With winter fast approaching and our workloads building up, we all need a little pick me up every now and again. So this week I took one for the team and made a microwave cake a day to give you some tried and tested recipes. Enjoy!
DR OETKER CHOCOLATE CHIP
This latest Dr Oetker product seems like a student dream: all the joy of a homemade cake, without the cost and hassle of fresh ingredients. All you need to do is add a few tablespoons of milk to one of their sachets (available in chocolate, lemon and my choice chocolate chip). Unfortunately, my cake came out dry and plastic-y so I only ate half of it, opting for Doritos and guac instead. Maybe it was the chocolate digestive I added to it, or the unpredictable uni microwave. Either way, I would only recommend Dr Oetker’s cake in a mug if you’re a convenience queen who, in times of need, will eat anything. It does have to be said, however, that this easy to make cake is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to convenience. Being able to make it in the ‘Made in Chelsea’ ad break is what dreams are made of. With this in mind, I wouldn’t dismiss the cake sachet, especially because since I bought mine Dr Oetker seem to have read my mind by changing the packaging, name and potentially the recipe, hopefully making it both quick and delicious.
BROWNIE
1 egg
4 tbsp sugar
1 tpsb flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp oil (I used butter and it worked just as well)
I found this brownie recipe on a YouTube channel dedicated to mug cakes, so whether you want to discover more flavours or see a video tutorial for the brownie I made I would 100% recommend you check it out. This brownie was very easy to make, not requiring any scales or bowls, saving time on preparing and washing up. After about two minutes in my microwave my brownie smelt amazing and looked it too. Despite being slightly over baked, it was super chocolatey and a little bit gooey, although more like a cake (as described in the instructional video above). I’ll definitely be making this brownie again as a five-minute break from the piles of reading slowly growing on my desk.
HONEY CAKE
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp runny honey
1 medium egg
½ tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp light brown sugar
4 tbsp self-raising flour
pinch of salt
Do Wednesday nights get more sophisticated than a pre-Crisis mug cake? I think not. This honey flavoured cake was packed full of sugar making it homely and delicious. I feel ‘Hug in a mug’ would be a better way of describing it! For those of you who aren’t too keen on honey I wouldn’t let this put you off as it wasn’t too dominant a flavour. On the other hand, if you have a Winnie the Pooh level obsession with the stuff, I’d encourage you to add more to the mixture or drizzle some on top like I did. This quick and easy recipe that only requires store cupboard essentials is by far my favourite so far this week!
GLUTEN FREE BANANA BREAD
2 Tbsp (14 g) coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp (4 g) coconut palm sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp (45 ml) unsweetened almond milk
1/2 medium, ripe banana (50 g or 1/4 cup mashed)
1 large egg
scant 1/4 cup (25-30 g) blueberries, fresh or frozen
With the growing prevalence and popularity of gluten free options, it seemed rude not to include one of my favourite microwave cakes, which also happens to be gluten free! This banana cake is an amazing way to love your leftovers; the banana I used has been slowly going brown in the corner of my room all week! It also seems like a relatively healthy way to indulge; (almost) sugar free, fat free and packed full of fruit. For those of you who haven’t jumped on the gluten free band wagon or whose student loan won’t stretch to fancy flour (I fall into the latter category) I found the recipe works just as well with standard flour, sugar and milk, so don’t let those daunting ingredients put you off treating yourself.
COOKIES AND CREAM MUG CAKE
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
3 tbsp whole milk
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 Oreo cookies
I’ve made it through the week to FriYAY and so my last cake feels like a pat on the back! This super indulgent white chocolate and Oreo cake isn’t as quick as the others but it’s worth the wait. Gooey white chocolate cake packed with crunchy Oreo is how I want to start every weekend. I didn’t have any oil in so I used butter, mixing it in with the milk, and melted white chocolate which worked perfectly. For a little bit of indulgence any day of the week I would recommend this chocolatey microwave gem.
Edited by Nicole Swain
Sources:
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=29301516
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDmWhZbXZFA
http://www.sweet2eatbaking.com/honey-mug-cake-recipe/
http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2016/02/23/blueberry-banana-bread-mug-c…
http://kirbiecravings.com/2014/06/cookies-n-cream-mug-cake.html