Today I’ve got a special recipe for you which you may never have made before. Arugula goat cheese mug cakes are one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever tried. The fluffy dough is combined with fresh arugula, lovely creamy goat cheese, sweet dried apricots and some slightly spicy green peppers. Topped with a spoon of creamy yogurt it makes a great meal, either for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
But what are mug cakes? Mug cakes are simply single cakes made in a mug. The name says it all. Wink. The cakes consist of fluffy dough, vegetables, fish, sausage and herbs for the savoury variation, fruits and chocolate for the sweet variation, and of toppings or a dip. They can be made either in a microwave or in an oven.
Furthermore, arugula goat cheese mug cakes represent a whole meal. Even though a single mug doesn’t seem much, it’s very fulfilling. As I said, these mug cups are quick and really easy to make, yet incredibly delicious. If you prefer other vegetables, you are welcome to use them. In fact, there are plenty of varieties of savoury mug cakes. There is one for everyone. Wink.
Also, I made my mug cakes in the oven. But, you can make them even quicker, by using a microwave. More, if you want your mug cake to have a gooey middle, reduce the cooking time for 5 minutes when using an oven and around 30 seconds when using a microwave.
Moreover, observing the cake while baking it in the oven is fascinating. The cake I’ve made, rose at first, then the batter from the inside was slowly pouring out from the top. It was like watching a volcano. Wink.
Cooking them longer will make the cake fluffy and it might result a bit dry, which is a great excuse to make a fresh dip or topping. For instance, natural plain yogurt is a wonderful idea. I added a spoon of homemade BBQ sauce to it, too. Yummy!
Mugs and how much filling
I wanted my mug cakes to rise visually above the edge of the mugs. However, to get there, I needed three attempts. Oh yeah, a lot of cakes to eat. Wink. The reason is, that we all have different mugs of different sizes and it really depends on how much batter you put in the mugs.
Therefore, I am telling you, I used cups with a volume of 330 ml (so quite big) and in the end, I filled them up to 3/4. One spoon of batter makes a big difference. Finally, I was satisfied. The mug cakes came out big, fluffy and fabulous. Wink.
Make sure the mugs are oven- or microwave-proof. Usually, most of them are, but just to be sure, please check them before popping them up in the oven. Wink. Also, remember to grease the mugs, in order to help the cake to rise smoothly.
For more savoury baked goodies check these out: tomato zucchini goat cheese tart, beautiful wild garlic pancakes, a healthy cauliflower crust red pesto tart, a really fulfilling celery marroni tart, a colourful carrot tart, elegant zucchini cream cheese puff pastry shells, cute sausage pastry bites or a delicious spinach pineapple braid.
Ingredients for two arugula goat cheese mug cakes:
- 3 eggs
- 2 Tbsp of olive oil (plus for greasing)
- two pinches of salt
- 2 Tbsp of milk
- 3 Tbsp of sparkling water
- 150 g flour (sieved)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- a big handful of arugula (chopped, keep a couple of leaves for garnish)
- 1 green pointed pepper (deseeded, chopped)
- 4 dried apricots (chopped)
- 100 g goat cheese (sliced or cubed)
- natural plain yogurt
- 1 Tbsp of homemade BBQ sauce (optional)
To begin, wash, drain and chop the arugula, clean and chop the green pepper, slice the cheese and chop the dried apricots. Then, in a larger bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, milk, salt and sparkling water. Next, sieve in the flour together with baking powder and mix until you get a smooth dough.
At this point, fold in the arugula, green peppers and chopped apricots. While, you let the batter to sit for 5 minutes, preheat the oven to 180º C and grease the mugs all the way up to the edge. In order to keep the cheese at the bottom, middle and top, fill up the mugs to 3/4 by alternating with batter and cheese.
Finish with placing a piece of cheese on top and put to bake for 25-30 minutes (110 seconds on 800 watts for microwave) or until golden-brown and big. In the meantime, prepare the topping. Simply mix plain yogurt with a spoon of homemade BBQ sauce.
Once the mug cakes are baked, allow them to cool down for a couple of minutes. Serve the arugula goat cheese mug cakes with some yogurt dip and some fresh arugula leaves as garnish. Delicious. Because the mugs a really hot, hold them with a cute small mitten. Wink.
Enjoy!
PS
If you like the recipe, if you make the recipe or if you have any new ideas how to improve or change it, let me know in the comments section below or alternatively share your photos and reactions with me on Instagram (@Passionspoon), Facebook or Twitter (@PassionSpoon1). Simply use the hashtag #passionspoonrecipes in your posts. I would love to see them! (wink)
