Chief Medical Officer
USS Astrea

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