1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon+ if you love vanilla)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or 3 tablespoons if you want it sweeter)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 to 3 tablespoons strawberries, diced (I used TJ’s frozen strawberries and diced them. Halve or quarter your berries as desired)
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients (except strawberries), and whisk until batter is just smooth, but do not overmix. Gently fold in the strawberries. Prepare a mug by spraying it very well with cooking spray and pour batter into mug, taking care that there is plenty of room for growth. The batter/cake will nearly double in height in the microwave so select a large mug and do not fill more than halfway. (You may have leftover batter or you may get two mugcakes from this recipe, but don’t overfill or you will have a big mess) Microwave on high for 75 to 90 seconds, or until done. Microwave cooking times vary widely and I suggest standing in front of the microwave the entire time. It could be done in 60 seconds, it could take 2 minutes; it’s very hard to say but mine took about 90 seconds. While the mug cake is cooling, make the glaze.
Vanilla Buttercream Glaze
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 teaspoon+ if you love vanilla)
1 tablespoon+ cream (or milk)
Combine all ingredients (except for cream) in a small bowl and whisk, adding the cream based on desired consistency of glaze. Spoon glaze over the mugcake while it’s in the mug and allow glaze to soak and permeate into the cake. Or, remove cake from the mug by running a knife around the sides and inverting it onto a plate and spooning the glaze over it.
Notes:
I do not bother with mixing dry ingredients first, then wet; making this in one bowl and everything added at once is fine. You can also mix this all together in the mug and skip the bowl entirely, taking care you’ve sprayed it well with cooking spray. Do not fill your mug more than halfway full as the batter/cake will expand and nearly double in size. Allow for plenty of room for growth.
To keep vegan, use margarine in place of butter, use nut milk in place of cream/milk, and use a flax egg. To keep gluten free, use a gluten-free flour blend. I have not tried making this vegan or gluten free; I am only providing likely suggestions.
I am sure you could bake this in the oven in an oven-safe baking dish or suitable mug, but this is a “convenience recipe” and I have only tried it using the microwave.
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Cake making is as easy as combining everything in one bowl except for the strawberries, stirring, and folding those in last. I don’t bother mixing the dry and mixing wet ingredients separately, and then folding them together.
This is a convenience recipe and it’s much more convenient to just do it all at once. You can even just mix everything in the mug, making it even more convenient because you have one less dish to do, but for the sake of pictures, I used a small bowl.