"Is everything ready, brother?" Qin San Niang asked with a smile.
This time, she styled her hair into a neat bun, with a silver plum blossom hairpin inserted in it. The plum blossom looked very delicate and shone brightly in the sunlight, unlike the craftsmanship of the old silversmith in He County!
He didn't know when it started, but Sili Ren increasingly felt that Qin San Niang was extraordinary. In addition to her superb cooking skills, her appearance had also gradually become more dignified.
Hearing her ask this, Sili Ren took out a pastry menu, which listed the pastries and their order of serving. Qin San Niang didn't know much about it, but it looked quite good!
In fact, Si Ji's own skills are quite impressive. Many of her pastries involve very complicated processes, such as shortbread, steamed sponge cake, and crispy cake molds. She has tried them all. In comparison, things like donkey rolls, white jade cake, and hawthorn shortbread were just novelties. Of course, the pastries that are popular all over China are no joke either.
"This is very good. I don't know the proper etiquette here, so please make the decision in this matter, elder brother! As for the birthday cake I mentioned, I'll make one for you to try this afternoon and see if there's anything that needs improvement."
Qin San Niang's cakes are still made by herself. It would be difficult to launch a cream cake, since she doesn't know how to make cream yet. However, chiffon cakes are easy to promote. The ingredients are simple, but the steps are complicated, so she is not afraid of the secret being leaked.
After saying that, Qin San Niang went to the kitchen to make preparations.
To give her her own space, Sili Ren emptied out her own small kitchen for her exclusive use.
After a flurry of activity, everyone could smell a rich, milky aroma emanating from the kitchen; just by smelling it, they knew that something delicious was ready.
Xiao Wu, the shopkeeper's partner, now admires him from the bottom of his heart and is waiting for the fresh pastries to come out of the oven so he can taste them as soon as possible!
"Master, I wonder what delicious food Madam Qin has prepared? The aroma alone is enough to make my mouth water!"
"This is a birthday gift prepared for the county magistrate's daughter. It's our clerk's first gift. Hurry up and go to the outer room to keep an eye on it. Don't let any unauthorized people in!"
Sili Ren had spent half his life in the pastry business and knew that this was no ordinary pastry. It must be a new recipe. If he could promote it, wouldn't his shop become even more successful? Alas, it was like a dream!
When the cake was brought in, it was even more eye-catching.
Qin San Niang made a single-layer cake, but she planned to make a two-layer cake for the county magistrate's daughter, because she was a woman, and even if she was a girl, she would probably like the soft and sweet color!
With a pink base, colored with hawthorn jam, red cream was piped into red flowers, green matcha powder was used to make leaves to surround them, and yellow stamens were colored with pumpkin powder. She had practiced this for a long time; although it wasn't extremely refined, it was still pleasing to the eye!
In Qin San Niang's opinion, the color scheme is still too monotonous. If there were more colors or various colors of jam to garnish it, it would definitely look better!
However, Manager Si and the others were very satisfied and gave him a thumbs up in praise.
"Oh my, this is the birthday cake you were talking about? It's absolutely gorgeous! I've lived for so many years, but I've never seen such exquisite food!"
Xiao Wu and the head chef, being his most trusted subordinates, naturally got to see what was happening. Their eyes widened, especially the chef, who was practically begging to taste it! He thought, "The pastry looks nice, but what's that white thing? I've never seen it before."
It's speculated that it's made from cow's milk, but how it's made is probably a secret recipe!
Qin San Niang seemed to have seen through everyone's thoughts. After all, looking good was one thing, but whether it tasted good was another matter entirely.
So, he took a long knife and cut the cake into pieces, placing them on white plates. At that time, porcelain was a precious item, and if it weren't for the exquisite cake of Qin San Niang, Si Li Ren probably wouldn't have been willing to take out such a valuable plate.
As the saying goes, even the most beautiful flower needs green leaves to set it off, and even the best horse needs a good saddle.
"Mmm, delicious! What is this? How can it taste so good?!" Xiao Wu said, his mouth full of cake.
Now he doesn't care that he's just a guy anymore; all he wants to do is express his truest thoughts.
The chef was also amazed; the melt-in-your-mouth milky aroma spread through his heart, bringing boundless satisfaction.
The Master of Ceremonies was naturally satisfied; he was practically clapping and cheering!
"Big brother, what do you think of this birthday cake?" Qin San Niang asked.
"Great, absolutely fantastic! It's perfect as our Secretary's grand finale performance, no problem at all!" Si Liren immediately approved.
"Alright, since you put it that way, I'll make a two-tiered cake tomorrow. It needs to be big enough, otherwise it won't be enough to eat, but it also won't be enough to eat a lot of, otherwise it won't seem precious!"
"Madam Qin, can we sell this cake on a regular basis?" the pastry chef asked while eating. He would be restless if he couldn't make such a delicious cake! Besides, just by looking at his plump body, you could tell that he was a food lover himself!
"Hmm, what do you think, young lady?" Si Liren asked. He was also very satisfied with this pastry, even more so than the previous ones.
After thinking for a moment, Qin San Niang said, "Although this cake tastes good, it cannot be stored and must be made and eaten on the same day."
Selling birthday cakes is fine, but there's one ingredient I haven't fully figured out how to make: cream. The ones I have now were made by chance, and once I run out, I'll probably have to start researching it all over again!
This isn't exactly a lie; she hasn't fully figured out the recipe for cream yet, but she has the book, and given time...
However, upon seeing the round, plump cook, Qin San Niang had a new idea.
“I did write down the previous steps. The next step requires a few more tries. I see that this chef is eager to learn, so why don’t I write down the recipe and let my brother have him try making it? If he succeeds, we can take on the birthday cake business.”
Upon hearing that Qin San Niang mentioned him and that she would give him the recipe to study, the cook looked at his master with great interest. He was a servant born into the household, so he was the most trustworthy person. His indenture was still with his master!
He has no desire and will never want it back! He's served his master for so many years; where can you find a master with such a good temper? He wouldn't leave even if you told him to! That manager of Chen's shop even tried to bribe him—how absurd!
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