Christina Tosi’s Crockpot Cake

Name: Christina Tosi’s Crockpot Cake
Total time: 5 h
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: 1/2 pound/226 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature; 1 1/4 cups/250 grams granulated sugar; 1/4 cup/45 grams packed light brown sugar; 3 large eggs; 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 3/4 cup/180 milliliters buttermilk; 1/3 cup/80 milliliters neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed; 1 1/2 cups/180 grams cake flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Recipe from “Milk Bar Life”

Adapted by Sam Sifton

Updated Nov. 11, 2022

Christina Tosi’s Crockpot Cake — Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Total Time: About 5 hours
Rating: 4(1,406)
Comments: Read comments

Christina Tosi, the pastry chef and an owner of Momofuku Milk Bar, sits near the beating heart of David Chang’s eclectic and innovative Momofuku restaurant empire. Off the clock, though, her cooking runs to inspired simplicity, as in this simple, tangy, slightly-caramelized at the edges slow-cooker cake, a version of which appears in her cookbook from Clarkson Potter, “Milk Bar Life.” Slow-cooker recipes invariably tell you to make something at night and enjoy them in the morning, or to make them in the morning and eat them after work. That only works if you don’t sleep much, or have a part-time job. This is a recipe for a weekend afternoon, or for cooking from the moment you get home until the very near end of a dinner party. It is a four-to-six hour affair. —Sam Sifton

Featured in: The Slow Cooker, Redeemed

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

½pound/226 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature
1¼cups/250 grams granulated sugar
¼cup/45 grams packed light brown sugar
3large eggs
1½teaspoons vanilla extract
¾cup/180 milliliters buttermilk
⅓cup/80 milliliters neutral oil, like canola or grapeseed
1½cups/180 grams cake flour
1teaspoon baking powder
1teaspoon kosher salt

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Put all but 1 tablespoon of the butter and the sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and cream with the paddle attachment at medium-high speed, until the mixture is smooth and pale, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Mix in the eggs and vanilla, then continue to mix for another 3 minutes, until fluffy. Add the buttermilk and oil and mix briefly to combine.
Step 2
Set the mixer to a very low speed and add the cake flour, baking powder and salt, mixing for a minute or so and scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the batter has just come together, with no lumps.
Step 3
Use the remaining tablespoon of butter to grease the interior of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, then pour the batter into the pot. Cover and cook on low for somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 6 hours, until the cake has set and is cooked through at the center. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the slow cooker to loosen the cake and then carefully invert onto a platter, or simply spoon the cake out of the slow cooker.

Ratings

4 out of 5

1,406 user ratings

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Comments

Claudia7 years ago

Baked in the oven at 300degrees, in a 9" springform, for 75 minutes. Greased the pan w/butter, lined the bottom with parchament paper, and buttered the paper. Actually, since I wasn't sure what temp to try, I started it at 350, reduced it to 325 for maybe 15 minutes until I just trusted my gut and lowered it to 300. I didn't want the top to brown too quickly, and the cake is sorta tall (which is why I couldn't use standard height cake pans). Next time I'll just start @ 300 and bake til done.

nell7 years ago

How does one invert a cake out of an insert in a slow cooker? Seems like it would break up on inversion.

Claudia7 years ago

Thanks for suggesting this. I tried it and it works. 9" springform, 300 degrees, 75+ minutes. I made more detailed notes above. I loved the crumb and tight texture of this cake, and there's such a lovely tang to it. It's simply delicious.

Walter6 months ago

I'm not sure how to rotate something in a crock pot. If it were lined with parchment paper, I guess that you could grasp the top edges of the parchment paper, lift slightly and then rotate.

Lynn1 year ago

First bust from a NYT recipe. Need to give us specific info on what kind of crock pot to use. After 6 hours, mine was still mush in the center. Taste would be good, will try again with suggestions from others using springform.

Nancy1 year ago

I'm curious: as crockpots vary from maker to maker, which one does she use? A high end, overly pricey one or your simple, everyday actual Crock Pot? I get it she does this for a living however it would be nice to have an insider's knowledge.

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