3 min prep. time
3 min cooking time

What you need:

• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons self raising flour
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
• chocolate chips (optional)

I was craving chocolate cake and decided to make this little gem.  I have no idea where I learnt this recipe, but is one that was clearly worth memorising.  Add it come in nice easy steps.

Firstly put all the dry ingredients in the mug you choose to make your cake in and mix well.  Add the egg and mix well making sure that there are no pockets of dry ingredients - usually flour gets missed in the bottom of the mug.  
Now add all your wet ingredients and mix well until you can no longer see any butter blobs.
Put your mug in the microwave at the highest setting for 3 minutes.  Watching the magic happen is my favourite thing to do, especially as you begin to thing "I can't eat all of that".

After the bing, you should be able to pour the cake out of the mug, if it get stuck just get a knife to the edges.  Goes well with custard or cream.

Makes 10
20 mins prep. time

What you need:

• 50g butter
• 400g condensed milk
• 200g plain dark chocolate (broken)
• 125g rich tea biscuits
• 100g pistachio nuts

Use a little of the butter to grease the inside of a round tin (I used a 20cm (8 inch) tin).  Put the rest of the butter in a saucepan with the condensed milk and chocolate.  Heat gently, stirring until melted, then remove from the heat.

Makes 12
12 mins prep. time
20-25 mins cooking time
160°C (325°F)/Gas Mark 3

What you need:

• 150g plain flour
• 25g cornflour
• 125g butter (diced)
• 50g caster sugar
• 75g milk chocolate (shopped)
• a little ground cinnamon

Put the plain flour and cornflour in a mixing bowl.  Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixtures looks like breadcrumbs.
Stir in the sugar and chocolate.  Squeeze the crumbs together in your hands to form a ball.

Press the mixture into an ungreased shallow cake tin (I used an 18cm (7 inch) tin).  Prick the top with a fork.  Mix the cinnamon and a little sugar together and sprinkle on top.  Bake in a preheated oven, 160°C (325°F)/Gas Mark 3, for 20-25 minutes until pale golden.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool.  Cut the shortbread into bars and store in an airtight tin for up to 5 days.