The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 593 Lu Ziye

After discovering that the Red Silk Cake was not as simple as she had thought, and that it was not the same as the Rose Cake, Qin Huai began a series of attempts.

The canteen in the clouds was filled with the aroma of fresh flower cakes.

Yes, Qin Huai also made flower cakes during the experiment.

Although Wang Gensheng clearly stated that Red Silk Cake and Flower Cake are not the same food, and Qin Huai also clearly perceived the difference between them, Qin Huai still had to base the Red Silk Cake on the concept of Flower Cake. In Qin Huai's view, Red Silk Cake was simply an improved or mutated version of Flower Cake.

It must be made based on the recipe for flower cakes.

If not, Qin Huai felt it would be very difficult for him to make it. He knew about flower cakes and could get the recipe from Tan Weian, but he really didn't know about red silk cakes, and it would be very difficult for him to get the recipe for red silk cakes from anyone.

This is a lost dessert from the Tang Dynasty, lost for a hundred years. Qin Huai is just a male protagonist in a system novel, not Doraemon. He doesn't have a magic pocket and can't time travel. Where is he going to get the recipe?
Similarly, Qin Huai felt that Xu Nuo couldn't possibly obtain the real recipe for Red Silk Cake.

Unless there's a promise of time travel.

Of course, if the promise of time travel is true, then it's as if Qin Huai never said anything.

Based on this, even if change is desired, Qinhuai must first perfect its flower cakes before seeking change.

For diners at Yunzhong Canteen, Chef Qin's new product is several times tastier than ordinary flower cakes. It is freshly baked, fragrant, crispy, and has a unique flavor. It is not a meal replacement and is reasonably priced.

It's like Chinese New Year!
The last new product launched by Yunzhong Canteen was the double crab bun, but many diners felt that the double crab bun was not a new product because it was only sold for a few days.

The double crab bun was too difficult to replicate perfectly, given Qin Huai's skill level at the time. Therefore, Qin Huai did not spend too much effort on the double crab bun and stopped making it as soon as the task was completed.

Of course, given Qin Huai's current skill level, it would be difficult to perfectly replicate it.

Next up, the new product should be the pork and crab roe bun.

The new product is actually quite popular; it's a standard high-priced yet affordable steamed bun. It's perfect for those who want to splurge a little for breakfast but don't want to go too far. The only problem is that it's not widely available in Qinhuai.

The pork and crab roe bun recipe was actually retrieved from Shi Dadan's memory, but Shi Dadan himself didn't particularly like this dish. This is what Qin Huai found most special about Shi Dadan; whether it was Luo Jun, Qu Jing, or Gong Liang, the recipes retrieved from their memories were all things they liked, foods that carried important memories and were very special to them.

Chen Huihong was a slight exception, perhaps because the first recipe Qin Huai retrieved from Chen Huihong's memory was about tree bark. Chen Huihong had a wide variety of favorite snacks; she basically loved anything delicious and didn't have the extreme preferences that Qu Jing had for rice cake soup, Luo Jun for tangerine peel tea, or Gong Liang for four-happiness glutinous rice balls.

But if you were to ask Chen Huihong what she prefers, she would definitely prefer the fermented rice buns and chicken noodle soup that she recalls from her memory. She also wants to prefer locust flower buns, but Qin Huai doesn't make them much; he usually makes fermented rice buns more often.

Not to mention that fermented rice buns are currently the highest-grade, most outstanding, and most unparalleled snack that Qinhuai can produce.

But Shi Dadan was completely different; his favorite snack was always white steamed buns.

Then it might be a meat bun.

Following closely behind in the rankings of various steamed buns, shumai, dumplings, noodles, and other high-carbohydrate staples, they are likely to be ahead of the relatively more elaborate crab roe and pork buns.

Kang's tastes are so simple and unpretentious; he just loves to eat cheap breakfasts.

Because Shi Dadan did not show any obvious preference for crab roe and pork buns, and crab roe and pork buns are a seasonal dessert, it is best to make them with fresh crab roe, which is rarely made in Qinhuai.

Therefore, for the vast majority of diners at Yunzhong Canteen, the last time Chef Qin launched a truly exciting new product was Four Happiness Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls).

Four Happiness Tangyuan has become a regular feature.

The mung bean cakes and yam cakes interspersed in between have long been ignored by everyone.

Strangely, when Qin Huai introduced these pastries, people loved them, but weren't particularly enthusiastic about them. Instead, their standard staple foods or breakfast items were much more popular. Perhaps in the minds of many diners, Chef Qin Huai was synonymous with breakfast.

Four Happiness Tangyuan is a thing of the past.

Many customers believe that the flower cakes they have now are the result of Master Qin's long-term study abroad and self-improvement, and are the final year-end new product.

Moreover, flower cakes are delicious.

