Back To The 80s: President's Doted Wife

Chapter 1224: Chapter 1225: Personally Baking Mooncakes

Matters of national importance are naturally handled by the men, while Cheng Su led a simple life for herself. She was either working overtime to draft the future vision plan for the Jam Company that Cheng Yaozu requested or was stationed at Joy Soon Loy Restaurant, observing the pastry department making mooncakes.

Seeing that the ingredients had arrived and noticing Chen Guorong and the others deeply engaged in their research, Cheng Su, who was a typical foodie, eagerly joined the mooncake-making team.

In Qing City, not many bosses of big restaurants would immerse themselves in culinary research like Cheng Su. Hence, her involvement left the pastry department feeling a bit flustered and anxious.

"It’s alright, just consider me one of you. Let’s make these pastries together," Cheng Su said with a smile.

Chen Guorong flattered her: "President Cheng is a gourmet; with your guidance, we’ll surely achieve results with half the effort!"

"Indeed, indeed!" everyone chimed in.

Cheng Su chuckled and said, "I don’t dare to call myself a gourmet. I’ve tasted quite a few pastries in Guangcheng, so I can probably offer a suggestion or two. You all are the real experts, it’s your ideas and skilled hands we rely on!"

Everyone responded with another round of modesty.

Time was tight, so they stopped deferring to each other and the entire pastry department got busy, working together to knead the dough, fill the pastries, roll, and bake.

To make the mooncakes delicious, they had to be aromatic, soft, sweet but not greasy, so the craftsmanship was meticulous, and kneading the dough required precision.

The dough was soft enough, but when the mooncakes came out of the oven and were tasted, Cheng Su felt they were just missing a hint of fragrance.

Watching Cheng Su frown, Chen Guorong realized they had gotten it wrong again, though they all actually thought the taste was quite good.

Cheng Su paced back and forth, constantly thinking about Luh Wei.

If only Luh Wei were here. His mooncakes were exceedingly delicious, fragrant, soft, and not greasy.

The entire pastry department exchanged glances. They felt their mooncakes were better than those from other shops, but the boss seemed unsatisfied!

So what to do? They had already baked them twice; could they come up with something new?

"Why does it smell so good?"

"Haha, don’t know, do you? Did you not catch the milky taste inside? It’s because milk powder was added when kneading the dough, which makes it particularly aromatic. You can’t just bake until fully dry, but brush it with egg wash midway, which makes it golden and tempting, with a fragrant egg smell..."

Luh Wei’s words echoed in her mind.

Cheng Su halted her steps and said, "Do we have milk powder here?"

"Ah, yes, we do!"

Cheng Su said, "Bring it over!"

She rolled up her sleeves and got to work herself. Seeing that they had brought all the ingredients, she mixed the all-purpose flour with milk powder and sifted them together for use. Then, she took a large basin, poured in the syrup alkaline water and peanut oil, and stirred them evenly. She slowly sifted in the flour and milk powder, using a spatula for pastries to mix evenly. Gradually, the dough became moist and oily.

She divided the dough into small pieces, then put on disposable gloves again. Placing a dough piece in her palm, she flattened it, wrapped it around red bean paste, rolled it into a ball, and pressed it into a mold dusted with glutinous rice flour, setting it aside and repeating the process.

Her movements were gentle, with a smile at the corners of her mouth. Making these mooncakes seemed like creating some devout delicacy.

Everyone watched in a daze, not daring to make a sound, as if any noise would shatter this beauty.

After placing the prepared mooncakes into the oven, Cheng Su brushed them with an egg wash after seven or eight minutes, continued baking, took them out five minutes later to brush them once more, then baked for another fifteen minutes or so until they were golden brown and firm. They looked much better than the ones made earlier. Now with the added oil, wouldn’t they be even more delightful?