The Great American Slow Cooker Book (113 page)

TESTERS’ NOTES

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The tangy hit of sour cream will balance the chocolate perfectly in this fudgy cake. Once again, the edges will be slightly drier than the middle, so those who like the corners of the brownie pan will be in luck.

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If you’re using a standard double boiler, the upper pan may well be large enough that you can beat and fold the whole batter right inside it. Otherwise, you’ll need to scrape the melted chocolate mixture into a large bowl.

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If you jury-rig a bowl over a saucepan to create a double boiler, make sure (1) the bowl fits tightly so steam doesn’t escape and (2) the bottom of the bowl in no wise touches the simmering water below. Also, watch out when you remove that bowl; escaping steam can burn your fingers. Wear oven mitts, turn off the heat under the simmering water, and tilt the bowl up before taking it off the saucepan to release steam.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
Chopping the chocolate before melting it gives it a head start—and so less time over the heat with a smaller chance of scorching (and turning bitter) or seizing (and being rendered useless). The best chopping tool is a chocolate fork, its big tines designed to break through chocolate. However, you can also chop the chocolate on a cutting board with a heavy, sharp knife.

1
Generously grease the inside of the canister with unsalted butter, taking special care to get into the seam between the bottom and the wall.

2
Separate the eggs, putting the whites in one large bowl and the yolks in a second.

3
Add the salt to the egg whites and beat with an electric mixer at high speed until you can make soft, droopy peaks when you dip the turned-off beaters into the mixture. Set aside.

4
Clean and dry the beaters. Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and thick, about like a quick-bread batter, perhaps 4 minutes. Add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest; continue beating at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down the inside of the bowl and add the flour. Beat at low speed just until smooth.

5
Use a rubber spatula to fold the beaten egg whites into the buttermilk batter. Use long, slow, smooth arcs to get the egg whites incorporated; but do not leave any lumps of undissolved egg white in the batter. If necessary, stir more vigorously after folding and press the lumps against the side of the bowl to dissolve them.

6
Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared slow cooker. Lay long strips of paper towels over the top of the slow cooker to cover it completely, then set the lid in place. Cook on low for about 55 minutes in a small slow cooker, about 1 hour in a medium one, or about 1 hour 10 minutes in a large slow cooker, until the top of the cake is set, a bit spongy, and puffed slightly in the center. Serve immediately, scooping up bits of the cake with the warm pudding that has formed underneath.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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This is a true pudding cake, a runny lemon curd underneath a spongy cake. If you underbake it slightly, as well you should, you won’t be able to cut it into pieces. Serve it by the spoonful.

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Because slow cookers work at varying temperatures, and even go out of whack over time, it’s important to watch this cake. A gooey mess is not called for—no underdone batter—but nonetheless a definite layer of pudding-ness underneath with a wet cake.

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Make sure the bowl with the egg whites is scrupulously clean and dry, without a whit of egg yolk in it. Otherwise, you’ll get little to no loft out of the whites when beaten.

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Here, the flour is actually beaten into the batter because we need that bit of gluten to create a good sponge cake over the curd.

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The serving sizes here are low. Unfortunately, more batter in the crock will not get done quickly enough, resulting in set edges and uncooked middles.

Serve It Up!
Make
Whipped Cream
for dolloping! Chill a large bowl and beaters in the fridge for 30 minutes, then pour in heavy cream—as much as you like. Beat with an electric mixer at high speed until slightly thickened, then start adding 1 tablespoon sugar for each ½ cup heavy cream you’ve used. Beat until just barely stiff, still saucy. Beat in a little vanilla extract and serve at once. (If you use confectioners’ sugar rather than standard white sugar, the whipped cream will hold its shape in the fridge for a couple of hours.)

1
Grease the inside of the slow cooker canister with some butter, then add a bit of almond flour that will coat the canister as you tip and twist it. Tap out any excess.

2
Whisk the almond flour and baking powder in a bowl; set aside.

3
Set up a double boiler over about 1 inch of simmering water of medium heat in the bottom pan—or put a heat-safe metal bowl on a medium saucepan with a similar amount of simmering water in it. Add the butter and chocolate, reduce the heat so the water simmers slowly, and stir until about two-thirds of the chocolate has melted. Remove the top half of the double boiler or the bowl from the heat and continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted. Cool for 5 minutes.

4
Use an electric mixer at medium speed to beat the sugar into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then beat in the milk, cocoa powder, egg yolks, and vanilla.

5
Scrape down and remove the beaters. Add the almond flour mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until there are no dry pockets anywhere in the batter. Spoon and spread this mixture into the slow cooker.

6
To make the topping, place the brown sugar and cocoa powder in a small bowl; stir in the hot water until smooth. Pour this mixture over the batter in the cooker.

7
Cover and cook on high for about 1½ hours in a small slow cooker, about 2 hours in a medium one, or about 2½ hours in a large cooker, or until the cake has just begun to pull away from the sides of the cooker but is still very moist, even jiggly at the center. (It will look wet even when set.) If possible, remove the insert from the slow cooker. In any case, cool, uncovered, for 10 minutes; then scoop out by the large spoonful into bowls.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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You don’t even have to have a gluten allergy to enjoy this decadent dessert, somewhere halfway between a pudding and a cake.

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The cake won’t keep well, so plan on eating it when it’s still hot from the cooker.

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As with all cakes, remember that timings are a matter of suggestion, not a rule. They will differ slightly among shapes and sizes of slow cookers in each category.

•
You might consider some
whipped cream
. Use granulated sugar to be sure it’s gluten free.

INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Unsweetened cocoa powder comes in two forms: (1)
Dutch-processed
, with a darker color and an alkali in the mix to help it dissolve more readily and make the chocolate a tad lighter in taste (despite its darker color); and (2)
natural cocoa powder
, without said alkali in the mix, lighter in color but deeper in flavor, more bitter and sophisticated, like dark chocolate. Either type of cocoa powder will work for all these recipes; let your taste be your guide.

1
Generously grease the inside of the slow cooker canister with some walnut oil dabbed onto a paper towel, then add some flour and tilt the canister to coat its sides and bottom. Knock out any excess flour.

2
Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until the cinnamon is even throughout. Set aside.

3
Use an electric mixer at medium speed to beat the sugar and oil in a large bowl until most of the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is fairly creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the pineapple juice and vanilla until smooth.

4
Remove the beaters and fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, using gentle, long arcs to get the flour fully moistened, no dry bits anywhere. Fold in the carrots and walnuts; spread this mixture into the canister.

5
Lay overlapping lengths of paper towels over the top of the slow cooker. Set the lid in place and cook on high for about 2 hours 10 minutes in a small slow cooker, about 2 hours 20 minutes in a medium cooker, or about 2 hours 30 minutes in a large cooker, or until the cake is firm to the touch and set in the middle. Unplug, uncover, and cool for 1 hour; then slice pieces right out of the canister with a nonstick-safe knife or invert the cooker over a cutting board to release the cake before righting it on a serving platter.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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Walnut oil adds a mellow richness to this cake—although you can use the far more tasteless canola oil for a more economical dessert.