Res Hall Recipe: Microwave Mug Cake

By SARAH NAYLOR

This recipe is perfect for one of those long days where you are just too busy or too tired to spend hours in the kitchen baking and decorating a whole cake. It’s also a great treat to whip up in your dorm room. All you have to do is mix up a few ingredients, throw them in a coffee mug, heat it in the microwave and voila—a delicious individual serving of chocolate cake.

A lot of mug cake recipes have an unusual, spongy texture, but this recipe yields an incredibly moist, rich, fudgy cake with a deep chocolate flavor. You can make this cake even better by adding a scoop of Nutella right before microwaving it.

However, consider a few notes before making the cake: make sure that your mug holds around 14 ounces. If it is bigger, that’s fine, but if it is smaller, the cake might overflow in the microwave). When I made this cake, my 950 watt microwave was set to 100 percent power. If your microwave has a different wattage, you might need to adjust the cooking time.

Easy Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake For One

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-2 tablespoons unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder (You can use regular cocoa powder if you prefer).
-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
-Granulated sugar to taste (I would start with 2 tablespoons, then add more if you want a sweeter cake).
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon milk (You can substitute soy or almond milk to make this dairy-free. It will give it a slightly different, but still yummy, taste.).
-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
-1 tablespoon Nutella or other hazelnut chocolate spread.

(Other options: peanut butter, pieces of chocolate, chocolate chips, mini chocolate truffles or anything else you can think of that will melt well and add even more moisture to the cake).

Directions:
1. In a medium size bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (You can use a spoon if you don’t have a whisk).
2. Mix in the milk and vegetable oil until all ingredients are combined and there are no lumps in the batter.
3. Pour the batter into a microwave safe mug.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of Nutella (or other treat of your choice) into the middle of the batter. No need to press it into the batter. Just let it sit on the top.
5. Place a paper towel into the microwave and put the mug on top. (The paper is there in case the cake overflows; if your mug is 14 ounces or larger then you shouldn’t have to worry about it).
6. Microwave the mixture for 1 minute and 10 seconds.
7. Carefully remove from microwave.
8. Enjoy your 10-minute cake!