A Mug of Chocolate Cake

 

Delicious baked sweets are my downfall. Nothing like the right combination of butter, sugar, and flour. Throw in chocolate, oooh-la-la! Call the concoction a doughnut, faaaaan-tas-tic!

It's a good thing a doughnut costs 75 cents or more in this town and nobody makes a good one enough for me to want to buy one anymore. If I want the taste of a delicious doughnut, I'll drive about 10 miles to the next town and pay the extravagant cost of 50 cents for a raised sugar doughnut hole or 75 cents for a cinnamon doughnut hole, a chocolate dipped doughnut hole, an apple fritter doughnut hole, or a cream-filled doughnut hole.

I digress. Back to my topic. You've no doubt come across recipes for microwaving a cake recipe in a cup. Maybe you've even tried one. If you haven't, a microwaved "cup cake" does the trick when you want a sweet taste of something "baked" and don't want the hassle of making it or going to the store. I like that my recipe is quick, easy, and very adaptable. I use a mug instead of a cup because mugs are what we have.

Here's my basic recipe (I use a regular spoon that's about equivalent to a tablespoon measurement):
Mix 2 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, and a quarter teaspoon of baking powder in a mug. Then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of milk. Combine well. Optional: Add a few chocolate chips. Microwave for one minute. If it doesn't look done, microwave for 10 more seconds. The finished product fills about half of the mug.

Last night, I modified my recipe by stirring in 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut to the dry mixture. I didn't have milk so I substituted 1 tablespoon of my homemade limoncello and 1 tablespoon of water. I topped the batter with about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese before putting the mug in the microwave.  Yummmm.