boyutpedia Chapter 116 Lin Ran's Birthday
Chapter 116 Lin Ran's Birthday
Drizzle another layer of sea salt caramel sauce over it. When you cut it open, you'll find three layers of chiffon cake with two layers of caramel cream inside.
It sounds complicated, but I'll teach you step by step. You're so good with your hands, no problem.
Su Peixue led Zhao Yining to the kitchen of Lin Ran's apartment.
Zhao Yining took the ingredients out of the bag one by one:
Cake flour, eggs, milk, butter, granulated sugar, sea salt, heavy cream, almond slices, walnuts.
She put the apron on Su Peixue and stood aside, only talking and not doing anything.
"Separate the egg whites and yolks. The bowl for the egg whites must be completely free of oil, otherwise they won't whip up properly."
Su Peixue cracked the egg with one hand, breaking the shell in half. The yolk swished back and forth between the two halves of the shell a few times, while the egg white fell into the bowl, leaving the yolk intact in the shell.
Zhao Yining watched in stunned silence.
"The cake flour is sifted three times; the key to chiffon cake is its airy texture."
Su Peixue placed the sieve over the bowl, flicked her wrist, and the fine powder fell down in a flurry.
After she finished three times, she picked up the bowl and showed it to Zhao Yining. Zhao Yining tapped the rim of the bowl with her finger and nodded.
"Whet the egg whites, adding sugar in three batches. The first time, the sugar will form large, fish-eye-like bubbles; the second time, it will form fine, white foam; and the third time, it will form lines."
Beat until stiff peaks form, meaning when you lift the whisk, a small, upright peak forms. This step is crucial; overbeating will prevent the cake from rising, while underbeating will cause it to shrink during baking.
Su Peixue held the egg beater in one hand and supported the rim of the bowl with the other, making steady circles with the beater tip in the egg whites.
She watched the changes in the egg whites, from transparent to white, from liquid to fluffy. When she lifted the whisk, a small white point stood still on the whisk.
While the chiffon cake was in the oven, Zhao Yining began teaching her how to make sea salt caramel sauce.
"Pour granulated sugar into a small saucepan, add just enough water to cover it, and turn on low heat. Do not stir, or it will crystallize. Let it melt slowly on its own until it turns amber, then turn off the heat and pour in warm heavy cream—it will boil at this point, don't worry, just stir quickly. Finally, sprinkle with sea salt."
Su Peixue stood in front of the stove, staring at the sugar slowly melting in the pot. The edges of the white crystals began to turn yellow, then light gold, and finally deep amber.
She turned off the heat, poured in the heavy cream, and it sizzled and bubbled in the pan. She stirred it quickly with a wooden spoon, and the caramel and cream melted into a silky sauce. Finally, she sprinkled in a pinch of sea salt, stirred it well, and set it aside to cool.
The chiffon cake dough was baked and then inverted on a rack to cool for two hours. Su Peixue then sliced it horizontally into three pieces, each piece being roughly the same thickness.
She spread caramel cream in the middle of each layer, smoothed it with a spatula, and trimmed the edges neatly. After the last layer was placed, she spread cream over the entire surface of the cake, then arranged toasted almond slices and walnuts around the top, leaving a space in the center, and drizzled sea salt caramel sauce over it, the sauce slowly dripping down the edge of the nuts.
Zhao Yining placed caramel almonds around the edge of the cake as decoration, stepped back two paces to look at it, and said, "Alright. Wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator. Bring it to Lin Ran tomorrow."
Su Peixue squatted in front of the refrigerator for a long time, her fingers hovering over the handle several times before finally closing it. The next morning, she took the cake out of the refrigerator, packed it in a white cake box, and stuck two ice packs to the bottom of the box.
She changed into her off-white sweater, picked up the cake box, and headed downstairs. Halfway down, thunder began to rumble outside the window, and by the time she reached the bottom of Lanyuan Building, the rain was pouring down.
Su Peixue didn't go back to get the umbrella. Instead, she stuffed the cake box into her bosom, covered it with the front of her sweater and coat, and ran towards Lin Ran's dormitory with her back bent.
Because it was raining, there was no one downstairs in the dormitory building, so Su Peixue didn't go into the boys' dormitory to take shelter from the rain. She just hid under an air conditioner awning outside the stairwell.
She was about to send Lin Ran a message, but then she remembered it was the weekend and Lin Ran was probably still asleep, so she didn't disturb him. She waited quietly.
The rain intensified and drifted onto Su Peixue.
Soon, Su Peixue's clothes were soaked through and clung coldly to her body.
Yao Ziwen woke up groggily, went to the washroom at the end of the first-floor corridor to wash his face, glanced out the window and saw Su Peixue squatting there.
He stared for two seconds, threw the towel into the basin, and ran upstairs in a few quick steps. He was still panting when he pushed open the door.
"Old Lin, wake up. Su Peixue is downstairs waiting for you in the rain."
Lin Ran sat up abruptly. Within seconds, she put on her T-shirt, slipped on her slippers, and ran outside. After a couple of steps, she turned back and changed into a pair of canvas shoes.
When he rushed downstairs and ripped open the door, Su Peixue was squatting under the awning beside the steps, her off-white sweater soaked through and clinging to her body, water streaming down her face from her hair. She was also holding the cake box in her arms.
She handed over the cake box, raindrops dripping from the lid down the edge of the box. "Happy birthday, zookeeper," she said, sneezing.
Lin Ran opened his umbrella, pulled her up from under the awning, shielded her from the rain with one hand, and carried the cake box with the other, walking quickly towards the parking lot outside the school.
As soon as he got in the car, he turned the heater up to the maximum and rummaged through the trunk for a spare towel. Just as he turned around, Su Peixue had already started taking off her clothes.
She ripped her soaking wet sweater off her head, leaving only a wet white T-shirt clinging to her body, clearly outlining her curves.
Lin Ran shoved a towel over her head and looked away. "What are you doing?"
"My clothes are wet. It's cold wearing them."
He turned the heater up to the maximum, placed a towel on her head, and rubbed it vigorously a few times.
"Pastor, come and eat, this cake has been warmed by Xuexue's precious baby." She placed the cake box neatly on the passenger seat.
Lin Ran: "..."
No wonder it smells nice.
Lin Ran looked at the cake. Not a single caramelized almond on the edge had fallen over. He started the car and drove back to his apartment.
Once inside, I pushed her into the bathroom, turned the water heater to the right temperature, and took out my clean hoodie and sweatpants from the closet, placing them at the bathroom door.
When Su Peixue came out of the shower, she was wearing his hoodie, the sleeves of which were a bit too long, and her fingers were completely hidden inside, with only the tips showing.
She took the cake out of the box and placed it on the coffee table. Lin Ran took a fruit knife, cut it into two pieces, and forked a piece into her mouth.
The chiffon cake is moist and soft, the caramel sauce has a perfect balance of sweet and salty, and the nuts crunch between your teeth.
"My pet is amazing, it can even bake cakes."
Su Peixue sat beside her, pulling her hoodie up to cover her head, revealing only half her face. The brim of the hood covered the stray hairs on her forehead. Lin Ran ate the entire cake clean, even scraping the caramel sauce off the plate with a fork.
The phone rang. It was a video call from Xu Wanru. Lin Ran placed the phone against the water glass on the coffee table.