Five-minute no-oven chocolate cake recipe goes viral

IRELAND - JUNE 05: Home-baked chocolate cake with rose petals on sale at farmers' market, County Clare, West of Ireland (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)
IRELAND - JUNE 05: Home-baked chocolate cake with rose petals on sale at farmers' market, County Clare, West of Ireland (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

If you’re looking for an easy-to-make chocolate cake for a special occasion or simply to satisfy your sweet tooth, this recipe is perfect for you.

While a bunch of us are stuck at home due to the coronavirus, finding things to make with what we have on hand can be difficult. It can be especially difficult if you don’t have an oven. If you want something sweet like chocolate cake, how are you supposed to make it in order to satisfy your sugar cravings?

That’s the question Emma Fontanella at Emma’s Goodies on YouTube answered with her 5-minute no-bake chocolate cake recipe. The recipe consists of items you probably have on hand already. The cocoa powder might be the only thing you need to run out and buy (or get delivered thanks to Amazon or another grocery delivery service).

Once you mix all the ingredients together, that’s where Emma starts to get really crafty.

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If you don’t bake much, you might not have a pan to put the cake batter into. And since this cake cooks in the microwave, even if you have a cake pan, it might not be microwave-safe. Emma uses a plastic container with handles (which kind of looks like a bucket), but she notes that as long as the container can go in the microwave, it’ll work  just fine. You may want to line it with parchment paper or grease it so the cake comes out easily. If you want to eat it straight out of the container, you do you!

The recipe does state that it’s for a 9 to 10-inch cake, but I bet you could pour the batter into mugs and make individual portions. You just have to watch the cooking time.

Once the batter is mixed and poured into the container of your choice, throw it in the microwave for five minutes.  Obviously, the time will depend on how strong your microwave is, but as long as you keep an eye on it, you shouldn’t have any problems.

You can watch the entire process, with recipe and instructions, here:

Next, THE FROSTING! What is cake without the frosting? And according to Emma, this one only takes a minute to make. That being said, you do need to refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

In terms of ingredients you have on hand, the frosting does contain dark chocolate and powdered sugar, so if you don’t have those in your cupboard, you’ll want to pick those up. The recipe also calls for over 3 cups of powdered sugar which usually might result in an over-sweet frosting, but because Emma’s using dark chocolate, the bitterness might take away some of that sweetness and balance it out.

One word of warning when it comes to the cake: since you’re baking it in the microwave, the texture might not be the same as what you get when baking in a traditional oven. Most likely, it will be spongier. If you’ve ever made a mug cake or one of those microwave desserts they sell at the grocery store, you know what I mean.

It doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the cake (it’s still cake!), it’ll taste just as good as if you bake it in the oven, which let’s be honest, is the most important part. So if you’ve been dying for some cake or have been trying to figure out what to do for someone’s birthday, this is a great option.

What do you think of this chocolate cake recipe? Will you be trying it? Let us know in the comments below!