by Annie Riedi

Created on: January 19, 2009   Last Updated: February 13, 2009

The Lazy Person's Guide to Baking a Cake in Your Rice Cooker

Do you have a rice cooker? You do not have to just make rice in it. If you're just too lazy to actually watch a pot on the stove or pay attention to a cake in the oven, a rice cooker is a safe alternative for items that take a while to cook.

It is easy to make a cake in your rice cooker. You can use a box mix and add the ingredients as directed in a bowl and mix it up. Then, grease the sides and bottom of the pot with oil or butter on a clean paper towel or spray Pam Cooking Spray on the inside of the rice cooker pot. Pour the mix into it and close the lid.

Set the rice cooker on cook and leave it alone. Every once in a while check that the cooker is on cook, since it will automatically turn to warm when it gets too hot.

If you forget to change the temperature back to cook, it will still bake, it will just take a bit longer. I accidentally had it on warm instead of cook once and it took about 3 hours to finish. The baking usually takes about 2 hours, but check on it every once in a while to see how it is going. Insert a toothpick when it looks done and if it comes out clean, you have a cooked cake. Now you have a nice round cake ready to eat!

Occasionally, I find a bit of a "wet spot" on top of the cake even though the rest of the cake is done. You can either remove that part, or just invert the cake onto the plate and it will "cook" from the heat of the cake on top of it. It is wet because the moisture is unable to escape from the rice cooker.

To be honest, I have even gone out for a few hours when baking a cake and it was totally fine when I got back! The rice cooker automatically sets itself to warm when it's done cooking, so it's perfect even for the inattentive chef. Some people also suggest putting the icing in the bottom of the cooker before adding the uncooked cake mix. Now, that's even lazier than I am!

Place the cake on a plate and let it cool. Cut the cake in half and put the top on another plate while you spread icing in the middle. It's nice if the cake is just a little warm: the icing will melt into the cake, making it even moister. Place the top back on the cake. It's a great shape, and you don't need to trim the sides to make it look even. Now, you can ice the top and sides and your cake is done. Since the rice cooker is sealed, it traps a lot of the moisture and keeps the cake nicely moist and dense.

You can also cook various other items in your rice cooker. Stews, bread, chili, spaghetti sauce, and potatoes, just to name a few things. Anything you make in a crock pot can be made in a rice cooker. Try it and see.

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