Did you know you can bake cakes in a rice cooker? It’s a super popular technique in Japan, and the cakes come out fluffy, soft, and not too sweet. Rice cookers are so versatile and definitely a great kitchen tool to invest in. You can make this easy matcha rice cooker cake with just a few ingredients and a trusty rice cooker!

Here’s how to make a matcha rice cooker cake at home!

Matcha Rice Cooker Cake Takeaways:

• If the cake is almost done, let it sit in the warming setting for 10 – 15 minutes!
• Try not to burn the bottom of the cake! It’s easy to heat the rice cooker multiple times, but it’ll be too hot.
• Whip your egg yolks and whites for a fluffy texture!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

• It’s easy, fun, and delicious!
• Bake a delicious matcha cake without an oven.
• Try out a new baking technique and put your rice cooker to work!
• Set the batter and forget it until it’s done cooking! Literally a piece of cake.

What is a Rice Cooker Cake?

A rice cooker cake is a cake baked in a rice cooker! Where did this start? Well, post-World War II Japan saw a boom in domestic living, with housewives laboring over cooking rice. Simultaneously, there was a golden era for invention, and luckily and inventor and his wife worked together to create the rice cooker we know and love today!

And unlike Western homes, 94% of Japanese homes do not have ovens. Japanese cuisine doesn’t need a lot of baking; it is mostly grilling, boiling, and pan-frying. So, to bake simple cakes, all one needs is a rice cooker (or a microwave oven)!

What Does a Rice Cooker Cake Taste Like?

Rice cooker cakes are generally super soft, spongy, and light! Unlike ovens, which rely on hot air baking or cooking food, rice cookers trap moisture and mimic a steaming environment. It’s best for lighter cake batters, like a chiffon or sponge cake, which are moist and soft after.

It’s not too far off from a chiffon cake, and has a springy texture and soft crumb. I love rice cooker cakes because they’re usually not too sweet and have a great texture! This matcha rice cooker cake is soft, sweet, slightly bitter, earthy, and perfectly moist.

Can You Bake a Bake in a Rice Cooker?

Yes, you can bake in a rice cooker! Many fancy rice cookers even have a baking setting designed for a gentle warming that mimics steaming. Rice cookers are basically miniature steaming ovens and work great for cakes, pancakes, Japanese cheesecake, bread, and more!

The best results come from a rice cooker that has said baking setting, but you can also use a regular rice cooker. You might need to hit the rice-making cycle twice to fully bake something, but it’s definitely doable!

Best Rice Cookers for Baking

I love any Japanese rice cooker because my cakes turn out the best in them! I personally have a Tiger brand rice cooker, but Zojirushi is the gold standard. However, I’ve also heard that the Korean Cuckoo rice cookers are also amazing. These are usually mid-tier to high-tier prices, ranging from $100 to upwards of $300 and more!

I also have a budget rice cooker from Aroma, which I haven’t used for baking, but it doesn’t have a tight seal on top and lets more steam out than a covered cooker. It can still do the job, though! It just might take several cooking cycles to bake completely.

Matcha Rice Cooker Cake Recipe: Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make a matcha cake in a rice cooker:

• 4 eggs
• 100g all-purpose flour — This will give you a nice soft, moist, not too dense crumb. However, if you want a softer cake, you could swap for cake flour or even use gluten-free flour.
• 100g sugar — Granulated white sugar works best.
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp milk — You can use any milk, including dairy, soy, oat, almond, etc. Just note that if you use a non-dairy alternative, the cake might have a subtle milk flavor.
• 3 tbsp oil (we use olive oil) — Any neutral oil works, like canola, vegetable, avocado, etc. Even olive oil works!
• 15g matcha HAYATE — I love using chachamaimai’s Hayate matcha for baking! It has the perfect earthy and slightly bitter flavor that tastes great in baked goods.

How to Make a Matcha Rice Cooker Cake

1. Separate Egg Yolk and White. Crack eggs and separate the yolk and the egg white into two separate bowls.
2. Beat Egg Yolks. Add 50g sugar to the yolk and beat with an electric whisk or mixer until creamy and pale yellow. Make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
3. Beat Egg Whites. Add 50g sugar to the egg whites and beat with an electric whisk or mixer for 5-10 minutes until glossy and fluffy. The egg whites should hold a pointy peak when you remove your whisk straight up. (We want stiff peaks, semi-stiff is fine too.
4. Fold Egg Mixtures. Gently fold the fluffy meringue into the beaten yolks, one-third at a time. The first portion of the meringue can be mixed a little harder than the rest of it.
5. Fold in Flour. Sift flour and baking powder into the mixture and fold gently using a spatula. You want to move in a circular motion and cut the batter in half from bottom to top after one rotation. Make sure to get rid of any large lumps of flour and scrape the bottom and edges as well.
6. Mix Matcha Paste. In a separate bowl, mix the oil, milk, and HAYATE matcha using a spoon or handheld frother. The mixture will turn into a paste once the matcha absorbs the moisture, but it should still be pourable and wet.
7. Mix Batters. Add the matcha paste into the batter and mix gently until well combined. The batter should turn green.
8. Bake Cake. Grease the rice cooker pot with a generous coating of oil. Pour the matcha cake batter into the rice cooker and bake on cake mode for 40 minutes. If your rice cooker doesn’t have a baking setting, set it on the white rice mode or default cooking mode.
9. Once done baking, use a toothpick to test the doneness of the cake.
10. If you used a rice cooking setting, the batter may not be fully cooked, so rerun one cycle and test again. You can also leave the cake on the warm setting for 15 minutes after to keep cooking the cake gently.
11. Cool and Rest. Remove the pot and carefully unmold the cake onto a plate or cooling rack. Let the cake cool before adding any frosting or cream.
12. Serve and Enjoy! Cut a slice of the cake and enjoy!

Tips for the Best Cake

• Grease Pot with Oil: Rice cooker cakes tend to shrink slightly and pull away from the sides of the pot. However, just to be safe, lightly grease the rice cooker pot to guarantee that the cake will unmold.
• Remove Bottom Crust: Generally, the bottom of the rice cooker is the hottest since that’s where the heating element is. It’s easy for the bottom of the cake to burn or char if the cooker heats up too much, but luckily, it’s easy to save the cake by just cutting off the bottom. The rest of the cake is delicious and soft!

FAQ’s

Can I bake anything in a rice cooker?

Unfortunately, no. A rice cooker cannot replace an oven because of its size and mechanics. Rice cookers steam food and don’t bake it like a regular oven, so they’re limited in what you can bake. However, it’s great for simple cakes, pancakes, and bread!

How long does it take to cook a cake in a rice cooker?

About 20 – 40 minutes! One cycle of cooking rice is roughly the same amount of time it takes a cake to cook in a rice cooker. Depending on your rice cooker, it could take up to an hour! But compared to an oven, the baking time is pretty similar.

Other Sweet Treats to Try

This matcha rice cooker cake is so fun to make and tastes great! If you love hacks like this or just yummy sweet treats, here are some other dessert recipes to try next:

• Hard Boiled Egg Chocolate Pudding
• Cherry Chocolate Bark
• Matcha Chocolate Covered Strawberries
• Coffee Jelly