Microwave cakes

The Yum-Yum Pot, next to liquid measuring cup for sizing

My brother bought me this cute little thing called a 'Yum-Yum pot' for my birthday. It's basically a painted clay pot, but it has that name because the local artisans who made it labeled it as a pot for making cakes in the microwave. I love shopping for stuff like this because it's a great way to support local businesses while getting something that is truly unique.
You can use any pot of the same size and materials. What's really cool is that these cakes are the perfect size for two people-enough for a satisfying treat, but not so much that you have leftovers.


Microwave Blueberry Cake-serves 2
½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 egg
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup milk
¼ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt


Spray the pot down with butter-flavored cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (sugars, flour, baking powder and salt). Add the blueberries, egg, butter and milk. Mix until everything is just moistened. Pour into pot and microwave on high in 3-minute increments until done. Let it cool for about 5 minutes and turn onto a plate.


Since it's basically a huge blueberry muffin, this would be great for breakfast or dessert. If you don't like blueberries, strawberries are a very good substitute. I suppose raspberry could be too, but I'm not a fan. I've never tried blackberries, but they are definitely next on my 'hit list'!
I did encounter one problem, though-we hadn't used the brown sugar in my cabinet for a while, so it hardened. If you want to soften hardened brown sugar, all you have to do is chip off what you're going to use into a small bowl, cover it with a wet paper towel and microwave for 30-second increments until it's loose enough to use.


For the chocolate lovers out there-
Microwave Chocolate cake-serves 2
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons cocoa powder for baking
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt


Spray the pot down with butter-flavored cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine egg, sugar, milk, butter and vanilla. Then, blend in the baking powder, salt, flour and cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Pour into greased pot and microwave for 3 minute increments until done. Let it cool for five minutes, turn onto plates and serve.


I suppose you could frost it if you wanted to, but it's great as it is. We served it in a bowl with ice cream and whipped cream; it was awesome!
As you can see, it's not hard to make cakes in the microwave for a quick sweet treat. I love it because I am probably about the least culinarily-inclined person on the planet, and even I couldn't screw it up. Believe me, that's an achievement! Enjoy!