Q. What does "MMC"
mean?
A. It stands for Microwave Mug Cake.
Repeatedly typing, and saying, "Microwave Mug Cake" became too taxing for us
after awhile, so we came up with MMC.
Q. What's the difference between an MMC and a
muffin?
A. An MMC looks a lot like a muffin, and
when it's fresh from the microwave oven, it tastes just as good as a warm
muffin. But an MMC takes far less time, energy, and equipment to prepare than a
muffin does.
Q. What type of mug should I use?
A. You need a mug that can hold 16 ounces of
liquid and, to create a solid MMC that can stand on its own, we suggest that you
use a mug that's shaped like a cylinder. However, you may use a cone-shaped mug
instead as long as you position the fattest part of the MMC on the bottom so
that it will rest solidly on the plate.
Q. Do I have to remove my MMC from the mug before
I eat it?
A. This has been a source of heated
debate among intrepid MMC testers. There are two schools of thought. The first
school of thought holds that fewer dishes are better, and as long as you wait
about 5 minutes for a baked MMC to cool off, you can eat it directly from the
mug. The second school of frosting holds that you simply can't fit enough
frosting on an MMC that's trapped in a mug, and unmolding the MMC before you eat
it is a must. The choice is yours. Be warmed, though, that since this is such a
volatile subject, it's best not to bring the topic up anyplace where the volume
of the conversation can be an issue.
Q. What do I do if my microwave mug cake breaks
in half while I'm removing it from the mug?
A. Use
frosting to "glue" it back together again, and relax. No one will care.
Q. Do I have to use the frosting and decoration
combinations that you suggest in the "fancy stuff" portion of the
recipes?
A. No. The suggestions are just that.
Create your own favorite frostings and decorations, or eat the microwave mug
cake bare. Have it the way you like it -- it's your MMC!
Q. Do I have to measure the
ingredients?
A. Please do. Because it only takes a
small amount of ingredients to make an MMC, the proportions matter more than in
other types of making. "Eyeballing" the orange juice and pouring in a couple of
"glops" may be fine if you're making a cake. But the same glopping instead of
precise measuring can cause the batter to spill over the mug and run all over
your microwave. We're not trying to make your life difficult here. We're just
trying to save your microwave oven -- and your mug.
Q. Do I have to use a mixer and have a perfectly
smooth batter?
A. No mixer is required, but do
thoroughly mix the batter with a spoon or a whisk, and remove as many of the
lumps as you can.
Q. Is it okay to use an egg substitute instead of
an egg?
A. We'd say "no." Our intrepid MMC testers
couldn't get egg substitutes to work, and they made many messes trying.
Q. What happens if I substitute, say, rye flour
or buckwheat flour for all-purpose flour?
A. Try
it, and let us know!
Q. How can I store an uneaten portion of the
microwave mug cake for another day?
A. Don't. By
the next day, you can use the leftover cake as a paperweight. Besides, you're
always less than 10 minutes away from a new one. If you want to save some of
your MMC for later the same day, however you can try plastic wrap (or plastic
ware) and hope for the best.
Q. Why do you suggest that I thump the
batter-filled mug six times before baking it?
A.
Because we felt that, on the seventh thump, you might break the mug. Seriously,
thumping the mug firmly several times removes excess air bubbles and ensures
that your finished microwave mug cake won't end up lopsided.
Q. Should I add salt to the
batter?
A. No. Microwave mug cakes don't require
any salt.
Q. Vanilla extract: real or imitation?
A. We'd go with the real stuff. It's more
expensive, but we think that it tastes better than the artificial flavoring.
Q. What type of milk do your recipes require?
A. We used 1% milk. But it's okay to substitute
other types. Soy milk and rice milk will work, too.
Q. What type of oil should I use?
A. We used canola oil, and that turned out just
fine. It's okay to use your favorite cooking oil, but we'd steer clear of olive
oil because of its pungent flavor.
Q. Is it okay to substitute white sugar in
recipes that require light brown sugar?
A. We
wouldn't, especially if you plan to eat your cake without frosting it (or to
serve it to someone else). Since the microwave oven doesn't brown baked goods,
the light brown sugar gives your cakes a finished look.
Q. What if I run out of an ingredient?
A. You can always substitute one flavor for
another flavor of the same food type. For example, you can use vanilla or
tapioca pudding powder in place of pistachio pudding powder; you can swap lemon
or blueberry yogurt for strawberry yogurt; or you can go with cherry or
blueberry pie filling instead of lemon pie filling. In fact, making these
substitutions is a great way to unleash your creativity. Try it, and let us know
what you come up with!
Q. What happens if I want to get really creative
-- say, adding an extra two tablespoons of pie filling to a recipe, squirting in
some pickle juice, or mixing together three different flavors of
yogurt?
A. Good luck with that -- and really get
ready to thoroughly clean up your microwave oven or forfeit your mug after your
experiments in the event that things go wrong. In our experience, they probably
will.
Q. Is this real baking, or is it a
gimmick?
A. You're using real ingredients just like
any pastry chef would. You're just reducing the time and portion size.
Q. Is it selfish to bake a microwave mug cake for
yourself?
A. Yes, but "selfish" isn't always a bad
thing. Your loved ones want to see you happy, and if a microwave mug cake can
make your day, then go for it.
Q. How hot does the mug get once the cake is
baked?
A. Extremely hot. Wait two minutes before
you unmold the cake from the mug. And wait about five more minutes before you
wash out the mug. Clean mugs are good. Burns are not.
Q. Must I use a fork to eat my
MMC?
A. Not unless you sense the neighbors are
watching. Finger foods can be fun.
Q. What can I use to frost my
MMC?
A. In the first place, you can eat every cake
"as is." But, if you want to get into the fancy stuff, you can top your cake
with frosting (store bought is fine, and an unopened canister of it will last
nearly forever), jelly, jam, pie filling, yogurt, or pudding (the single-serving
pudding containers you buy in the supermarket are perfect, and you'll only need
a couple of spoonfuls).
Q. What can I use to decorate my frosted MMC?
A. You can dust on powdered sugar or graham
cracker crumbs, or you can sprinkle your frosted cake with shredded coconut,
chopped nuts, small chewable candies such as gumdrops or sprinkles, or hot fudge
(or your favorite flavor) sundae sauce.
Q. When should I make a mug
cake?
A. When you're bored . . . when you want a
snack . . . when you want something fun to do with your kids . . . when everyone
wants a different flavor . . . when you deserve a reward . . . when you want
something homemade without great effort . . . when it's too hot to turn on the
oven and bake something . . . when it's too cold to go out and buy something . .
. when a whole cake is too much . . . when you want to make office workers
jealous . . . when you're trying to impress somebody . . . when you have a late
night . . . when you want to make somebody feel special . . . when you need a
lift . . . on Monday morning . . . when someone drops by unexpectedly and you
have nothing to serve . . . when you want to cheer someone up . . . when you
want to say well done . . . when you want to say thank you . . . when you want
to say I'm sorry . . . when you want to cheer someone up . . . when you want to
say "well done."