strictlysupreme Chapter 127 Baking a Cake
Chapter 127 Baking a Cake
Zhou Sisi thought and took action immediately, pushing open the door of the small study. "Grandpa! Do you want to eat cake? Soft, tender and delicious egg cake?"
Master Chen was interrupted in the middle of class and was about to get angry, but when Zhou Sisi asked him this, he immediately lost his temper. "I've tried egg cake before, it's just average!"
"Grandpa, I bet you've never tasted this egg cake I'm talking about! My mom said she'd bake me an egg cake as long as my dad could build an oven!"
"Ah, that's because I haven't eaten it. Dajiang, when you have nothing to do tomorrow, hurry up and set up that oven."
What else could Zhou Dajiang say? Of course it was good.
Building a grill might seem difficult to others, but for Zhou Dajiang, it was simple and effortless. His wife and children hadn't mentioned it before, and he couldn't remember it, otherwise he would have already built it.
It just so happened that Daha's family had some bricks left from building a house, so they called out and pulled them over. Right next to the kitchen, he and Yu Fuan quickly built a barbecue oven that looked like a small hill.
After the oven was built, he went to the factory to make two baking trays, one deep and one shallow, and a set of cake molds according to his wife's request. He should have made an egg beater as well, but his wife said that the meat grinder should also work, so he should try it first. If it doesn't work, there's still time to try it later.
So, at Zhou Sisi's urging, the baking tray and mold were brought home the next afternoon.
Chen Xiuying thought that she would try baking a couple of pots herself before her children came back, after all, she had never used this old-fashioned oven before.
So Qing'er was asked to go to the old house to squeeze some milk. We had eggs at home, but if we wanted to make cakes, and make several pots at a time, that would not be enough.
So she asked Dali to go to the mountain again and ask Aunt Guo to bring back some eggs and honey. She planned to make some honey cakes later.
After preparing all the ingredients, she tried the meat grinder and it worked, and the meat was still fine and fluffy. However, it took her a long time to master the temperature of the oven.
The first batch was chiffon cake, and the heat was not well controlled, so it took a long time. Dali came back from the mountain, but the cake was not baked yet.
Since the little Xiangsheng smelled the fragrance in the yard, he sat on the stool and waited. He waited until the child was almost asleep before Chen Xiuying announced that the food was ready.
In ancient times, there were no timers, so Chen Xiuying would just estimate, checking every once in a while until she saw the cake was almost done. She would go to her master's house tomorrow and ask her senior brother for a handful of incense he made to use as a timer.
The chiffon cake is delicate, soft and sweet, and immediately captured the taste buds of everyone in the yard.
After finishing his cake, Xiao Xiangsheng ran around the yard in joy. It was so delicious! He almost swallowed his tongue.
Even Quan Dali, who is not a picky eater, praised it highly, "Godmother, this is so delicious! Can I have another piece?"
There's nothing wrong with this. I'm just trying it out and will continue baking later.
Moreover, the quality of the first pot was only good enough to fool ancient people. If her daughter tasted it, she would definitely say it was too dry and the cake was cracked.
After trying the first batch, she baked three more batches: one chiffon and two honey chutneys. The chiffon batch used too much sugar, and she preferred honey chutneys.
Perhaps it was the gentle summer breeze, but after Chen Xiuying finished baking three batches, the aroma of the cakes wafted into the workshop. Chen's mother and Zhou's mother were checking the accounts for this month and sniffed, "Hmm, Xiuying must be tinkering with something new. We're in for another treat."
Zhou's mother: "Since they came to my house last year, my waist has become two times thicker. I guess it's easier to weigh now." After saying that, the two in-laws burst into laughter.
After Zhou Sisi finished teaching everyone, she also ran home, pulling Xiao Hehua's legs. She didn't smell anything, but her mother told her at noon that there would be cake at home in the evening, so she asked her to bring her younger brother and sister home.
So what are you waiting for? Wait till you drool and you’ll cross the river!
As for Zhou Dajiang, after taking the baking tray home, he went to work in the fields with Yu Quan and his son.
The potatoes are ready, time to harvest them.
About two hundred buds were planted in the spring. If the harvest is good, they can be planted according to acres of land after the harvest.
It might be because Yu Quan and his son took good care of the potatoes, or it might be because the topdressing after they were planted was effective, but after the potatoes were dug up, they were of a pleasing size, with more than ten potatoes on each plant, and some of the potatoes were bigger than fists.
Yu Quan had been tending to plants his entire life, but he'd never seen anything grow so well. When he first planted it, it was just a tiny sprout on such a small patch of potatoes. He never imagined it would grow into so many varieties, with this one plant definitely weighing three or four pounds.
After carrying the 200 plants, Yu Quan couldn't calculate how many kilograms they weighed. He only knew that he and his son had to carry them to the cellar more than ten times before they were all finished.
So, when Zhou Dajiang and the other two finished their work and returned home, there were only three small pieces of cake left, and these were the ones that were forced to stay.
Zhou Dajiang knew that this was something his wife had specially reserved for him, so he took the plate and gave each of Yu Quan and his son a small piece. He picked up the remaining piece and stuffed it into his mouth. "Mm! Delicious! My wife's cooking skills are so good that she could open a shop!"
Chen Xiuying was so angry that she slapped him several times, and without even washing her hands, she just grabbed the food and started eating it!
Zhou Sisi also nodded in agreement and said, "Mom's cooking skills are amazing!"
Xiao Hehua, Dabao and Erbao, as well as Chen Nan and Chen Bei also nodded vigorously. The cake baked by the second aunt was so delicious that they wanted to put the fingers that pinched the cake into their mouths and lick them.
Having tasted the sweetness of opening their own workshops, Chen's and Zhou's mothers simply suggested, "That's great, Xiuying. With your cake-making skills, you can open a shop."
Chen Xiuying was at a loss for words. "I only grilled two kinds of food once, and you asked me to open a shop."
Master Chen had also finished his meal and said indifferently, "So what? You can directly supply the teahouse and restaurant and not sell it to the outside world. That way you don't have to rent a storefront.
My house is still empty, so you can build a barbecue there and grill during the day. But you'll have to buy firewood yourself, which is not as convenient as home."
Chen Xiuying thought about it and decided it was okay. This year, there were no cold noodles to sell, and she didn't have to do much of the work in the fields. Yu Quan's family did it all, and with Da Dezi's family helping out, she really didn't have to worry much.
Yu Pozi cooks at home, and Dajiang is in charge of the general direction, so she is really suitable to do something else.
However, she didn't want to rent a storefront as it would be too much of an investment and would also affect Zhou Dajiang's future imperial examinations. So, her father's method was better, as it would ensure profit by pre-booking sales.
With this idea in mind, Chen Xiuying began to prepare. She first cooked two pots, cut them up, and gave them to her master and senior brother. Her master was so angry that she jumped up and down, "You only make delicious food all day long. When will you learn anything useful?"
Chen Xiuying stuffed the cake into her teacher's hand and replied, "I'm reading tonight. If you don't believe me, wait until I finish reading these two books and then test me."
Doctor Qian was about to criticize her, but after being given a bite of cake, he immediately calmed down and said, "You can cook, too. Just come to my place more often!"