For A Hands-Off Breakfast, Reach For Your Rice Cooker

The rice cooker is an invention that was diligently perfected by a Japanese home cook and, thanks to their persistence, this machine makes cooking rice a convenient, quick, and hassle-free process. Of course, its name points to its primary function, but cooking meat, pasta, soup, or even baking a cake is possible in your rice cooker. So is cooking pancakes (well, a pancake). Pancakes are one of the most labour-intensive breakfast foods with constant monitoring and flipping required, but your rice cooker can make you one huge, fluffy pancake that only requires you to set and forget.

Once you've made your go-to pancake batter (ours is from Martha Stewart's fluffy pancake recipe), cover your rice cooker bowl with nonstick spray and then pour the batter in. With the lid on, turn on the "white rice" or "cook" function, and let your handy appliance do the rest. Your pancake should be ready in as little as 35 minutes. (You'll know it's ready when it has a slightly jiggly top and the bottom is golden.) Then, all that's left to do is flip the pancake onto a plate, cut it up like a cake, and serve it to some very impressed family members or guests.

Of course, this pancake method is by no means traditional, so there are a few things to keep in mind. Your rice cooker might automatically switch to "keep warm" after a certain amount of time, so make sure to switch it back to cooking mode if your pancake isn't finished cooking. The cooking time is dependent on your rice cooker size and model, so keep an eye out towards the end to make sure you don't overcook the pancake.

When creating your batter, avoid making it overly thick as this can result in a dry pancake. If your rice cooker has a capacity of 4 cups or less, it might be a good idea to halve your pancake recipe. Finally, since the top of your pancake will still be pale once done, insert a toothpick to double check it's ready. If it comes out clean, your pancake is fully cooked. It might take a little experimenting to get it right, but soon enough you'll be thanking your handy rice cooker for making you effortless breakfast pancakes.