Chocolate Crazy Cake

Take a simple, inexpensive countertop electric rice cooker, open its lid, and pull out before your guests' startled eyes this wonderful, warm Chocolate Crazy Cake.

You, the home cook, won't believe how easy it is to perform such a magical trick. I was amazed myself by the results when my team and I developed this recipe to go with my own rice cooker.

This Chocolate Crazy Cake recipe works so well because a rice cooker delivers just the right gentle, even heat and tightly enclosed cooking environment to produce a perfectly tender, moist cake. Its preprogrammed cooking cycles for making perfect batches of rice, controlled with a few simple touches of the buttons on the cooker, also just happen to provide the right cooking times for this cake. And, once you unmold this Chocolate Crazy cake following the easy instructions in the recipe, you can also use the cooker to prepare a quick chocolate glaze for the Chocolate Crazy cake!

Like many simple recipes, successful results for this Chocolate Crazy Cake also rely upon using the highest-quality ingredients. For the best flavor and texture, use good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder. There are many fine brands out there, including European imports like Holland's Droste and France's Valrhona; gourmet American cocoas like the wonderful Scharffen Berger from the San Francisco Bay Area; and even time-honored standbys like Ghirardelli from San Francisco and that pride of Pennsylvania, Hershey's, who makes a Special Dark Cocoa that many home bakers like.

Once you have the right ingredients, all you have to do is measure them, pour into the rice cooker bowl, stir, and press buttons on the control panel a few times. It's that easy. And, from start to finish, this Chocolate Crazy Cake recipe takes not much longer than an hour. Which means you can easily get it going just before the party starts, and have the cake ready to reveal after all the guests have arrived.

Chocolate Crazy Cake Recipe

    Prep Time: 15 minutes

    Cook time: 40 minutes

    Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Chocolate Crazy Cake Recipe Ingredients

    CAKE

    1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

    3/4 cup granulated sugar

    3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

    1 teaspoon baking soda

    1/4 teaspoon salt

    1 cup water

    1/4 cup vegetable oil

    1 tablespoon white vinegar, cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar

    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    GLAZE

    3/4 cup granulated sugar

    1/4 cup water

    2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

    1 tablespoon vegetable oil

    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

    Small pinch salt

Chocolate Crazy Cake Recipe Directions

    Pour the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla into the ungreased bowl of a rice cooker. Stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly combined, with only a few lumps remaining. The batter will look quite thin.

    Secure the rice cooker's lid. Press the "Cook" button.

    Leave the machine undisturbed. After a few minutes, its display panel will indicate "Keep Warm." The cake is still not done; just leave it machine undisturbed at this setting for 10 minutes longer.

    After 10 minutes, press the "Cook" button again; the display may switch back to "Keep Warm," but that's OK. Leave the rice cooker undisturbed for 30 minutes longer.

    When 30 minutes are up, carefully open the cooker and check the cake by inserting a wooden toothpick slightly off-center; when removed, it should have moist crumbs clinging to it.

    Using potholders, carefully remove the rice cooker bowl and invert it onto a serving plate to unmold the cake. Set the cake aside while you prepare the glaze.

    For the glaze, wipe the rice cooker bowl and return it to the rice cooker. In the bowl, combine the sugar, water, cocoa powder, vegetable oil, vanilla, and salt, stirring until thoroughly combined. Press the "Cook" button but do not close the lid.

    When the mixture comes to a full boil, unplug the rice cooker and, using potholders, carefully remove the bowl. Pour the hot glaze over the unmolded cake. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold.

 

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Wolfgang Puck's Chocolate Crazy Cake Recipe

World-renowned chefs with an extraordinary passion for food share their passion on iHaveNet.com. These chefs make great cooking easier than imagined. Each gourmet recipe features expert advice and an easy-to-make recipe. Exactly what you need to transform your home cooking from acceptable to delectable

© Wolfgang Puck

 

 

 

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