Shen Qingzhou laughed heartily and pulled the person into his embrace, using their hand to pat himself twice, "Put some effort into it! Haven't you eaten?”
"You're asking for it!" Meng Xiaoxi pressed against his chest, feeling a surge of sweetness, and asked him, "Have you spent all the money? Later, go back to the box and get some more."
"Mm."
With his palm facing up to ask for money, Shen Qingzhou didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed; instead, it was quite amusing.
Mainly, Meng Xiaoxi is also generous, knowing that he won't spend money recklessly. He plans better than himself, and the box wasn't even locked.
Besides delivering clothes, Shen Qingzhou also wanted to make him another delicious meal, which is the source of his distress.
His cooking skills are limited to just cooking the food; as for the taste, it's really not worth mentioning. The longevity noodles in the morning were still made by Meng Xiaoxi himself.
But he has a little cheat, so he won't be able to search. Shen Qingzhou decided to challenge himself and make a small ancient cake.
The cake base is simple; if there's no oven, we can just steam it. The difficult part is the cream on top, especially since it's still summer. The milk from the town isn't fresh by the time we buy it back.
Shen Qingzhou repeatedly searched on his phone, wrote down several methods on paper, and then continuously filtered them, crossing out the impractical ones one by one.
The materials and conditions were limited, so in the end, he chose a relatively simple and feasible option, steeling himself, if it didn't work out—
Take it to feed Yuanbao.
Yuanbao was lying under the eaves, snoring away, still unaware that he had been turned into a kitchen waste disposal unit.
Fresh eggs, carefully separate the yolks and egg whites. Add the yolks to peanut oil and sifted flour, and mix well. Gradually add the sugar to the egg whites in two batches and whip until frothy.
Without a whisk, he relied solely on a pair of chopsticks and his strong arms. After beating the egg whites, he gradually added them to the egg yolk mixture and stirred until well combined. Then, he steamed it in a pot over water, while also cooking a handful of red beans in the pot.
With such a commotion, this matter can't be kept under wraps at all. Meng Xiaoxi watched him curiously as he did these things, occasionally lending him a hand.
There's no cow's milk, but he has a big bowl of fresh goat's milk. The goat next door at Aunt Zheng's house just gave birth, so Shen Qingzhou shamelessly brought over half a basket of loquats to trade for a bowl.
Aunt Zheng usually isn't very talkative, but this time she was generous and squeezed a full bowl for him.
After heating the goat's milk, add a few drops of rice vinegar, stir slightly, and let it sit for a while to allow the whey to separate. Then, filter it through a clean cheesecloth. The remaining curds can be mixed with sugar in batches, and if it becomes too dry, add a bit more whey and stir to whip it up.
This is an extremely long and laborious process. Finally, the cheese is no longer scattered; it sticks together with the sugar, taking on a creamy appearance.
At the same time, the cake was almost ready. Shen Qingzhou took it out to cool for a while, then inverted the bowl onto a large plate, and a pale yellow, round cake base was freshly out of the oven.
Meng Xiaoxi curiously poked it with his finger and exclaimed, "It smells so good! It's quite fluffy, a bit like corn cake. I haven't made that in a long time.”
After listening, Shen Qingzhou paused for a moment. If he had known he could make steamed rice cakes, why go through so much trouble to make this? It would have been better to learn from him properly from the start. However, the result this time seems quite good.
It's hot and the frosting doesn't keep well, so we need to decorate quickly. Cut the cake horizontally, spread a layer of red beans mixed with honey, and then cover it again.
Then, spread the "cream" evenly on it. He won't do any piping; after smoothing it out, he simply adds a layer of sliced fruit on top, making a red bean and fruit sandwich cake.
Yellow apricots and loquats are diced, a few slices of bright red watermelon are added, and a circle of early-ripening grapes is also included.
"Beautiful It looks so delicious!" Meng Xiaoxi was a bit impatient, silently swallowing his saliva, "Can we eat now?"
"Wait a moment! Just a moment!"
Shen Qingzhou took out a red candle, the kind used during weddings, lit it, and placed the candlestick in front of the cake.
He said with deep affection, "Xiaoxi! In our place, celebrating a birthday is usually done with such a ritual. You blow out the candles, close your eyes, make a wish in your heart, and everything will go smoothly for the year, and the wish will come true.”
"Really?" Meng Xiaoxi's eyes lit up, "Then I'll give it a try."
He blew out the candle with a puff, closed his eyes and remained silent for a few moments, then opened his eyes again, looking somewhat embarrassed, "Alright!"
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