Easiest Cake Recipe Ever

You know how sometimes folks will come home after a really crummy day, kick off their shoes, shrug off their work clothes, and relax with a nice cold adult beverage? For me it's not about the adult beverage. When I have had THAT kind of a day, all I really want is.......cake. Yes. Cake. Funny thing about cake, you usually have to make an entire cake. In our household of two, a whole cake usually goes to waste, so we don't often bake cakes. In desperate times I have been known to snag a cake slice or a cupcake from the local grocery store bakery, but alas, it's bakery cake, not the same. It's often a little on the dry side from being already sliced and the frosting is either that weird whipped stuff or a buttercream so overloaded with sugar it's crunchy. Not very satisfying. Times like these I long for the days of my childhood where cake heaven was just a few minutes away after a quick run through the Easy Bake Oven.

 Fear not, my friends, cake heaven is again close at hand. This really doesn't even qualify as a "recipe" in the truest sense- it's more like a cake hack that is super simple and super delicious. Are you ready for this? Freshly baked cake for one from the microwave. You can have cake in just 45 teeny tiny seconds!!!  Yes!!!

So how do you do this? Easy- grab two cake mixes- one must be angel food, the other can be any flavor you like. For my current batch of "instant cake" I used a chocolate fudge cake mix. Dump both DRY mixes in a big bowl and use a whisk to fully incorporate them together. Break up any clumps in the mixes. Spoon the mixture into a big, airtight storage container. To make a cake, grab a custard cup and add 3 tablespoons of the dry mix. Stir in 2 tablespoons water and mix with a fork til smooth. Pop in the micro and bake for 45 seconds. Done!

The little cakes are springy and light. The angel food cake mix, which is mostly egg whites, lightens the texture of the cake and helps it rise. Now you can dress up your cake however you like. A drizzle of icing, a scoop of ice cream, pile on some fresh fruit.

Last night while experimenting I made mine into a peanut butter lava cake by mixing the batter as usual but before baking, I added a big rounded tablespoon of peanut butter right on top. When it bakes, the batter rises up and encloses the peanut butter, which becomes all melty and happy. Invert on a plate and hit with a little whipped cream or ice cream. Delicious!  You can also use caramel sauce, chocolate truffles, cherry pie filling, Ferrero Rocher candies, mints- use your imagination. Anything that melts makes an easy lava cake and any other candies make a candy bomb cake!

My experimenting with instant cake is going to continue for sure. Stick around and see what I come up with!