Microwave single-serving cakes are a trend that aren’t going away any time soon. You can make them from scratch, of course, but the section of mixes dedicated to these quick-fix sweets is getting bigger all the time. One of the newest entries to the category is Ghirardelli, with a variety of single-serving microwave brownie mixes.
The Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Microwave Brownie Mix box contains four packets of mix, each of which just requires a little bit of water and can be mixed up in the mug that you microwave it in. The mix is made with ingredients that you would find in any brownie mix – flour, sugar, cocoa, etc – including real chocolate chips and it takes just seconds to put it all together. The brownie cooks in the microwave in about 1 minute and is ready to eat as soon as it has cooled down enough not to burn your tongue.
The brownies are fudgy and moist when you dig into them warm, and tended towards being slightly underbaked (not a bad thing, for a brownie) when I opted for the lower end of the cooking time recommended on the packaging. I think that brownies are well-suited to microwave cooking because you don’t run into the dry/spongy texture that over-microwaved cakes can develop. The brownies had a great chocolate flavor and the pockets of melted chocolate from the chocolate chips made them very satisfying, reminiscent of a molten chocolate cake. I served them with a bit of whipped cream on top for contrast.
I have to admit that I prefer these microwave brownies to some of the microwave cakes that I’ve tried. They’re easy to make and deliver a generous dose of chocolate in each bite, with a texture that is better than most microwave cakes. For a quick-fix, this is one worth trying. Ghirardelli also makes a few extra flavors, if you want to mix things up (haha) and try out salted caramel or peanut butter in your brownies, as well.
What do you think?