Nutella Lava Mug Cake

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There’s an air of expectation in February, and everyone else is joining in the celebration. For Valentine’s day, that is.

I’ve always considered Valentine’s as a holiday for kids, particularly teenagers, than for adults. Just the same, I was inspired to share in the moment with a special recipe—a treat for your sweetie, or your own sweet self.

Keeping up with romantic spirits, this special occasion deserves nothing less than a luscious dessert. With chocolate, of course—the aphrodisiac and quintessential Valentine’s treat.

And boy, I’m excited to share this swoon-worthy chocolate mug cake recipe with you. It’s sinful. Gooey. Fluffy. Warm. Microwaved in less than 2 minutes. And, tastes like a dream!

If you are looking for a Valentine’s dessert, then look no further. This is the perfect treat to express your love, or even make for those spontaneous guests that show up.

You can’t beat this recipe, really. It’s decadent, something like a molten lava cake—by far one of the best I’ve tasted, 2 minute or 12. Besides tasting so awesome, it’s so easy to make and serve, giving you plenty of time to open your heart and cozy up with your loved one. Yes, plenty of time for charm, romance and seduction, you know what I mean.

I’m sure you have heard of cakes that can be made in the microwave in less than 5 minutes. I’m also sure you have seen, perhaps even tried a few recipes storming the web for quite sometime now.

I’ll be honest: I’ve tried two recipes before this one. But sadly, they turned out to be disasters—they were too dry, eggy and mostly tasted like a mug-shaped rubbery trash, eek. Even a good serving of vanilla ice-cream did nothing to improve the taste. My experience was so disappointing that I thought 5-minute cakes were a hoax.

So naturally, I was skeptical when I saw this recipe. Until I made it, that it. Man, I was sold in less than 5 minutes. The cake turned out so wonderfully—sinfully scrumptious with warm chocolate oozing out when I dug in with a spoon, mmm!

This recipe is incredible. So good, you won’t believe until you give it a try. It takes just a few basic ingredients—add nutella and you have a dreamy delight that yells to be devoured. The only downside is the number of pounds it packs—it’s seriously high on the calories. So if you are calorie conscious, make smaller servings in small mugs so you can share it with others. I’d suggest doing three small mugs instead of 2 medium ones.

I sifted the flour and cocoa, stirred the ingredients in a bowl, and then poured the batter into mugs to ¾ full. I watched it like a hawk while microwaving, stopping every 30 seconds to check if it was done, plus whenever I thought it almost overflowed. Result? Irresistibly incredible!

The best part is, you don’t even need a topping like whipped cream or ice cream to enjoy this dish, it’s absolutely delish on its own. I did the cream topping just for the photographs—scooped it out before enjoying the cake with pieces of fresh strawberries, my style.

So go grab your jar of nutella and chocolate, and get to this crazy yummy recipe. It’s a must try!

Nutella Lava Mug Cake

adapted from here

Ingredients

Serves 2-3 depending on size of mugs used

Prep 2 min, cooking 2 min

4 tablespoons self rising flour, sifted

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
(I used Cadbury’s)

4 tablespoons caster sugar


1 medium egg


3 tablespoons Nutella


3 tablespoons milk


3 tablespoons olive, or vegetable oil (I used olive)

2-3 teaspoon chocolate chips (I used Hershey’s semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Directions

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a bowl. Beat well with a whisk until smooth and blended. Divide the batter between 3 small microwave safe mugs, or two medium mugs. Important thing is to fill mugs up to just ¾ full, if not the cake will overflow when it rises. Then tip in 1 teaspoon chocolate chips into each cup and push it into the batter until completely covered.

Microwave on high power for anywhere between 30 seconds to 3 minutes—I did two cups, together. Please note that cooking time will depend on microwave wattage. Mine took 1.5 minutes (850 watts oven), whereas the original recipe says it was done in 30 seconds—so watch out. The key for the perfect lava cake is not to overcook the batter. The cake should rise a bit, ideally with a moist, fluffy, gooey texture, and glossy, fudgy top. The more you cook, the cake will toughen up and dry—so slightly undercook and keep an eye on it the whole time.

Top with whipped cream, if you like. And of course, serve with strawberries or raspberries—the perfect partner for chocolate. Enjoy!

So do you have plans for celebrating Valentine’s? If so, are you staying in or going out?

Whether you are celebrating this occasion alone, or with your sweetie, I wish you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day! 

♥ ya!

Update

After the success of the nutella mug cake recipe, I’ve been hooked to the benefits of microwave baking, especially the dramatically reduced cooking time. So I experimented by substituting peanut butter instead of nutella, and baked the cake in 4 mini ramekins. Result? Equally delicious! See...

{p.s.} if you are on facebook, check out the 2-minute Gooey Peanut Butter Mug Cake recipe, and stay tuned on all new fb recipe updates by following along @nashplateful, if you like.