Bake A Cake In A Mug In Your Microwave!

Whilst on lunch break at work I often look through Google images for cake decorating ideas, or amazon for new recipe books, or baking blogs for anything and everything.  I stumbled across this recipe yesterday and I did try it last night but wasn't satisfied with how it turned out so I tried it our again tonight and got much better results.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp plain flour

4 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 egg, beaten

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)

3 tbsp chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla extract

(I would've included flour in the photo if only the bag I had weren't a huge 25lb sack, lol)

First, put all the dry ingredients into your mug (try to find a mug that's slightly larger than normal, I used a normal sized mug the first time I made this and there was a little overspill).  Mix the dry ingredients with a fork until well combined.

Next, beat your egg and add to the mug.  Mix well, it will be very sticky.

Stir in your milk and oil.  The mixture will become much easier to mix.  Make sure you scrape the bottom of the cup with your fork to get any unmixed ingredients.

Add in your chocolate chips and vanilla.  If you don't want to use chocolate chips, get creative!  I used mint chips the first time I made this, for this attempt I used butterscotch chips and toasted pecans.  For a more colourful cake add M&Ms, or use peanut butter chips.  Try toffee pieces or fudge!  Whatever your sweet tooth is craving, throw it in there!

Mix the ingredients again, then move it to the microwave!  Cooking times are around 3 minutes for a 1000W microwave or 4 minutes for a 700W microwave.  To be safe (and to save on clean up time) put a plate under your mug when it's in the microwave.

When your cake is done, remove from the microwave and use a cake tester to see if it is cooked properly, it should come out clean when you insert in into your cake. The cake will also deflate slightly as it cools.

And there you have it!  A perfectly sized individual dessert ready in about 10 minutes!  It's great if you want a quick sweet treat and don't have a lot of ingredients on hand.  The cake is really hot so even though it might smell super yummy be careful when you tuck in.

Enjoy!

Banana Bread with Coconut and Pecans

I had bananas left over from the vegan banana bread I made recently so I wanted to try out a new banana bread recipe I had come across.

Ingredients:

3 cups plain flour

11/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup canola oil (I used coconut oil)

11/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten

11/2 tsp vanilla extract

11/2 cups bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sour cream (I used plain yoghurt)

11/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Preheat oven 180°C (350°F) Gas Mark 4

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  In a large bowl, beat together the oil and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Add the bananas and sour cream and beat well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until everything is just combined.  Stir in the pecans and coconut.  Pour batter into greased loaf tin until it is half full (I got 2 banana bread loaves from one batch).  Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the loaf.  Allow to cool for at least an hour before removing it from the pan and serving.  Tastes great plain, or with a little bit of butter.

To toast pecans: place nuts on a baking tray and heat in the oven (180°C/ 350°F/ Gas Mark 4) for 15 minutes or until light brown and fragrant.