160: Chapter 160 Lin Feng Makes a Cake

He had been baking cookies for three days, and Lin Feng felt they weren't enough. It wasn't that they weren't enough for him, but rather for the cat. The cat crouched in front of the oven every day, waiting for the cookies to come out, and could eat three or four at once. Molly said the cat would get so fat it wouldn't be able to walk if it kept eating like that. Lin Feng looked at the cat; it was sprawled on the counter, its belly round and bulging, its eyes half-closed, and its tail no longer wagging. He also felt the cat had gotten fat, but he didn't say anything. He changed his approach—he stopped baking cookies and switched to making cake. Molly took a bag of low-gluten flour, a box of butter, a box of cream cheese, and a carton of eggs off the shelf. "Make a cheesecake. Do the crust first. Melt the butter, mix in the cookie crumbs, spread it at the bottom of the mold, and press it down firmly. Freeze for half an hour." Lin Feng took the ingredients, put the cookies into a bag, and crushed them with a rolling pin. He tapped slowly, one stroke at a time, and the cookie crumbs went from coarse to fine, then from fine to powder. The cat jumped down from the counter and crouched at his feet, looking up at him as he crushed the cookies, as if waiting for falling crumbs. When Lin Feng finished, he opened the bag, and the cat leaned in to sniff, but no crumbs fell out, so it crouched back down. Lin Feng put the butter in the microwave to heat, and once melted, poured it into the cookie crumbs and stirred it evenly with a spoon. The butter and crumbs mixed together, turning into dark brown wet sand. He poured it into the mold and pressed it flat with a spoon, using a lot of force, until the back of the spoon was polished bright. After pressing it down, he put the mold into the freezer to chill for half an hour.

While waiting, he crouched in front of the oven, watching the refrigerator door. The cat also crouched, watching the refrigerator. Molly laughed. "Will staring at the fridge make it go faster?" Lin Feng said, "No. But by watching, I'll know exactly when the time is up." When the half hour was over, he took the mold out of the refrigerator; the crust had hardened, and when he pressed it with his finger, it didn't budge. He nodded with satisfaction. Next was the cheese batter. Soften the cream cheese, add sugar and stir until smooth, add eggs and stir, add heavy cream and stir, then sift in the low-gluten flour and stir again. He stirred very slowly, round and round, as the cheese batter went from thin to thick, and from thick to silky smooth. The cat jumped onto the counter, leaned over to sniff the batter, stuck out its tongue for a lick, then wrinkled its nose, sneezed, and walked away. Lin Feng looked at the cat. "You don't like cheese?" The cat didn't answer; it jumped off the counter, walked back to the tree pit, curled up on the blue cloth, and closed its eyes. Lin Feng poured the cheese batter into the mold, smoothed the surface, and gave it two gentle taps to let the air bubbles rise and pop. He put the mold into the oven and added hot water to the baking tray for a water bath. Molly said baking it this way would prevent cracking. Lin Feng closed the oven door and waited. The cat ran over from the tree pit again and crouched beside him, watching the oven. Lin Feng reached out and stroked the cat's head. "It's not cookies this time. It's cake. Since you don't like cheese, you might not like the cake either." The cat didn't answer, but it didn't leave; it stayed crouched, watching the cake in the oven slowly puff up as the surface colored, turning from white to yellow, and from yellow to golden brown.

Ding—the oven chimed. Lin Feng put on thick gloves, took the cake out of the oven, and placed it on a rack. The surface of the cake was golden-yellow without any cracks, and the center bulged slightly like a small hill. He waited for the cake to cool, removed it from the mold, and cut a piece, giving it to the cat first. The cat sniffed it, licked it, then took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. It took another bite and swallowed again. It ate nearly half the piece before stopping, licking its lips, and rubbing its head against Lin Feng's hand. Lin Feng also cut a piece for himself. It was soft and fluffy, with a rich milky and cheese flavor, and a hint of tartness. Molly also ate a piece. "Not bad for a first try. Next time, add a bit more cream cheese, it'll be even richer." Lin Feng nodded and cut the rest of the cake into small pieces, arranging them on a plate on the counter. Chen Xiaoyuan came over, ate a piece, and nodded. Margaret came over, ate a piece, and also nodded. When Old Zhou came to deliver the mail, he ate a piece, said it was delicious, and took another piece to put into his envelope—no, into his pocket, to save for the road.

The next day, Lin Feng made cheesecake again. He added more cream cheese, less sugar, and squeezed a few more drops of lemon juice. When the cake came out of the oven, the color was deeper and the aroma more intense. The cat ate half a piece, licked its paws afterward, and crouched in front of the oven again, waiting for the next batch. Lin Feng looked at the cat. "You want more?" The cat didn't answer, but it patted the oven door with its paw. Lin Feng ignored it, sliced the cake, put it on a plate, and carried it to the tree pit, placing it on the blue cloth. The cat followed him, jumped into the pit, and crouched beside the plate, looking at the cakes but not eating. It seemed reluctant to eat them. Lin Feng crouched by the pit, watching the cat. The cat looked at the cake for a while, then at Lin Feng for a while, before lowering its head to take a small bite, chewing slowly for a long time. Lin Feng stood up, brushed off his pants, and left.

In the evening, Lin Feng sat on the steps in front of the Restaurant. He was sitting, not crouching. Margaret came out carrying a plate of mushrooms and sat beside him. The two of them sat there, looking at the sky. The stars lit up one by one, just like yesterday. The cat climbed out of the tree pit, walked to their feet, crouched down, and looked up at the stars. It watched for a long time, then closed its eyes, curled into a ball, and began to purr. Margaret looked at the cat. "It ate quite a bit of cake today." Lin Feng said, "It ate half a piece." Margaret asked, "If it doesn't eat cheese, how did it eat it again?" Lin Feng said, "I put in more cream cheese, less sugar, and more lemon juice. It likes sweet and sour." Margaret laughed. "You adjusted the recipe for it?" Lin Feng said, "For myself. It just followed along and ate." Margaret looked at him. "You've learned so much lately. Brewing coffee, latte art, baking cookies, making cakes. What are you going to learn next?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "I don't know. I'll learn whatever there is to learn." The wind blew over, carrying the aroma of cake, the scent of coffee, and the fresh sweetness of mushrooms. Lin Feng closed his eyes and inhaled. He opened his eyes, stood up, and brushed off his pants. "I'm going to sleep." Margaret also stood up. "Are you making cake tomorrow too?" Lin Feng nodded. "Yes." Margaret asked, "What kind of cake?" Lin Feng said, "I don't know. I'll ask Molly. Whatever she says to make, I'll make." Margaret laughed. "You listen to everything she says?" Lin Feng said, "She knows. I don't. When I don't know, I listen. When I know, I won't listen anymore." Margaret looked at him. "When will you know?" Lin Feng thought for a moment. "After I've done it enough, I'll know." He turned and walked into the Restaurant, and Margaret followed behind him. The door closed, and the lights went out. The cat jumped down from the steps, walked back to the tree pit, curled up on the blue cloth, and closed its eyes. There was still a small piece of cake left on the blue cloth; it hadn't finished it, saving it for tomorrow. The moon emerged from behind the clouds, casting the cat's shadow on the ground—small and round, like a ball of yarn. The wind blew, and the shadow wavered but did not dissipate. Lin Feng stood inside the Restaurant, looking out the window. He saw the cat's shadow, the tree's shadow, and the moon's shadow. He watched for a long time, then drew the curtains and went to sleep.

[Chapter 160 End]