Chocolate theme for those late late nights

What happens late at night when you're hungry and you're looking for that satisfying munch of crumbly sweetness that melts all too quickly with the lingering taste of cocoa?

Nothing like playing cupcake scrabble!

A lovely friend of mine made these for me and desserts really can literally scream (or spell) your name

The answer to the above question, if it isn't any more obvious already, is, late tea!

The above has white chocolate glaze hardened to a shiny shell. Oh, the secret to chocolate glazes which I'm sure you already know is the microwave. Quick and easy. No double-boiling, no boiling, no steaming, no adding oil (yes, yes all these were suggested to me by friends). The worst was adding oil, it turned out watery! And double-boiling simply burnt the chocolate.

Now here comes the real story - who needs chocolate glazes when you can have wholesome chocolate cake? In 10 minutes? In a mug like tea? Hence the late tea name. Too good to be true? Well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

It's simple, really...

Microwave Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 6 tablespoons sugar (original recipe called for 4! But then again, the original recipe said 5 minutes, whereas I took more time to sift the flour and all)
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil
• Chopped real chocolate for a more chocolatey punch (I used a half eaten bar of Whittaker's dark bittersweet)
• A dash of cinnamon and chilli (just 'cos I love those two spices)

Method:

1. Sift the dry ingredients and mix them up with the wet ones in a large mug.
2. Grate the chocolate and add the spices into the mixture.
3. Microwave for 3 minutes, and you're done!

Print-friendly recipe here.

Your emergency late night fix for when you're salivating and hallucinating about desserts calling your name.