Lockdown can definitely have an effect on our mood and during this time what we all need is a bit of a treat. Sometimes, we really need this treat to be something sweet. Baking has become even easier at home, with a number of recipes easily being made in a mug.
Desserts in a mug aren’t the same as baking in an oven, but they can give us all a quick hit of sugar when we need it, and with half of the mess that usually happens during usual baking sessions.
Brownie recipes are the most popular when it comes to baking in a mug, and with a huge variety of recipes that vary the measurements of ingredients you’ll be sure to find the one with the right flavour, texture and consistency for you.
Recipes usually contain only a few ingredients that are used in small amounts because you’re only cooking a small portion. Flour, granulated sugar, egg, milk and baking soda are the most common ingredients for making brownies in a mug, but Cooking Classy reported that one secret, unusual ingredient gave way to the best consistency of a mug brownie – mayonnaise.
While it seems extremely unusual and just down right wrong to put mayonnaise in a dessert, the food and recipe website reported that by adding a little bit of this ingredient, your brownie will turn out softer, fluffier and less dry because of what food elements make up mayonnaise.
The other most common recipe that works in mugs are cookies, which take roughly two minutes to cook in your microwave depending on the power, and less than 10 minutes to prepare. Similarly to brownies, they use egg, flour and sugar but they also need some butter, vanilla extract and of course chocolate chips. If you don’t have chocolate chips handy, just chop up a bit of a chocolate bar which will work just as well.
A variety of cakes can also be made in mugs, such as coffee cake, snickerdoodle cake, Nutella cakes and s’mores cakes. Purewow.com has listed and linked all of these recipes that you can easily see with the click of a button. As most of them contain the same base ingredients, you can easily switch up which one you’d like to make by adding the particular ingredients necessary for it.
Another great recipe you can make in a mug is a blueberry muffin, which only takes around two minutes in the microwave depending of course on the strength of your microwave at home. This simple recipe requires all the basic baking necessities like flour, butter, milk, vanilla extract and sugar but the key ingredient is of course blueberries.
With this in mind, you could easily tailor it to a different dessert such as a raspberry muffin instead if blueberries aren’t your thing.
Apple tarts and pies are a classic treat, and we can easily recreate the taste in the form of an apple crisp cake in the microwave. While it won’t be the exact same as a slice of apple tart, it will still ease that craving.
The recipe does contain basics like flour, butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar but it also needs a few more extras than the others. Of course, we need apples, but also some cinnamon and some oats.
All that has to be done is peeling and cutting the apple, mixing it with the granulated sugar and a bit of cinnamon. Stick it all in the microwave, then put all the other ingredients aside from the apples and oats into a cup and microwave for a few seconds. Then top this cup with the oats and apple, and you have your little apple cake.
Buying in sugary snacks can be one way to solve our sweet tooth, but what can be even more satisfying is baking them ourselves in the comfort of our own home. With so much variety in easily made microwavable mug recipes, its certain that there’s one that you’ll be really fond of.