The traditional gift for the fiftieth anniversary is gold. Is that too obvious? She also knew the traditional flowers for this anniversary was yellow roses and violets. The leaves of the violet were small heart shapes. Maybe a small detail the others wouldn’t know. Then again, she wasn’t sure a few fondant flowers would make a big impression. She needed to take a risk. Her recipe needed to be something memorable that not just anyone would make.

Searching through the pantry, she loaded up with honey, cinnamon, chili powder, kosher salt, and the rest of the things she needed to get started.

Kelly decided to make a slight variation of her flourless chocolate cake, rich and moist and always a favorite. She knew she could integrate all the ingredients without fail.

On the shelf with all the decoratives, she spotted edible gold flakes and gold leaf sheets.

Keeping things organized, she lined up the ingredients on the counter, then ran back to pick out her place settings. She grabbed six black ramekins off the shelf and six small gold charger plates to set them on. Luckily, in the silverware tray there were six gold dessert forks. It would make for a classy display.

Dumping the almonds into the food processor, she set to pulverizing them into a light fluffy flour. She pulled out a few of the best sayings in the conversation hearts box to set aside for garnish, just in case.

Crazy 4 U, I <3 U, XOXO, Soul Mate, Best Day, True Love, and Only You. There were a lot she didn’t remember seeing when she was a kid. Things like Text Me and Tweet Me. Times were changing.

She powdered the conversation hearts into a sugary mixture in a blender to use in the cake.

Melting the chocolate, her skin moistened under the heat of the lights above. The butter was soft before she even went to put it in the pan. She stirred until it was silky smooth, then whisked eggs in a big bowl and started adding the other ingredients, finally working in the chocolate mixture.

She buttered the ramekins, then filled each one and popped them in the oven.

They would take thirty-five minutes to bake. She glanced at the timer. Cooling the cakes to be able to frost them would be the trickiest part. She got right down to work on the frosting, first chopping the cayenne peppers. She beat the butter, then started creaming in the other ingredients. She tasted the frosting. The cayennes weren’t quite adding the heat she needed to be sure the judges could taste them. She added a little more and tried it again. Another taste, and she was satisfied.

The timer went off, and she tested her cakes. The toothpick came out completely clean. Ready to go.