Super-Slow Baking
Don't you just love your slow cooker? It's a lifesaver for busy people. Spending just a few minutes in the morning (or even the night before!) yields a fully-prepared dinner when you're ready…plus a houseful of tantalizing aromas!
Slow cooker meats are guaranteed tender, and the cooking juices are far more flavorful than quicker stovetop sauces. But if there's one complaint people have for slow cooker meals, it's that they all taste the same; they're a stew-like blend of meat and vegetable flavors.
Well, here's a radical change for slow cooking: baking! Yes, you can make a cake in your slow cooker, and it isn't going to taste remotely like last week's vegetable beef stew.
If you don't have a small rack that you can put in the bottom of your slow cooker, how about a 1, 2 or 3-pound coffee or nut can? That's about all you'll need to turn your trusty slow cooker into an even-more versatile appliance!
Thoughts to remember when you bake with your slow cooker:
- Grease can with solid vegetable shortening, rather than butter or cooking spray.
- Only half-fill the can. This allows for rising.
- Heat needs to be able to circulate around the can. If a baking rack isn't available, crumple up enough aluminum foil to raise the can about an inch from the bottom of the slow cooker.
- If the can does not have a heat-safe lid, cover the can with a double thickness of paper towels.
- Place the lid on your slow cooker for baking.
- Generally, bake on high heat, but always follow the recipe instructions.
- Only lift the lid to check for doneness. Removing the lid too often will let heat escape. Use pot holders to remove the can from the slow cooker.
- To more easily remove cake or bread from a can, open the bottom of the can with a can opener and push the food out.
Easy Chocolate Fondue in the Crockpot
24 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs fruit flavored liqueur
Dippers: cubed poundcake, fruit, pretzels, cookies, marshmallows
Place ingredients (except dippers) into a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for
30 minutes. Stir well. Cook 1 more hour on low. Use skewers or small tongs to dip into the chocolate.
Peanut Butter Crockpot Bread
This Peanut Butter Bread is similar to a sweet quick bread
.
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar or Baking Splenda
1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 cup skim milk
Mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in bowl. Cut in peanut butter. Stir in nuts. Add egg and milk and mix with fork only until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn into well greased and floured 2-pound coffee can. Set in cooker and cover with 2 paper towels. With cover slightly ajar, cook on high for 2 hours or until done. Let stand on cooling rack for 10 minutes. Turn out on rack to completely cool. Store overnight before slicing.
Crockpot Chocolate-Peanut Clusters
2 lbs dry roasted peanuts, salted
48 oz white chocolate almond bark
4 oz sweet German chocolate
10 - 12 oz dark chocolate
Place all ingredients in your slow cooker. Cook on low for 3 hours. Without disturbing the cooker, turn pot off and let sit for 20 minutes. Cover a large surface (about 3 square feet) with waxed or parchment paper. Stir mixture well, and drop by teaspoons full onto paper. Let harden and store in airtight containers.
One-Egg Butter Cake
Everyone will enjoy this simple, yet flavorful cake.
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar or Baking Splenda
1 egg
1 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or butter flavoring
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients, milk and vanilla to butter mixture. Beat until blended. Put batter into greased and floured 1-pound coffee can. Set in cooker and cover with 2 paper towels. With cover slightly ajar, cook on high 2 hours or until done. Let stand on cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove from insert and finish cooling on rack.
Vanilla Wafer Slow Cooker Cake
Vanilla Wafers give this crockpot cake a wonderful flavor.
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs (or equivalent liquid egg substitute)
1 package (7-1/4 oz) reduced-fat vanilla wafers, finely crushed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs skim milk
3/4 cup flaked coconut
3/4 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Grease and flour 2-pound coffee can. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add wafer crumbs to creamed mixture along with milk, coconut and pecans. Mix well. Put batter in prepared can. Cover can with 6 layers of paper towels. Place pan in cooker. With cover slightly ajar, cook for 3 to 4 hours.
