There are times in a writer's life, as well as in life in general, when you really really want something sweet, and chocolate, and hot, right now. For those moments, I bring you Chocolate cake in a coffee mug. It's a microwave recipe, it's easy, and it's surprisingly good. I suggest trying it with a scoop of ice cream. A few things to keep in mind: make sure your mug is microwave safe; this cake gets very hot, so no plastic, for instance, and stay away from metallic glazes, or delicate china. Also, like many microwave baked goods, eat this while it's fresh, or it's a bit rubbery.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons cake flour
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa
• 1 Egg
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 3 Tablespoons oil
• 1 large microwave-safe coffee mug (12oz)

Procedure:

1. Thoroughly coat the inside of the mug with margarine, olive oil, or cooking spray.
2. Mix flour, sugar and cocoa together. Make sure there are no lumps.
3. Add egg, milk and oil, and mix well.
4. Place the mug in the microwave on top of a paper towel.
5. Set the microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (roughly 1000 watts).
6. The cake will rise, and may even flow over the edge of the mug. It will still be cooking for several seconds after the microwave has stopped. Wait until the cake sets in the mug.
7. Tip the cake out of mug into a bowl, and enjoy. You want to eat this before it's completely cooled, but be careful; parts of it may be hotter than others.

There are a number of variations you can make to this basic recipe. Try using a better quality cocoa; a Ghiradelli, or Dagoba Xocolatl with chili and cinnamon, for instance. Add a few chocolate chips, or chopped nuts.

There are also a number of other recipes for other sorts of coffee mug microwave cakes. Here's a Lemon Glaze Coffee Mug Cake, made with yellow cake mix. It's also fairly easy to make your own single-serving microwave coffee mug cake mixes using cake mix and flavored instant pudding mix. Make a batch, buy some mugs, and use them as gifts.