Cake in a Mug – Just for Fun!

Baking doesn’t always have to be serious – sometimes it’s good to have a bit of  a lark – you can certainly get that with a cake in a mug!  It’s tongue in cheek baking – a quick whip up in the office kitchen or something just to amuse the kids with.

Your own personal cake in a mug from start to finish in just over three minutes.

 I came across this thanks to the Just Milk Team (one of the partners for National Baking Week) – they had been baking cakes in mugs with little success and wondered if I could do any better?  Heck, yes!  The recipe that is all over the net is yuck, if you use it you’ll end up with a cross between a cake and scrambled egg and that’s so not a good taste.

Here it is in all its yucky glory – it looks like a bath sponge!

My recipe in fact makes two cakes in mugs – one for you and one to share.  You can always put the second in the fridge, uncooked and save it for later if you’re feeling mean.

I spent an hour fiddling about, welding cake mixture to fifty mugs, filling the house with the terrible smell of burnt microwaved cake and ended up with twenty cakes in mugs to eat/feed to the husband/children/chickens/cats….. I exaggerate but you get my drift. So here’s to Just Milk and Cake in a Mug!

Ingredients:

Jam Sponge

4 tbsps sunflower oil

2 tbsps milk

1 egg

5 tbsps sugar

6 tbsps self-raising flour

2 tbsps jam

Chocolate

4 tbsps sunflower oil

2 tbsps milk

1 egg

5 tbsps sugar

4 tbsps self-raising flour

2 tbsps cocoa powder

You need a mug and a tablespoon measure. (Do they have these in office kitchens? – take one in with you)

Into the mug place the ingredients – oil, milk, egg, sugar, self-raising flour and cocoa (if using).

Mix them up.  I’m imagining in an office kitchen you’d only have a teaspoon to mix with but forgive me for using a little whisk (I am a proper Baker……no, really….)

Tip half of the mixture into a second mug

If you’re doing the jam sponge add a tablespoon dollop of jam to each mug, just don’t stir it up.

Microwave each for two and a half minutes on full power (based on an 800W microwave, adjust up or down slightly depending on your wattage).

Messy messy messy – see the fifty mugs?!?

Serve (with a dollop of custard if you can lay your hands on some!)

A few important points to note –

• Eat these warm, they’re not sophisticated in taste, or texture and aren’t overly nice when cold!
• Make sure you’re using microwave safe mugs.
• Have fun – it’s not serious baking – amaze the office with a ‘look what I whipped up’ or get the kids in the kitchen giving it a go – heck make it yourself for a late night treat!

Cake in a Mug

Ruth Clemens, Baker Extraordinaire