Especially the fresh rose petals, seasoned and baked to order, are a unique treat, even though Qinhuai's flaky pastry technique isn't particularly advanced. Thanks to the superior seasoning and fresh baking—an advantage that easily surpasses everything else—almost the moment the pastries come out of the oven, the entire Yunzhong Canteen is enveloped in a sea of ​​deliciousness. It's the kind of deliciousness that makes you want to eat it just by smelling it.

Moreover, it is a simple, popular, and affordable delicacy with unique characteristics.

In summary, it's a delicious snack for the people.

What exciting news it is that Chef Qin has launched such a dessert!

Not to mention that this snack can be taken away, bought and eaten on the go, or even skipped 20 minutes of work to come and buy one to take back to your workstation to eat.

The flower cakes were warmly received by diners. One migrant worker from Kunming even exclaimed with tears in his eyes that they were the best flower cakes he had ever eaten, even better than those from the most famous local shop that sells freshly baked flower cakes. He strongly requested that Chef Qin visit his hometown during the Spring Festival and teach the local chefs how to make flower cakes.

Zhao Cheng'an heard about his elaborate scheme all the way back in Hangzhou.

The flower cakes were well-received by diners and even won the approval of Chen Juan. Chen Juan, who rarely comes to the Yunzhong Canteen and usually waits for Wang Gensheng to bring her special meals home, made an unusual trip twice a day just to wait for the freshly baked flower cakes.

However, these flower cakes did not gain Wang Gensheng's approval.

The delicious dishes failed to gain Wang Gensheng's approval, and the unpalatable ones were even less so.

After stabilizing the quality of her flower cakes, Qin Huai started making them, which was almost guaranteed to fail. But what if Wang Gensheng had such a unique taste back then, preferring flower cakes that were heavy on oil and sugar and had an overly dry crust due to excessive baking time?

Qin Huai has successfully implemented this concept.

It was even a bit too successful.

It was made with a lot of oil and sugar, with roses as just a garnish. The baking time was extremely long, and the crust was so dry that it cracked, making one wonder if Qin Luo actually made this flower cake.

When Wang Gensheng first tried this version of flower cake, he took one bite and couldn't utter a single word for three minutes.

He then immediately issued a disclaimer, stating that his friend's cooking skills were excellent and that the red silk cakes were not like that. The red silk cakes he ate back then were indeed tastier than ordinary flower cakes. They might not have been as good as the flower cakes made in Qinhuai, but they were probably comparable, and certainly not this bad.

When Wang Gensheng tried this version of the flower cake, Ouyang was also there. He didn't believe it and took a big bite, then didn't say a word for 10 minutes.

Afterwards, Ouyang secretly complained to Shi Dadan, asking if Wang Gensheng had offended Qin Huai. How could he have made such delicious flower cakes and then suddenly produced something so awful?

Wang Gensheng's disclaimer brought a new direction to Qinhuai. The red silk cake may be unique, unconventional, and unorthodox, but it is definitely not the kind of novelty cake that makes an unpalatable pastry taste delicious because of the embellishment of memory.

First and foremost, it has to taste good.

Based on this approach, the quality of the flower cakes produced at Yunzhong Canteen has been consistently high and consistently delicious recently. Customers are going crazy for them.

For office workers in the vicinity, those who haven't had a fresh flower cake these days are ashamed to lift their heads at their desks and have to keep their mouths shut.

The aroma of the flower cakes my colleague was eating was so enticing that if I didn't keep my mouth shut, tears of regret would easily stream down my face.

The diners were going crazy eating, and Qin Huai was almost going crazy too.

Qin Huai never expected that such a dessert, which he considered difficult but not much, and which didn't need to involve Zheng Siyuan in the discussion, would have made no progress for so long.

Although there was no progress, Qin Huai had no intention of asking Zheng Siyuan to help. Qin Huai knew very well that the lack of progress was because he didn't understand or have any concept of red silk cakes, Wang Gensheng's communication skills were extremely limited, and he was a complete novice.

Bringing Zheng Siyuan here to help will not benefit his culinary skills or future development, and Zheng Siyuan is unlikely to have the recipe for the Red Silk Cake (Qin Huai has already asked), so there's no need to bring him here and cause unnecessary trouble.

This trouble is enough for Qin Huai to bear alone, after all, this is his side quest.

For Qin Huai, he is currently facing two problems.

One is Wang Gensheng's description of the taste of Hongling cake. Wang Gensheng emphasized that Hongling cake is very sweet, but not cloying. Considering that Wang Gensheng was not a person with a sweet tooth, and that people in his era did not consume as much sugar as they do now, his definition of "very sweet" should be on the sweeter side of normal sweetness.

This isn't too difficult. With Qin Huai's current seasoning skills, as long as he has a clear direction, he can definitely get it done in a very short time.

Furthermore, Wang Gensheng did not say that the taste of the flower cakes made by Qin Huai was too different; he only said that they were not quite the same, which indicates that the overall direction was not wrong, but the problem lay in the details of the ingredients.

Red silk cakes, based on the ingredients of rose cakes, should have other ingredients added for flavoring.

For Qin Huai, the bigger problem now is the crust of the pancake.

