We had a fun day at the Clay Coyote trying out a new food trend – mug “cup” cakes! We chose five different cake mug recipes, gathered up the ingredients, and a had exciting time in the kitchen!

Here are the ones we chose: birthday cake, strawberries and cream, cookies and cream, brownie, and chocolate hazelnut. This was the first time either of us had tried making cakes in a mug, and what an experience is was! Here’s a taste of what all went on.

We started out by prepping ingredients such as smashing the sandwich cookies and dicing the strawberries. Then we picked our first recipe to try which was the cookies and cream. We combined all the ingredients listed, mixed them together, put it in the microwave for two minutes, and let it set one minute to cool. We did the same with the birthday cake, strawberries and cream, brownie, and chocolate hazelnut (which we demoed for you below).

         

After we finished “baking” them in the microwave, it was time to give them a taste!

We were very less than impressed. First of all, the appearance resembled nothing of a cake, and the texture did not either.

Sadly, none of the cakes really had any flavor.

We came to the conclusion that the ingredients were the problem. In four of the five recipes, there was no salt or eggs used, and the proportions of the ingredients were not well balanced. I mean 3 tablespoons of sugar was A LOT!

The one that actually turned out pretty decent was from Tony Holman, one of the potters we feature here at the Clay Coyote Gallery. He has a brownie mug recipe that we tried at the end in hopes of having one good turnout. His ingredients were much better, it included an egg! His looked and tasted like a brownie, so it was a definite winner in our book compared to our other fails!

Here’s the recipes we used from Tasty:

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT MUG CAKE
4 tbsp flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread

In a 12 ounce mug or larger, mix all ingredients except hazelnut spread until just combined.
Once combined, spoon hazelnut spread on top of batter.
Microwave on high for 1:30 to 2 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t spill over
Let cool one minute before eating.

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM MUG CAKE
4 tbsp flour
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 strawberries, diced

In a 12 ounce mug or larger, mix all ingredients until just combined.
Microwave on high for 1:30 to 2 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t spill over
Let cool one minute before eating.

COOKIES AND CREAM MUG CAKE
4 tbsp flour
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

In a 12 ounce mug or larger, mix all ingredients until just combined.
Microwave on high for 1:30 to 2 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t spill over
Let cool one minute before eating.

BIRTHDAY CAKE MUG CAKE
4 tbsp flour
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp sprinkles

In a 12 ounce mug or larger, mix all ingredients until just combined.
Microwave on high for 1:30 to 2 minutes, watching to make sure it doesn’t spill over
Let cool one minute before eating.

TONY HOLMAN BROWNIE MUG

So even though our mug cakes didn’t turn out quite as well as we hoped, it was a great experience to share with the team.

If you want to try making one, we do suggest trying our winning recipe, which again was Tony Holman’s brownie mug. With the ingredients used in this recipe, it tasted much more delightful and actually resembled a brownie!

Find your perfect mug from our wide selection here at the Clay Coyote, located in Hutchinson, MN, or on our website at www.claycoyote.com.

At the end of the day, we decided that mugs are for coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. But if you want to make a mug “cup” cake you should use Tony’s brownie recipe. Or you could buy a commercially prepared “just add water” batch (which we also tried).

Mugs featured (left to right):
Chris Singewald: Strawberries and Cream
Katie Teesdale: Chocolate Hazelnut
Sunset Canyon: Birthday Cake
Dirty Dog: Cookies and Cream
Ray Pottery: Brownie