This fic started as an ask to @gabessquishytum and then @chaosheadspace continued writing it, which turned into a four-part series that's just so sweet! Poor Dream gets ditched at the altar and Hob happens to see the forlorn man at the fancy wedding venue. They end up going home together, where Dream mostly mopes and even tries to hook up with Hob. But Hob is a gentleman and they decide a better way to find comfort and bond would be to eat Dream's wedding cake--a four-tier red velvet cake with white chocolate frosting. For the next couple of years they stay friends and then finally become a couple and the series ends with their wedding. There's a lot of cake and really cute dialogues between the two!
I had been planning on making this for months now but just did not have time for any elaborate recipes. Last week I custom ordered a cake for the first time for my defense party but that's still a week away and I thought I should really celebrate with my own cake for now! I added some cream cheese and whipped cream to the white chocolate and I love the depth it adds to the frosting.
Here are a few lines from the fic ~~
Part 1
"So. You like excellent food?" Dream asks, wiping his mouth again on the sleeve of his suit. "Because I have a four-tier red velvet cake with white chocolate frosting at home, and no-one to eat it with. And I would rather not be alone right now."
Part 2
"Oh, I don't think I can eat any more," Hob says, his face no doubt smudged with icing somewhere. "It's bloody good cake, though."
"It is," Dream agrees, carefully skewering another soft red piece of cake with his fork. Then, thoughtful, he asks, "Do you think I could freeze the rest?"
Dream licks at a bit of buttercream on his thumb, and Hob's stomach swoops.
Part 3
As they sit down on the grass, Hob spies a flash of red through the plastic. “Dream?” He asks. “What is that?”Carefully opening the lid, Dream reveals a large piece of slightly smushed red velvet cake.
Part 4
It's early May, a beautifully warm spring day, the glinting sun happily dancing over the little get-together in the back garden of Dream's house, painting guests and flowers and red cake in a soft, gentle light.
Embroidery for the @monsterfucktoberbingo - Square: tentacles
(and also for the prompt "body worship" for the #Sandmankinktober by @gabessquishytum)
Original artwork by @chaosheadspace
Spiced chickpeas, turmeric rice, fried paneer, vegetable curry, samosas, and garlic naan from the new Chef!Hob fic by @chaosheadspace. Also from anon's ask and @gabessquishytum 's answer!
I am very excited about this because it's the first post of 2024, my 25th post, it's Indian food, and it's based on a fic by @chaosheadspace who made my first recipe--the Dreamling Cookies--and sent a picture of them almost a year ago! Chef!Hob is one of my favorites and this fic has everything--hot Hob, good food, stunned dream, and hopefully more!
I made these dishes based on how I traditionally make them. But I did seek clarification on the textures from the author. For the photos I also added some things I had lying around that are similar to Hob's tattoos like the lotus and elephant. Here are some excerpts from the fic!
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... a moment later Dream is handed a plate that is loaded to the point of overflowing, and some naan... He carefully perches the plate on his knees and inspects it. There’s turmeric rice and spiced chickpeas, fried paneer, golden and crispy, samosas, and of course the curry.
Dream takes the spoon and scoops up a chickpea, pops it into his mouth, rolls it around on his tongue. Turmeric and curry powder, he thinks, which is not surprising, and chilli, and smoked paprika. He eats another one. Something earthy and a little sharp. Hmm. Probably nutmeg, he decides. No onion, no coriander. Surprising, but not unwelcome.
[Normally I would add onions and coriander leaves too, but the fic said no, so I didn't! While I don't use curry powder, I have the individual spices that make up curry powder. This allows me to adjust the quantity of each component based on the type of dish I'm making. The powdered spices I added are turmeric, cumin, coriander seed, garam masala, chilli powder, paprika, nutmeg, dried mango, dried fenugreek, besides brewed black tea, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, whole cumin seeds, green chillies, slivered ginger, and a bit of mashed potatoes to thicken the gravy.]