It has to be very dry, and it has to be a flaky pastry that crumbles at the slightest touch. The texture is also different from the fresh flower cakes made in Qinhuai now. Most importantly, the red silk cake has to be delicious. If it's delicious, it means there's no problem with the technique.

Given Qinhuai's current puff pastry technology, achieving such contradictory and complex conditions is virtually impossible.

Qin Huai doesn't want to bring Zheng Siyuan over right now; he's more interested in bringing Zhao Cheng'an over.

"These are all the problems I've encountered after making red silk pastries for a week. What do you think, Zhao Cheng'an? I personally think the filling isn't a big deal, but the crust is really giving me a headache. What kind of flaking technique do you need to achieve a pastry that's both dry and incredibly crumbly, yet still has a good texture, while still being delicious and of superior quality?"

"It also has to be something that can be preserved for a long time."

Zhao Cheng'an on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time before saying, "You said there's a possibility that it's not actually that complicated, because this is too outrageous."

"The truth is that Grandpa Wang has a bad memory and misremembered. You don't need to pay too much attention to the details he said. Just do what he said in general. Then, you can use your ability to talk to people in a human way and to talk to ghosts in a ghost way. Use your master-level lying skills to fool Grandpa Wang. It would be best to mention the name of the promise. Maybe Grandpa Wang will complete the task of being moved."

“Hey, isn’t Zhou Hu on vacation? He must be very free. Ask him to come and help out. Tell him you promised to visit him in a dream and ask if Grandpa Wang is satisfied with the red silk cakes he’s been eating lately. If he doesn’t like them, try to make them as satisfactory as possible.”

Qin Huai: ...

Qin Huai knew Zhao Cheng'an had connections, but he didn't expect them to be this extreme.

To come up with such an outrageous method as sending messages in dreams, you truly are a visionary, Ephemeral.

"Is it possible that we are both pastry chefs, and we can come up with a method that pastry chefs should use?" Qin Huai said.

Zhao Cheng'an on the other end of the phone fell silent again.

After a long pause, Zhao Cheng'an said, "You might not believe it, but I'm actually not very good at making puff pastries."

Qin Huai: "Get lost."

"I'm really bad at analysis and discussion!" Zhao Cheng'an wailed. "For so many years, I've just learned whatever my master taught me. I can't even finish learning everything he taught me. It was the same in my first life."

"I don't use my brain when I make desserts!"

"In my first life, they all thought I was stupid. Why would I use my brain?"

Qin Huai was speechless.

He felt that Zhao Chengan's logic was flawed.

"Besides, I'm not the only one good at puff pastry; Zheng Siyuan is good at it too! I'd heard what Zheng Siyuan looked like even before I knew him at all. His best pastry is fresh meat mooncakes. Fresh meat mooncakes are the most standard puff pastry with fillings. Why are you discussing this with me? You should discuss it with him!"

Zhao Cheng'an's words enlightened Qin Huai. He had always subconsciously thought that Master Zhou was the most authoritative pastry chef, so discussing this issue with Zhao Cheng'an, Master Zhou's direct disciple, would be more authoritative and reliable.

It's worth noting that Zheng Siyuan's greatest skill might not be puff pastry making, but he is quite specialized, giving high marks to his skill in making fresh meat mooncakes.

It seems we'll still have to trouble Zheng Siyuan.

Qin Huai decisively hung up the phone, thought for a moment, and then sent a message to Zheng Siyuan.

Qin Huai: Are you there? Are you off work? Is the pastry shop busy today? Are you free now? Do you have the time and energy to discuss the flower cakes I've been making lately?

Zheng Siyuan replied instantly: I'm free.

Qin Huai made a phone call.

"Hey, can you hear me? I've been making flower cakes lately, but I'm having a big problem with the crust. Let me tell you about the requirements for the crust."

"..."

After listening, Zheng Siyuan calmly asked, "Where did you get such a strange prescription that doesn't explain anything clearly?"

“I didn’t get the recipe; it was Grandpa Wang Gensheng who wanted to eat it.”

Hearing Qin Huai say this, Zheng Siyuan instantly understood. Qin Huai was just that kind of pastry chef who liked to give special treatment to people he was close to.

“I think you’ve fallen into a misconception,” Zheng Siyuan said. “Grandpa Wang ate a flower cake that had been sitting for a few days. The state of flaky pastries is different when they’re fresh out of the oven versus when they’ve been sitting for a few days.”

“But since Grandpa Wang clearly stated that the flower cakes you made were different from the version he ate, it means there was a problem with the preparation method. In addition, Grandpa Wang ate flower cakes in Suzhou, and the most famous flaky pastry with fillings in Suzhou is the fresh meat mooncake.”

"Furthermore, if fresh meat mooncakes are left out for a few days, the crust will become very dry."

"Is it possible that the pastry crust of the flower cake that Grandpa Wang ate was made using the same idea as the pastry crust of a fresh meat mooncake?"

(End of this chapter)