5 Mug Cake Recipes for College Decision Day
- Piece of Cake Staff
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Written by Shawn Krajewski
On May 1st, everyone at my school receives a cupcake to celebrate National College Decision Day. Since this just passed, it's in the spirit of this celebratory day and my school's tradition to provide you with a convenient cupcake recipe you can make in a college dorm. All you need in terms of heating is a microwave, and a low-voltage one will work. Additionally, this recipe is highly configurable, so like a Choose Your Own Adventure story, each step will have different “routes” you can take. That being said, some may be incompatible, so pay attention to the last sentence in parentheses to know which one you can use. Furthermore, don't mix the ingredients in this order; it will result in a poor product. Wait until the last step for instructions on mixing.
Full Recipe:
Equipment:
1 mug
1 spoon
1 microwave
Ingredients:
Ingredients vary for each route, so I will mention them below.
Part 1: Choosing Flavors
Before we start diverting, like all good roguelikes, you need your starting gear. You enter the dungeon, and in front of you lies a small chest. Opening the baker's chest, you find an old magic cookbook, a large sorcerer's chef's hat, and several containers. One contains 3 tablespoons of flour, another ¼ teaspoon of baking powder, another holds 1 ½ tablespoons of melted butter, and there is also a small vial of ¼ teaspoon of vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon of salt. You place all of it into your bag. Gathering your gear, you enter the next chamber; within you find five doors and a sign: “All ye who enter shall not return; once inside the labyrinth, you must find a new escape on the other side; no backtracking.” Ignoring the obvious warning, you press forward towards the five doors. Which one shall you choose?
Chocolate Recipe:
You push open the dusty charcoal door. Inside is an old bakery, burnt and worn down due to the test of time. However, some of the shelves are still stocked with the bare essentials of a recipe, so you take what's left of this dying establishment: 1 tablespoon of unsweetened chocolate powder and 2 tablespoons of sugar shall suffice for your dish. You leave, taking everything this place has to offer, and you enter the door at the far back. (Continue to the Coffee, Milk, or Water recipe.)
Vanilla Recipe:
You push open the pink rose door. On the other side sits----what seems to be----a refined madam. Her blouse is as pink as the room with yellowish details, her hat is as blue as the morning sky, and one large feather comes off of it. She's sipping tea alone at a small table, surrounded by plushies. Everything is so full of life, except for her face, which is covered by a blank, white, smiling mask. Her eyes are just two black holes, and her mouth is a small curved slit. Sneaking by, you decide to take stuff from the little tea party. You snatch 1 tablespoon of flour and 2 tablespoons of sugar before the madam notices you. You quickly make it to the other side of the room, pushing open a door and leaving the room. (Continue to the Milk or Water recipe.)
Lemon Recipe:
Carefully opening the broken yellow door, you find yourself in a large, suffocating forest. All of the tree’s leaves have grown pale with fear, as the bark resembles a screaming face, forever stuck in time. Traveling the path through the thick, you swear you see a branch moving, not in an aggressive sort of fashion, but one of survival and fighting. You come across a bag attached to a corpse. The body's face is petrified as it leaks a black, putrid tar. Reaching for the bag, the skin crumbles to ash as it dissolves into the wind. Reaching in, you find a small container containing ¼ teaspoon of lemon extract and 1 tablespoon of flour; clearly an incomplete recipe. You add the ingredients to your pack and continue moving. As you exit through the door on the other side of the woods, you notice these aren't trees; they're ents. (Continue to the Milk or Water recipe.)
Coconut Recipe:
Kicking down the rather flimsy pale wood door, your eyes are immediately attacked by a large ray of light. You use your hand to cover them as they adjust to the sudden change in atmosphere. Ocean waves crash, winds blow, and whales call. The feeling on your skin is a familiar one; you’re on the side of a beach, a tropical one, and bustling with life. Crabs wander by, and seagulls fly ahead. In front of you sits a large body of bioluminescent water with a door at the center of it, almost floating there. Seeing a raft to your right, you decide to sail to it via a makeshift oar. Looking down into the deep, blue, glowing water, you see Titanic-sized organisms, bustling flora, and schools of gigantic fish. But you also see...a coconut? The coconut floats to the surface. Its skin is rough and seems to have been weakened by the magical water. Hitting it with your skilword (skilliot sword), it dissolves into some basic ingredients. ¼ teaspoon coconut extract, two tablespoons of shredded coconut, two tablespoons of sugar, and a tablespoon of flour. Gazing into the water one last time, you enter the door as it closes behind you. (Continue to the Milk or Water recipe.)