The samosas are still hot, so he leaves them be for now.
The rice is fluffy, and his stomach groans at the promise of carbohydrates.
The paneer is good, too (lemon, not vinegar, he realises with satisfaction), and will probably be better together with the curry, but Dream likes to taste things individually first, a habit so ingrained he’s not getting rid of it now.
He eats the chickpeas with his fingers, licks the spices off of them afterwards, he sops up the curry with the naan, stray rice grains falling off the plate and on the front of his turtleneck. Dream doesn't care.
His mouth and nose are filled with explosive flavours, with the dense richness of protein and starch, with the softness on the inside of the fried cheese, with the crisp-hot melt of fried dough and vegetables.
Dream does not dare call it simple. It comes from a food truck, yes, and it is, in his own, unkind words “comfort food”, but in no way is it simple. It is a celebration of being alive, joy and love in every touch, in every single ingredient.
Egg in a Basket or Toad in a Hole or Egg in a Hole or Egg with a Hat or 66 other names it is known as from the library boys ficlet by @chaosheadspace
Ah this is an unplanned recipe but I read the fic while I was about to make breakfast, so here we are with a fic based on the love language prompts--weirdly shaped food and breakfast in bed!
There isn't much to write here except that it's an egg in a hole in a toast fried in butter. I also made heart and flower shaped holes with red ketchup to keep with the Valentine's Day vibes. I feel like Hob would do sometihng like that and Murphy would not show much but secretly love it! I did have a much bigger post planned but I don't think I will have time today to do any of those. So here's a breakfast Dreamling post and check out the author's page for all the prompt ficlets! They are so cute!
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After a small, careful silence, Murphy asks, “What… is that?” It looks like some weird sort of French toast, but there's too much egg, the edges of it spilled over and folded onto the toast, while the bread is oddly shaped, almost mangled. There's also no sugar. Or cinnamon.
Hob clears his throat. “Well… I wanted to do a thing I've seen on the Internet. You know, you take a cookie cutter and then put a fried egg into a fun shaped hole in the toast?” He rubs his earlobe and then scratches through his hair, dishevelling his already sleep-tousled braid further. “Well, turns out it's not as easy as it looks.”
Murphy keeps quiet once more, and then, finally says, “I am not going to lie and say it looks wonderful, but I am sure it will taste good.”
Paneer Tikka and Mango Lassi from part 2 of a Chef Hob fic by @chaosheadspace
Chef Hob is my favorite Hob and I know many more Dreamling fans feel the same way. And nothing makes me more excited than cooking a Chef Hob fanfic recipe. Do check out part one of this fic and my food because this is a continuation of the events from the first part! By now I'm very familiar with the menu of Chef Hob's food truck and made most of the dishes in part 1. So for this post I made two -- Paneer Tikka and Mango Lassi.
Throughout the fic there's a lot of description of the very busy cooking happening, where all sorts of ingredients and dishes are mentioned. Dream wrote such a good review that Hob is mobbed by customers and so he starts helping Hob during the entire service, also another way of saying working in close quarters 😉. Here are some lines.
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Hob makes Dream mango lassi and takes a lemonade for himself, and loads a plate with chickpeas and tikka they both pick from.
It's the most content Dream has felt in years. His senses are full with coriander and chilli and chaat masala, heating his mouth and stomach; just as the sun heats his back, just as the sight of Hob, eating with his fingers and smiling, warms his heart and makes his insides prickle.
[The magic of tikka lies in the marinade. I make it very lovingly, balancing one flavor with another. That hanging lump is the yogurt I strained overnight, to which I added the ingredients and the spices, all 10 of them!]
The lassi smoothes over his tongue, washing away the tingle of flavour,
every bite afterwards fresh and exciting again, spike after spike of pure joy over something as simple as eating a meal.
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I know the author has more chef Hob fics cooking and I can't wait to read more and cook!
