It was Blake’s birthday yesterday (insert confetti here.) Since we’ve both been so busy, Blake wanted to wait until we go to Georgia for Thanksgiving to really celebrate. But I felt it wasn’t right to go through one’s birthday–even a something+1 birthday that is not twenty+1, the only fun one–without a bit of cake or pie.
I therefore baked a tiny, single-serve cake in a mug before Blake came downstairs Sunday morning. It went surprisingly well for my first attempt, but I would make some changes. Below is the somewhat modified recipe, culled from a combination of various sources like this one. I can’t find the exact ones I pulled from because I deleted my web search history in efforts to hide from Blake that I was planning to bake him a mini cake. I’m such a Ninja.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 tsp cocoa powder (We didn’t have any of this, and I forgot to substitute any dry ingredient for it, so my cake ended up a tad too moist, but it still worked.)
- 1/8 tsp salt, or more like a tiny pinch
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tablespoon splenda or similar (or plain white sugar)
- 2 tsp vegetable oil or similar
- 3 tablespoons milk of choice (I used fat-free powdered milk, mixed up)
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl VERY WELL. Mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl. Add dry to wet and mix well.
Grease a coffee mug and put batter into the mug. Microwave for 30-40 seconds. Mine took a bit longer, but that might have been because my batter was too wet without the cocoa powder. For icing, there are lots of options (see a couple of good, easy ones for mini cakes here), but you can basically mix together 1/4 cup of peanut butter, a few teaspoons of maple syrup, powdered sugar (or splenda) and some cocoa powder and get something delicious and spreadable.
I decorated the top of the cake with almond slivers and a bright red cherry. I added a green candle in the center for the final presentation. Blake ate it all standing up in the kitchen. A good way to start the morning!