Posted on Wednesday, 28th July 2010 by Grace

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I am a big food photography fan and you can usually find me drooling all over the food pics at FoodGawker. It’s amazing how many talented cooks and bakers there are out there. Last week a couple of pics stood out to me and apparently to everyone else too because they made the most gawked list for this month, 5 minute microwave cakes.  Almost Bourdain did a gluten free version. If you ever do a search for these quick and easy chocolate sweet cakes in a mug they all seem to be centred around the same few ingredients and they are all baked for 3 to 5 minutes.

A close up photo of a 3-minute chocolate sweet cake baked in a mug in the microwave and garnished with a fresh strawberry.

When we were planning my niece’s bridal shower we were on the hunt for perfect gifts for winners of the bridal shower games.  I was out shopping one day and I visited one of my favourite kitchen shops, Kiss the Cook (what a perfect name!) and I ran across a 3-piece Sweet Cakes set, large latte mug, saucer and spoon and with it came a recipe for these quick and easy microwave cakes.

I quickly realized I’d forgotten to throw it in the mix of gifts we’d picked up for the shower.  It was all ready to go, I’d wrapped it in cello and I had attached little cello bags, one with chocolate chips and another with all of the dry ingredients, the winner only had to add a few ingredients and they could satisfy their chocolate craving.

A close up photo of a 3-piece Sweet Cakes set, latte bowl, saucer, spoon, cake ingredients and chocolate chips wrapped in cello and tied with a brown ribbon.

I am always craving chocolate so I set out to see if these little cakes would fit the bill. I tried the recipe that came with the box but I found the cake to be a little spongy and heavy, so I set out to tweak the recipe a little.  The original recipe called for 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, 3 tablespoons of oil and 3 tablespoons of milk along with the other ingredients.  I love the taste of butter in my cakes so I switched out the oil.  I was hoping by reducing the amount of cocoa, and adding the melted dark chocolate, that it would not only make the cake tastier but I was hoping to achieve a gooier centre.  I used pastry flour and also increased the milk just a tad to achieve a lighter cake.

A close up photo of a 3 minute chocolate sweet cake baked in a mug in the microwave garnished with a fresh blackberry and strawberry.

If you look at the second picture of the cake (original recipe), paying attention to the lines in the mug, and then the first picture (tweaked recipe) you’ll see the version of the tweaked recipe produced a higher cake. It was definitely lighter and it was much gooier inside and the taste was magnificent.

This recipe is perfect for testing out different flavour combinations, if you’re not happy with the taste you haven’t wasted the amount of ingredients that are required to make a larger cake.  So get creative add different spices, add fruit, try it with white chocolate, so many possibilities and it takes so little time.

A photo of a 3-minute chocolate sweet cake garnished with a fresh strawberry baked and served in a mug, placed on a saucer sitting on a folded white napkin on a pink runner with a spoon and a few chocolate chips placed in front of the saucer.

Lucky Me! I guess I was the biggest winner after all.

Chocolate Sweet Cake In A Mug

*Special Equipment – 16.9 ounce mug

A close up photo of a 3-minute chocolate sweet cake baked in a mug in the microwave garnished with a fresh strawberry.

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 40 g good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped, room temperature
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons pastry flour
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 egg
  • 3 1/2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 4 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips
  1. Place butter and chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl.  Microwave at medium power for 8 seconds, stir.  Repeat at 8 second intervals, stirring in between until chocolate and butter are melted.  Set aside.
  2. Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift flour, sugar and cocoa into a small bowl.   Add the egg and whisk until well combined.  Add milk and vanilla and whisk to combine.  Add chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.
  3. Add chocolate chips, using a wooden spoon, stir to combine.
  4. Pour batter into a microwave safe mug.  Place mug in microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).  The cake will rise over the top of the mug, don’t be alarmed, it will drop.  Allow to cool a little.  Eat straight from the mug or if you prefer tip onto a plate.  Add yummy toppings (sweetened whipped cream, ice cream, fresh fruit, shaved chocolate, icing sugar).  Enjoy!

Related posts:

  1. Brownie Hearts – Chocolate Goodness
  2. White Chocolate Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips
  3. Raspberry, Blueberry, Cream Cheese and Mascarpone Pound Cake
  4. Warm Strawberry Cake, Baked In A Teacup & Hazelnut-Orange Rochers
  5. Want To Learn How To Make Gordon Ramsay’s Favourite Dessert? – Hot Chocolate Fondant

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Baking & Pastry, Baking Mise en Place, Pastry Doughs & Batter, Recipes

Comments (18)

18 Responses to “Craving Chocolate? Quick and Easy 3 Minute Sweet Cake In A Mug”

  1. Marjorie Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 10:32 am

    This recipe looks delicious. Another one to add to the list of things to make. Sigh, my scale! LOL FoodGawker is amazing!

  2. Marly Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 10:44 am

    Cake in a mug. How cute! Is it safe to bake it like that? I would have never thought of that. Sounds absolutely delicious. I made some chocolate cookies yesterday that turned out really good. I’ll probably post the recipe soon…

  3. Grace Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 11:00 am

    Hey Marly, can’t wait to see, I found a recipe for cute Fudge Drop cookies that I am dying to make, but are you ready for this, I do not have one ounce of chocolate left in the house, can’t believe it!

  4. Grace Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 11:02 am

    p.s. make sure the mug is microwave safe – when it’s baking it looks like it will blow up but don’t worry it won’t

  5. Grace Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 11:03 am

    Oh I so agree Marjorie, so many delicious treats!

  6. Gera @ Sweets Foods Blog Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    You’ve made this post for me, right? Chocolate and strawberries!! So beautiful presentation and as a chocoholic, this is heavenly :)

    Cheers,

    Gera

  7. HoneyB Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 6:35 pm

    I will have to try this when I am alone and craving chocolate! ;o) Which could be very soon! lol

  8. Grace Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 7:17 pm

    Of course I did Gera! Ah, someone else that loves chocolate & strawberries, mmm!

  9. Grace Says:
    July 28th, 2010 at 7:21 pm

    I am always craving chocolate! It is big enough to put into two smaller mugs if you’re feeling generous enough to share.

  10. Jane Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 9:35 am

    Beautiful little cake, and beautiful mug, too! Very nice recipe and a lovely post. You take great photos.

  11. Grace Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 9:55 am

    Thank you so much Jane and thank you for visiting.

  12. SMITH BITES Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 11:39 am

    I love individual desserts like this and what a fun thing to use for prizes – lucky winners!

  13. Ryan Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    Chocolate + Mug + 3 Minutes = Happy me. This looks delicious Grace.

  14. Grace Says:
    July 29th, 2010 at 11:36 pm

    Happy me too! Thanks Ryan

  15. Stacey N. Says:
    July 30th, 2010 at 10:50 am

    Thanks for sharing such fun recipes and for letting us know about that FoodGawker site. I love it!

  16. Marly Says:
    July 30th, 2010 at 11:00 am

    Another benefit of the mug is that it feels more like your own – you don’t have to share with anyone…unless you just want to. But who wants to do that? I had to come back today to see what others said about this dessert. I knew everyone else would love it too!

  17. Taylor Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 9:24 pm

    This recipe could be dangerous…it makes eating chocolate cake way too easy! Love it :)

  18. Grace Says:
    July 31st, 2010 at 10:59 pm

    Believe me it is, I’ve had it 3 times in the last week. I added some raspberries the other day and it was delicious. Enjoy Taylor

Leave a Reply