Hot Chocolate Mug Cake

Am I bit mug-cake-crazy lately? That's a thing right? If Pinterest is any indication, then yes. Yes, it is. 

Can you blame me? I love my desserts that take a week to make, but some days you need cake STAT. 

So what is the mug cake du jour? It's hot chocolate mug cake! I found a way to make mug cakes even faster than before! I've cut out a whole ten seconds for measuring cocoa and sugar. You're welcome! 

This has everything. It's under five ingredients, less than a minute to make and microwavable. It's the trifecta!

I guess it could be gluten free, sugar free, or....well.... by that point it's pretty taste free. So let's just not, okay?

Part of the beauty here is you can use whatever flavor of hot chocolate mix you like! I've used vanilla, caramel and dark chocolate all with splendid results!

Now the question will come: What if my hot chocolate mix is in a can, not a packet? Well my dears, I'd say that's pretty easy. Whatever your can recommends for one cup of hot chocolate should be the equivalent.

Without further ado:

Hot Chocolate Mug Cake

1 packet hot chocolate mix
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon oil

Mix together and microwave 30 seconds, or until desired consistency.

Mug Cake

 With the Olympics drawing to a close my red, white and blue pride is showing! ....okay. Lame excuse. But any excuse for mug cake, right?

 I've tried a many a mug cake. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my mug brownies, but mug cakes never come out like cake.....or food. They always seem to be a gloppy mess. Not so with this recipe! Look at that mug cake! That's a proper cake!

 I couldn't help decorating with more sprinkles. Any excuse is a good excuse for mug cakes and sprinkles! I added a little cream cheese frosting for flair.

So. I know what you're thinking. SHUT UP AND GIMME SOME CAKE. Done.

The Mug Cake

3 tablespoons cake mix
2 tablespoons soda pop

Mix together and microwave for up to two minutes until fully cooked!

Want funfetti? Mix in some sprinkles! Be careful not to overmix!

Can be made with any mix and any soda for tons of fun flavors! The ones in this post were made with white cake mix and Sprite!

Enjoy!

The "Mug" Brownie

Okay. You got me. That is NOT a mug brownie. It's a ramekin brownie. If you are truly attached to baking in a mug, no worries. It works just the same. 

Fact is I find mug recipes to be flawed. Mugs aren't easy to clean brownie off of and I have to say that that most mug brownie recipes are crazy huge! I cannot finish them. And the worst is that if you do the math that's a nearly six hundred calorie brownie!!!! I do NOT need a six hundred calorie brownie to be easy to make in two minutes. Nope. It's just not for me.... at least not until they invent the six hundred calorie workout that only takes two minutes!

So. Here's my recipe. It's scaled down. It's a good size for one person. Plus it's only 200 calories. Now that I can handle! 

So. Confession: I've made at least ten of these in the last two weeks. 

Yup. That happened. 

And I have a few recommendation from my trip down the mug brownie rabbit hole.  

• If you like mint brownies, chop up an Andes chocolate mint (or use Andes chips if you have them) and throw it in. It's a personal favorite. 
• Do not add toffee chips. It ends in a gooey mess. 
• Adding a tsp. of mini chocolate chips is also very nice.
• This may be the only time I do not prefer Dutch process cocoa. Natural cocoa works great! 

Happy microwave baking!