Halloween is a time of year known for monsters, costumes, horror movies and sweets. For most people these sweets are of the store-bought, candied, variety. Others will look for alternative sweets, such as homemade chocolates and cakes.
This however can be difficult for those living in dorms, as they do not have access to cookware or ovens. One chocolate cake recipe only relies on two bowls, a spoon, a microwave and a coffee mug.
The needed ingredients for one Mug Cake are:
4 tablespoons cake flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon baking powder or just a small pinch
1/8 teaspoon salt, another small pinch
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
The first step is to measure out four tablespoons of cake flower, four of sugar, and two tablespoons of cocoa powder into a bowl.
There are a few quick advisories on this step. The first is to be sure you put the proper amount of materials in the bowl. If you are off in the levels of ingredients, the cake will not come out right, or in some cases not cook at all.
The second advisory is to not try eating the raw cocoa powder. Yes, it is chocolate, but it is strong and somewhat bitter and leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Mix the flour, sugar and cocoa powder in the bowl, while adding the pinches of salt and baking powder, until they are consistently mixed. A tablespoon would work well here for the mixing.
Next, in another bowl, carefully crack open the egg and pour it into the bowl.
Be careful to avoid any shells getting in there too. Now beat the egg, which means to stir it rapidly until the yolk and whites are mixed together and the egg is a soupy yellow liquid.
Once the egg is beat, pour it into the bowl with the mixed powders. Mix the egg into the powder thoroughly until it forms a dry mushy mixture. Then add three tablespoons of milk and three tablespoons of oil.
Vegetable oil will work well here, it is cheap and easy to find. Mix all of this together until all of the powder has joined the liquid into making the batter.
Then pour the batter into a tall coffee mug. It is recommended to grease the interior of the mug first with some sort of cooking spray, but depending on how it is served it may not be necessary.
Place the mug in the microwave on high between 2 1/2 and 3 minutes. When the cake is done, it will most likely have risen to over the rim of the mug.
Be careful when you remove the mug from the microwave, it will be hot.
There are two options for how to serve the cake. It is entirely possible to leave it in the mug and cover it with whipped topping or frosting.
On the other hand, the cake can be removed from the mug and served on a plate.
When the cake is removed from the mug, do not be surprised if it looks like an angry Frankenstein’s monster…or a pile of mud with a snarl, this can be fixed with a healthy dose of icing.
The cake is best served warm. If it is cooled, just pop it back in the microwave for a few seconds to heat it back up.
Homemade in the Microwave: Mug Cake
