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As the world continues to spend more time at home, people have rediscovered their love for cooking and baking. It's also easier now to experiment in the kitchen thanks to the endless stream of recipes and cooking inspo available online: learn how to create classic Japanese dishes, fancy toast and more.
You might be surprised to learn that you can still 'bake' even without an oven. Your trusty rice cooker is capable of more than just cooking rice. One such item is this decadent flourless chocolate cake or gateau chocolat which only takes about 20 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook in your machine. It's also perfect for gluten-free eaters as the cake doesn't require flour.
This super-easy recipe is created by Japanese consumer electronics company Zojirushi, which manufactures rice cookers with 'cake' settings. But you can use any type of rice cooker for this recipe.
We have translated the recipe below. Do note that you might have to make some adjustments depending on the size of your rice cooker.
Ingredients (for a 1L-size rice cooker)
200g bitter chocolate, chopped
60g unsalted butter, a little extra for greasing the bowl
50ml whipping cream, plus extra 50ml for topping
50g cocoa powder
100g granulated sugar, divided into two 50g portions
4 eggs, separated
1/3 tsp rum and 1 tbsp sugar for topping
Instructions
1) Prepare the rice cooker bowl by greasing it with butter.
2) Set up a double boiler by simmering water in a pot and placing a heat-proof bowl on top. Add in chopped chocolate and unsalted butter into the bowl; stir until melted.
3) Remove the melted butter and chocolate mix from the heat. Add in 50ml of whipping cream in small increments until fully incorporated.
4) In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks and 50g of sugar until glossy and then fold in the chocolate mixture until smooth.
5) Take the egg whites and whip them with an electric mixer until frothy. Then, slowly add in the remaining 50g of sugar. Continue whipping until the egg whites resemble stiff peaks.
6) Pour half of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture and fold in gently with a spatula to keep the mixture light and airy. Next, sift half the cocoa powder into the mixture and fold until the powder dissolves into the batter. Add the remaining cocoa powder and mix until fully incorporated.
7) Gently fold the remaining egg whites into the cake batter.
8) Pour the batter into the rice cooker bowl. Smooth over the surface until it's even. Tap the bowl a few times on the table to remove any air bubbles.
9) If your rice cooker has a 'cake' function, use the appropriate setting. Otherwise, use the general rice setting, but you may need to cook it multiple times until the cake is fully cooked for a total of 60 minutes.
10) To test if the cake is done, slide a toothpick into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is cooked through. There should be no wet spots on top of the cake when it's fully cooked.
11) Take the bowl out of the machine and leave it to cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the cake from the bowl and chill it in the fridge.
12) Whip the remaining 50ml of whipped cream with rum and sugar until stiff. Serve each slice of cake with a dollop of cream. Bon appetit!
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