Old Fashioned Chocolate Brownie Cake... In a Slow Cooker

I was sifting through vintage cookbooks at Half Price Books this weekend and found one with slow cooker favorites.  As I'm getting more and more into using this cooking method for "quick" meals on nights we hit the gym,  I picked one up.  The most interesting chapter was on desserts(!?) - yes, desserts!  Intrigued, I noticed a recipe for slow cooker chocolate brownie cake.  Now, I recently made a microwave chocolate cake, so it seemed only fitting to incorporate another "alternative" cooking method and see what happens.  That, and I'm a serious chocoholic!

The ingredients weren't anything crazy, but trusting that a slow cooker would create a cake that wasn't a soupy mess was a bit of a leap of faith.  I modernized the recipe by using real butter (this called for margarine), adding some espresso powder (to enhance chocolate flavor), and substituting bittersweet chocolate chips for semi-sweet (because it's what I had).  I have to say, after it cooked, I was convinced!  It makes a moist, fudgy, dense chocolate cake.  Here is a pic of what it looked like when it finished cooking.

Slow cooked perfection

Note: I used a 7-qt rectangular slow cooker, so my cake came out thinner and cooked in about half the time (1.5 hours) that the recipe noted.  I stacked two of the thin slices for the pic below.  The original recipe calls for a 4-quart cooker.  Adjust your cooking time according to your specific cooker size.  Below, is how I chose to serve it with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of fudge syrup.

Mmm mmm good!

Slow Cooker Brownie Cake Squares

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup less 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional (if omitting, use 1/3 cup cocoa powder)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup fat-free evaporated milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

Coat 4-qt or larger slow cooker with cooking spray.  Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, espresso powder (if using), baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine milk, butter, egg, and vanilla extract.  Mix in flour mixture until smooth.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Spread batter evenly in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low 2 - 3 hours, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  (If cooker is larger, start with 1 1/2 hours and test.  Continue checking every 30 minutes).  Let cool, uncovered, 15 minutes.  Remove insert from cooker and invert contents over rack, or let cool completely.  Cut into 12 squares.

Happy eating!