Have you guys ever made mug cakes? Sorry if I’m late to this party, but I was recently enlightened and thought you might be curious too, especially if you have kids.  Mug cakes are essentially a mini cake, that you make in a mug, then microwave. The whole thing saves you lots of messy clean up, is easier than a traditional cake, and my kids love, LOVE making them. The only thing you sacrifice is taste (I realize this is a minor problem).  Technically, it’s not so much taste that you’re sacrificing as it is texture. I can never manage to get the cooking time right for our microwave, so my mug cakes always ended up dry. But I think with some experimenting you could master the baking time. It’s a game of seconds…literally.

Despite the subpar texture,  I’ve made these things again and again. Most recently,  we tried the Melt-in-the-Middle variety for dessert in Florida, hence, cakes by the ocean. Below is the recipe we tried, and here is the cookbook we own that has a ton of other recipes in it. I think it would make a great kids birthday present…a few fun mugs and the Mug Cake cookbook, am I right?

Melt-in-the-Middle Recipe

Slice of butter 1/2 inch thick
1 egg
4 tablespoons caster sugar (superfine sugar that can be bought or made by putting regular sugar in a blender)
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons cream
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 squares milk chocolate

Melt butter in a bowl for 20 seconds.

In mug: beat in one by one, the egg, sugar, vanilla sugar, cream, cocoa, flour, baking powder and melted butter.

Push the squares of milk chocolate into the center of the mixture.

Cook for 1 minute 20 seconds (warning: this time is based on an 800 watt microwave. check your wattage before cooking and adjust accordingly!)