Royal Icing Read Online Free Page B

today.”
    â€œJust say it already!” Jenna exclaimed. “ Quien ganó? Who won?”
    Mrs. Wilkie smiled. “Very well. Congratulations, Lexi Poole and Peace, Love, and Cupcakes, for your Rainbow Tie-Dye Cupcakes!”
    Kylie grabbed Lexi and shook her. “You won! You won!”
    â€œWe won!” Lexi shouted, jumping up and down. She pulled Kylie up to the podium with her to receive the award.
    â€œWhen I ordered cupcakes for our party, I never expected you to create a work of art that would take first prize,” Mrs. Wilkie told them. “Great job, ladies.”
    The girls celebrated as everyone at the art show gobbled up every last rainbow-colored crumb.
    â€œI feel bad. I don’t deserve this. You all do,” Kylie told her club mates. “I bailed on you.”
    â€œAre you kidding? You were the one who came up with the tie-dye recipe,” Lexi insisted. “You were the one who encouraged me to do mini paintings on the cupcakes.”
    â€œIt was a team effort,” Sadie chimed in. “Kylie, we could never have won without you.”
    For the first time in the past few days, Kylie actually felt needed. Maybe her mom was right. Change wasn’t always a bad thing.

With the art show behind them, it was time to focus on the cupcakes for Pygmalion ’s opening night. Since the club had decided on a flowery flavor, Kylie combed the Internet and her collection of cookbooks for recipes. She settled on two, then asked her mom to drive her to the baking store for the ingredients.
    When PLC met at her house the next night, she produced a bottle with a pretty pink label. She cracked open the cap and waved it under Jenna’s nose.
    â€œIt definitely smells rosy,” Jenna said, then took a tiny taste of the clear liquid on her tongue.
    â€œWell?” Kylie asked anxiously.
    â€œIt kind of reminds me of my abuela ’s bath soap,” Jenna replied. She wrinkled her nose. “I just don’t think I’d wanna eat a whole cupcake that tastes like this.”
    Delaney sampled a tiny drop as well. “Eww. Now you’ve gotten me picturing my mouth being washed out with soap!”
    Kylie was frustrated but not ready to give up. “Okay, here’s Option 2.” She produced a small plastic bag filled with tiny dried purple leaves.
    â€œWhat is that?” Sadie asked, “Potpourri? I think my mom keeps some of that stuff in her sock drawer.”
    â€œIt’s dried lavender. I got it in the spice store. I thought we could sprinkle it into the batter and frosting.”
    Jenna sampled a few flakes. “Maybe with honey. Something sweet to play down the floweriness?”
    Sadie scratched her head. “Is ‘floweriness’ even a word?”
    Jenna shrugged. “ No lo sé. Beats me. But I think it might work.”
    â€œThere’s only one way to find out,” Kylie said, handing her an apron. “Let’s get baking.”
    Jenna decided that the first batch they took out of the oven was “too blah,” while the second was so lavender scented that it made her eyes water. The third was soggy; the fourth was burnt; the fifth was chewy; and the sixth had so much lavender it stuck in Jenna’s teeth. It was Lexi’s idea to add food coloring to the seventh batch so the cupcakes were a lavender hue.
    â€œYou call that purple?” Sadie said, examining the gray-brown color as it came out of the oven. “It looks like mud.”
    â€œMaybe we need a few more drops of pink…or blue?” Lexi considered. “Let’s do another round.”
    â€œI never thought I’d say this, but I can’t taste another cupcake,” Jenna announced. “ Tener compasión! My taste buds are exhausted.”
    â€œJenna, focus,” Kylie pleaded with her. “We have to find a lavender-to-cupcake ratio that works.”
    â€œYeah, like Goldilocks,” Sadie teased. “One’s