"the one" chocolate mug cake $0.29 each

"the one" chocolate mug cake

$0.29 each

There comes a time in every girl's life when she needs a chocolate mug cake.

Perhaps it's one of those days where you just want to curl up on the couch all day and watch bad Lifetime movies about stolen babies (ladies, you know what I'm talking about). Or maybe you just ran four miles for the first time in your entire life and unless you counteract it immediately with a dessert, the universe will be thrown out of balance and implode, and the entire 2012 apocalypse will be all your fault. Or maybe it's your birthday and everyone forgot so there was no cake. Okay, sorry, that last one was kind of depressing. Anyway, my point is, sometimes you just need a bite of cake to make things right. Just a bite.

I was never a fan of mug cakes because all of the versions I've tried have turned out rubbery and just not at all delightful. Until I found this recipe, which for me is "the one." This is why I like it:

• It's not very sweet. (If you want it sweeter, add more sugar or some chocolate chips.)
• It's small. Other recipes I've tried have just been too big and they make me feel like I just over indulged. This one is just a few, rich, delightful bites.
• There is no egg. I find that eggs make mug cakes rubbery or spongey and they also mean that you can't scale the recipe in size. If you want a small cake, you can't just split an egg in half, right?
• There are a lot of variations. Add chocolate chips, use nutella, jam, or caramel sauce in place of the peanut butter, vegan-ize it by using soy milk in place of cow's milk... lots of options.

Don't be tempted to leave out the peanut butter (or jam, or whatever you drop in the center) because it helps keep the cake moist and rich. It simply wouldn't be the same without it.

So, shout out to Jessie at Made From Scratch for experimenting with mug cakes until finding this perfect mix. You just saved the universe from imploding!

"The One" Chocolate Mug Cake

Total Recipe cost: $0.29
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Prep time: 3 min. Cook time: 1 min. Total: 4 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
2 Tbsp	all-purpose flour	$0.02
2 tsp	unsweetened cocoa powder	$0.02
2 tsp	sugar	$0.01
1/4 tsp	baking powder	$0.02
a pinch	salt	$0.01
1 Tbsp	vegetable oil	$0.04
2 Tbsp	milk	$0.04
1 Tbsp	peanut butter	$0.13
TOTAL		$0.29

When calculating the price of extremely small quantities of extremely inexpensive ingredients, it gets kind of wonky... so let's just say that this is really inexpensive, k? K.

STEP 1: In your mug, stir together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and a pinch of salt). Make sure there are no clumps.

STEP 2: Stir in the vegetable oil and milk until the mixture is smooth. Drop a tablespoon of peanut butter into the center and push it down into the batter.

STEP 3: Microwave on high for one minute and then enjoy!

(Microwave power varies slightly, so you may want to experiment with the cooking time, give or take 5-10 seconds. One minute is a good place to start).

Step By Step Photos

Measure the dry ingredients into a mug (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt).


Stir them together until evenly mixed and there are no clumps.


Stir in the vegetable oil and milk until it is a smooth mixture. You can use soy milk and make this recipe completely vegan!


Drop a dollop of peanut butter down into the center and press it into the batter (I should have pushed this in a little more, you want the PB to be mostly covered in batter).


Microwave on high for one minute and you've got yourself a cake with a melty, peanut butter center!


And then five or six delightful bites later, you're done and you don't feel like you do when you "accidentally" eat a whole pint of ice cream. ...not that that ever happens.