‘The Pioneer Woman’: Ree Drummond Gives Her Easy Caramel Mug Cake a Unique Topping
Ree Drummond loves the simplicity of mug cake, a dessert that takes just 90 seconds to bake in the microwave. The Pioneer Woman star’s decadent chocolate caramel mug cake gets a unique topping too — and it’s not frosting, whipped cream, or ice cream.
Ree Drummond discovered the simplicity of mug cakes
Drummond has a number of mug cake recipes. She first wrote about her chocolate mug cake recipe in a 2016 blog post on The Pioneer Woman website.
“Next time you have a hankering for chocolate cake, remember that you can have a ‘slice’ in less than five minutes!” she wrote.
Drummond went on to explain how life-changing the dessert is. “Have you ever had such a wicked craving for chocolate cake that you’ll simply die if you don’t get a piece within five minutes? Well, I have. Many, many times,” she shared.
The Pioneer Woman star continued, “And that’s where this little mug treat comes in! If you haven’t yet discovered the Pinterest-friendly joy of whipping up a 90-second chocolate cake in a mug … well, your life is about to change.”
She added, “Pssst. This is a rich little cup of wonder! Split it with a friend or loved one.”
How to make Ree Drummond’s chocolate caramel mug cake recipe
Drummond demonstrated how to make her easy chocolate caramel mug cake on an episode of The Pioneer Woman. “For a sweet treat, I’m going to make a favorite … and it is so easy,” she said. “It’s a chocolate mug cake that you just stir together in a mug and you bake in the microwave.”
She combined sugar, flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, chopped pecans, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla in a microwave-safe mug. “It takes absolutely no time at all to just whip this up with things you probably have in your pantry already,” the Food Network host noted.
Drummond offered an easy hack for the best results. She wiped the inside of the mug with a wet paper towel. “I want to wipe that off because, if you put it in the microwave with all of that stuff on the sides, that residue will burn and kind of give the cake a little bit of a burn flavor,” she said.
The Pioneer Woman star added chocolate chips and pieces of caramel candies then placed the mug in the microwave for 90 seconds.
She added a decadent topping before serving. “If I just make a regular chocolate cake, I’ll often just do soft whipped cream and put it on top or ice cream, if you have that,” she said. “Or — marshmallow creme works nicely too.”
Drummond added, “This is kind of a weird ingredient to put on top of a microwave mug cake. Microwave mug cakes are kind of weird in themselves so, why not?”
She drizzled caramel sauce over the top and noted how the marshmallow would melt from the heat of the cake.
The full recipe is available on the Food Network website.
‘The Pioneer Woman’ star’s mug cake earns solid reviews
Drummond’s mug cake is a winner, based on the Food Network site’s reviews.
“Oh wow … I’ve made this multiple times and will continue!!” one reviewer shared. “Such a quick, delicious treat for two. Thank you, Ree, for another wonderful recipe!”
Another reviewer noted, “I’ve made quite a few kinds of mug cakes in my search for my favorite, and this one takes the cake (no pun intended hehe) by a lot!! The chopped pecans and caramels knock it out of the park.”
They added, “Topping it with vanilla ice cream was a pro move. My husband and I split one and it was a perfect portion. Bookmarking this one to make again and again!”
