Rice Cooker Cake Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101

Rice Cooker Cake is a fluffy Japanese-style sponge cake made proper within the rice cooker. Its nice, springy crumb and delicate taste rival these of oven-baked muffins, and its easy methodology has been successful over dwelling cooks in Japan for many years.

What’s Rice Cooker Cake?

Rice Cooker Cake is a comparatively new addition to Japanese dwelling baking. Its actual origins are unknown—nobody can say who first made it or when—however it’s simple to think about that the thought emerged naturally. In most Japanese households, a rice cooker is at all times sitting on the countertop, prepared to make use of, and that on a regular basis comfort doubtless sparked the creation of this distinctive cake.

The electrical rice cooker was invented in Japan about 70 years in the past, and for a very long time it served a single objective: cooking steamed rice. Through the years, nonetheless, producers started including new features to make the equipment extra versatile and interesting. As a result of built-in ovens should not frequent in Japanese kitchens, many individuals don’t personal a full-sized oven in any respect. Rice Cooker Cake provided an answer—a cake that anybody might make at dwelling utilizing an equipment they already had.

Folks shortly took discover of how simple it was to make a cake with out an oven. And quite than being launched by rice cooker manufacturers, the recipe appears to have developed organically as dwelling cooks experimented and thought, “Perhaps I can bake a cake with this?” By the early 2000s, dwelling rice cookers started together with devoted settings for baking bread and even muffins. The unfold of those bread-making features additional inspired individuals to attempt baking muffins of their rice cookers, serving to the thought achieve much more reputation.

The enchantment of Rice Cooker Truffles lies of their simplicity and flexibility. You simply combine the components, pour the batter into the rice cooker, and press a button—no difficult steps required. They’re additionally exhausting to mess up: there’s no want to regulate the temperature, and burning is much much less doubtless. Utilizing pancake combine, which turned fashionable across the similar time Rice Cooker Truffles emerged, makes the method even simpler and opens the door to countless variations. At present, the phrase “rice cooker cake” is totally acquainted in Japan, and new recipes proceed to look on daily basis.

Nevertheless it’s not solely the comfort that makes Rice Cooker Truffles so beloved—they’re genuinely scrumptious. They aren’t fancy or elaborate, however their heat, homey high quality appeals to many individuals in an age of ever-more indulgent gourmand desserts. The sponge has a fluffy but elastic texture, and its gently “steamed” crumb stays tender and moist. The calmly candy taste additionally makes it simple to decorate up with fruit, sauces, or any favourite toppings. It’s nearly the best on a regular basis cake—easy, comforting, and completely suited to any dessert.

Suggestions for making Rice Cooker Cake

Rice Cooker Cake is supposed to be very simple, however there are a number of suggestions price understanding earlier than you begin. These will enable you to perceive what to anticipate and make sure the cake seems properly.

• Completely different rice cookers include completely different features. Some fashions embrace a “Cake” mode, which makes the method particularly easy. On this recipe, we used Zojirushi NS-TSC10 5-1/2-Cup (Raw) Micom Rice Cooker, which has a cake mode.
  In case your cooker doesn’t have a cake mode, don’t fear—you possibly can nonetheless make an amazing cake. Right here’s what to bear in mind:
  • Run one full cycle on the common rice-cooking setting. When it finishes, verify the cake by inserting a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out with batter on it, cook dinner the cake a bit longer.
  • Some rice cookers received’t begin a second cycle immediately. If that occurs, shut the lid and let the cooker calm down barely, then run the common rice-cooking mode once more. That is often sufficient to cook dinner the cake by.
• As soon as the cake is finished, cool it the wrong way up—identical to a chiffon cake—to stop it from sinking. After it has cooled utterly, gently loosen the perimeters and take away it from the bowl.

The way to adorn Rice Cooker Cake?

There are various easy and scrumptious methods to decorate up a Rice Cooker Cake.

• Slice the cake and serve it with sweetened whipped cream, contemporary berries, or any minimize fruits you want.
• For a layered cake, slice the entire cake horizontally and unfold whipped cream or jam between the layers.
• It’s also possible to frost the complete cake with whipped cream or your favourite frosting, then end it with shaved chocolate, fruit, or sprinkles.

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