Chapter 40: Making a Cake

#That’s totally a little sister’s personality. She feels like she’s received help, so she wants to give back... She must be so young! Starting out as a streamer at her age! WAHHH! My heart goes out to her!#

#I feel so bad for her!#

#Our whole squad will always be here to support you.#

"Then I’ll thank you all in advance."

"You don’t have to get all sentimental. My life is great, you know! And look, doesn’t the kitchen seem different from usual today?"

Someone in the chat commented with a "Huh?"

"I’ve moved. I live in a really nice complex now. Cooking is something I love, and streaming lets me meet so many people. I’m not struggling at all... so you don’t need to feel bad for me."

"And finally, I’m an adult, not a little girl."

#But your face—#

#My little sister says she’s a grown-up all the time, too.#

#My little brother, too—#

#My nephew, too—#

As everyone in the chat jumped on the bandwagon, Jiang Qiuqiu clicked her tongue softly. "Let’s move on! Back to today’s dessert!"

"Making a cake is actually very simple. We need to prepare some bird eggs, the flour we used before, oil, and the most important ingredient—sugar."

The sugar of this era came in the form of somewhat mottled crystals. Jiang Qiuqiu had been planning to make a cake, so she had processed the local sugar beforehand to refine it.

"I know you all probably think these ingredients are strange again, but it’s fine! No matter how weird an ingredient is, once you understand its properties, you can make it burst with flavor."

Jiang Qiuqiu took out a bowl and put the flour, oil, and granulated sugar inside. She mixed them meticulously, and soon, the grains of flour and sugar slowly dissolved until the orange-yellow, oily paste became perfectly smooth.

Jiang Qiuqiu hummed in satisfaction. "Alright! This consistency is perfect."

#???#

#Perfect for what? To eat? This... this is the dessert?#

At that moment, two words popped into the minds of the onlookers: culinary disaster.

#Can I opt out of dessert? I don’t want to drink oil???#

"What are you all talking about?" Jiang Qiuqiu laughed helplessly. "This is just the crumble topping for the cake. You can’t eat it yet. First, let’s get the cake base ready."

"Get a really, really, really, really big bowl, and add all the eggs and the prepared sugar at once. Then, take one of these—" Jiang Qiuqiu pointed to a cross-shaped utensil in her hand. "—and start whisking nonstop."

Eggs are a magical ingredient. There are countless ways to prepare them, whether on their own or with other foods. When used in desserts, however, they often need to be whipped.

The whisk spun rapidly, churning through the egg mixture. A wonderful chemical reaction began to take place as the batter gradually turned white. ’It’s time,’ she thought. Jiang Qiuqiu lifted the cross-shaped whisk. The batter clung to it without dripping off, forming a small peak. "At this stage, we can go ahead and add the flour."

When adding the flour, she switched to a small spatula, gently folding it in until the batter became smooth and fine. Then, she added vegetable oil and folded it in quickly. "Alright, and with that, the prep work is done."

#Ahh... what Juju is making today doesn’t smell good at all.#

#Even though I have a lot of faith in her, I’ve got a feeling this isn’t going to be very tasty—#

#Changbei: Why is it just eggs and flour? You’re not putting in any meat? Last time, the rice noodle rolls at least had a little meat in them. And why is it sweet! Real men don’t eat sweet things. Sugar tastes bad.#

This "real man" had posted a long-winded comment. Jiang Qiuqiu’s eyes scanned over it, and she felt his ID looked a bit familiar—

’Oh, the True-Scent Warrior!’

’He was always in the stream, insisting he wouldn’t eat it, only to end up giving a more heartfelt review than anyone else.’

She cleared her throat. "Desserts are different from main courses. They don’t release much of an aroma during preparation, but once they start to cook, few other scents can surpass theirs."

#Oh yeah? Is it more fragrant than Red-Braised Pork?#

"It’s a different kind of aroma, of course. And it’s a delicious dessert that even ’real men’ find impossible to resist."

Meanwhile, Changbei rolled up his sleeves. "Whoa, is she taking a jab at me?!"

Qiudao, already used to his friend’s antics, replied nonchalantly, "And are you going to be able to resist?"

"!"

"Why would I resist? I have to try it first before I can reject it, obviously!"

Qiudao: ...

’Get real,’ he thought. ’Since when have you ever been able to resist after trying it?’