If you know me, you know I’m a cake snob. Box mixes are okay, but homemade cakes are my true love. Cake cooked in the microwave, though? I admit, in the past I’ve been seduced by the promise of piping-hot cakey goodness in only a few minutes, or the cuteness of one serving of cake in a coffee mug (and no mixing bowls to wash).

Yet every microwave-cake recipe I had ever tried was a disappointment. My usual response to those recipes now is, Rubbery, unevenly-cooked cake that doesn’t really satisfy any craving? Bleah, no thank you. I’m glad I tried this recipe from Prudent Baby, because I was very pleasantly surprised by how tasty it is. And it’s easy! I’ve made it about five times, tweaking the recipe to suit my tastes, and everyone who has tried it has loved it.

Soften a tablespoon of butter in each mug, 10-15 seconds in the microwave on medium power. You want the butter soft but not melted. (The mug[s] you use can be large or small, it doesn’t really matter. If you use a smallish mug, the finished cake will puff out over the top a little, which is fine.)

Add two tablespoons of sugar and stir till it’s fluffy and creamy.

Pour a little bit of vanilla into each mug. I just eyeballed it, but if you want you could measure out 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla.

This step is optional. If you don’t mind a crumbly cake (or you can’t eat eggs) you can skip it. If you want a chewier, more, uh, cake-like cake then mix in about half an egg per mug. The first time I made these, I happened to have egg yolks in the fridge left over from making an angel food cake, so I just used one yolk per mug. You could also break an egg into a bowl and lightly beat it, then use half of that. Or you could even use a whole egg, if you want. It will just make for a rather dense, eggy cake which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Add two tablespoons of vanilla or plain yogurt (or sour cream, or even sour milk or buttermilk in a pinch) to your mug and stir well.

Mix in 1/4 cup of flour, 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

Now for the best part: the streusel topping! In another bowl, for each mug mix together 1 tablespoon of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut 1 tablespoon of cold butter into small bits and add that to the bowl, then use your fingers to rub and smoosh the butter into the flour mixture till it’s well combined. Sprinkle that over the top of the cake batter in the mug.

Stick your mug into the microwave and cook on high for 1 minute, and in additional 10-second increments as needed. In my microwave, one mug of cake is done in 1 minute 20 seconds, and two mugs of cake take about 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Ta-daa! Coffee cake in a mug, in less than ten minutes. Just be sure to let it cool a bit before you eat it. Serve with pickled eggs and pretzels for an excellent late-night supper.

Microwaved Coffee Cake in a Mug
serves 1

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• optional: 1 egg, lightly beaten (or 1 egg yolk or 1 egg white)
• 2 Tbsp vanilla or plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Streusel Topping:

• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp butter

1. In a large or small mug, soften (not melt) butter in microwave for 10-15 seconds on medium.
2. Add sugar and mix till creamy and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla.
4. Stir in the yogurt.
5. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well.
6. Make the streusel topping: mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add cut-up butter and rub into flour mixture till well-combined.
7. Sprinkle topping over batter in mug.
8. Cook in microwave on high power for one minute, plus additional 10-second increments as necessary. When the cake looks mostly dry, it’s done. Let it sit for a minute to finish cooking.

Annalie drew these teeny portraits of our family on something, and I knew immediately I would use them for return-address labels on our Christmas cards. She draws stuff like this all the time that surprises and delights me. It’s fairly awesome.

You know what else is fairly awesome? You guys are. Thank you for sticking with me and continuing to read through the past year of baby-induced blog neglect; supporting me and saying kind things when I am frustrated or troubled; cheering me up with your funny stories when I need to laugh; and just generally being some of the nicest people on the internets. I wish each and every one of you a happy, healthy new year full of good things. May 2012 be the year you learn to tango, go on your dream vacation, see your kids succeed wildly, eat more vegetables, own your beauty, read life-changing books, find a new favorite drink, or whatever it is you think about when you wish upon a star.

View large.

p.s. New-old banner, by Brenda as always.

Why blog? Why do you or why do you like to blog (recognizing that these are not always the same thing)? —Kristen

The main reason I blog is because Brenda told me to.

:: The End ::

Just kidding. But this post almost could be that short. The main reason I finally started a blog, three years after abandoning the personal website I’d lovingly hand-coded from 1997 to 2004, was because Brenda kept telling me I should do it. She told me that I’m such a writer, and I take good photos, and I should just do it because I would be good at it and have a blast.

I already read and regularly commented on a few blogs, and had been part of the 7 Days community on Flickr for a while, so I knew that it would probably be fun, but I still hesitated, worried that non-internetty friends and relatives wouldn’t understand why I wanted to dedicate a website to talking about my life, that they would see it as a weird, navel-gazing kind of thing to do. I hemmed and hawed for months before I finally took the plunge (assisted by Heather and Jessica‘s excellent tutorials about how to ditch my blogging training wheels) with three posts about making my friends Erin and Rocco’s wedding cakes.

Once I’d started, I wondered why I’d been dragging my feet. Brenda was right; blogging was super fun, and useful! I could post photos and write about what we were up to for my and Troy’s parents, and all the friends and family we lived far away from thanks to the Navy. I could record moments and crafts and recipes I wanted to remember for future reference. I could ask questions and my readers would respond with advice, funny stories, recommendations.

But the best part of being a blogger is how many good friends I’ve made because of my blog. Comments led to emails, to hilarious late-night IM sessions, to in-person meet-ups, to exchanging Christmas cards and care packages, to stopping on road trips for a quick meal of Chinese with old friends I was meeting for the first time. Because of blogging, I have a friend like a sister who will help me unpack my house when I move and come stay with me for three weeks when I’m about to have a baby; and there is a woman in Australia whom I count as one of my best friends, on any continent. Because I blog, I have friends all over the world whom I otherwise never would have met or even known existed.

For a long time, it was seen as slightly shady and downright weird to admit that you had met a friend or significant other online. But as Brenda says (she says lots of good things, which is probably why she’s such a good blogger herself), the internet is better than homeroom. It actually makes more sense to meet friends online in communities you’re both into (blogs, Flickr, Star Trek forums, whatever) than to befriend people who just happen to be sitting next to you in your 3rd-period history class. The internet acts as a filter and leads you to the people who share common traits and values and interests with you. I’ve always had to laugh when I read news articles about the concern that people spending so much time online will lead to them not knowing how to interact with the real world. For me, the internet—including my blog—has been an amazing portal to the real world and some wonderful people.

I’m taking part in a blogging group called Reverb Broads that will be suggesting daily blogging prompts this December. I won’t do it every day, but I’ll be using them occasionally throughout the month as they tickle my fancy. If you want to join in, feel free! Go here or here to learn more.