I have just discovered mug cakes, and they are fabulous. What IS a mug cake, you ask? It is literally a little cake in a mug. It’s the perfect dessert for when you want to have something sweet at the end of a meal. The mug cake is not a whole cake, so you can have your cake and eat it, too—but you won’t have a whole cake sitting there with one slice  gone, tempting you to have just one more slice.

Mug cakes are surprisingly easy to make, and they are delicious. I have tried two recipes so far; one for a luscious lemon curd mug cake, and one for a deep fudgy chocolate one. Both are so easy to make and are sooooooo good.

And get this: they take less than five minutes to make! This includes mixing the ingredients, and popping it into the microwave for about 1 minute and 30 seconds or so. Then bingo: your mug cake is ready to eat.

Here are the recipes for both:

LEMONY MUG CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

4 T. all-purpose flour

1/4 t. baking powder

2 t. granulated sugar

3 t. *milk

1/4 t. vanilla extract

1/2 t. vegetable oil (canola works just fine)

1 t. fresh lemon zest

1 t. lemon curd

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients except the lemon zest and the lemon curd into an oversized microwave-able mug. Mix with a small wisk or spoon until the batter is smooth. (Hint: dig deep into the mug to make sure that you have mixed the ingredients thoroughly. The first time I tried made a mug cake, I didn’t mix it enough so my last couple of teaspoons was mainly flour and baking powder. Yuck.)

2. Add in the lemon zest and lemon curd and mix until the batter is smooth.

3. Cook in the microwave for about a minute. Check it done-ness by inserting a knife all the way to the bottom; if it comes out clean, it’s done.

Let the cake cook a few minutes before eating. It’s at its best when eaten while warm (and also because why on earth would you want to wait any longer?) Add more lemon curd if you want to; it’s lemony deliciousness beyond compare. (I have been guilty of eating an entire jar of lemon curd myself.)

Here is the chocolate version:

CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 t. baking soda

1/8 t. salt

3 T. milk

2 T. canola oil

1 T. water

1/4 t. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a microwave-safe mug; stir in milk, canola oil, water and vanilla extract. (HINT:  see hint above for the lemon mug cake; the same applies here.)

2. Cook in microwave until the cake is done in the middle; about 1 minute 30 seconds.

The next mug cake recipe I am going to try is the salted caramel one. (Can you hear the mug cake angels singing?) I can’t wait to try this one as I would prefer eating caramel anything at any time. (I would probably eat a shoe if it was dipped in caramel.) Once I taste-drive it, I’ll post the caramel mug cake recipe here.

Stay tuned.

*I use almond milk, and honestly—it doesn’t make a bit of difference at all.