"That was not a pleasant experience"

OK, maybe you've gotten the email. "Amazing Chocolate Cake In Only 5 Minutes!" But nobody ever says whether it's any good or not. Don't you want to know??

Tonight Terri and I were at home watching a movie and I suddenly remembered that recipe. We were going a little stir-crazy so I thought I would try it just for fun.

Well, it certainly was easy. And it puffed up inside the microwave quite impressively.

And after 3 minutes of microwave magic, voila! We have a cup of... well, something. Something brown and vaguely cake-like.

It smelled pretty good. I tried it first. Well, dear readers, it wasn't very good, I'm sorry to report. The texture was thick and rubbery. Almost as if we coated the kitchen sponge in cake batter and baked it. Yes, kitchen-sponge-like would be how I would describe it. But, I tried a couple more bites to see if it got any better. It didn't.

Terri was game and took a bite. Her verdict? "That was not a pleasant experience."

The worst part is now we are left hanging: we almost had cake! And now, no cake! So sad.

If you feel like trying this experiment at home, here's the recipe. I would recommend microwaving it for maybe 2.5 minutes instead of 3. If you're desperate enough to make the cake, that is.

4 Tablespoons flour

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa

1 Egg

3 Tablespoons milk

3 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil (or 1.5 Tablespoons oil and 1.5 Tablespoons applesauce)

Pinch salt

Cooking spray

1 Mug

Coat inside of mug with cooking spray. Mix flour, sugar, salt and cocoa. Stir in egg. Pour in milk and oil and combine thoroughly.

Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1,000 watts). Let it sit for five or so minutes before spooning the cake onto a plate.