Strawberry Sake Cake in Rice Cooker

It's been a while since I 'baked' anything in my rice cooker. But seasons change, days get warm, then hot and humid, so the time has come again.

Unlike the big oven that heats up the whole apartment which is perfect in the wintertime, heat from the rice cooker is mostly contained within. I find it the best way to churn out a simple sponge cake, with a variety of flavoring and topping to explore each time.

So here it comes - a cake batter mixed with sake, then topped with fresh strawberries macerated in sake syrup. Just the kind of summer dessert I want and have already eaten too much of. It's fresh, light, moist, sweet (but not cloyingly so) with a kick of sake flavor sans its alcohol content.

The base of it is a sponge cake flavored with sake, complemented with the subtle flavor and texture of crushed pine nuts. From there, a simpler, a more 'straight-up' way is to macerate fresh strawberries in sake syrup, then pour the sake syrup on the cake to soak in every drop of the goodness and top the cake with 'drunk' strawberries (picture on top).

If you want the look and feel of a more traditional strawberry cake with luscious cream frosting and moist cake with a hint of sake flavor in the back (pictures at the bottom of this post), then go through the trouble of whipping up some Greek yogurt frosting. It is Greek yogurt lightened up with whipped cream that comes with the tang and the silky texture along with its sturdiness to stand shape for a while. Even if you don't make the frosting this time, this may come handy for your next frosting occasion.

I've used both clear sake and nigori sake (unfiltered, cloudy kind) for this recipe and I'd go for any reasonably priced one. Although both work in a similar way, I find the richness of nigori sake comes through a bit more in the cake. Just make sure to shake well if you are using nigori sake.

Strawberry Sake Cake in Rice Cooker

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Sake

1 cup All-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder

4                  Eggs, whites and yolks separated
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup      Sugar
1/3 cup           Any neutral tasting vegetable oil
                          plus a few drops to grease the rice cooker bowl
1/3 cup          Reduced sake (See Step1)

Optional) 1/3 cup Pine nuts, toasted

Sake syrup
1/3 cup Reduced sake (See Step1)
1/3 cup Sugar
1~2 cups Fresh strawberries, tops removed and cut to slices or quarters

Greek yogurt frosting
1/2 cup          Plain Greek yogurt, 2% fat
1/2 cup          Heavy cream
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon      Vanilla extract

DIRECTiONS:

Sake Cake
1. Heat sake over low heat. Don't let it boil, just always scalding hot while it's heated. When sake is reduced to about 2/3 cup, remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

2. Whisk together to mix flour and baking powder to mix. Set aside.

3. Whisk egg whites. When egg whites turn opaque white and foamy, add 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to whisk. When sugar has been incorporated and the egg foam starts turning glossy and white, add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to whisk. Stop when the egg foam (i.e., meringue) is firm and silky-glossy. When you lift the whisk, the tip of the egg meringue should gently fall, which is about soft-medium peak.

4. Add egg yolks and salt. Whisk gently to incorporate, followed by oil then by reduced sake. After each addition, whisk gently to incorporate in the egg mixture.

5. Add the dried ingredients - flour and baking powder - into the egg mixture. With a wooden spoon, gently incorporate 1/2 of the flour into egg mixture first. Add the rest and fold in gently just until there are no lumps of flour. Do not overmix.

6. Optional) Crush the toasted pine nuts by running the pine nuts in a small plastic bag with a rolling pin. Add to the batter and fold in to incorporate.

7. Pour the batter into the greased rice cooker bowl. Tap the side of the bowl to release big air bubbles. Place the bowl in the rice cooker.

8. Press 'Steam' for 40 minutes (or 'Multi-cook' or even better, 'Cake' setting depending on your rice cooker setting option). Alternatively, 'Cook' twice, i.e., press 'Cook' and when it's done, press 'Cook' again. You might have to wait for the rice cooker to cool a bit before starting the second run in case of an older, simpler rice cooker.

9. When it's done, flip gently on a wire rack. Let it cool to room temperature. If you can wait, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least a couple of hours to allow time to moisten and its flavors to settle before serving.

Sake Syrup Soaked Strawberry Topping
Cut off strawberry tops. Cut strawberries as necessary, to slices or quarters for spreading a layer in the middle and keep some whole for the cake top. Stir 1/3 cup of sugar in 1/3 cup of sake to dissolve sugar completely. Carefully mix in strawberries and macerate for 30 minutes ~ 1 hour. Strain and keep the strawberries and now strawberry-sake syrup separately.

Greek Yogurt Frosting (Optional)
1. Whisk 1/2 cup of heavy cream with sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy, silky-soft (about medium peak). It will make about 1 cup of whipped cream.

2. Mix whipped cream with 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt by folding in gently with a wooden spoon. You may increase the amount of yogurt by another 1/2 cup. Set aside.

Assembly
No frosting (picture on top) - Drizzle the strawberry-soaked sake syrup all over the cake and top with strawberries.

With frosting (pictures below) - Once the cake is cooled to room temperature, cut the cake in half to create 2 layers. Drizzle both layers with strawberry-soaked sake syrup. On the bottom layer, spread 1/2 of the frosting then place strawberry slices. Carefully place the remaining layer of the cake on top of the strawberry filling. Spread the remaining half of the frosting and garnish with strawberries.

Any leftover should be stored in the refrigerator only for a couple of days. The strawberries and cream mush will look sad with everyday its' in the refrigerator although it still tastes good. I can only tell you it tastes fine up to 3 days. It's usually gone by then.

! TIPS !
! You can make the cake a day ahead and keep it in the refrigerator. Prepare the frosting cream and strawberries on the day of serving.

! Feel free to experiment with other seasonal fruits. I haven't used other fruits for this recipe, but I'd cut up the fruits small enough to make it macerate the same way and easy to spread out on the cake.