Early in the morning, Ye Jiayao went to Tianshangju and found that shopkeeper Li had arrived earlier than her. He was standing in the lobby in a daze and did not respond to greeting him.
Xiao Lu quietly told her that when he got up early in the morning and opened the door, the shopkeeper stood in a daze at the door of the restaurant, and later stood in a daze in the yard.
Ye Jiayao wondered, is this a sign of Alzheimer's disease? No way, it’s only over fifty! In modern times, everything is in its prime.
Regardless of him, Ye Jiayao went to find Zhong Xiang and wanted to try making ice cream mooncakes today.
The ingredients used are glutinous rice flour, sticky rice flour, starch powder, sugar powder, milk, purple amaranth juice, etc. If you want to make it more elastic, you can also add a little agar.
First fry the glutinous rice flour in a pot, mix the milk and sugar oil, then add the fried flour and stir it into a paste, steam it in a steamer, let it cool and then add the ice cream filling.
The previous procedure is fine, but the final closing step is very skillful. The opening should be rounded and the thickness should be uniform. Otherwise, the thickness will be uneven when the mold is pressed, and the ice skin will break easily and not look good.
Fortunately, Zhong Xiang's skills were good, and he collected them one by one. If you don't look carefully, you can't tell where the seams are. The elastic dough was wrapped in the ice cream made last night. Ye Jiayao took the mold and pressed it lightly. The exquisite snow-skin ice cream mooncake is completed.
"It's so exquisite, I can't bear to eat the pretty ones." Deng Haichuan smacked his lips at the side. The lavender ice skin was shiny and had a crystal-clear feeling. In addition, the pattern on the mold was three-dimensional and beautiful, small and cute. It can arouse people's appetite.
Ye Jiayao smiled and said: "This is just a test now, and there will be something better when the time comes."
"Exquisite is exquisite, but will it be too small?" Zhong Xiang was a little worried. Most mooncakes are very large and have enough fillings, so one can fill you up.
Ye Jiayao said: "What we want is this effect. Mooncakes are food that suits the season, but how many people really think mooncakes are delicious? The mooncakes we made are not only beautiful but also delicious. They are small and full of meaning. Only in this way can we Let people feel that gold is precious. If you are the boss, you will be tired of the taste. No matter what kind of food, appearance is the first. If people look at it and think it tastes good, then it is considered food. "
Zhong Xiang nodded and smiled: "That's right."
"Can I taste one?" Cui Dongpeng was drooling and couldn't wait to taste one.
"Not yet. You have to freeze it before eating. It will taste better." Ye Jiayao put the mooncakes away and put them in an ice cream container to freeze.
This time, a total of six were made. In the afternoon, Ye Jiayao took them out and cut them into small pieces with a knife for everyone to taste.
One by one, their eyes widened as they ate.
"Brother Yao, it's really not a cakewalk. I can't even describe it. It's so delicious." Deng Haichuan was amazed.
Cui Dongpeng also gave thumbs up repeatedly.
Wang Mingde said: "It's delicious, but it's very different from ordinary mooncakes. It can be said to be a completely different kind of pastry. Can people accept it?"
"Although it is different from traditional mooncakes, the dough is soft and pliable, cool and refreshing, and the ice cream inside is even more delicate and melts in your mouth. It is so delicious that everyone must be able to accept it." Although Zhong Xiang said this, his tone was clear Not confident at all.
Ye Jiayao smiled and said: "So, this birthday banquet is a good opportunity. Even Prince Helian said this is a moon cake, so it must be a moon cake, and it will definitely arouse popularity. So, now I am going to the Prince's Mansion to persuade Princess."
Ye Jiayao put the remaining five mooncakes back into the ice pan, picked up the ice pan and went straight to Prince Helian's Mansion.
This is the right time to choose. The weather is sweltering in the afternoon, so eating an ice cream mooncake is the most refreshing way to cool down.
However, Ye Jiayao did not expect that her timing was really excellent. The eldest princess was receiving several ladies who came to send congratulatory gifts. When she heard that the mooncakes had been delivered, Ye Jiayao took the mooncakes to see her.
The eldest princess felt strange when she saw the copper box in her hand: "What kind of box is this?"
Ye Jiayao said: "This is a portable ice cream cone that I came up with when I was little to hold ice cream mooncakes."
"What kind of ice mooncakes are there? You actually need to put them in ice cream?" a lady asked curiously.
Ye Jiayao said: "It's ice cream mooncake, a delicacy spread from overseas."
Someone chuckled and said: "Do those Yi people who still eat ancient food also have Mid-Autumn Festival customs?"
Ye Jiayao thought to himself, he is really arrogant and blind. Although Chinese civilization has a long history, Western civilization cannot be underestimated. In another time and space, when the first industrial revolution occurred in the West, the Manchus in the East were still self-sufficient. In the natural economy of China, the consequence of being stubborn is the collapse of the dynasty and the trampling of dignity.
Of course, these are all things for later.
"Madam, we can't underestimate those barbarians. This place is huge and there are many barbarians. Some of their things are much more advanced than ours. For example, while madams are still using incense, they already have it. Spray the refined and concentrated perfume on your body, and the fragrance will not dissipate for a long time. Also, we are still covering the windows with paper and gauze, but they have used bright glass so that the wind can't blow in and the rain can't get in... "Ye Jiayao said.
