3 Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Cupcakes are so named because the first ones were actually baked in tea cups and similar crockery, before an open fire. Most of us don't cook on fires at home anymore, but we can still make individual cakes, one serving at a time. This recipe takes only a minute to mix up, and less than five minutes to bake. The portion is rather bigger than the tiny cupcakes of our ancestors, so it should be thought of as an occasional treat and not a staple in your diet.

Microwaved Chocolate Cake in a Mug Recipe
1/4 cup (50 mL) each flour and sugar
2 tbsp (30 mL) cocoa
1 small egg, or about ½ a mashed banana
3 tbsp each (45 mL) 2% milk and vegetable oil
3 tbsp (45 mL) chocolate chips or chopped nuts (optional)
tiny splash of vanilla

Mix the flour, sugar and cocoa in a large, microwavable coffee mug. Stir in the egg, milk, oil and vanilla. If you are adding chocolate chips or nuts, stir them in once the batter is well mixed. If you want to make a vegan version, use the banana instead of the egg and substitute soy or almond milk for the cow's milk.

Place the mug on a microwave safe plate or saucer. Cook your cake for 3 minutes on high in a 1000W microwave oven. If your microwave power is not 1000W, you can find the correct time for your oven by consulting a conversion chart. (If you are not sure what the power of your microwave is, you can find out by boiling one cup of water in it. This chart matches the time required with the power in Watts.)

The cake will rise while cooking, and may come right up over the side of your mug. It may drip a bit down the side of the mug, but in my experience it doesn't generally make a huge mess in the microwave if you use a large enough mug (the one pictured in the photo is a medium sized Pyrex mug - a bit too small for this recipe!) The mug and cake will be hot, so use an oven mitt to remove them from the oven.

Enjoy warm with a spoon, right out of the oven. If you aren't up to eating such a generous portion, cool a bit and remove the cake from the mug. It can be cut into pieces and shared. Of course, this also allows you to add a scoop of ice cream!

You can make up zipper bags or decorative jars with individual servings of the dry ingredients in them. Store them in your cupboard for your next late night chocolate craving, or give them as gifts. They make a great stocking stuffer for a college student who doesn't have access to an oven in the dorm.

Sources:
Heidi Southpaw, "Chocolate cake in a mug." jhcckkm (formerly Southpaw Homeschooling) blog

Marie T. Smith, Microwave cooking for one