Vanilla mug cake!
hard to go wrong with this!
flour (white, whole grain, gluten free, etc) sugar (can substitute honey) baking powder, vanilla extract, oil, milk/water/liquid, whatever cake toppings you can think of
- get a microwave safe mug! if it's a short mug, get a plate to put underneath for when the cake overflows.
- put about six spoonfulls of flour in your mug, or pour it until it's like a fourth of the volume of the mug. trust me
- go for about two spoonfulls of sugar!
for small mugs, add a shallow spoonful of baking powder. for large mugs, go for at least one big spoonful. you may have noticed this is the only thing making the cake rise, so make sure you tell it it's doing a great job.
take a fork and mix those dry ingredients! you might think "oh, i can just use a spoon!" do not do this. you Will end up with dry powdery bits at the bottom of your mug hiding in the corners and ruining the last bite of your cake. target those corners at the bottom the most!! they won't get away with it this time!!!
add your oil first! you're going for about one-one and a half spoonfuls, but don't get a spoon dirty for this! just pour and trust your heart. i believe in you!
now add your vanilla extract! if you're using artificial vanilla extract, there isn't much danger of adding too much. pour in one small splash that might be a fourth of a tablespoon or something. if it's real vanilla, do NOT guestimate. bust out the measuring spoons for that. a fourth of a tablespoon is probably fine.
add your milk or other watery liquid! do this little by little while mixing until it's a consistency that makes you think "wow, that's cake batter!" if you go too far and end up with soup, just add some more flour and keep trying. it's ok
take the fork out and THEN put it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes! keep an eye on it in case it spontaneously combusts or leaps out of the mug. not so that you can do anything about it, but just because it would be cool to see that happen. also this is a good time to wash your fork
your cake probably won't be finished cooking the first time around. depending on the weather, altitude, and humidity, your ideal microwave time will be different and unique. now take your clean fork and poke around in the middle. if it's still kinda soupy, microwave it again for another thirty seconds and repeat until you think "i'm hungry enough to eat this now". remember, there's no eggs, so the only problem with eating your cake soupy is that the baking powder will fizzle in your mouth. and the uncooked flour.
if you're using a massive mug, you may want to push the soup in the middle out to the edges, making your cake a bowl shape.
cake toppings time! for vanilla cakes, i've had good experiences using the lemon glaze from my lemon mug cake recipe or whatever jam was in the fridge.
and you're done! how did it taste? next time you make it, you'll have an idea about how to tweak the proportions. there's only two or three dishes to wash, too!
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