Microwave Baking, Part 1: Cinnamon Muffin

I bought this cookbook:  Gluten Free in 5 Minutes

Could it be true?  Can I really make bread, cake and muffins in minutes? This book seemed perfect for me and I was very excited to try it.  I made about a dozen different recipes and I was horribly disappointed. Horribly!  Everything turned out gummy and spongy and reeked of overcooked scrambled eggs.  I'm not sure why the recipes didn't work for me, I used the same brands that were recommended in the book and I measured carefully.  I finally figured out that I needed to either cut way back on the wet ingredients or increase the dry ingredients.  I really don't mind playing around with recipes but I buy cookbooks to eat.  And if I can't eat it without fixing the recipe first, it's useless to me. 

But I really liked the idea of microwave baking and I wasn't ready to give up.    

Ma said she had seen a recipe for a gluten free microwave muffin on The Dr. Oz Show.  I was dubious. It looked pretty healthy.  How good can a healthy, made for a grown-up, muffin be?   But then I thought to myself,  "Self, could it be any worse than what I've nuked so far?"  Probably not.  So I gave it a try and I must say, I was totally surprised. I liked it!  There's no denying that you are eating something healthy but it's a tasty healthy.   And who doesn't need a little more healthy in their diet?

I make this in a 2 cup Pyrex bowl so it looks like a little cake.  I like that!  I cut into 8 wedges, spread a little butter or cream cheese on it and pretend I'm a princess, eating dainty slices of cake for breakfast!  It's very filling so I like to share this with someone, like one of my ladies-in-waiting!

I mix everything in the bowl that I'm going to cook it in.   Saves time and dirty dishes. Princesses and ladies-in-waiting are busy girls and we don't have time to do a lot of dishes!

Jorge's Muffin

• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 packet stevia (I use 3/4 tsp Truvia or 2 tsp. sugar)
  
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1/4 cup Egg Beaters or 1 beaten egg

Combine all the dry ingredients and mix well, smashing any lumps. Add the coconut oil or butter, if it's solid, smash it into the dry ingredients with the back of a spoon.  It doesn't have to be completely mixed in, just break it up into smaller bits.  Scrape the coconut oil off the back of the spoon.  Add the beaten egg or Egg Beaters and stir until smooth.  Microwave for 50 seconds. Run a knife around the edge of the bowl to loosen the muffin-cake and plop it, upside down, on a plate. Be careful, the bowl is hot! Allow to cool for a few minutes and enjoy.