As you progress through your Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door campaign, you'll want to make a habit of visiting the Trouble Center at the end of each chapter. The Trouble Center is located at the far east end of Rogueport, beyond Professor Frankly's house. Here, you can accept Troubles, or side quests. This feature becomes available after you've arrived in Petal Meadows. On the downside, you'll only be able to take on one side quest/Trouble at a time, and canceling one side quest for another costs 30 Coins. "Heartful Cake recipe..." Is one of the many requests you can sign up for, but is it worth the effort?

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - 100% Recipe Book
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - How to 100% the Recipe Book

Trying to make every one of Zess T.'s dishes in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Here's how to set up your recipe book for success.

2
By 

"Heartful Cake recipe..." Trouble Guide

Requested by: Merlee

paper mario the thousand year door heartful cake request at the trouble center

After you've completed Chapter 3, you can find the "Heartful Cake recipe..." At the Trouble Center. This is requested by Merlee, the Fortune Teller who lives in Rogueport Underground. She wants to make a Heartful Cake, but doesn't have the recipe. There are four steps you'll need to take to complete this side quest:

  1. Go to Rogueport Underground (in front of Frankly's house) and find Merlee. You can reach her house by taking the green warp pipe to the left of a paper airplane platform. You will need to use Mario's ability to turn sideways (ZR-button) to reach the pipe.
  2. Speak to Merlee, and she'll tell you to get the recipe for the Heartful Cake from someone named Toce T. You'll need to go to Petalburg and enter the part of the town where Mayor Kroop lives (pink house). Toce T.'s house is on the far-right (refer to the image below for the exact location).
  3. Toce T. Will inform you that you need Cake Mix and Ruin Powder to make the Heartful Cake. With this information, you can return to Merlee, who will then ask you to get her a bag of Cake Mix. Alternatively, you can get the Cake Mix before returning to Merlee to save you from backtracking.
  4. You can get Cake Mix from Pianta Parlor for 6 pianta tokens. Piantas are earned from the token exchange machine in the parlor, or you can earn them by playing the games.
  5. Once you have Cake Mix, return to Merlee's Hut to complete the Trouble. You'll receive 30 Coins as a reward.
Paper Mario TTYD_Chapter 2
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Chapter 2 Walkthrough

Chapter 2 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has Mario and the Party heading into Boggly Woods to seek out the second Crystal Star.

By 

Where to Find Heartful Cake Ingredients

What Does It Do?

paper mario the thousand year door heartful cake

Considering Merlee's request, it's ironic how you won't receive a Heartful Cake item as a reward. If you want Heartful Cake, you're going to have to make it. You can follow Toce T.'s recipe, which combines Cake Mix and Ruin Powder, or you can substitute the Cake Mix for a Peachy Peach. To cook items, you'll need to take ingredients to Zess T., who's blocking the path leading to western Rogueport. If you haven't done so already, you'll need to get Zess T. A new contact lens after Mario accidentally steps on the first one. You can get one from the Toad Bros. Bazaar in the plaza.

Once you give Zess T. The contact lens, you'll be able to cook. However, the Heartful Cake requires two ingredients, and Zess T. Can only use one. To unlock this, you're going to need the Cookbook key item and complete the "Seeking legendary book!" Trouble (unlocks after Chapter 4). The Cookbook is found in a hidden room in the Creepy Steeple, which can be entered by rolling under a hole in the wall right as you walk in.

After completing "Seeking legendary book!", you'll need to get the ingredients. At this point, you should know how to get Cake Mix. As mentioned, there are two different recipes for Heartful Cake:

  • Cake Mix + Ruin Powder
  • Peachy Peach + Ruin Powder

Peachy Peach & Ruin Powder

If you don't want to spend money on pianta tokens, then you can get a Peachy Peach instead. As an item, Peachy Peach restores 1HP and 2FP, making it relatively useless when it isn't cooked. You can get a Peachy Peach by staying at the inn in Twilight Town. Check the table after Mario wakes up to collect the item.

On the other hand, Ruin Powder is trickier to obtain. Here's how you can get one:

  • Have Zess T. Cook a Point Swap and Spite Pouch together.
  • Right as you enter Pirate's Grotto, inspect the barrel in the southwest corner of the entrance.
  • Buy one for 15 Coins at Northwind's Mart at Fahr Outpost.

Heartful Cake Effect

The Heartful Cake is a FP-replenishing item, but it has a side effect. When consumed, it will restore 20FP, but will inflict the user with the Soft ailment. This is a battle effect that lowers Defense by 3 points. Unless you "overwrite" this status ailment with something else (ex: Burn), the Soft effect from Heartful Cake will last for the remainder of the battle.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2024) Tag Page Cover Art
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Display card tags widget Display card system widget
Display card community and brand rating widget
Display card open critics widget Display card main info widget
Released
May 23, 2024
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Developer(s)
Nintendo
Franchise
Paper Mario
Platform(s)
Nintendo Switch
Genre(s)
RPG