I love using the microwave to make fast, impatience-gratifying dishes when I don't feel like washing frying pans and baking sheets by hand. Microwaving eggs with some Mexican food was one of my favorite hot lunch hacks, until the Incident. Now, I make a yummy dessert by stirring up some a few baking staples and some apple cider. I forgot to add the egg white the first time, which gave me more of a slightly-off apple muffin (still passed the Mom test). The second time, I added the white, and it turned out more like a donut. It's also naturally dairy-free, and requires nothing you don't already have. Except maybe apple cider, which is easy enough to find in the fall.

Anyway, I looked into how most apple donuts are made and into some donut mug cakes. Seems like you add at least apple cider to the donut, and real apple if you're feeling fancy. And then, of course, all that sugar on top. I found this recipe for donut mug cakes (www.landolakes.com/3945/doughnut-mug-cake), and modified it a bit. The result? An impressive, easy sugar dose that even the laziest cook could make (like a college student... please vote for this in the Dorm Food contest!) Have fun! And please don't hesitate to share your own questions or modifications about this project.

Step 1: Ingredients

Ingredients:

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

-2 tablespoons sugar (plus a pinch more to garnish the top. If you have cinnamon sugar, that would rock!)

- 2 tablespoons apple cider (more wouldn't hurt. In fact, I found the donut needed a little more apple flavor, so go on ahead with adding more apple stuff.)

- 1 egg white

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (I added a little extra)

- a few dashes of nutmeg

- a few dashes of cinnamon

- large coffee mug (at least 12 oz.) See the comparison shot in the pictures for more information.

- a fork, or something for stirring in the mug/eating

Step 2: Directions

Melt butter in mug separately (it took me 40 seconds. There was still a chunk, but it quickly disappeared.) Add remaining ingredients (except sugar garnish) to mug and stir well.

Microwave 60-90 seconds (the Land o' Lakes recipe says to wait until the donut pulls away from the sides of the mug, but I didn't wait until then. I just microwaved it for 60 seconds, then 20 seconds more, took it out, and it turned out perfectly.)

Sprinkle the sugar on, get that fork and dig in (it tastes great right out of the microwave)! I hope you smile when you eat it.

Cheers!

The Phantom Chemist