It's Christmas Eve and I am enjoying a good rest from everything in my pink plaid flannel PJs with the silver stud snowflakes--truly alluring. I am sipping a cup of dandelion tea from a teacup that I curb-crawled from the former owners of Tiger, who not only mistreated her, but "forgot" her when they moved. Tiger is the lovely, helpful kitty who graces this page's logo. She has it just as good now with us as she had it bad with them before. The gas fireplace has it warm and snuggly in here as I recharge my spirit with the Word of God at www.kcm.org. God is good to this woman, who considers her own self a divine rescue many times over, and I am grateful!
This cake has two unusual things about it. First of all is its method of baking. You bake it in a slow cooker. Second, you may obtain entirely different GOOD results by using one of two entirely different mixing methods. This is usually NOT true with cakes. I don't know the science of why this particular recipe works so well either way, but I'm just pleased as punch that it does. Although plenty sweet to call itself a dessert cake, it is not overly so, and that's part of the success in this recipe. Any more sugar and the cake will collapse.
The slow cooker method of baking a cake is fabulous for holiday time when you want a simple little dessert like pound cake with fresh fruit, fruit sauce or boiled custard, but do not want to take up oven space dedicated to other foods--like the turkey! It also is a boon during power-outs for those fortunate enough to have access to a generator. Compared to the massive draw of an electric oven (about 4,000 watts), a slow cooker draws little more power than a 250-watt light bulb. It can run alongside the refrigerator or freezer easily. In case you do NOT have a generator, it is also possible to string a big orange power cord from a friendly, cake-loving neighbor to run your slow cooker. Power outage can be weird in a natural disaster, where one neighbor has power and the other does not. This was a frequent occurrence after Hurricane Katrina hit us, when some had damaged meters and others did not. Why would you even WANT to bake a cake during a power outage? Well, to save all those eggs that are going bad without refrigeration, for one thing. Further, because cake makes many a bad situation better. Further--who needs a further excuse for cake?! I mean, really!
I love happy accidents. It was after the move and I was swimming in a cardboard box jungle of confusion. I had a surfeit of eggs and a strong craving for the palliative powers of pound cake. I wanted to use this recipe implementing the slow cooker, because the new oven was so filthy it looked like toxic waste had been cooked in there. As it turned out, the previous tenants had started an actual fire in the oven which melted the elements, but I digress. At any rate, I could not find my mixer. I had the beaters at hand, but not the machine. :::sigh::: So instead of mixing my cake by the recipe directions of creaming the butter and eggs together first, I employed the muffin method of mixing. This means I melted the butter, beat the eggs and combined all the liquids and solids separately, and then mixed all of the ingredients together all at once. From that point, I proceeded with the recipe in baking it. I knew it would at least be sweet and hoped it would be edible.
What I got was both unexpected and lovely. The cake recipe treated this way is a firm, spongy cake similar in texture to the sweet little cake rounds found in the produce section alongside strawberries at my grocer's and are meant for strawberry shortcake. The slices are firm and slightly rubbery in a pleasant way, and are extremely portable. They make for virtually crumb-free, grab-and-go snacking for little ones to eat--even in the car. Incidentally, they make a fine strawberry shortcake base. This version is by far my daughter's favorite of the two, being of the grab-and-go tendency her own adult self.
Made the creaming way, the manner by which the recipe is intended to be made, you obtain a cake more like the texture of a normal pound cake. I prefer the taste and texture of this traditional method myself. It is still moist, but possibly not quite as moist as the one made by the muffin method. The slight steaming involved in baking this in the slow cooker makes it reminiscent of pound cake I've had in good Chinese restaurants.
Besides its application in a just-moved situation where the moving-from oven needs to be kept clean or the new one is in question, slow cooker cake baking has other practical uses. Keep this recipe on hand for when a hurricane is impending and you're using up your eggs in baking projects and cooking up your meats. You can tuck the slow cooker cake in some out-of-the-way place and let it do its thing while you scurry about cooking other things. It's also convenient during holiday time when you swear you need three ovens to cope with the volume of dishes that somehow need to be worked into the oven alongside that big honker turkey and/or ham, the myriad of casserole dishes and, heavens, don't forget the ROLLS!
Note: This recipe has very specific requirements for success, but it is still not exact due to extreme variations in temperature from one slow cooker to the next. Experiment on your own to find the equipment combination that produces results you like. I used a large 7-quart Corelle oval slow cooker with an 8 1/2" x 4" Corelle loaf pan. Look around your own cupboards for Pyrex and Corelle cookware that might fit your slow cookers. Handles are problematic, as the pan really does need to sit deep in the pot. At some point, I plan to try pairing Pyrex bowls with my slow cookers and see how that turns out. If you do it before I do, please get back with me on any success tips. I do NOT recommend baking the cake directly in the slow cooker liner. The baking is too uneven. It will burn the edges something fierce, dry out to Styrofoam consistency in patches and likely still be raw in the middle.
