Foody Tuesdays: Microwave cake!

They say that microwaving food is really bad for you, but I've been relying on the mic to cook just about everything I want cooked. This week I thought I'd try cooking cake, inspired by that classic chocolate mug cake recipe, but the lazy vegan student way... Betty Crocker-aided!

(My futile attempt at making chocolate chip sponge healthy: almonds and raisins galore.)

This one is uncomfortably straightforward; get boxed cookie mix and make it up with whatever liquid you want, to pancake consistency. I used 7-Up and ginger beer when I made my batches, but water was fine too, and I think that soy/rice/almond/dairy milk would be ideal. Then you just nuke the lot for three minutes.

Ideally I'd have used mugs or cups instead of tupperware - that's why mine is all broken up. It makes a really good cake though, not too dense but a lot spongier than your average mug cake. I can't be dealing with crumbly, dry cake, so I'm happy. I'm not a fan of how Betty Crocker mixes taste, though - there's something really artificial-tasting in there. I'm not planning on getting flour, oil or condiments in right now, but if I'm going to want cake later on I think I'll team up with someone in self-catered (lucky things).

Meanwhile, I had a quick Google for microwave cookie recipes and found this gem, The Five Minute Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Cookie from Not Quite Nigella! Looks so good. I've yet to master that art; mine are still too fluffy to be cookies.

Furthermore, there's a microwave carrot cake here on All About You. Chocolate cake frankly doesn't interest me, so this looks more my kind of thing! Anybody here know of more variants on the mug theme? I want glace cherries or something.

Lastly - if you're after a proper chocolate chip mug cake, try here and here. The first one gives substitutes for eggs in the comments! I'd also suggest my go-to cake recipe, vanilla sponge from the Vegan Society. Just make sure you don't overcook the cake; I haven't worked out how to rectify that...

Clicky! Culinary links of the week...

• This rose granola looks gorgeous. I'm still after some rose water.

• BMI: The Body Mass Index of Fat Culture is an interesting read - facts and figures on society, food and the body from Marilyn Wann. (She invented the Yay Scale!)

• I bought Lancashire Tea instead of Yorkshire the other day... this is what Yorkshire Telly has to say about it.

• The Jersey Kitchen, Part 1 and Part 2. An interesting read! I was looking for some pictures of conger soup with marigold petals, and while I haven't found those I've learnt a lot. There looks to be a lot of French influence there.

• A Spanish recipe: Stuffed Galets in a Salad. Inspired by an Instagram from Clara!

• No bake peanut butter cookies - the ultimate student recipe? We have at least four jars of peanut butter in our kitchen at any given time, so this looks good.

In other culinary news, I love oatcakes and wire ties - the kind you get on rice cakes, or fancy bags of chocolates -  make everything look posher. What about you? ♥