A friend told me about this recipe. She recited it to me at work one cold morning. I glared at her, saying: ‘you shouldn’t have told me that.’

Since then, two things have happened. One, I’ve been telling people the recipe. It’s a bit like having an annoying tune stuck in your head; you just want to share it so you’re not alone. Two, I’ve been perfecting the recipe, to suit our taste and our microwave.

Before I continue, you probably should stop reading this post if you: love chocolate; love chocolate cake; love warm chocolate cake; have a penchant for warm gooey chocolate fudge type cake; or if you are a sucker for easy, quick recipes.

Warning: this could be (a) addictive (b) fattening.

Warning: this is yummy. Also, it is easy to share (doesn’t mean you have to though).

This is a great dessert for the family. For us, it can easily be divvied up between 4-5 of us, served with a little dollop of cream. I know some people (who shall remain nameless), who might almost scoff the entire thing before realizing what they are doing!

Microwave chocolate brownie in a mug:

Mix 2 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp water in a mug.
Add 2 Tbsp cocoa. Mix well.
Add 2 Tbsp brown sugar. Mix well.
Add 1/2 tsp vanilla essence.
Add 4 Tbsp self raising flour. Mix well.
Add a splash of milk. Mix well.
Cook in microwave: one minute.

Things you might want to do:
Add more sugar if you are insanely sweet-toothed (the original recipe has 4 Tbsps)
Use plain flour if you want it more dense
Avoid the milk if you want your brownie drier
Play around with microwave times/power settings (if I use PF I cook at 600w; if I use SRF I cook at 900w)
Put frozen berries in the bottom of your mug, mix the mixture (leave out the milk) in a separate bowl and add to the mug
Add orange zest (jaffa!)

The more I think about it, the more I want to try the following:
Add a dash of contreu and orange zest, or frangelico with crushed hazelnuts. I mean, HELLO!

Weightloss tip: avoid eating a mug of microwaveable chocolate brownie. However, if you do want to indulge in some dessert (and I dare say you do!), counterbalance your calorie splurge by eating a dinner that is really light in calories, such as salad, and eat this as early as feasible, not late at night.