You Don't Need an Oven to Fix That Craving for Cake. Learn How to Make Cake in a Microwave Oven + Easy Recipes to Make Right Now!

• Defrosting the ingredients
  Certain ingredients will require defrosting before you start cooking. It is recommended to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for defrosting regarding the settings because each unit will be different.


• Softening the butter
  Baking cakes always require butter. At times, you might want to use soft butter that is pliable but not melted. To soften the butter keep it on high power for 10 seconds. You can repeat this step if required.


• Melting butter and chocolate
  Butter and chocolate can either be melted separately or together. To melt butter separately, keep it uncovered in a microwave-safe bowl and run the microwave at 100 per cent power for 30 to 45 seconds. Before you melt the chocolate, chop it into fine pieces. Microwave the dark chocolates at 50 per cent power for 10 seconds and white chocolate at 30 per cent power for 10 seconds. To melt the butter and chocolate together, chop both into small pieces and microwave at 50 per cent power for 10 seconds.


• Softening citrus
  When you soften the lemon it becomes easy to extract the juice and you will also get more quantity of juice. For softening lemon in the microwave, heat it at high power for 10 to 15 seconds. Take the lemon outside and allow to sit for 30 seconds before you squeeze.


• Warming milk
  If you need to warm milk and bring it to room temperature, you can microwave it at 50 per cent power for 10 seconds.

• No metal bowls or utensils
  A mistake that most of us make, especially while reheating the food in aluminum foil. Metals do not absorb the microwaves and reflect it instead. This can cause the food to be cooked for lesser consistency and also lead to electric sparks. Obviously, the reflected microwaves will either damage the bowl or the insides of your microwave. So you run the risk of damaging the unit by using metals. The best containers to use for cooking in microwave are glass or ceramic containers or plastic containers that are microwave safe.


• Don't keep the food uncovered
  When you microwave the food uncovered, the food might explode and make the insides messy. If the food has fat or liquid there are more chances of it exploding. Anyways, it is not absolutely essential that you cover the food, but again the food retains heat better if it is covered.

• Don't cook everything for the same duration
  Time required for different foods will vary. Some might be less dense or some might have more liquid. The cooking duration will depend on this consistency. Cook each item for the time that is suitable for its consistency.


• Stir the food occasionally
  By doing this you can ensure that the microwaves reach all portions of the food evenly and the food gets cooked uniformly throughout. This can also ensure that the food is safe of harmful microorganisms.


• Heat until the food steams or bubbles
  Always heat the food to 75 degree celsius. This happens when the food bubbles or steams. Check in between for bubbling to ensure that the required temperature is reached.

• Clean your microwave often
  Check the inside of your microwave thoroughly and clean it along the bottom, sides and also the top. If food remains stuck on top of the microwave it might drop back into the next batch you cook. Use a clean cloth, a good detergent, and hot water for cleaning. You can also use tea towels or recyclable paper towels.

Microwave Chocolate Cake

• 2 Cups maida
• 1 3/4 cup castor sugar or powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup flavourless oil like canola, margarine or butter
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 eggs

Cooking instructions:

• Start by getting the tins ready. Line the bottom of the tins with butter paper or apply grease on the bottom. Now dust it with maida or sugar and ensure it is coated nicely.
• Sift the cocoa powder, baking soda, and baking powder. Transfer this into a clean mixing bowl.
• To this mixture, combine the sugar, salt, fat, vanilla, and water. Beat it nicely with a wooden spoon or using a beater to blend well.
• Crack in the eggs one by one and mix nicely in the cake batter. Beat till the mixture becomes smooth. Once it is done the batter will seem almost glossy.
• Now divide this batter into the dishes kept ready.
• Bake the cake in the microwave by setting in combi 3 for 2 minutes. You should bake the cakes one by one and check in between. When it is halfway thorough rotate the container and continue baking for another 2 minutes.
• Check once again, rotate the container and bake for an extra 1 minute. Allow the cake to stand for 5 minutes and remove the cake from the tin.


• Let your kids bite into this irresistible microwave chocolate cake. It is healthy, loaded with nutrition and delicious to eat.

Microwave Eggless Sponge Cake

• 1 cup maida (plainflour)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Soft butter to grease the pan
• 4 tbsp sour curds
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ cup melted butter
• ¾ cup fine powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Cooking instructions:

• Grease a microwave-safe dish that is 6 inch in diameter (150 mm) and shallow using a bit of soft butter.
• Now sieve the baking powder and plain flour and keep this mixture aside.
• Take a clean bowl and combine the baking soda and curds in it. Mix it well with the help of a whisk.
• Next, take another bowl and combine the sugar, and butter along with ¼ cup hot water. Mix it well with the help of a whisk.
• Now combine the two mixtures you have prepared - the mixture of plain-flour and baking powder and the mixture of curds and baking soda. Mix both the mixtures well to get a smooth batter.
• Take the grease glass dish and pour the batter into it.Set the microwave to high and bake for 4 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the microwave. Keep it aside and let it cool for 5 minutes.
• Now loosen the edges carefully. Use a butter knife for this and unmould it. You can now remove and discard the butter paper.
• Store the cake safely and use as required.


• This vanilla-flavored sponge cake tastes great as it is or you can try it with chocolate sauce, an ice-cream or any frostings of your choice.

• Rapid cooking: One of the best advantages of microwaves is rapid heating. Food gets cooked fast without burning, especially items like butter, fats, margarine or chocolate. Blanching vegetables using microwave is also safer than the usual method of immersing them in boiling water.


• Minimum nutrition loss: Cooking in high heat or deep frying in oil are all famous for the nutrient loss it can cause. Microwave cooking is fast. When food gets cooked in a shorter time span, it does not lose many nutrients and this is a great benefit that microwaves offer.


• Versatile recipes: There is a whole lot of food that you can cook using your microwave. Be it blanching the vegetables, or making potato chips, brownies, pasta, or cakes, everything can be made fast with microwaves. Isn’t the idea of a single unit performing multiple cooking functions wonderful?

• Heat is distributed unevenly: Uneven heating is a notable disadvantage of the microwave. The consistency of the food, its size and shape can cause uneven absorption of microwave energy. This will lead to food being heated unevenly and also cause microorganism growth.


• Health hazards: Microwave cooking has a few health hazards associated with it. It heats the food unevenly, promote the growth of microorganisms, and also cause thermal injuries. If the microwave is damaged the magnetron will release harmful chemicals that can contaminate the food. If you are using low-grade plastic containers or non-microwave vessels you again run the risk of exposing the food to chemicals.


• Only microwave safe vessels can be used: This is another drawback of microwave cooking. Not all the vessels in your kitchen can be used with a microwave. You have to invest in microwave-safe vessels to ensure food safety and avoid the food getting exposed to chemicals.