Birthday Cupcake Kit

It's March! That's a birthday month in our family - a grandmother (no longer with us), my mom, a son, and two grandchildren - along with two nephews, four nieces, a brother-in-law and who knows how many cousins.

It's also the birthday month of Relief Society and as I was preparing a lesson on the history and legacy of Relief Society, I thought it would be nice to have a treat to pass out. However, it's also Fast Sunday, and providing a source of temptation would not be nice. Fortunately, I remembered the cupcake-in-a-mug phase and decided that a little cupcake "kit" might be just perfect. We'll see what everyone else thinks, but I enjoyed the test sample!

I found a recipe at the Table for Two blog and modified it for mass production. Technically, I guess that defeats the whole purpose of a single-serving cake, but I like being different. Besides, if you make up a big batch of mix to keep in the pantry, you can satsify your chocolate/sweets cravings even faster!

Moist Chocolate Cake in a Mug

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Combine ingredients and store in a closed container. (This was enough for 12 individual packets.)

Mix 1/2 cup mix with 1/3 cup milk and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Pour batter into a 14-oz mug. If desired, add 1 tablespoon of add-ins (such as Nutella, peanut butter, chocolate chips or berries). Microwave for 70 seconds.* If desired, drizzle with fudge sauce, frosting, or powdered sugar. Allow to cool a bit before eating!

Not the prettiest portrayal of the cake, but I think it's a cool picture anyway.

*The original poster had a 950 watt microwave; it turns out that's the wattage of the one I used as well. If yours is different, you may need to adjust the time.