The Marvellous 6-Minute Microwave Cake!!

I've gone the microwave way for baking on more than a few occasions. Let's just say it was one of those "Try, try, till you succeed" type of things. Lets also just say I figured I never would succeed.

That's probably why, when I saw this recipe on Madhuri's (a fellow food-blogger) site, I was like "HA!! She must have a magic microwave! I need to get me one of 'em!" But, 'cause the itch to try, try and see if I could succeed was still lurking under my skin, I decided to scratch it by giving her recipe a go. After all, she proclaimed it would take just 5 minutes in the microwave (at this point there were MANY more 'HA!!'s sounding in my head)! That was the kinda time I could spare to prove a recipe wrong. Besides, it was also my folks 31st wedding anniversary. I needed a quick dessert item to celebrate.

I was so sure this would be an unsuccessful recipe, I even pre-drafted a comment to Teach (oh, btw thats my nickname for Madhuri, a professor by profession :0)) that basically told her that it was horrible of her to put such beautiful, albeit unrealistic ideas in peoples heads, and to get the recipe off her site. I decided to try the recipe before I hit the 'post' button, and proceeded to prove myself right.

I didn't ever get to post that comment; the cake was SUPERB!! BETTER than so many cakes I have baked before. And it really was ready in no time at all! I got rave reviews from the family, and just one or two "It would've been better if you had"s. And that's saying something!!

So, THANK YOU Madhuri!! I gladly eat humble-pie, and yummy cake!!
Moral of the story: Sometimes great cake comes with a free side of humble-pie!!

The 6-Minute Microwave Cake *

(For Real!)

Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 cups     All Purpose Flour (Maida)
2. 1/2 cup         Cocoa Powder
3. 2 cups           Powdered Sugar
4. 1 tsp             Baking Powder
5. 1/2 tsp          Baking Soda
6. A pinch          Salt
7. 1/4 cup          Soy/Almond Milk
8. 3/4 cup          Oil
9. 1 tsp              Vanilla Essence
10. 4 tsps             Flax Seed Powder
11. 1 cup             Warm Water

Directions

1. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl, and mix well together.
2. To the dry mix, add the milk, oil and vanilla essence, and mix together.
3. Stir the flax seed powder in the cup of warm water, and add to the batter.
4. Mix well.
5. Pour batter half the way into a greased and floured microwave safe dish. A wide and shallow is required to ensure proper cooking.
6. Update (see Notes): Use cling wrap to cove the dish well, and poke several holes in it to allow the steam to escape. DO NOT forget to do this.
7. Place it into the microwave for 5-8 minutes, depending on the wattage of your microwave (see notes 4.).
8. Once done, leave it in the microwave for a few minutes. After about 10 minutes, remove and check for doneness using the toothpick method.
9. Once cool you can top it with fruit slices of your choice, or hot chocolate sauce. Alternatively, serve warm topped with ice cream.

Notes: 

1. Madhuri mentioned to cover the dish with cling film and poke sufficient holes in it to let the steam escape. I actually forgot to do this. The cake was still lovely, but I will try it will the cling film the next time around to see if it makes a difference.
   Update: I did try making the cake with Cling Film the next time, and it turned out very well, indeed! Even the top of the cake stayed moist.
2. I did think the cake was a tad dry to eat without a sauce of some kind or vegan ice cream. I might try adding a whole cup of oil, or some more vegan milk the next time to see if it makes it just a little more moist.
3. Mine is an 800 watt microwave. It took exactly 6 minutes. Madhuri's is 900w and took 5 minutes. Do the math!
4. Since I didn't have fruits, vegan chocolate sauce or vegan ice cream, I decided to top it with a dusting of icing sugar!

* I have changed the name for obvious reasons, and some of the quantities based on the constructive criticism from the family.