{"id":6283,"date":"2022-07-03T12:21:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-03T15:21:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/?p=6283"},"modified":"2022-07-03T12:29:36","modified_gmt":"2022-07-03T15:29:36","slug":"cake-innacup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/2022\/07\/03\/cake-innacup\/","title":{"rendered":"Cake… Innacup"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Star Trek, counselor Troi can walk up to a digital wall panel and say \u201cComputer, a slice of cake please.\u201d Ten seconds and a few special effects later she’s got a full fork – no doubt chocolate in her case. Well it seems for tiny cakes of all flavours that future is here now… give or take a minute or two.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m talking instant gratification and for me that means a cake I can make in the time it takes my Assam to steep; about four minutes. To do that and get something that isn\u2019t a gloopy \u201cpuck in a cup\u201d takes a bit of forethought but I’ve already tested the minature details for you. The \u2018mug cake\u2019 craze that swept the interwebs at the height of the pandemic took on many forms. Methods (and madness) were all over the map often with disasterous results but minor tweaking and better technique can indeed make your instant mini-cake dreams come true.<\/p>\n

Mandatory upgrades include using cake flour for much (MUCH!) better texture over all-purpose versions. Don\u2019t cheat here. Cake flour\u2019s lower protein (6-8%) is the biggest game changer from all the rubbish recipes you see online spawned out of desperation. If you end up with a miniature brick, don\u2019t say I didn\u2019t warn you. In a cake this size, egg is unnecessary and only makes for more troublesome baking in the microwave. There is more than enough fat from the butter and since the cup is small, stability isn’t an issue.<\/p>\n

In this lemon version fresh and pre-bottled juice both performed well but if you happen to also have citric acid in your mad scientist\u2019s pantry it can supercharge the flavour. Only a pinch, no more, and don\u2019t worry if you can\u2019t include any. Prefer orange? Perhaps chocolate? Just swap all the lemon bits for an equal amount of orange or good quality cocoa powder sifted in with the flour.<\/p>\n

Or make it your own with ground almonds, pistachios, cherry juice, etc. The base will accept most any flavour you can dream up after a bit of tinkering with the wet\/dry ratios. Accuracy counts in such a small endevour so weigh at least your butter, flour, and sugar. Scale everything if you can the first time so you know the texture you’re aiming for in this tiny bakeoff.<\/p>\n

Light and springy results from ideal ratios, complete sifting, fresh baking powder, and exact cook times which may require some experimentation with your model of microwave. Go even twenty seconds too far and your cake will be dry and tasteless. The nature of microwaves however means it’s best to use all the time at once without stopping midway to check so once you’ve nailed the time for your machine, try not to interrupt the process. The photo below shows how it rises then settles back down so make sure your cup or bowl is sized appropriately. And of course microwave safe.<\/p>\n

\"lemon<\/a>
Delightfully airy with dozens of tiny holes means you got your ratios right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coming Soon \u2013 Cake Innacup By The Quicker Dozen<\/em>
\n<\/strong>As fast as this is, a premixed base kept at the ready for “scoop, water, stir, and bake” would be even more speedy. Testing on that front continues using oddities like buttermilk powder and Bird\u2019s custard powder both of which would be shelf stable. Stay tuned for those updates later. I can only eat so many test cakes in a day.<\/p>\n

For a single Cake Innacup\u2026 right now
\n<\/u><\/strong>Use a 450ml (16oz) or slightly larger microwave-safe mug or small bowl. You can mulitply the recipe if you have guests but baking in the microwave is best with smaller amounts so make multiples rather trying to upsize. Only takes two minutes each!
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

30g unsalted butter
\n35g cake flour (6-8% protein)
\n2g baking powder (1\/2 teaspoon)
\n35g sugar
\n1 heavy pinch fine sea salt
\n35g milk (~3 tablespoons)
\n2g vanilla extract (1\/4 teaspoon)
\n15g lemon juice, fresh or bottled (1 tablespoon)<\/p>\n

Optional:<\/em>
\nlemon zest
\npoppy seed
\npinch of citric acid (extra lemon boost)
\npowdered sugar for garnish<\/p>\n

Method:<\/em>
\nUsing the mug or cup you want to bake in, melt the butter in the microwave covered with a domed lid to prevent splatters using 30-second increments. Swirl to coat the sides well then set aside to cool as you proceed.<\/p>\n

SIFT and whisk the flour and baking powder together into a separate mixing bowl then add the sugar, salt and whisk to combine. Add the milk, vanilla, and lemon. Pour in the reserved melted butter (leaving the baking mug well buttered) and whisk a final time briefly to combine before pouring back into the baking cup using a rubber\/silicone spatula to get every bit.<\/p>\n

Immediately microwave for 90 seconds under a domed lid to contain any steam. Quickly test the top for \u2018spring\u2019 to indicate doneness. Only add 10-second increments on high power AS NEEDED up to a total of 30 seconds longer depending on the power of your microwave; they vary greatly. IF your cake turns out dry, USE LESS TIME on your next attempt.<\/p>\n

Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately with the cup of tea you started to brew four minutes ago.<\/p>\n

More Spork Here<\/a><\/p>\n

– msh v2.4<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Star Trek, counselor Troi can walk up to a digital wall panel and say \u201cComputer, a slice of cake please.\u201d Ten seconds and a few special effects later she’s got a full fork – no doubt chocolate in her case. Well it seems for tiny cakes of all flavours that future is here now… … Read More →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[16,1233,622,331,550,1241,857,1235,1085,1243,1244,1242,571,1239,1236,1237,1238,472,107,1240,949,80,508,91,1234],"class_list":["post-6283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cook","tag-baking","tag-break","tag-cake","tag-chocolate","tag-coffee","tag-coffee-break","tag-cup","tag-cup-cake","tag-easy","tag-in-a-cup","tag-in-a-mug","tag-innacup","tag-lemon","tag-microwave","tag-mug","tag-mug-cake","tag-mugcake","tag-orange","tag-quick","tag-simple","tag-small","tag-tea","tag-tea-time","tag-teatime","tag-tiny","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6283"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6312,"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6283\/revisions\/6312"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/northfarthing.ca\/spork\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}