Dessert.....in a MUG!!!!!

Love dessert but don't have time to bake? Read on because I SO have a solution for you. Today I am sharing 2 recipes (because they are so easy!); Strawberries and Cream Cake in a Mug & Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake in a Mug. Enjoy!

A little bit of a backstory; cooking/baking is my love language. Family lore has it that it's because we are Portuguese. (Portuguese people love food. Love talking about it, thinking about it, cooking it, watching people make it, and most of all eating it). For  me it is also a way I show my love. If I cook for you, you are in, we are friends and I love you. Haha. Seriously though, when it comes to my husband, kids,family, friends, etc. I am willing to put in the time to make them something tasty. I am that wierdo that loves having people over to cook for them day or night. If you show up at my house unannounced I WILL feed you. If you are sick/in need I WILL bring you food. It's just what I do. So when I stumbled upon this thing called "Pinterest", a couple years back, it revolutionized my life with all the recipes. 

As a member of the "Pinterest Generation", I dutifully pay my minimum of 30 minutes a day to that wonderful, wonderful site. That noted, I have been seeing a whole lot of these desserts in a jar/mug ideas on there. Curious, I decided to explore these a little further. See, I am a sucker for all things tiny and small and cute and sweet, so a dessert in a mug kinda fits those criteria. Upon further research I found out these little bites are also microwavable. That's were the baker in me told me to run, run and not look back. There is NO way that something tasty comes out of the microwave. (I learned this in my high schools "foods" class. I still have nightmares about microwavable chicken *shudder*). Since I am extremely limited on time in the kitchen, without baby screaming bloody murder, I decided, warily, to give it a go though.

First thing I tried was a brownie in a mug and it wasn't half bad. Not great, but not terrible. I had to improvise a whole lot on these because I hadn't been to the grocery store since before the New Year. So instead of cocoa powder I used hot cocoa powder and I didn't have butter so I used heavy whipping cream instead. It still turned out pretty O.K. though. Not pretty enough to put on here though.

Second thing I tried was a Strawberry and cream cake in a mug and it was actually SO good. Pretty dense as far as cakes go but still really good. I think if you use a cake flour or sifted your flour first it will turn out a bit fluffier. The thing I really like about this cake is that the recipe I used called for yogurt instead of butter, I opted for greek yogurt instead and so I felt even less guilty for eating this and giving it to Kennidy (and our roommate, Nick-Joe was at work) for an after dinner treat. I whipped up 3 batches of this cake in less than 10 min. Including bake (microwave) time!

The finished product! 

Kennidy enjoying her cake in a mug. (Bonus points to whoever can guess what 1984 classic is on in the background. Hint it has the catchiest theme song ever)

Strawberries & Cream Mug Cake

Adapted from Stacy Miller

1 egg

2 tablespoons strawberry yogurt, well stirred <---greek yogurt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup fresh sliced strawberries and whipped cream for serving <---frozen strawberries

1. Coat the inside of the mug lightly with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Mix the egg, yogurt, vegetable oil, baking powder, extract, sugar and flour in a small bowl until completely smooth.

3. Fill the mug to halfway full and place it in the microwave. Bake it for 70 seconds, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Top with strawberries and whipped cream and serve.

Tonight it was just Joe and I and he was on a super limited time frame because he got called in for some overtime at work. He asked, nay dared, me to have a dessert ready for him in 15 minutes. I accepted this challenge and the outcome was the best "dessert in a mug" yet. Get ready for this one.
Chocolate chip cookie dough cake in a mug! 
So amazing right? My only qualm with this one is that it is rather big for just 1 person. I suggested to Joe that maybe next time we split one, and he looked at me like I am crazy. This one was the easiest to make yet. It did call for eggs & butter though (the shame) and so now I am promising myself an extra 15 min on the treadmill in the morning.

All the ingredients before getting mixed

All mixed up

 Fresh out of the microwave

All prettied up

My husband (Mr. Medifast himself ) shamefully eating his cake in a mug. He didn't want people seeing him eat something non-medifast. Lol. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake in a Mug

Adapted from Brooke McLay

1 egg

3 tablespoons brown sugar 

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 tablespoons chocolate chips

1. Coat the inside of the mug lightly with cooking spray and set aside.

2. Mix everything together 

3. Fill the mug to halfway full and place it in the microwave. Bake it for 70 seconds, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Bon Apetit! 

Check back next week for a new restaurant review, a bit on my new years resolution, and of course, a new recipe.