"What's so magical? Have you seen it?" The ladies were doubtful.
Ye Jiayao smiled heartily: Of course I have seen it before, these are just trivial things. If you knew that people in later generations could land on the moon in a spaceship, and travel in space in a spaceship, you know that there is no nine-layered palace in heaven, and Chang'e and Wu Gang are just a myth. Legend has it that there is nothing on the moon except pits and craters. I wonder if your eyes will fall out of shock.
Yide heard from Xiaojing that Li Yao traveled extensively, visited many places, and was very knowledgeable. I guess what he said was not fabricated out of thin air. He said, "Send your ice cream mooncake over for everyone to try."
"Yes." Ye Jiayao happily opened the ice pan, took out a plate of ice cream mooncakes, and showed them to the eldest princess and his wife first so that they could see how they looked.
Sure enough, everyone's attention was attracted.
The thinking of noble ladies is different from that of ordinary people. What they care about is not the size, but whether it is beautiful enough, elegant and worthy of their status.
There is no doubt that this appearance is very flattering.
Ye Jiayao saw the look of interest in their eyes. Then take out a knife, cut out a corner of each cake, then put it on a plate and serve it.
Because it had just been taken out of the ice pan, the temperature outside was relatively high, and white steam was still rising from the mooncakes.
The ladies very elegantly used small spoons to dig out a piece and taste it.
Ye Jiayao was on the sidelines introducing the benefits of this snowy ice cream mooncake.
"Traditional mooncakes are sweet and greasy. Our Soviet-style mooncakes are sweet but not greasy but have a crispy surface. They often leave crumbs in your mouth and fall off your clothes, which is not very beautiful. And this kind of snow-skinned ice cream Moon cakes are low in sugar powder and low in fat. They will not make you fat. They are very good for your health. They are also cool and refreshing. They are perfect for eating after meals. If you have ice cream at home, they can be stored for many days without cracking. , will not spoil, the only shortcoming is that this kind of moon cake is extremely expensive to make, and the price is not cheap, so most people cannot afford it."
"It's just that the goods are really good and the price is not an issue." said a lady.
It's pointless to let them eat what everyone else eats. What's important is that ordinary people can't afford it, so that their identity and status can be demonstrated.
"Is it true that you won't gain weight if you eat this?" A lady had almost finished the moon cake.
Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "It's definitely healthy food."
"Not bad, it's my first time to eat such a fresh thing. The appearance is exquisite and beautiful, and the taste is cold and delicate. Little cook, where can I buy these mooncakes? I'll ask someone to buy them later." Another lady asked.
Ye Jiayao smiled and said: "My chef's surname is Li Mingyao from Tianshangju. This kind of mooncake is a kind of food I learned from overseas. It was specially developed for the birthday banquet of the old princess. What the ladies tasted today is the first batch." If the finished product is not used for the birthday banquet, it will be sold at Tianshangju tomorrow."
Princess Yide said hurriedly: "Of course it will be used for the birthday banquet. You can go to the housekeeper later and ask how many guests there are in total, and make sure that all the guests who come can taste it."
If everyone has eaten it, it won’t be a surprise.
The other ladies couldn't help but look regretful. They originally wanted to buy some for a taste, but now they have to wait until the old princess's birthday party is over to sell them.
Ye Jiayao was secretly happy and said with cupped hands: "Yes, I guarantee that every guest can taste it."
A lady asked curiously: "I wonder how much this mooncake costs?"
Ye Jiayao looked at Princess Yide. Princess Yide wrote lightly: "It's not very expensive. It only costs a few thousand taels for hundreds of visitors."
Uh... The ladies all gasped. The mooncakes alone cost several thousand taels of silver. How can you say they are not expensive? They are not ordinary people, but they are reluctant to spend thousands of taels of silver on a dessert. After all, it’s Prince Helian’s Mansion, it’s very wealthy!
Everyone knows that after the old princess’s birthday party, this mooncake will be popular in the Jinling aristocratic circle, and the price will naturally rise by then. However, they all came by chance today, and they can be regarded as the first to taste this kind of mooncake. Go out You can also brag to others.
Ye Jiayao's goal was achieved and she resigned.
I went to the housekeeper and asked the specific number of people. A total of 126 invitations were sent out. If I brought my family with me, it was estimated that there would be more than 300 people coming, because on this occasion, many people would bring their wives. Or the children came to show their faces, and finally decided to send four hundred moon cakes. The original price was five taels of silver, but Ye Jiayao gave them a 20% discount and charged them four taels each, for a total of one thousand and sixty taels of silver.
Ye Jiayao first paid five hundred taels as a deposit and material costs, and would settle the bill after the rest of the banquet.
On the way back, Ye Jiayao calculated carefully and found out that the cost of cooking the banquet was three hundred taels of silver. This was the same price as hiring chef Zheng Fugui, which was considered very high. Apart from giving to her helpers and paying the commission to the restaurant, she kept one hundred and sixty taels for herself. These were all small portions, and the big portion was for the ice cream mooncakes. After this banquet, she could earn at least a thousand taels of silver. It can be regarded as getting rich overnight. The more Ye Jiayao thinks about it, the more beautiful it becomes. If this continues, her goal of opening a restaurant will not be far away.
(End of chapter)