Zucchini-Pistachio Cake in Rice Cooker

My internal clock seems to recognize summer as time to 'bake' in the rice cooker. Summer heat or not, I want sweet bites after meals, so it's great that the rice cooker is there for me to produce a cake without heating up my whole apartment. I can put together a few basic ingredients and suffer (?) through a bit of arm work, i.e., whipping egg whites to meringue. Within 20 minutes, cake batter with today's special ingredient mix is in the rice cooker, then the rice cooker takes care of the next 40 minutes to turn it into a cake. The most agonizing part is waiting for it to cool down for a few minutes or even overnight to let the flavors settle. Waiting really does make a difference, so I might take a little corner off as soon as it comes out for quality control (?!), but I do wait until the cake tastes as best as it can be.

This zucchini-pistachio cake is moist and sweet (but not too sweet) with a light green hue from the specks of zucchini and pistachio crumbs. It's okay to use other nuts or eliminate nuts altogether, but pistachio does help bringing out pretty light green. When it comes to adding oil, 1/3 cup is enough to make it a successful cake, and 1/2 cup will get you to its 'wow-it's-moist' texture. No spice? No problem. But small amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg go a long way and give you a pleasant hint of spice-y kick. It's about making choices. You can start from a simple cake, then decide what you gain or lose with the type and the quantity of ingredients.

Try a little when it comes out of the rice cooker, then try another bite after 30 minutes when it's cooled down. Wrap it in plastic, refrigerate, then have a real slice the next day. You'll be surprised how its flavors come together after a day.

INGREDIENTS:
Dry ingredients
1 cup All-purpose flour
2 teaspoons Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon powder
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

Wet ingredients
4 Eggs, whites and yolks separated
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Neutral-tasting vegetable oil, plus a few drops to grease the rice cooker bowl
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

1~ 1 1/2 cup Shredded zucchini (about 1 medium-sized zucchini)
1/2 cup Pistachio nuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grease the rice cooker bowl with vegetable oil by drizzling a few drops of oil in the rice cooker bowl then coating the inside of the rice cooker bowl with a piece of paper towel.

2. Sift dry ingredients together - flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and nutmeg - and 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 is incorporated and the egg foam starts to turn glossy, add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and continue to whisk. Stop when the egg foam is firm and silky-glossy, i.e., meringue. When you lift the whisk, the tip should gently fall, which is about soft-medium peak.

4. To the egg white meringue, add the following in order and mix in completely before adding the next set of ingredients.
- Add egg yolks and whisk gently to incorporate.
- Add oil and vanilla extract and whisk gently to incorporate.
- Carefully mix in shredded zucchini and chopped pistachio.

5. Mix half of the dry ingredient mix into the wet mix with a wooden spoon. When there is no dry spot in the batter, mix in the rest of the dry ingredient mix. Make sure there is no dry spot. Don't overmix.

6. 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.

7. Press 'Steam' (a.k.a. 'Multi-cook') for 40 minutes if your rice cooker has the option. Alternatively, 'Cook' twice, which means that you should 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.

8. When it's done, flip gently on a wire rack. Let it cool to room temperature. It can be served at room temperature or cold. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to allow time for flavors to settle. Or just have a bite now.

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