After breakfast, they called Man Niang over, and the two of them hid in the small kitchen in the third east wing and began to study.
Gu Xinran recalled the ingredients needed to make cakes, including eggs, flour, sugar, oil, and fruit.
If there is no milk, add spring water. If there is no white vinegar, then... if there is no milk, then there is no milk. If there is no oven with adjustable temperature and timer, then steam it. Everything depends on human efforts, and hope lies in the world.
In fact, there is a large oven in the big kitchen, but it has never been used, so the temperature and time are difficult to control.
After preparing all the ingredients, Gu Xinran began to teach Man Niang how to separate the egg yolks and egg whites.
It was Man Niang's first time to come into contact with pastry making. Seeing that the eldest lady took ten eggs at once, she felt a little distressed and thought to herself that it was no wonder that pastries sold outside were so expensive because of the waste of ingredients.
After separation, Gu Xinran asked Man Niang to add appropriate amount of oil, sugar and diluted spiritual spring water to the egg yolk, and then add space flour and stir evenly.
The flour in space is very fine, so I don’t sift it, mainly because I don’t have the equipment to do so.
Gu Xinran saw Manniang was very reluctant to add sugar, and joked: "Are you adding gold? Add more, add more. If it's not sweet enough, the cake will lose its soul."
Man Niang muttered to herself, "This white sugar is worth its weight in gold! It's ten times the price of brown sugar, six hundred coins per pound!" At Gu Xinran's urging, the precious white sugar was added like flowing water.
The pressure doubled. While stirring carefully, I told myself that I must do it well and only succeed and not fail.
He forced a smile and said, "Miss, this pastry is really expensive, much more expensive than meat. Ordinary people can't even think about it."
Gu Xinran thought about it and it was true. It was no wonder that Man Niang was reluctant to give it away. Sugar was hard to come by in this era, and white sugar was even more precious. It was only because of Duan Yunchi that these white sugars could not be bought at all.
She nodded in agreement. "Well, it's quite expensive, so we only make it once on special days. This kind of cake is called a birthday cake and has a special meaning."
Now comes the hardest part. In this era without electric egg beaters, beating egg whites into a hard state is a very difficult physical task.
Fortunately, there were many people in the mansion, and Gu Xinran called Xiaomei and Xiaolan to help.
Everyone took a turn. Gu Xinran took three chopsticks and demonstrated stirring for a while. When her hands got sore, it was Man Niang's turn, and then Xiao Mei and Xiao Lan.
After more than half an hour of circular relay, I finally succeeded after adding sugar three times.
Then Gu Xinran asked Man Niang to take out one-third of the whipped meringue, add it to the egg yolk paste, and stir it up and down until evenly mixed.
Pour the beaten egg yolk paste into the remaining meringue and mix well.
The raw materials were ready, but another problem arose: what should I do if I don’t have a mold? After much thought, I realized that the only thing I could use was a large bowl.
Ask Man Niang to find the largest white porcelain soup bowl in the house, brush the walls and bottom of the bowl with oil, pour in the mixed paste, shake it a few times to expel excess bubbles, and then steam it in a pot.
A quarter of an hour later, the sweet aroma of the cake began to spread, and half an hour later, the not-so-pretty cake base was completed.
As soon as the lid of the pot is opened, the sweet fragrance overflows and then fills the whole yard with fragrance!
Tingting, who was playing nearby, came over after smelling the scent. Grandma Gu and Mother Gu, who were doing needlework in the yard, could not resist the temptation and went into the small kitchen. The guards patrolling around were drooling with envy.
Gu Xinran couldn't help but secretly pick up a little and put it in her mouth. Oh, it was even more delicious than the cakes baked in the oven with all the ingredients.
The spiritual spring water played an indispensable role!
Seeing her sister's satisfied face after tasting it, Tingting pulled her sister's sleeve and said in a baby voice: "Sister, sister, I want it too, ah~, look, my hand is sticking out of my throat!"
As she spoke, she opened her little mouth to show Gu Xinran, expressing her eagerness to eat.
Gu Xinran originally wanted to wait until it cooled down, then cast it into a mold, decorate it with fruit, and then enjoy it.
But seeing everyone’s drooling expressions, especially little Tingting’s cute and greedy look, forget it, just eat it first as a tribute!
In the afternoon, I asked Man Niang to make two more cake bases. After she decorated them, we blew out the candles and sang birthday songs together in the evening to celebrate.
Gu Xinran gently pinched Tingting's chubby face with a loving look on her face, "Well, I saw the little hand in Tingting's throat, and I'll give it to you right away."
After saying that, Gu Xinran gave each person a piece, and put a lot on the tray, asking Man Niang to distribute it to other people in the mansion to taste. Of course, Grandpa Gu and Xuanxuan were also included.
Everyone's saliva secretion quickened as they looked at the golden and sweet cake. As soon as they took a bite, they felt it was extremely delicate and silky smooth, and it melted in their mouths instantly.
The sweet taste is like a grand taste feast, quickly spreading throughout the mouth, and every taste bud is conquered by this wonderful taste.
Little Tingting enjoyed it so much that her eyes narrowed into crescents, and everyone was immersed in the delicious taste and couldn't help themselves.
Although this cake is delicious, there is still something wrong.
Gu Xinran said with a hint of regret: "This is just a semi-finished product. The real finished product needs to be decorated with light cream, jam, and fruit seasoning.
When we find some milk later, I'll help you make a perfect birthday cake. Today, just make do with the simple version."
Man Niang's eyes sparkled. This delicacy was only a semi-finished product. How amazing would the finished product be? At this point, she no longer cared about the raw materials.
The instinct of wanting to make delicious food is calling out in my heart, and I must make the finished product!
Her sparkling eyes stared at Gu Xinran, "Miss, when we have milk, let me do it, okay?"
"Of course you can. You are the only one in our house who can take on this important task."
Xiaolan, who loves sweets, sighed, "This is the most delicious dessert I've ever had, bar none. If I could eat this delicacy every day, even if it's half-baked, I'd be willing to live ten years less."
Gu Xinran patted her forehead and said, "Don't talk nonsense. Pah! If we open a cake shop in the future, we'll give you enough every day. If your life is shortened, you'll have no where to cry."
It’s not that Gu Xinran is superstitious, it’s just that such an outrageous thing as time travel can happen. Maybe there really is a God who keeps accounts.
Xiaolan said "Pfft, pfft" obediently, then jumped up with joy, "Open it, we must open it! This cake is soft and sweet, suitable for all ages, and it will definitely make a lot of money."
The others also looked at her expectantly. Gu Xinran chuckled and said, "We can open it, but we have to find milk first. Otherwise, we won't be able to sell this cake base at a high price."
Everyone was puzzled. Where could they get milk? This cow was very valuable.
When Xiaomei heard about milk, she remembered something and reminded him, "Among the cows we bought before the New Year, there was one that was pregnant with a calf. After giving birth, she would produce milk.
But it has to feed the calf, so there shouldn't be much left. I've heard that in the Tukhanji country in the north, there's a kind of cow that specializes in producing milk."
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