Cake in a Mug

This past weekend, my husband and I enjoyed a long visit with our families.  It had been a stressful week, so it was nice to unwind and enjoy time with them.  My 4-year old niece impressed us last week by learning to ride her bike without training wheels, so I decided to make her a special cake.  It was a little rushed and didn't come out exactly as I wanted, but she loved it.  She decided we should sing her "Happy BIKEday" instead of "Happy Birthday".  She is very imaginative!

I had a little extra batter, so I decided to make some cupcakes as well.  I practiced my roses I have been learning in my Wilton cake decorating class and decided to decorate the cupcakes with them.

It was a baking filled weekend, as we also made a cake at my in-laws.  My mother-in-law was talking about a recipe she had been wanting to try.  It came out of a cookbook from a lady in the community.  The cookbook is full of wonderful stories and amazing recipes.

The recipe we tried out was the Chocolate Mug Cake that bakes in the microwave!  I had seen someone on the Food Network show, "Chopped," make a cake in the microwave, but had never tried one myself.  This cake is an easy treat and perfect for a quick snack for a couple people!

Cake batter in mug before cooking it in microwave

As we were making it, I already started thinking of ways to modify it.  One thing my husband and I tried when we made it tonight, was replacing the chocolate chips with butterscotch chips. This didn't work as well, the chips sunk to the bottom and didn't melt in the amount of time the cake baked.  But, the cake still tasted great and it gave me an idea.  Instead of replacing the flavoring inside, I decided to melt the chips and create a drizzle for the top.  This gave the cake an even richer taste that my husband loved!

Chocolate Mug Cake Ingredients:

• 4 tbs self-rising flour
• 4 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs cocoa
• 1 large coffee mug (microwave oven safe)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbs milk
• 3 tbs oil
• 3 tbs semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cake Directions:

1. Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.
2. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
3. Pour in the milk and oil, mix well.
4. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla, mix again.
5. Put your mug in the microwave oven and cook for 3 minutes. The cake will rise over the top of the mug.
6. Allow to cool a little and then enjoy from mug or tip out onto plate to enjoy.
7. Melt approx 1/2 cup butterscotch chips (or whatever flavor you prefer).  We melted them in the microwave stirring every 30 sec.  After about a min and a half, it was getting stiff so we added a little milk and continued to melt the butterscotch.
8. Enjoy!

These cakes would make a cute gift as well for the holidays.  Not only are you giving a friend a mug, but a delicious cake as well!