Recipe: Quick Chocolate Mug Cake

2014 is a year of great change in our house, and the biggest change will hit in September when number one son goes off to University.  It’s going to be strange, and there’s going to be a hole in the household (which I’m hoping Skype can fill), but for him it’s all part of becoming an adult and I’ll just have to get used to it.  I thought it would be a great idea to start blogging some quick and simple recipes that he (and others out there) might find useful, so I’ve been looking for ideas in my recipe books and on the web.  I came across this recipe on YouTube for a Simple 5 Minute Mug Cake from the Simple Cooking Channel, which fits the bill, and it tastes great.  I’ve done my usual thing and cut down the sugar quantity, but you can stick to the original if you like.  I just prefer things not so sweet!  Here’s how to make it:




Ingredients:

4 tablespoons self raising flour
4 tablespoons sugar (I used 2!)
2 tablespoons cocoa
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (I used rapeseed oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract
3 tablespoons chocolate chips

Method:

1. Take a big microwave-safe mug (everything is mixed and cooked in here).  Put in the self raising flour, sugar and cocoa, and mix well.

2. Crack the egg in and mix up well.  This is quite sticky, but don’t worry!

3. Add the milk and oil, and give it another good mix.

4. Add the vanilla and chocolate chips, and mix really well.

5. Place the mug containing the mixture in the microwave and cook – The Simple Cooking Channel recommends 3 minutes in a 1000 Watt microwave, so you will have to adjust the time up or down, depending on the power rating of your microwave.  Mine is 900 Watts, but I cooked my mug cake for 3 minutes and it came out fine.  While it’s cooking it’s a bit scary, as the cake rises up, well above the rim of the mug.  Don’t worry though, because it sinks back down when it’s finished cooking – well, mine did anyway...

6. Eat the cake out of the mug, but be careful, as it’s really hot.

Result:

This mug cake tastes wonderful, but I’m not sure it needs quite so many chocolate chips.  I found they all sank to the bottom during cooking, so the bottom of the cake was quite sickly (for me, anyway!).  I’d be tempted to add chopped hazlenuts next time, rather than chocolate chips, or maybe some raspberries or strawberries, depending on what’s in season.  As the cake cools, it does, like other microwave cakes, go a little rubbery, so I’d suggest you eat it before it gets to that stage!

Even though this cake was a little rich for me, it deserves a ‘Hall of Fame’ place because the beauty of this recipe is that it’s quick, it’s simple, it’s adaptable, it’s cheap and there’s hardly any washing up!  That’s got to be a plus point, especially for a student.  So, number one son, this one’s for you!  I hope you try it, and if anyone else out there does, please come back to us and let us know how you got on.  You can leave a message in the comments section below.  Happy cooking!