'I made delicious carrot cake in a mug in just three minutes and it was easy'

Baking is a piece of cake with the simplicity of mug cake , perfect for those looking to dodge the full-blown baking kerfuffle. Mug cakes are my go-to because they're a breeze to make and satisfy those sudden dessert cravings when they hit in no time at all.

Plus, they're a godsend for anyone who hates washing up – you won’t even need an oven, and you'll have next to no cleaning to do. After nailing a dreamy red velvet version previously, I stumbled upon a rapid-fire carrot mug cake recipe that looked too good not to try, writes

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The recipe is courtesy of cookbook author and 31 Daily blogger Stephanie Wilson. Describing her microwavable creation, she said: "This carrot cake in a mug recipe is a three-minute microwave mug cake dessert perfect for the season. Sweet, delicious and incredibly quick and easy."

Ingredients

• One and a half tablespoons butter, plus more to grease your mug
• Two tablespoons brown sugar
• One quarter teaspoon vanilla extract
• Three tablespoons milk
• One quarter cup all-purpose flour
• One quarter teaspoon baking powder
• One quarter teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Two tablespoons (28g) carrots, finely shredded
• Two tablespoons heavy cream

Method

First things first, I sorted all the ingredients and grated the right amount of carrots. Next up, I found a microwave-proof mug hefty enough to hold 300ml and gave it a light buttering.

Then, plopping the portioned-out butter into the mug, I zapped it in the microwave for about 15 seconds until it was totally melted.

What's brilliant about this recipe is its flexibility - you can mix all the ingredients in a small bowl or directly in the mug, which was my choice.

In the mug, I stirred together the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, milk, flour, baking powder and a dash of cinnamon. I used a fork to whisk everything until it was smooth, then folded in the shredded carrots with a spatula.

The recipe suggests zapping the mixture in the microwave for between one to one and a half minutes. With my 900-watt microwave, I found the sweet spot to be around one minute and 10 seconds. However, start checking on your cake at the one-minute mark. It should look set, but be wary of overdoing it in the microwave.

Once it was ready, I crowned my carrot mug cake with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of icing sugar. The recipe also suggests a cream cheese frosting as an alternative topping, but I'm not a huge fan of that.

When it came to the taste test, the sponge was impressively moist and packed with flavour, considering how quick and easy it was to make.