Microwave Baking, Does It Work?

Microwaves, for home use, became popular from the 1970s to the 1980s.  At that time, they were large, bulky, heavy, and cooking food properly was hit or miss.  Nowadays, they seem to be a standard in every residential home, apartment, business office, and fast-food chains.  They have become more compact, easier to carry, take up less room on the counter, and definitely more efficient.

Back in, oh around 1989, I purchased a microwave cooking set put out by Tupperware. It was stackable bowls in which a complete meal, including dessert, could be cooked around the same time as your favorite sitcom show.  Unfortunately, unless the included cookbook was used, making other types of recipes was again, hit or miss.  After a while, the set was boxed up, placed on a shelf and forgotten about.  Oh, I still have it, as you never know when the gas range will go kaput, and eating out is, also, not an option.

 

 

How do microwaves cook food exactly?  According to a 1999 article, by Scientific American, and I quote, “"A microwave oven cooks food because the water molecules inside it absorb the microwave radiation and thereby heat up and heat the surrounding food. The microwaves cause water molecules to vibrate; the increased friction between the molecules results in heat.”  Basically, after getting those molecules a rocking and rolling, the food, or recipe ingredients, cook from the inside outward.  That is why, sometimes, the center will be fully done, or even well done, while the food closer to the container sides is not completely cooked.

Often, I have seen recipes regarding baking cake in a microwave, mainly inside a ceramic mug.  In fact, you can purchase a kit, of pre-measured ingredients, mix in the mug, microwave, and “wallah!”, dessert.  Maybe I am microwave challenged, but these kits did not work for me; usually ended up with a gooey, inedible mess.

So, when I recently found a recipe, to bake an entire chocolate cake, in a microwave, I was intrigued, but hesitant.  Why?  I have been working so hard to learn “bake from scratch” which, in turn, has been teaching me patience.  What if this recipe fails?  Will it set me back in acquired baking skills, and lead to frustration instead of patience?  These, and other questions, would be answered, same bat time, same bat channel…if you do not get the reference, we certainly cannot be friends.

Ovens cook/bake using Fahrenheit, or Celsius (metric) units which is basically temperature increase or decrease, under standard atmospheric pressure.  Microwaves, however, work using wattage which is electrical energy transferred over time.  While ovens are standardized, microwaves are not; cooking speed increases dependent on the power (wattage) of the microwave.  So, when using a microwave-based recipe, results will not be the same if using a wattage different from what the recipe states, if it states one at all, and most do not.

 

Back to the chocolate cake; the list of ingredients, and directions, were simple, so decided to give it a try.  The author did not list what size microwave used, so my baking time actually doubled from the time indicated.  Other than that, the cake itself came out moist, not too dense, and pretty tasty by itself.  Of course, after adding on the frosting, it was even better.

Happily, my baking skills were not challenged, nor diminished, and my learning of patience continued.

Does microwave baking work?  Trial and error, and patience, will give the answer.

 

 

 

5-Minute Chocolate Cake

(Youtube Channel - Emma’s Goodies)

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour

⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¾ cup granulated sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

½ cup + 1 Tbsp. oil or melted butter

1¾ cup + 2 Tbsp. warm water

Method

Prepare your dish (microwave-safe container, around 9- to 10-inches in size) by lining with parchment paper, then greasing and lightly flouring the inside.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and baking powder in a bowl.

Stir in the sugar (I used a combination of brown and white sugar for more flavor).

Add the oil followed by the water and combine using a whisk.

Pour into your prepared dish and microwave 5 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Chocolate Icing

Ingredients:

1-ounce square unsweetened chocolate

1 Tbsp. shortening

1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

½ tsp. vanilla

Method

In a small saucepan melt chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Add boiling water to make a spreadable consistency.

Mary Cokenour

 

American Chocolate Week.

According to one of those “everyday is a sort of holiday” sites, the week of March 19 – March 25, 2023 is American Chocolate Week.  I wish I could give you an exact date on when this “holiday” came into existence.  However, there happens to be a celebration of chocolate, whether worldwide, national, or one particular country altogether, since it was first created.

It began, according to written history, in the 15^th century when explorers from Europe, mainly Spain, came to the new world.  The Mayans were using cocoa beans to create a drink, but the explorers mistook them as almonds.  Bringing them back to Europe, those who ate the beans were given a huge dose of “bitter almonds”, but thankfully, not of cyanide.

As explorers continued into other countries, throughout South America, sources for the cocoa beans were found.  The local native populations were able to teach the explorers how to process the beans, and create a drink.  Good thing sugar cane was also discovered within the Caribbean Isles, and this helped sweeten the bitter concoction.

Cooks, in various countries, played with the beans by adding, not just sugar, but flavorings, and begin to create chocolate candies, confections and baked goods.  In 1904,  

How to Cook for the Sick and Convalescent, by Helena Viola Sachse, was published and it contained recipes for chocolate drinks that would help ease symptoms of illnesses and diseases.  Can chocolate really heal the sick?  Medically speaking, no; but it does have a sort of mind-altering affect that is soothing, and simply makes us feel happy.  When it comes to illness, do we not often hear that attitude goes a long way in the healing process?

Easter will soon be celebrated, and chocolate is a huge bonus gifted to children, but adults indulge just as well.  Oh yes, hard boiled eggs, with colored shells, go into baskets; however, peanut butter or coconut cream eggs are so much tastier, in my opinion.  Of course they are, they are encased in chocolate!

So here is a short recipe I tried recently for 3-Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cookies.  They are sort of like meringues, but baked at a higher temperature, and chewy. I had a few guinea pigs try them out, with reservations on the “only 3 ingredients” theme, but the consensus was, “so good!”.  By the way, since they are flourless, those with gluten allergies can enjoy them; and confectioner sugar substitute products (Swerve or Truvia) can be used for regular powdered sugar.  This recipe also does not contain any type of fat or dairy, and since many vegetarians eat eggs, the egg whites are acceptable, especially as a source of protein.

3-Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cookies

 Ingredients:

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar, or a substitute product

4 large egg whites

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325F, line two baking pan/sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder and powdered sugar to evenly combine, and break up any lumps.  Whisk in egg whites until batter is smooth.  The batter will also be gooey and sticky, so have a rubber spatula ready to help remove batter from the whisk.

Using a cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, space out, 2-inches apart, 12 rounded out portions onto each baking pan/sheet.  That rubber spatula will come in handy for removing the batter from the scoop or spoon.  Bake for 14 – 18 minutes; cookies are done when they are puffed up, have a shiny, yet crusty surface.  Remove from oven and let cookies cool off completely on the baking pans/sheets.  If you remove while still, even slightly, warm, they will fall apart.

 The first two days, the cookies will be crunchy on the outside, but chewy on the inside.  By the 3^rd day, the outside will still be crunchy, the interior will be gooier, but still delicious.  So, storage is basically 3 days in an airtight container, but they will not last that long.

Recipe makes two dozen cookies.

Mary Cokenour