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Cracky Haru plotbunny (plus cookbooks)
I recently discovered that Netflix has the first three seasons of the Great British Baking Show (or Bake Off to those not in the US), most of which I'd already seen on PBS, but I missed a couple episodes here and there, so I've been having fun re-watching them, and watching the Masterclass episodes, which are new to me.
So what does this have to do with Harudaki? Well, in my fanon verse, Kikuchi is an amateur chef, which is simply because I love guys who can cook, and has absolutely no basis in canon. But hey, that's what fanon is for, right? ;-) Anyway, as I'm watching the Baking Show, I find myself wondering, "Hmm, what would Kikuchi do with this challenge? Maybe he would try to put a Japanese twist on the recipe, and make a matcha-flavored cake, or use yuzu instead of lemon, or decorate the flower-themed cake with sakura petals."
I probably will never actually write it, but I had a lot of fun imaging Kikuchi taking part in a celebrity edition of the Baking Show/Bake Off. Not sure who I would have him competing against, though. Of course, the obvious answer would be Katou (who actually does cook in the manga), and it would be hilarious to watch the two rivals taking the whole thing way too seriously and fiercely competing to bake the fanciest gingerbread house or the prettiest wedding cake! (Actually, for the gingerbread portion of the competition, I imagined Kikuchi making a gingerbread Godzilla tromping through a gingerbread Tokyo. Because if some of the cookie buildings crack during the baking/set-up, he can use the broken pieces as the wreckage of Godzilla's rampage. And clearly I have thought about this way too much!) And during the little segments where they feature the bakers at home with their families/loved ones, Kikuchi and Onozuka (and maybe Katou and Iwaki) can be acting all lovey-dovey and making Yoshizumi nauseous.
Anyway, I was getting so into my cracky plotbunny that I borrowed a couple of cookbooks from the library for inspiration. One is Japanese Patisserie by James Campbell, which has gorgeous Japanese-influenced sweets like yuzu meringue pie, sweet miso truffles, panna cotta with sake jelly and fruit compote (with sakura blossoms floating in the clear jelly), and the elaborate dessert that's on the cover: a white chocolate and matcha mousse trench filled with a cherry compote. Most of these recipes are far beyond my skill set, but it's fun to drool over the beautiful pictures.
The other book is aimed more at your average home baker: Tanoshii: Joy of Making Japanese-style Cakes & Desserts by Yamashita Masataka. The recipes are simpler, with very helpful step-by-step instructions and photos. Much less fancy than the other book, but the pastries are still pretty and yummy-looking. Honestly, I'm still more likely to buy a tart or a roll cake than make one myself, but the pictures are fun to look at, and maybe I'll try out some of the cookie recipes one day.
Okay, so I said I wouldn't write it, but obviously I've put a lot of fantasizing and research into my little plotbunny, so who knows? Maybe I will write it one day!
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And now you've got me fantasizing about more interactions between the guys and the Antique Bakery crowd. I crack up every time I think of what you did in "Comeback," with the pastries. ;)
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Plus, I remember getting into a long meta conversation with you in one of your Yoshizumi/Kenzaki fics in which we decided that Yoshizumi and Tachibana are cousins. So many crossover plotbunnies!