Quickest Cake Ever

Sometimes, when you want cake, you want it now. This recipe is perfect, as the cake only takes 5 minutes to make! The texture is more like a traditional British pudding than a cake, and it's very easy to make variations. Add some cocoa, espresso, chocolate chips (or, for me, crystallized ginger chips), or anything you like really. You can also serve it with custard or ice cream instead of the fruit topping. This cake is best served hot out of the microwave.

5 Minute Cakes:
1/2 cup/4oz butter or margarine
1/2 cup/4oz sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup/4oz self-raising flour
(or 3/4 cup plain flour + 1/2 tsp baking powder + pinch baking soda)

Fruit Topping:
1 1/2 cups frozen berry mixture, defrosted & drained
1/2 cup/125ml red wine (or more)
1/2 cup/4oz sugar

Cream the butter and sugar together, then mix in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour until just blended - be careful not to overmix. Divide the batter into 3-4 greased ramekins and microwave on high for around 3 minutes. This will burn in the centre quite easily, so be careful not to overcook it. When you take it out, the edges should look a bit glossy and uncooked.

This topping takes longer to make than the cakes, so you may want to start this first. Put the defrosted berries and wine into a small pan and bring to a boil. Add the sugar slowly, and cook until the mixture has reduced by half - this will take a while. If you're having problems getting it to thicken, add a 1/2 tsp of corn starch.

An even quicker way to make a single portion is to divide the recipe by 3 and make the batter in a 2-cup glass measuring cup - then it can be put directly into the microwave to cook. This is only for the truly desperate!