The Crafting Diaries: Mug Cake Madness

Author: Anna Ravanelle

This week, I wanted to explore a phenomenon that I see all the time on Pinterest, Tumblr, and Buzzfeed but never quite believed in: the mug cake. Supposedly, with just a few minutes’ time, a handful of basic ingredients, and a ceramic mug, you can have the dessert of your dreams – all from the comfort of your dorm room microwave!

I generally followed this Gluten-Free Cocoa-Banana recipe from Leslie Bilderbacker’s aptly-named book Mug Cakes. Disclaimer: I am not gluten-free (I just didn’t have any flour on hand), so I am not used to using non-flour based baking recipes and that may have affected my view on this mug cake. But I’ll be honest: It didn’t taste that good. Here’s the recipe; see if you can make it better than me.

Ingredients (yields 2 mug cakes)

1 overripe banana

¼ cup peanut butter

1 large egg

2 teaspoons granulated sugar (I used 3 packets of Truvia instead because I had no sugar)

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup add-ins of your choice (I had none handy, but chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or nuts would all be good)

 

Directions

1. Mash the banana. It might look slightly vomitesque by the end, but it still smells delicious.

2. Add the peanut butter and egg and mix together; it will now look like more like carrot baby food.

3. Add the cocoa powder and the sugar and mix until smooth. (Warning: hard mixing may break spoons.)

4. Add your add-ins, if any.

5. Separate into two mugs and microwave! The original recipes calls for 1:30 – 2:30 minutes, but mine were firm and springy at 1:45.

6. Enjoy! (If you can)

Like aforementioned, I am not gluten-free, nor am I one of those health nuts that makes every possible dessert with a banana. The taste was just okay, the texture was weirdly foamy, and the fact that it fell right out of my cup after baking was a bit of a turn off.

Would I make it again? Probably not. Even upon a second batch, with more peanut butter and sugar added, there was little to no improvement. You’re probably better off ordering Insomnia than making these for yourself, so save the dirty dishes for a more rewarding treat.

2/10 would not recommend.