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I saw so many recipes but in every recipe simple cooker is used.

Twinkle
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  • I had never heard of such a thing, but I did find this: http://www.kurryleaves.net/2014/01/eggless-vanilla-cake-pressure-cooker.html – Jolenealaska Jan 18 '16 at 11:24
  • "Do not use the rubber gasket and weight valve while cooking" ... if I understand that type of cooker correctly, he says "do not pressurize it!". I think pastry of all things clogging a valve could end very scary... – rackandboneman Jan 18 '16 at 12:42

2 Answers2

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You can "steam" a cake in the pressure cooker using the Bain Marie or Pan-in-pot method. Basically put the cake batter in a smaller heat-proof container (usually 7" or 20cm) that is buttered as usual. Then in the pressure cooker add enough water to equal the minimum liquid (usually 1-2 cups), and a steamer basket or rack. Add the container containing the batter onto the rack and pressure cook for about 20 minutes with natural release. You'll want to increase the baking soda or powder by 50% to compensate for the extra pressure - but generally most of the "rise" in the cake will happen while the cooker is reaching pressure.

P.S. Be sure to construct a sling out of foil (a strip folded three times and placed under the container with the ends coming up the side of the cooker) to more easily lower and raise the cake.

Jay
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Laura P.
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Cake baking relies on the expansion of gases (water vapor, CO2 from the reaction of baking soda and acid, and air) for a cake to rise. Higher pressure will mean the gases will expand less, meaning a denser cake. This is fine for some cake types which are meant to be dense, like polenta cakes for example, however for cakes that are supposed to be light and airy it wouldn't be a good choice.

Cakes also lose moisture in the oven, a pressure cooker will lock in moisture and prevent it from escaping, so you will probably need to reduce the amount of water in the recipe to compensate, and chose a cake that is meant to be very moist. Remember water comes from milk, butter, and eggs as well.

I could see using a pressure cooker working if you choose the right recipe and tweak it a bit.

GdD
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