The Great American Slow Cooker Book (115 page)

4
Scrape down and remove the beaters. Stir in the flour mixture, followed by the oats and chocolate chips, just until there are no dry specks of ingredients in the batter. Spoon and spread into the slow cooker.

5
Overlap long lengths of paper towels across the top of the cooker, then set the lid in place. Cook on high for about 1 hour 20 minutes in a small slow cooker, about 1½ hours in a medium cooker, or about 2 hours in a large cooker, or until the cake is soft but set, puffed yet pulling back from the canister’s sides. Unplug, uncover, and cool for 1 hour, then either cut pieces of the cake out of the cooker with a nonstick-safe knife or invert the cooker over a cutting board, shake the cake free, and set it right side up on a serving platter.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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A dense, chewy cake, this one’s best with a strong cup of coffee, even as an afternoon snack.

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The cake will pack well: wrap pieces in wax paper to send in lunches.

1
Set a 1-quart, high-sided, round baking or soufflé dish in the slow cooker. Fill the canister with warm tap water around the dish until it comes halfway up the sides. Remove the dish, cover the cooker, and set to high while you prepare the batter.

2
Butter the inside of the baking dish. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, butter, 1½ tblsp sugar, the cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl; pour into the baking dish and press the crumb mixture against the sides and bottom to form a crust.

3
Use an electric mixer at medium speed to beat the cream cheese and remaining ⅔ cup sugar in a large bowl until the most of the sugar has dissolved, about 4 minutes, scraping down the inside of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.

4
Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next and continuing to scrape down the bowl after each addition. Finally, beat in the sour cream and vanilla.

5
Pour and scrape this batter into the prepared baking dish. Set it in the hot water in the slow cooker. Lay overlapping, long lengths of paper towels over the top of the slow cooker, hanging the excess down the sides.

6
Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours, or until puffed and set but still a bit jiggly in the center.

7
Unplug the cooker, remove the lid and paper towels, and let stand for 1 hour. Remove the baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days before slicing into wedges to serve.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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Here’s the first of our steamed desserts, incredibly light and moist. In many ways, the slow cooker is functioning as a water bath, a bain-marie, providing a constant humidity to set this cheesecake (and subsequent steamed puddings).

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The baking dish used here—and in all the subsequent steamed puddings—will fit in almost any slow cooker except the very tiniest, oval ones. You may also use a high-sided, 6-inch cheesecake pan for these desserts. However, do not use a pan with removable sides and bottom; the water can leach in and ruin the dessert.

ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
It can be tough to get the hot baking dish out of a slow cooker, particularly a small model. To alleviate any difficulty, before you begin the recipe, lay a long strip of cheesecloth in the cooker, the excess hanging over the sides. Set the baking dish on top of it, add the water, and continue on with the recipe. At the end, this cheesecloth strip can be used to leverage the baking dish out of the cooker, lifting the baking dish up in its cradle, as it were. You’ll still have to support it lest the cheesecloth break; but you’ll be spared digging with your fingers into a still-warm cooker.

1
Place a 1-quart, round, high-sided baking or soufflé dish in the slow cooker and fill the canister with warm tap water until it comes about 1 inch up the sides of the dish. Remove the dish, cover the cooker, and set on high while you prepare the batter.

2
Grease the inside of the baking dish with some butter, then add some flour and turn the dish to coat the sides and bottom thoroughly. Knock out any excess flour.

3
Whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt in a bowl; set aside.

4
Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, scraping down the inside of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula, until there are almost no undissolved sugar grains in the mix. Beat in the egg until smooth, scrape down the bowl again, then beat in the yogurt and vanilla. Scrape down and remove the beaters.

4
Add the flour mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula just until there are no bits of dry flour left in the batter. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish.

5
Set it in the cooker, then lay long lengths of overlapping paper towels over the top of the cooker. Cover and cook on high for about 2½ hours, or until the cake is puffed and set in the middle but still quite moist.

