Cake-in-a Mug {Round-Up}

For those of you just tuning in, I live in Tokyo, where baking is not a common pastime for anyone other than a professional baker... which means there are literally NO OVENS in Japanese kitchens.  Can you even fathom that?  Thankfully, there are companies that rent mini convection/microwave ovens, mostly for foreigners like myself, who can't live without.  With that being the case, I've had to make some adjustments in my baking habits, resulting in the only logical side effect: multiple pin boards.

One of my boards is dedicated to single-serving recipes, to accommodate for the small size of the oven.  (Another is dedicated to dessert that bypass baking altogether, but that's another post for another day.)  While searching for single-serving recipes, I came across the concept of baking in a mug.  Not only is it brilliant, functional, and portion-controlled, it's adorable and totally customizable as a gift!

Here are a few of the favorite recipes and packaging that I've seen:

The 60 second chocolate chip cookie in a mug + a scoop of ice cream = the perfect instant pazookie
Another one minute treat: chocolate peanut butter cake.  Seriously?  Why have I not made this yet?
To be honest though... I'll take a brownie over a chocolate cake any day
The trendy salted caramel cake, of course.  Love this dichotomy in flavors.  Maybe there's a maple bacon recipe out there...
This one's for my brother: the Snickerdoodle fanatic
And mac n cheese!  Could this really possibly be the easiest toddler lunch ever?  (Slash comfort food for me)

Enjoy!