Meera Sodha's vegan recipe for microwaved chocolate, miso and banana mug cake

Salty-sweet, gooey… and ready in just two minutes

The microwave has always been an integral but underappreciated part of my kitchen, until a recent news story on energy prices panned it, calling it the cheapest and most efficient way of cooking. Now, once again, this is a rising star (hello again, the 1980s). I'm still in the early stages of experimenting with it, but being able to bake a cake in two minutes (yes, two minutes!) felt like a natural place to start. It's by no means a high-end patisserie, but it's instant cake, attainable, and magical — and, for me, the start of an exciting new journey.

Microwaved chocolate, miso and banana mug cake

You will need a microwave and two large 350-400ml mugs. This recipe makes two cakes, but you can easily halve the amount to make one, or double it to four; there is enough cream here for four servings. You'll also need an electric whisk if making cream (optional), but you can, if you prefer, serve it with your choice of vegan ice cream.

  • Preparation 5 min
  • Cook 15 minutes
  • Serving 2
  • For cake
  • 1 banana, peeled, to get 60g of flesh
  • 1½ tsp white miso
  • 5 tbsp flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 tbsp oat milk
  • For cream (optional)
  • ½ tsp white miso
  • ½ tsp water
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 75ml plant-based double cream – I love Elmlea
  • 1 square dark chocolate

Take a 25 cm piece of parchment paper, crumple it lightly, flatten it again and carefully line the mug, gently pushing the paper down and smoothing the sides. Repeat with second 25cm square of parchment paper and other mugs.

Place the bananas in a medium bowl and mash them into a paste with a fork. Add the miso, then stir in the flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa powder. Still using the fork, slowly mix the oil and oat milk, until it is a smooth dough, reserving a few pieces of banana. Distribute them evenly between mugs - the dough should fill them by half.

Microwave the mug cakes individually for two minutes at 1000W or two and a half minutes at 800W, then let them cool slightly. Using the parchment paper to help you, remove the cookies, peel off the foil and place each cookie on a plate.

For the cream, when making it, combine the miso and half a teaspoon of cold water in a small bowl, then add the sugar and mix again. Pour the cream into a large bowl, beat for three or four minutes, until thick and fluffy, then add the sweet miso mixture and beat again until thick and fluffy.

Spoon the cream over the cake, grate it over the chocolate and serve.

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