Have you ever gotten home from a long day and thought, "I could sure go for some cake right now!" Maybe not. But if you were to think that, you would then remember all the work that goes into it and how long it takes to bake and perhaps forgo the whole debacle. But there is a solution! I can bake a cake in 35 seconds. Well, perhaps bake is a bit of a misnomer. I can microwave a cake in 35 seconds. Why can't we apply the same principles we use in the oven to a microwave? A part of molecular gastronomy is about finding ways to simplify cooking. Take a look at how easy this is! *Please note this recipe comes from Modernist Cuisine, but I have adapted part of it to make it even easier.*
A Personal Snack Cake
1. Get a few paper cups.
2. Make your favorite cake batter, or, alternatively, go buy a box of Betty Crocker Super Moist Cake Mix and follow the instructions to create the batter.
3. This is where I differ from Modernist Cuisine. They use a whipping siphon to make the batter light and fluffy. Which works great; however, after a few of my own bench tests, I discovered that you can produce almost the same results as them WITHOUT the whipping siphon! If you have a whipping siphon, then feel free to try it out! (If you have interest in this tool, I recommend an Isi Whipping Siphon, they're not too expensive).
4. Using scissors, cut about three holes in the bottom of the paper cup. Then, grease the bottom and sides of the cup with a nonstick cooking spray or vegetable oil.
5. Fill the cup no more than 1/3 of the way full with batter. It's thick enough that it won't leak out of the bottom.
6. Doing one cup at a time, put a batter-filled cup in the microwave and heat it on high. Microwaves are notorious for differing in their heating times. Modernist Cuisine recommends 1 minute. My microwave preforms best at 35 seconds. Try out a few different times on your own microwave and see what time gives you the fluffiest cake without losing moisture. The batter in the bottom of the cup will rise a surprising amount.
7. Take the cup out of the microwave and turn it upside down on a plate. Give it a few seconds to rest and allow steam to escape, then tap the cup on the plate to allow the cake to fall out.
8. Serve! You can pick almost any flavor you want. Serve individual warm chocolate cakes with fudge or caramel sauce. Serve lemon or vanilla cakes with fruit or freshly whipped cream (it's much better than out of a can, trust me. Also, another good use for a whipping siphon!) It's incredibly easy to do, I was shocked and amazed at how well it work.
Give this a try! Anyone can do this one, leave me a comment and let me know how it goes!
Have you ever had any explosions in the microwave while making mini cakes? I imagine that would be terrible to clean up! Also,thank you for topping your cakes with FRESHLY whipped cream. It is so much better than the canned whipped cream!
ReplyDeleteSadly, no explosions...yet. We can only hope future tests will yield some explosive behavior! The technique has worked fabulously, and I've actually just kept the same batter for about a week and the cakes still only take 35 seconds from cold, week old batter. And still taste great! Freshly whipped cream is much better! Next time you do it, try pureeing your favorite fruit and then straining it and adding it to the heavy cream. I've made mango whipped cream this way and not only is it delicious, but requires less added sugar!
ReplyDeleteIt's my daughter's birthday Sunday. I'm going to try it out for her.
ReplyDelete