Let Them Eat CAKE!!!

SO .... not ALL instant pots are the same.  I've found there many varieties of this beast out there and they are not all my cup of tea.  This one is the Duo50, meaning five quart, with the yogurt function and the ability to change from low to medium to high pressure.  Not that I will ever make yogurt, but it might be fun on a rainy boring day.

The LUX model has a handle on the lid that is hard to grasp, no yogurt function and only high pressure cooking.  I know this because I ordered a second one for the house, since THIS one will live in the motorhome.

While playing with the new phone app I purchased for $4.99 called PAPRIKA, I happened to find a recipe for cake.  Cake in a pressure cooker???  That's a challenge if I ever heard one!!

But first ... the APP.  Once downloaded to your phone, you can browse the internet for recipes, or even Facebook since many people on the Instant Pot Site post their favorites.  Touch the URL at the top of your phone until it says COPY (sometimes you have to touch the WORD copy, most times not).  Then open the app.  

It automatically sees you have copied something and asks if you want to LOAD it.  Click on LOAD.  The recipe comes up on your phone.  In the bottom right corner of Paprika, click on SAVE RECIPE.  When that's done, you have to click on CREATE RECIPE at the top of the app.  VOILA!!  Now touch the three lines in the top left corner (menu) and click on RECIPES.  There you will have all the recipes you just copied.  Pretty cool!!!  It's not just for Instant Pot ... it's for ANY recipe you want to save.  Much better than the 300 screen shots in my Camera Album.

Back to cake ... I happened to have a box of chocolate cake mix in the cupboard.  I know, I'm on a diet, but I wanted to try it out.  Turns out it was a yellow cake mix ... not NEAR as appetizing as chocolate!!  I whipped it up and followed the instructions to line the bottom of a 7" cake pan.  You're supposed to do this TWICE, once for each layer.  Well poo on that ... I only want ONE layer and I only have an 8" cake pan.  That may be what gets me in trouble with my cooking.

I cut a piece of parchment paper for the bottom of the pan, sprayed the sides with cooking spray and dumped in the cake.  I placed a piece of foil over the top as directed.  Otherwise the cake will be a little damp on top ... like a wet dog!!  I placed 1-1/2 cups of water in the pot and set the trivet inside with the cake on top of it.  And AWAY WE GO!!

Since there's so much batter, I set the timer for 40 minutes instead of 30 and hit the start button.  These things are so quiet you never really know if it's working or not, but finally the timer came on, meaning it reached pressure.  I wasn't too sure of the larger pan leaving little to no room in the pot, so I watched it from the dining room, half hidden behind a door in case it decided to explode.  

When the timer finally went off and the pressure decreased on it's own for ten minutes, I popped the top.  See that piece of folded aluminum foil?  You place that under the pot and up the sides so you have a way to get the pot OUT of the cooker.  It worked like a charm.  The cake felt done and had just begun to pull away from the sides.

It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get it out of the pan.  I haven't done THIS part in ages.  It slipped right out, I peeled the paper off the bottom and left it to cool.  BOY it looked good!!  

A couple hours later when it finally cooled enough ... being so thick and dense, it took awhile ... I frosted it with yummy chocolate frosting.  Then it was time for the all important TASTE TEST.  Not bad ... not bad at all ... so dense, moist and tasty ... but I didn't eat ALL of that big slice.  It was just too sweet.  I got about half down before putting it all in the freezer.  After all, I'm on a diet!!

Speaking of the DIET ... I've lost two pounds this week.  I know it takes just as long to take it off as it did to put it on.  Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up for a few weeks.  I've given up most all carbs ... no breakfast toast, no potatoes, no crackers, NO ICE CREAM ... and I'm sticking to meat and vegetables, made much easier by the idea of using the new pressure cooker.

Lastly for today, I have some interesting news.  My friends Patty and Pat have found the "perfect" place for me in Vail ... right in their neighborhood ... that is for sale by my original real estate agent.  She and her husband are moving as soon as they can find another house.  I've only heard wonderful things and I've seen a few pictures that look awesome.  

Mr. Chance and his tractor can easily fix the driveway and parking pad for the motorhome.  The only downside to the whole thing is the proximity of the trains.  It won't bother me during the day at all ... at night it might be a different story. 

So this afternoon, I'm flying back to Tucson International for a look see in person.  This may be the ONE!!  Pictures to follow.