In Which I eat crow cake

So my friend Val was eating cake.
Which she made in a cup.
A mug.
In the microwave.

What? Microwave cake in a cup? No way. I was skeptical.

She posted the recipe.

No leavening. 3 minutes.

How could it not be a gluey gooey glop that, at best, doesn't boil over and make a mess?

Val suggested maybe I did not trust her enough.

But ... would you? Microwave cake? Yeah, whatEVAH.

I decided I had to try it.

I could have used a huge mug, but she claimed it would work in a regular mug, so I used my very own personal every morning coffee mug.

Here we are, ready to go:

Ingredients mixed. A big old cup o' batter.

I was not the only one interested in the experiment:

Well, I'll be. It's rising up out of the mug, straight and tall, not pouring over into a goopy mess down the side:

It fell a bit upon removal. I wonder if it needed to cook a little longer?

It did not turn out easily. I used a knife to loosen along the sides. At this point I was still pretty skeptical. Maybe it was the holes where the chocolate chips melted, but it looked kind of goopy and unevenly cooked. I thought my skepticism had been justified.

I cut it lengthwise in half, then each half into thirds, to give everyone a taste test. I ate the clump that remained stuck to the side of the mug.

Much to my surprise, it was pretty good. Even for me, a not-really-a-cake-fan person. In fact, I kind of preferred the less crumbly texture. And melted chocolate chips are good in anything. The kids were the real test.

They proclaimed it a success.

So ... go figure.

I guess Val is trustworthy after all! :)

Here's the recipe:

Val's Mug Cake

1 coffee mug
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbls. cocoa
1 egg
3 tbls. milk
3 tbls. oil
3 tbls. chocolate chips (optional)
small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the choc. chips and vanilla and mix again. (Actually, I mixed the vanilla in with the (rice) milk and oil and egg, all the liquids at once.)

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 min. at 1000 watts (Val does 2:30 in a high wattage oven--don't remember the wattage--1800 maybe?) The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed. (actually, Val uses a large mug, so she has never had this issue - but you see I did and it turned out okay!)

Allow to cool a little and tip out onto a plate if desired.

This can serve 2. Or seven skeptics.