Rise to the Challenge
Its been a minute since I have made a blogpost due in part to being laid off, burnt out, etc. You know the things. I've come back to it after spending time doing something else I love....baking. Growing up, I knew how to do little to nothing in the kitchen. My mom was and still isn't much of a cook. Bless her heart. As the eldest daughter of 6 girls in a household living on welfare, I learned how to make hamburger helper, instant mashed potatoes, and other premade dishes. It wasn't until I started living with my step-mom that I discovered the joy and art in cooking. It's kind of similar to when you start learning graphic design and layout. You can clock when it's off, but once you start digging into how it all comes together, you realize there's a depth to the craft you never knew about.
Dolmenwood
So I've been baking, and earlier this week, I made earl grey cupcakes with lavender icing for some friends.
This image is from the recipe linked above. I can't find a picture of the ones I made, but if I do, I'll share.
As I rushed to finish making them, I started thinking about what RPG these cupcakes are most like. It struck me that these best represent Dolmenwood. There are already a few delicious desserts throughout Dolmenwood, but here's another to add to the pile.
The cover of the Dolmenwood Campaign Book has a purple-blue hue to it all throughout which aligns very well with the food color for the icing. The flavor of lavender, particularly culinary lavender, speaks to the fairies and their secrets of Dolmenwood. Much like the lavender, what the Cold Prince leaves behind is significant, subtle, and sometimes forgotten.
At its foundation, the cupcake batter is made with milk infused with earl grey. There's also earl grey tea leaves added to the dry ingredients. On the one hand, the obvious connection to the Earl of Yellow is in title alone. Yet, I think looking more metaphorically at how the Duchy of Brackenwold supports order and structure for Dolmenwood while whismy and mirth run wild behind the scenes is a better fit for the cupcake here. Cupcakes are parceled out into isolated chunks, akin to the regions of Dolmenwood.
I would even venture so far as to say the tea leaves scattered throughout the cupcake represent the Drune, specifically the Audrune. Elite magic users who ward nodal stones and live like hermits.
What do you think? Is there a better RPG this delicious treat fits with? What system should I compare to baked goods next?
The Baker Tax
When you share a post talking about an rpg system, theory, etc. share a food with it. Ideally a baked food but any food will do. It doesn't need to be gameable. It can be a recipe, substitution, or tips for how to get the right texture or flavors. Be creative with it and reach into your memories of time with family and friends. Here's mine:
For the recipe above, I sometimes use half butter and half whole fat greek yogurt in the batter. It gives the cupcakes more of a sponge-y texture with a tang that compliments the lavender. Be sure the yogurt is at room temperature, though, or your sugar and butter will split. In the end, this recipe is pretty forgiving so even if it does split a bit, once you add dry ingredients, it still comes together nicely.