"Cup" Cakes

Here is a wonderful, budget-friendly idea for making a little dessert similar to "Warm Delights".  I call it a "cup" cake because we make it in a coffee cup.  Though it's not nearly as cute as a real cupcake, it sure is tasty!

All you have to do is put 4 tablespoons of cake mix and 2 tablespoons of water in a cup and mix it up.  (Earlier recipes suggest adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of mayonnaise for "instant" egg and oil which you would normally add to the cake mix but I don't find it necessary.)  If you want to get fancy, mix something in before you microwave it: chocolate syrup, caramel, fruit preserves, coconut, chocolate chips, whatever.  Microwave for 30-60 seconds.  You could put a little frosting on it when it's done   The first one I made for my son was a yellow cake and after I microwaved it I put canned cherry pie filling on top.  He loved it!  It's perfect for singles or smaller families that don't want to make a whole cake or 2 dozen cupcakes at once (or fire up the oven on a hot day.  You know what would be a really good topping?  Ice cream!)  And it's much more cost efficient than buying the real "Warm Delights".  You can often find cake mix on sale for $1.  Here is my little repurposing tip: I have found that after you use about 8 tablespoons of cake mix (2 "cup" cake servings) the rest of the mix will fit nicely in a jar that originally held spaghetti sauce and you can just spoon it out when you want it.  Let me know if you try this or what your favorite variations are!