I was a huge skeptic of the microwave mug cake when I first heard about it, well over a year ago now. How could a microwave produce a good cake? I tried out the recipe soon and discovered that the microwave could not produce a good cake! I believe I overcooked it, as it was super rubbery and barely edible.
I gave it one more chance earlier this year, and cooked it for less time. I even added chocolate chips that time. But no, I still didn’t consider it to be edible. I gave up on it and decided to never “bake” a cake in the microwave again.
Well, my sweet tooth got the best of me last week and there were no sweets in the house. I decided to try out the microwave mug cake just one last time. But this time I’d add frosting.
I only cooked the cake for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, but ended up taking it out with only 10 seconds remaining – I did not want to overcook it this time and have it turn into yet another rubber bouncy cake ball. I cut the mug cake into four slices and made two cakes out of them. I layered the inside of each one with chocolate sour cream frosting and then completely frosted the outside of each one, complete with a ring of white sprinkles.
And you know, it wasn’t quite as bad as my previous attempts at this cake. I did try a different recipe this time, but I think it was just the fact that I didn’t overcook it this time that made it taste slightly better (it wasn’t too rubbery this time!). My chocolate sour cream frosting was just a thrown together made-up mix of melted semisweet chocolate, sour cream and vanilla. It made the end result taste more like bittersweet chocolate.
I stored one of the tiny cakes in the refrigerator and I have to say that the refrigerated cake was much, much better. The cake and frosting both firmed up and reminded me of a mud cake. I was pleasantly surprised.
I’m still not a fan of the microwave mug cake. If one had the time to prepare the ingredients, as well as frosting as I did, you may as well just do it the real way and bake up a small batch of cupcakes in a real oven!
What’s your take on the microwave chocolate mug cake?
Find the recipe for this particular mug cake at Recipezaar. Note that I did not use the full amount of sugar, I reduced it to about 3 or 3.5 tablespoons, and I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa.
This looks good, sorry you were 100% impressed! I am not even going to attempt a microwave cake. I purposely try to leave sweets out of the house most of the time because me and portion control dont go hand in hand, so learning how to make a microwave cake would be a bad idea!
Wow that looks so yummy!
I may have to attempt this one day at work. :D
I also tried the mug cake twice and it was super rubbery. I wouldn’t let my daughter eat it… I tasted it later and it tasted worse than it looked… I guess I just over cooked it. Might be worth another try!
Yes, I think the only trick to this microwave cake is not overcooking it!
Hey. I just made the microwave cake in three different mugs for my brothers and I. The only alteration i made to the recipe above was the use of caster sugar instead of white sugar (as i had no white sugar left.) I cooked the cakes separately and the first one was done perfectly by 2:20. I put the second two mugs in the microwave together and by 2:20, they were both just runny mixture. I left them in there and put them in for another minute and they started to harden up, 1:45 later, they where cooked. The only reasoning i could find behind this is the thickness of the mugs, but my mum, who ate the first one, and tried the second one, says that hers was much better. The mixtures were all made at the same time with exactly the same ingredients, the only thing that differed was the mugs. Maybe you just need to be using the right thickness of mug to get a impressive result. also, my cakes were very moist and could pass as self-saucing puddings…but either way, they all tasted great.
That’s a really good point, the difference in thickness of the mugs. Thanks for pointing that out!
Personally, I am a fan of the microwave mug cake — so much so that I’m the author of a new book, “101 Recipes for Microwave Mug Cakes.” In it, you’ll find tips and recipes for bakng yummy microwave mug cakes every time. There’s even a recipe in my book for a pizza microwave mug cake! Check it out at http://www.microwavemugcakes.com.
I’ve made the mug cake many times and have never had a problem with it. My husband and I both love it
Oh i thought it to be the perfect dessert recipe. And they came out perfect but yep rubbery, then rock hard and inedible. Im going to try again but maybe keep them in the fridge to moisten with some choc sauce b4 i serve. Its a good little recipe.
reduce your cook time or power level
i just made this cake for my high school baking class, and i did something diferent: i added layers. i put about 1/3 of the gooey mixture, then did a layer of chocolate chips, then did 1/3 again of the mixture…… so on so forth. when i added the last of the mixture, i put it in the microwave for 2 and 1/2 minutes, and it cooked perfectly!!! the only problem i did have with it was taking it out of the mug to decorate it….. the very bottom layer stayed on the bottom, so i had to take that out seperatly… you should definetly try this cake!!
im’ma try this now. :D