5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Jeanne slipped me an interesting challenge. Make a mug cake in five minutes. The sweeter the research, the better, so I followed the recipe on a Sunday afternoon, as daffodils popped their leaves in a gentle rain.

Know what? Her recipe works. From stirring batter in a mug to a final spin in the microwave, the whole creative process took five minutes. This opens up entirely new territory in the "I've got a craving and no place to go" category. If you've got flour, sugar, some cocoa and an egg, you're on your way to the fastest fixer upper I've ever tasted.

The recipe suggests adding semisweet chocolate bits, but now that I've made it, I sense a longing for a deeper chocolate experience.

Don't misunderstand: The version as given below works quite well. But if you want to fling it up a notch, fiddle around with some of the flavored dark chocolates, instead of the semisweet versions. Try adding a little orange peel, a splash of orange liqueur, or a chocolate liqueur such as Kahlua. You might even give it a splash of Kirschwasser - a nudge with the cherry brandy.

I'm thinking a splash of mint flavor, too. Now that I know it really bakes up in 5 minutes, I feel like playing around a little with the same devotion I would give the tango - hand to the heart, head to the floor.


5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix 
thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous). And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

(photo featuring a commemorative plate of the Marine Transportation Building, New York World's Fair 1939.)