One Bowl Baking: Miracle 5-Minute Microwave Chocolate Cake

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The future of cake baking?. Yvonne Ruperti

When my family got our first microwave back in the 80s, the unit came with a cookbook full of desserts. But though I dabbled in a few of the recipes—including a custard cup which I curdled every time—I left the microwave for prep work and popcorn.

I've finally begun to come around. Now I'm not arguing that the microwave should replace an oven (well, not yet), but I've been experimenting with quick microwave "mug" cakes, which churn out a perfectly acceptable—and immediate—serving of moist cake. So I wondered, could this work just as well with a whole cake?

This warm and fudgy pudding cake is just the kind of dessert that's perfectly adaptable to the microwave. Why? Because it's not supposed to be crispy, it's not meant to be perfect (scoop it, don't slice it), and it's meant to be enjoyed warm. To mix this cake couldn't be easier either: Lazily stir up the sloppy batter right in the dish, adding lots of chopped chocolate and a generous sprinkling of cocoa and sugar on top to give the cake a bit of crunch.

Make sure that you're using a microwave safe dish here. A shallow one will probably give you the best results. The fudge cake will bubble and puff in the microwave just as it would in the oven, and just as it starts to set (it'll still be jiggly), it's done—in a mere 4 to 5 minutes. Served warm, this cake is super moist, with gooey bits of melted chocolate. A totally irresistible cake that you can share, or not, and you didn't even have to preheat your oven. Hard to beat that.