I am a huge fan of microwave mug cooking.  Besides being quick and easy to make, mug meals are also really easy to eat in front of the TV:  mug in one hand, spoon in the other and you are golden.

Or at least, that’s how it should work.

While there are things that do work really well in a mug (soup, for example), some things just get kind of fussy and fiddly even if you’re only making it in a mug for yourself.  Scratch baking, for example.  Measuring out flour, sugar, baking soda…making indentations to keep the vinegar separate from the oil…

Why?  This is supposed to be easy!!!!!!!!!!

As I was thinking about this problem and how to make a mug cake more couch potato-friendly, it hit me:  the Coca-cola cake trick.  For the uninitiated, it goes like this:  Take a box of cake mix.  Mix in a can of soda.  Pour into greased pan and bake.  Simple, right?  So I wondered…could this be scaled down to make a 2-minute mug cake?

Yes, God help me.  YES IT CAN!

Here’re the recipe:

• 1/2 cup boxed cake mix (any flavor, but I used Dark Chocolate Fudge Duncan Hines)
• 1/3 cup soda pop of your choosing (I wanted to use Coke, but the supermarket I went to only had Pepsi in singles at the register, so I went with that)

1. Pour cake mix into a mug (spray it down with cooking spray if you like; the finished cake will stick to the sides of the mug, so using cooking spray will make things easier to clean once you’re done)
   
   

   

2. Add soda pop and whisk vigorously with a fork until the batter is smooth(ish).  Really small lumps of flour are ok, and overbeating it is ok too (if it’s been that kind of day)
   
   

   

3. Microwave for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave. This cake will rise a ton and may try to boil over on you.  If this concerns you, use a bigger mug.
   
   

   

If you haven’t gotten a mug cake to work, this will work.  It’s not going to dry out on you.  It tastes awesome and can be made during a commercial break without forcing you to rewind your show.

So, so, soooooooo good…

Good luck! If you’ve made this, let me know how it went in the comments!