It's hard surviving college even without eating the over-processed, over-sweetened, corn syrup-laced abominations to baked goods they serve in the dining hall—but fear not, you can bake a sponge cake instead.

Sponge cake is one of humanity's greatest inventions: using just eggs, flour, salt, vanilla and sugar produces a dense, delectable baked product that's the perfect base for all sorts of icing, frosting, filling, topping, and glaze your heart desires.

The recipe hinges on the egg whites' ability to thicken when air and sugar is mixed into them, oftentimes doubling the volume of the eggs, allowing the cake to rise while baking. Because of this, there's no need to add chemical leaveners such as baking soda to make the cake rise. Adding flour to the thickened mixture produces a beautiful, thick, sticky cake batter.

The glaze should be creamy, sweet and just thin enough to soak into the cake. Find the recipe I used here. I approve of it.

Rice Cooker Sponge Cake

  • Prep Time:40 mins
  • Cook Time:1 hr 30 mins
  • Total Time:2 hrs 10 mins
  • Servings:12
  • Medium

    Ingredients

  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Step 1

    Before one can bake, one must collect and organize one's ingredients. Gather your ingredients.

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    Chase Dooley
  • Step 2

    Crack the six eggs into the bowl of a rice cooker or into a medium-sized bowl if you're not using a rice cooker to "bake" the cake.

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  • Step 3

    Whisk the eggs for about a minute then add your cup of sugar and mix it into the eggs.

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    Chase Dooley
  • Step 4

    Now whisk the hell out of it. Seriously, if you don't have one of 'em fancy electric stand mixtures, you need to hand whisk the mixture for about 30 minutes until it's doubled in volume. At least when you're done you'll have beefy arms like Gordon Ramsay.

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    Chase Dooley
  • Step 5

    Once the egg/sugar mixture is thickened to about double in volume, add your vanilla and salt. Mix them in for about a minute.

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    Chase Dooley
  • Step 6

    Add your cup of sifted flour. It's important that the flour's sifted so it'll combine smoothly.

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    Chase Dooley
  • Step 7

    Whisk in the flour for about five minutes. The batter should be thick and sticky. You should be able to draw an "S" in the batter.

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    Chase Dooley
  • Step 8

    Pop the bowl into the rice cooker. Set function to "Cake" and the cook-time to 1 hour and 20 minutes.

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  • Step 9

    Once the time is up, check the doneness with the toothpick method. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, cook it for a bit longer. Remember: cooking times vary.

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  • Step 10

    When the cake is done, take the pot out of the rice cooker and set aside to cool. Don't attempt to take the cake out while it's still warm; otherwise, it'll break and you'll be a sad college baker.

    #SpoonTip: Note the pot holder underneath the pot—don't burn your countertop.

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  • Step 11

    When cool, use a knife to separate the cake from the pot, then turn it over on a plate and leave for 30 minutes. Do not try to force the cake out of the pot or you could break it. It's easier to just let the thing fall out of the pot.

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  • Step 12

    Once the cake is out of the pot, pour a glaze over it and bam! You just made a sponge cake from scratch using a rice cooker and a hand whisk. I'd put that on your resume (but not really).

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