6
Remove the baking dish from the cooker and set it on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Either cut slices right out of the dish or invert the baking dish onto a cutting board, shake it gently to release the cake, remove the baking dish, and set it right side up on a serving plate to cut into wedges.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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Steaming a cake like this is an old-fashioned technique, mostly gone out of style although deserving a comeback with the slow cooker. Once, these desserts were all called puddings, not because they were soft but because they set through steam rather than dry heat. We’ve put them among the cakes because they are certainly not custards and most Americans will find their texture more in keeping with other cakes, if decidedly moister.

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If you want a bit of a sour pop to balance the ginger, add up to 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest or finely grated orange zest for a less assertive flavor.

Serve It Up!
A steamed gingerbread calls for a dollop of crème fraîche—a cultured cream sort of like sour cream, but with a higher butterfat content. Look for it in the refrigerator case near the butter and sour cream, then doctor it at home with a little confectioners’ sugar and some vanilla extract.

1
Set a 1-quart, round, high-sided baking dish in the slow cooker and fill the canister with warm tap water until it comes about 1½ inches up the outside of the dish. Remove the baking dish, then cover the cooker and set on high while you prepare the batter.

2
Generously butter the inside of the baking dish, getting down into the seam between the wall and the bottom. Add some flour, turn the dish every which way to coat the interior, then tap out the excess flour over the sink so there’s just a fine film remaining inside.

3
Whisk the flour, pecans, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside.

4
Use an electric mixer at medium speed to beat the butter and both sugars in a large bowl until light and fluffy, even pale yellow in color, scraping down the inside of the bowl occasionally, about 5 minutes. Beat in the orange marmalade, eggs, and vanilla. Scrape down and remove the beaters.

5
Pour in the flour mixture, then fold with a rubber spatula just until there are no dry specks of flour anywhere. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking dish.

6
Butter one side of a 10-inch piece of aluminum foil, then set it buttered side down over the baking dish. Crimp and seal the foil against the baking dish, then set it all in the hot water.

7
Cover and cook on high for about 3 hours, until the cake is firm and set but still quite moist. Remove the baking dish from the hot water, peel off the foil, and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before cutting slices out of the dish or setting a cutting board over the baking dish, inverting it all, releasing the cake, removing the dish, and setting the cake back right side up on a serving platter.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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Quite sweet but very moist, this steamed cake also has a thick, dense texture. It’s best while still warm.

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Individual slices can be toasted on a baking sheet 4 to 6 inches from a heated broiler for breakfast the next morning. You might even have to break out the raspberry jam.

1
Set a 1-quart, high-sided soufflé or baking dish in the slow cooker, then fill the slow cooker with warm tap water to come about 1½ inches up the outside of the baking dish. Remove the baking dish, cover the cooker, and set on high while you prepare the batter.

2
Generously butter the inside of the baking dish, then add some flour and turn the dish to get a fine film of flour over its insides. Tap out any excess.

3
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

4
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, scraping down the inside of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg, then the mashed banana and milk. Scrape down and remove the beaters.

5
Fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula just until there’s no unmoistened flour anywhere to be seen. Fold in the chocolate chips, then pour and scrape the batter into the prepared bowl.

6
Butter one side of a 10-inch piece of aluminum foil, then set it over the baking dish, buttered side down, and crimp the edges to seal tightly. Set the baking dish in the hot water in the cooker.

7
Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours, until the cake is firm and set but still quite moist, even a tad spongy. Remove the baking dish from the cooker, remove the foil, and cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before slicing out wedges or setting a curtton board over the baking dish, inverting it all, releasing the cake, removing the dish, and setting the cake back right side up on a serving platter.

TESTERS’ NOTES

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A very moist cake, almost sticky when first cut, this one will be a big hit with a cup of hot tea.

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Because steamed cakes are so moist, they don’t pack well in lunches. That said, they’ll be waiting for you when you get home.

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For the best flavor, make sure the bananas are quite ripe, even a tad soft, with lots of brown spots mottled over their skins. The best ones for this recipe are, frankly, probably on the discount produce rack at your supermarket.

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The batter may appear broken—that is, with soggy threads throughout—after the addition of the banana. The flour will take care of the problem.