Carrot Recipe:
You push through a large, heavy stone door into a long hallway that's just barely lit by torchlight. A long, damp, and old-smelling breeze pushes through the corridor. As you enter, the large door slams shut, sending echoes through the hall. In front of you, there is a large mud golem with plants embedded into its back. The creature swings its arm behind it; this might as well be your doom, but instead of turning you into a paste, the creature offers you the greens off its back. You sit there stunned for a second, unsure how to react, but it speaks for you. “You are, chef, no?” Its rumbling deep voice mutters. You nod your head, and it picks you up slowly, placing its greens and spices into your pack before setting you back down. You get ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon, 2 tablespoons of shredded carrots, 1 tablespoon of flour, and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. The golem stomps away, down the hall, and deciding to follow it, you grab onto its back and hitch a ride. (Continue to the Milk or Water route.)
Part 2: Gathering Liquid
Coffee Recipe:
Opening the burnt door, you exit the old bakery into a vast and long-deserted town. The same scorch marks that scared the establishment also scar this city. Walking down the cobblestone road, you find yourself in the center of town, all directions stretching into eternity. The roads are decorated with ancient, rusting armor covered in battle wounds and scars. Next to you stands a well that's somehow not burnt. You decide to retrieve the bucket from the bottom. Inside it sits 2 teaspoons of powdered milk and 3 tablespoons of coffee. Scooping the contents into a bottle, you dart down the road. Passing the corpses as you fly by, you finally make it to a large stone door, leading to the outside of the dungeon. With one final look behind you, you leave with your newly found ingredients.
Milk Recipe:
Entering through the door, you find yourself in a catacomb of all things. It's a grim and lifeless resting place that isn't bustling with activity. Skeletons, tens, no, hundreds, no, thousands, stand in front of you. However, they're not aggressive; they're partying. A loud, ghoulish howl echoes through the halls as you see cadavers and corpses dancing to the beat of a particularly bad song. You hear someone yelling about some “DJ LICH” as the fires illuminating the stone flash from pink to green to blue. At this point, you're running, not out of fear, but because you're confused and, quite frankly, a little overwhelmed. You stop at a drink table, next to a skeleton chugging what seems to be gallons of milk. In fact, that is the only refreshment, other than something called “ectoplasm”; best not to try that. Grabbing a red Solo cup of 2 tablespoons of milk from the countertop, you book it to a giant stone door labeled “EXIT” in giant red flaming text. On the other side, you finally have the chance to calm down and catch your breath. Never go to a dungeon called the “Rave Yard” ever again.
Water Recipe:
Entering the room, you're immediately caught off guard; in front of you sits a pond. It has no greenery, no moss, and not even any rocks. It's just a pond in a strangely black room. Walking over to the body of water, you lean down to gather some of it. The water is cold but relaxing. It has blue crystals floating inside, and once you touch it, you are rejuvenated and filled with energy. Grabbing 3 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of milk powder, you leave the room, feeling better than when you entered.
Part 3: Mixing and Heating
You stand before the alchemy council, your ingredients fresh in hand from your adventures. They are below the ancient scriptures of alchemy and potion crafting. “Place the liquids into the vessel, stir it to give it life; this is its soul.” You do as they say. “Place the solids into the vessel; this is its body. The soul must be created before the body is formed to achieve an ideal outcome.” Once again, you follow without question. “Finally, merge the two, stir once again to give it life, but it is impure; cast it into the flame for 70 seconds.” You place it into the microwave. “Do you really have to be this dramatic all the time? It's just a cupcake recipe,“ you say to the council with much annoyance. One of the wizards stands up; their white, whiskery beard hangs to the ground. They stretch their arms above them, as lightning comes from their fingertips, destroying the ceiling above them. “Yes,” they bellow to you. You roll your eyes.
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