Mug Shots!

Mug Shots!

Wow... Get married, move, adopt a new kitten and it's a year later! Hehe.. Oops! Fortunately, I have a number of Very good friends with hob nailed boots more than willing to kick me in the keester to get me moving again. I love every single one of them, too. *grin*

Since in a way this is starting all over again, I got to thinking about where this all started for me. Which, of course, means cake. When you love cooking and baking as much as I do and are faced with the prospect of not getting cake anymore, you have a couple of options: you can curl up into a fetal ball and try to console yourself with the realisation that you will finally get into those skinny jeans, or you can say "oh, hell no!" and figure out a way to eat your cake too. However, being only 2 people in a household, and with both of us liking sweets, having an entire cake around isn't always a good idea. I was complaining about this to my not-sister in Texas, and she gave me her recipe for coffee cup cake. Quite literally, it is a single portion of chocolate cake that you mix up in a coffee mug and then cook in the microwave. Yes, it is as dangerous as you think...

Now, this is not the cake that you would get from an award winning baker, and I seriously doubt that you will find it on Top Chef: Master Bakers or anything of that ilk, but this is actually one of the most versatile and handy desserts I've got on my roster! Not many ingredients on hand? No problem. Surprise guests or no time? No sweat. Midnight sweet craving? You're diet is toast. And as there wasn't much dairy or flour in it to begin with, it converted over really well. The biggest problem with it? You will need a Very large coffee mug to accomodate this, and it feeds 2 Very easily (I usually use a cereal bowl). Unless of course you want to eat an entire cake with little guilt; it is decdently doable.

Allow me to present to you the first in our series of Mug Shots - The Basic Chocolate. I was thinking that since this is so versatile, and lends itself to modifications quite well, to do a series of them. Once a month (maybe twice?) to present a different variation. Now if I can just figure out how to present it like a kitschy pulp detective novel, that would be even better! Enjoy = )

• 1/4 cup of GF Flour
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons Cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons Almond/Rice/Soy milk
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Dash of vanilla and salt

Whisk everything together in your mug (bowl) till smooth and then microwave till puffed (the top will look a little moist), approximately 2 mins.  (Careful! It is very hot.)

I still don't fit into my skinny jeans!