What is this elusive craft?
Everyone's heard of mug cakes, but people think of them as decadent 1-person snacks. They are quite the opposite, they're ugly, crude, and delicious. I've spent the past three years locked away in my man cave, with much time to perfect and master this scrumptious artform. In this exclusive article, we'll take a peek at the kitchen secrets of a mug cake maestro.
The foundation of your mug cake mania
The first step to understanding mug cakes is understanding that every mug cake is the same. Once you've found your own ideal base recipe, you can add whatever spice or ingredient (icing if you're feeling fancy) and turn this blank slate of a cake into any cake one can imagine.
A mug cake that's right for you
Everyone has different preferences, some like chewier, some like crumblier, richer, lighter. It's all up to personal preferance, and since a mug cake is for you and you only, you can tweak the recipe until it's perfect for you.
Mythbusting
There's a myth that mug cakes are minute-long projects, but mug cakes are so much more than that. They're a way of living, and they can take anywhere from 2-30 minutes. Never rush yourself into this eloquent art.
My Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe
This is the moment you've all been waiting for, if you have the ingredients you can try it tonight. If not, I'm sure you can substitute some stuff—after all, the point of a mug cake is to be easy to make no matter the ingredients you have at hand. If you're out of cocoa powder, put some lemon zest/juice, and extra sugar (to compensate for the missing cocoa powder) in and poppy seeds if you have them. This is just one example of how you can improvise with your mug cakes to enjoy any night regardless of what's in your pantry.
Dishes Used:
- 1 tablespoon measure
- 1 fork
- 1 mug
Recipe:
- 3 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking powder (I eyeball this with the tablespoon measure, to avoid using another measuring cup)
- 3 tbsp chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp milk
Dump it all into a mug (dry ingredients first to prevent getting liquids on your measuring cup), mix, and microwave for 1 minute 20 seconds. Have the best night of your life. Homework suddenly has become enjoyable.
Here's a review of my mug cake by my bestie Griffin, who, in his noviceness to mug cakes, did not realize his batter was too wet.
Takeaway: If your batter is too wet, add extra flour. If you want the cake to stick together more, add an egg
How could it possibly get gooier
It can, and it can get waaaaay tastier. Introducing: the mug cinnamon roll. This thing is so rediculously simple you'll wonder why yeasted cinnamon rolls even exist.
Dishes used:
- 2 bowls (3 if you want glaze)
- 1 mug
- 1 fork (2 if you don't want raw dough on your fork, it doesn't have eggs though just raw flour, so your call)
- your hands will get dough on them. be ready to wash them.
In the first bowl mix (add more flour until it has the consistancy of dough, it should be easily roll-able):
- 8 tbsp flour
- 5 tbsp yogurt (tested on non-greek yogurt, lower flour amount for greek yogurt)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
Yes, that's it, and it even replicates the consistancy of dough
In the second bowl mix (until clumpy):
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- (optional) 3tbsp flour for clumpiness
OPTIONALLY in the third bowl mix:
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- drop of vanilla (or water)
After mixing the dough with your fork, use your hands to roll it and press it into a sheet ~2 inches tall, use your bowl (turned upside-down if needed) to lay the sheet of dough, and dump your cinnamon mixture on it, using your fingers to spread it to the outer reaches of the roll. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 40 seconds, or longer until it's not gummy (do the toothpick test if you're worried, stick a toothpick in and if it comes out clean your roll is done). If you made glaze, now pour that on. Stick your fork in, and chow down. Nobody will know it isn't the real thing.
But wait...there's more
What if I told you, that if you took out the flour as well as some other stuff, a chocolate mug cake turns into super easy microwave hot chocolate for when you need to feel cozy. I make this every time I need to watch a 3+ hour video essay at midnight, because it makes the atmosphere 10 times better.
Microwave hot chocolate consists of 3 parts, the base, the chocolate, and the thickener. Many call it quits at the chocolate part, but with these tricks up your sleeve nobody will be able to turn down a mug of hot chocolate made by you.
For the base, DO NOT USE WATER. In my book, a cold glass of water is more satisfying than trying to turn water into something it's not meant to be. For a base, you can use milk, or milk and cream for added richness. If you use only cream it becomes drinking chocolate, which you should make in much smaller quantities for the sake of your loo.
For the chocolate, cocoa powder is a must, but you can also melt in chocolate chips, and put in nutella if you're feeling naughty. You'll want sugar as well. You can also combine these options, for extra chocolate.
For thickeners, unless you know what you're doing, do NOT use cornstarch. I find putting in a couple marshmallows before I microwave the hot chocolate results in thicker, foamier hot chocolate. Aside from marshmallows, consider adding nutella or a similar chocolate spread not just for the chocolate but also for the added thickness.
I like to microwave my hot chocolate in two segments, I microwave for one minute, stir, microwave another minute, and fully incorporate everything. This way I get maximally smooth hot chocolate.
