My first microwave cake!
I've seen lots of recipes for microwave mug cakes over the years, but I was always skeptical and thought that if I had time to put together a batter, I might as well do it right and bake it in an oven.
I don't know what it is...perhaps the lack of sleep or stress of being back at school with actual work to do...but I am always, always craving desserts, especially chocolate-y ones, these days. Now, I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth, but it has become much more prominent in the last few weeks.
After a long day/week, all I could think about as I sat at my desk, reading my genetics book, was "I want cake. I want chocolate." So I typed "mug cake" into the Foodgawker search bar, and stumbled upon the perfect recipe. I had all the ingredients, and it looked delicious!
So here it is:
Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Microwave Cake
(adapted from The Wannabe Chef)
Ingredients:
- 1 very ripe banana
- 1 tbsp crunchy almond butter
- 2 heaping tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 glob of honey (perhaps this was about a tsp?)
- 1 egg
- half a handful of chocolate chips
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, mash the banana with a fork until you have a smooth puree.
- Add in the almond butter, cocoa, and honey. Mix well.
- Add in the egg and mix until you have a beautiful batter.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into a microwave safe bowl. (I used a small Pyrex bowl.) Make sure the bowl is not more than 2/3 full as the cake will rise up a bit.
- Microwave on high for 3-3 1/2 minutes until the middle of the cake is completely set.
- Eat it right out of the bowl or flip it out onto a plate!
Pre-nuc. |
Post-nuc. |
Middle completely set. Be careful, the bowl will be hott! |
I was surprised by how easily this cake unmolded from the Pyrex bowl! |
Chocolate-y, banana-y, spoonful, full of little crunchies from the almond butter...and the melted chocolate chips...all I can say is mmmmmmmmmmm. |
Just the right amount of cake-iness and gooey-ness. |
The great thing about this cake is that there are so many possibilities for variations on the recipe. Next time, I think I'll try peanut butter instead of almond butter. And perhaps after that I'll use applesauce instead of banana. Walnuts or dried fruit would also be amazing mix-ins. See, I could go on and on. Simply put: I will be eating lots of cake this semester.
Another great thing about this cake (I will keep raving about it until I make myself stop typing): it has all the components of a good breakfast...aka I will be eating the second half for breakfast tomorrow morning. A banana (perfect complement of vitamins and minerals to start your day off right), almond butter (protein and good fats), egg (the miracle egg! excellent protein and full of nutrients), chocolate (for that little caffeine boost we all need in the morning), and honey (to get you in the mindset of being a busy busy bee!).
A burning question: can it be called baking a cake if you are just microwaving it? I think not. But then this brings up the issue: is using an Easy Bake Oven really baking? is it really an oven? I leave you to ponder this, and get back to me because I am curious.
Bedtime? Dreaming of cake tonight is inevitable.
Methinks this is the start of a great dorm business. Emergency warm mini chocolate cake delivery. $8.
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