Barbara G's Two-Way Crockpot Cake
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1/4 cup evaporated milk OR 1/3 cup instant powdered milk dissolved in 1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1) Traditional Pound Cake Creaming Method
Mist with non-stick spray an 8 ½" x 4" glass or Corelle loaf pan. Fit the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper. Carefully place the loaf pan into the slow cooker, leaving an equal margin of space around the edges of the pan. Put the lid on and turn the slow cooker to High to preheat for 15 minutes before mixing the cake.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and mix until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating about one minute after each addition, or until each egg is fully incorporated into the batter. Add milk and beat until blended.
Add flour mixture and mix just until well-blended, scraping sides of the bowl as you go, about two minutes. The batter needs to be smooth without lumps, but be careful not to over-mix. This needs to get into the slow cooker right away once the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Moving quickly so as not to lose much heat, remove the lid from the slow cooker and push out batter into loaf pan. Spread it evenly in the pan. Lay a small, clean, 100% cotton terrycloth hand towel over the rim of the slow cooker, taking care not to let it drape onto the batter in the loaf pan. Replace the lid, pulling on towel if necessary to keep it pulled taut and completely straight across the rim of the slow cooker and not dropping into the cake pan.
Bake for 2 1/2-3 hours, or until cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the loaf pan. It will be tricky to sneak a peek, as you must lift the lid and the towel simultaneously. Do not do it before 2 1/2 hours have elapsed. When it looks done, remove the lid and towel and CAREFULLY remove the loaf pan from the slow cooker and let it cool on a cake rack for 15 minutes. Be mindful that all parts of the slow cooker lid, liner and loaf pan are extremely hot, and protect yourself from burns. Run a knife around the edges and turn it out onto a rack. Peel off the parchment paper and allow cake to cool before slicing.
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2) Muffin Method Spongy Cake
Mist an 8 1/2" glass or Pyrex loaf pan with non-stick spray and fit the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper. Carefully place the loaf pan into the slow cooker, leaving an equal margin of space around the edges of the pan. Put the lid on and turn the slow cooker to High to preheat about 15 minutes before mixing the cake.
In a small microwaveable bowl, melt the butter and set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cream of tartar, salt and sugar. Stir until blended completely.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk. Add the vanilla extract and stir to blend. Stir in the cooled, melted butter and stir well to blend.
Pour the egg/milk/butter mixture into the flour mixture and beat by hand until batter is smooth and mostly lump-free, but do not over-mix. Immediately pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan inside the slow cooker liner. Move quickly so as not to lose too much heat and be careful not to burn yourself. The loaf pan, lid and the slow cooker liner will be extremely hot. Level the batter quickly with the spoon. Lay a small, clean, 100% cotton terrycloth hand towel over the rim of the slow cooker liner. Replace the lid, pulling on towel if necessary to keep it pulled taut and completely straight across the rim of the slow cooker and not dropping into the cake pan.
Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the loaf pan. It will be tricky to sneak a peek, because you must lift the lid and the towel simultaneously. Do not do it before 2 1/2 hours have elapsed. When it looks done, remove the lid and towel and CAREFULLY remove the loaf pan from the slow cooker and let it cool on a cake rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and turn it out onto a rack. Peel off the parchment paper and allow cake to cool before slicing.
I think you'll enjoy playing with this recipe and adapting it to your own equipment. Once you get the technique down, I believe it will spark ideas on how to use it to your best advantage. Think of baking a cake in the dead of summer...in your slow cooker on your patio table or front porch! Your kitchen stays cool and you'll have fresh pound cake to serve with whipped cream and strawberries or whatever other berry is in season. You are SO clever. Then when everybody asks where you got that clever idea, you send them to my blog and we all share even more clever ideas, because we're cool like that. And yes, at 59 I am probably way too old to use that expression and some of you young'uns are scoffing. Scoff away, young'uns. You only hope you look and feel this good at 59. Seriously, God's richest blessings on you all as we close out 2011 and look forward to 2012. This past year was marvelous, but 2012 is going to be even better! Have yourself a merry little cake-eating Christmas!
I think you'll enjoy playing with this recipe and adapting it to your own equipment. Once you get the technique down, I believe it will spark ideas on how to use it to your best advantage. Think of baking a cake in the dead of summer...in your slow cooker on your patio table or front porch! Your kitchen stays cool and you'll have fresh pound cake to serve with whipped cream and strawberries or whatever other berry is in season. You are SO clever. Then when everybody asks where you got that clever idea, you send them to my blog and we all share even more clever ideas, because we're cool like that. And yes, at 59 I am probably way too old to use that expression and some of you young'uns are scoffing. Scoff away, young'uns. You only hope you look and feel this good at 59. Seriously, God's richest blessings on you all as we close out 2011 and look forward to 2012. This past year was marvelous, but 2012 is going to be even better! Have yourself a merry little cake-eating Christmas!
Frugally yours,
Barbara Houston Garrett
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