Midnight Munchies; Coffee Mug Cake

So it's midnight and I start craving cake so much so that I begin to squirm in my chair. But the thought of getting the heavy duty mixer out and preheating the oven is enough to deter me from even the most dire of sugar cravings. I realized an alternative way of baking a cake is to not bake it at all but zap it in the microwave, don't get me wrong the thought of zapping a cake mix in the microwave made me extremely nervous but as you can see from my picture it turned out better than expected. I found this little gem on the net and tweaked it to my own taste.

Ingredients

1 large coffee mug
4 tablespoons plain flour (do not use self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Small splash of vanilla
chocolate syrup (optional)
whipped topping (optional)

How to make it

Add dry ingredients to mug, & mix well .
Add egg & mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add chocolate chips (if using), vanilla, mix again.
Set mug in the microwave & cook for 2½ to 3 min at 1,000 watts.
Cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Some report that 2½ minutes works best. It depends upon your microwave. So, watch carefully to not over do it!
Remove from microwave.
Allow cake to cool a little, then tip out onto a plate, if desired.
Drizzle with chocolate syrup and top with whipped topping and cherries, if desired!
This can serve 2 if you care to share!

Sarah's Tips:
-definetly use choc chips or chocolate syrup because without it your left with just an ordinary sponge cake.
-don't go over 3 minutes
- try to use a mug with a big base as the heat will be evenly distributed, I used one with a skinny base and found that the bottom was burning and top was moist.

recipe sourced from http://www.grouprecipes.com/72684/microwave-cake-in-a-coffee-mug.html