It's interesting to say. China has accumulated many snacks and desserts in the past five thousand years. Even though many things have been decomposed, there are still many Chinese desserts that are loved by everyone in modern times. Such as Osmanthus Jelly, mung bean crisp, pea yellow, etc. Ordinary people still like these exquisite cakes, so the cakes made by the palace chef are not necessarily better. Moreover, there was definitely no poverty in the late Qing Dynasty. Look at Empress Dowager Cixi, which meal is not extravagant, and there are countless snacks.
However, Puyi just didn't like eating, and she also published a book mocking court food. He said that when he was an emperor, he could not eat a hot meal, and the food he ate was far less delicious than when he was an emperor. Whether it's true or not, forget it. It is true that Puyi loves western food more than Chinese food. It is said that this is all due to his teacher, Zhuang Shidun, who is an English teacher of Puyi and also teaches Puyi foreign things, including western food. I didn't eat anything delicious at court, but I fell in love with western food as soon as I ate it.
Of course, it may be that the emperor's western food is different from ours. Among many desserts, Puyi doesn't like cakes, bread and cheese, but prefers ice cream. In addition, Puyi, who has no court etiquette, can eat as much as he likes, and can eat two buckets of ice cream at a time. And in order to show the emperor's kindness, he also gave the minister ice cream. Puyi likes this dessert very much.