Archive for March, 2012
International Housewares Show and Rice Cooker Cupcakes
What can you say about the largest home and housewares show?
WOW seems appropriate in every sense. WOW for Chicago, WOW for the vastness of
the event and a final WOW for the Aroma booth set up, staff and housewares offerings. I had the opportunity to attend with the rest of the Aroma crew and need to say it was amazing on many levels. It was great spending time with my fellow workers and bond over the experience, as well as getting to know people outside of their office lives, but for me cooking comes first and I LOVED the response on our steamed chocolate cupcakes made in the rice cooker. Yes I know it sounds a little whacky, but trust me this is another great use for your rice cooker to add to your repertoire and sit back and be showered by compliments on how you are the best cupcake baker ever.
I know… sometimes I come up with crazy ideas. Actually I come up with crazy ideas all the time, but sometimes they actually pay off and work, as is the case of the rice cooker cupcakes. The thing that surprised most people, after the initial skepticism, about the cupcakes was the moistness, lightness and texture which made them the star of the show. My assistant and I couldn’t bake them fast enough to feed the demand… nice problem to have.
So if we were able to amaze strangers at the show, there is no holding you back as you amaze your circle.
The things you will need to WOW your friends and family are…
Ingredients
Aroma Rice Cooker with steam tray
Silicon cupcake molds
1 box cake mix, batter prepared according to package directions
Your favorite frosting
Directions
Add 2 cups of water to the cooking pot of the rice cooker and press steam.
Place your silicone molds into the steam tray and fill them with batter up to the fill line (usually half way).
When steam starts to escape the vent and water is boiling, place the steam tray carefully in the rice cooker.
Allow to steam for the same time the package directions suggest for baking. Remove your cupcakes and cool before frosting. WOW!
Apple Cake
Is it possible to make cake in an Aroma Rice Cooker?
Today’s task was interesting as usual and I tend to approach these try outs with mixed feelings. On one hand I am ready to go extremely early in the morning but in the back of my head there is always the fear that I didn’t succeed in making something I had high hopes for… like last week’s cheesecake. I haven’t given up on that yet though, it is just waiting on the back burner of my brain to surface with a new trick or idea at 4am (my thinking time).
This apple cake came as an idea while I was following my favorite kitchen blogger. She had a recipe for an old Russian cake my grandmother used to make and I remember it wasn’t her best work. Of no fault of her own, but because it has no liquids in the batter and therefore the cake can be dense and a little dry.
I had a revelation: what if I would steam this cake instead of baking it? It would for sure be less dry and it has enough eggs and flour to stay together.
I proceeded to wrap the steam tray of the rice cooker with foil and sprayed it with vegetable spray just in case. I made the batter according to grandma and chopped the apples, all the while hoping this would work because it was a simple recipe to follow and guaranteed to please if it turned out well.
APPLE CAKE
5 green apples, cored and diced
3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of flour
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Peel and chop your apples.
Make a batter out of 3 eggs and 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar. Beat the sugar and eggs until fluffy and pale yellow and add the vanilla. Sift in the flour slowly with a wooden spoon to mix.
Place apple pieces into the covered steam tray and pour batter over to cover. Add 3 cups of water into the cooking pot of your Aroma rice cooker. Wrap your steam tray in foil and set the rice cooker to steam for 50-60 minutes.
When the cake has “baked” remove it carefully from the rice cooker and let it cool for 20 or so minutes in the tray. Invert onto a plate and dust with powdered sugar before serving.
For us in the Aroma family the cake was a hit and just as I had visioned. It was a moister version and sure to make grandma proud. I hope you will add this recipe to your collection of go-to items when you need a cake in a pinch.
