Cake in a Mug - Tasty Treat or Kitchen Fail?

Happy Tuesday, everyone. The Texan here, fresh off of spring break and a week at the ranch. And you'll never guess what I saw. 

Texas Bluebonnets!

You know what that means... Spring has arrived in Southeast Texas.

And to think, only two weeks ago they were covered in ice.

The cattle really enjoyed the nice weather and lazing beneath the live oaks.

More about the ranch later, but today I wanted to share this most amazing recipe I found in the newspaper the other day. It's called Cake in a Mug. I was so intrigued by Jan's Muffin in a Mug recipe (here), that this really caught my eye. Of course, it's not near as healthy as Jan's recipe, but if you're looking for a quick chocolate fix, hey, this is the way to go.

First, you need a mug.

This is my favorite tea mug I got at conference a few years ago.

Now, into that mug, you want to add:

4 heaping tablespoons flour

4 heaping tablespoons sugar

2 heaping tablespoons cocoa

Stir that together, then add:

1 small egg, beaten

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil

I used a fork for mixing.

Stir well before adding 2-3 drops vanilla extract and a handful of chocolate chips.

Mix well and cook uncovered in the microwave on a high for 3 minutes.

Here goes nothing.

Oh-oh... still a minute and a half left to go.

Whew!

Made it without spilling over.

Now, the recipe says to let it cool and tip out onto a plate. Which I did. However, I'm thinking this would have been yummy just like this. 

But I followed the directions.

So while we're waiting for the cake to cool, let me tell you about Maddie's first ranch adventure.

First of all, the ranch is a 4 1/2 hour drive. It took a while, but Maddie finally found a comfortable spot to rest in the car.

Yep, that's the center console and her chin is resting between the seat and my arm.

Silly puppy.

But it was worth the trip. So many new sights, sounds and smells to explore.

And we never knew what she might drag out of the woods. 

Like these deer bones.

This was Maddie's first experience with water,too, so we weren't sure how she would react.

She liked sitting on the pier, the breeze blowing through her fur.

But, sometimes, you just have to get up close and personal.

The hilarious part was when she decided to take a flying leap. Sure wished I'd had the camera then. I mean, it was literally a flying leap, all fours spread out as far as they would go.

Cake's ready.

So I tip it out of the mug.

Not real attractive, but it smells divine.

And clean-up doesn't look too bad.

Now for the real test.

Hmm...the more it cools, the harder it gets. But it still tastes good. Just the texture is a little off.

I'm thinking it shouldn't have been nuked for so long. Our microwave is 1100 watts, so maybe I should have cut the time to 2:20 or 2:30 minutes. This was not addressed in the directions, but I think this is definitely a case of trial and error. 

Will I try this again?

You betcha! And I think I'll add a few more chocolate chips. My handful wasn't very full.

But this was quick, easy and used only ingredients I had on hand. Not to mention the portion size. 

Way better than a big ol' cake sitting in my kitchen, calling to me for who knows how long.

So what do you think? Tasty treat or kitchen fail?

Would you try this?

I'll leave you with one last Maddie video. 

This time, I did have the camera rolling.