Mug Cake for a Birthday -- in Russia?! Help!

50kgRussianBallerina

My friend has a birthday coming up and I want to send her a package with a cute mug and a pretty bag inside of the mug; inside the bag there will be cake mix and instructions to make the mug cake! Isn't that a cute idea? I'm also including a candle, of course

I know the "3-2-1 Mug Cake", which is 3 T cake mix, 2 T water, and 1 min in the microwave.

The problem is that I haven't been able to find any cake mixes in the stores here (I'm in Russia) that you only need to add water to. There are only cake mixes that require both water and butter. That complicates things, because I can't use butter.

I tried it anyway with a chocolate cake mix...so far, I've done two trials, neither of which has turned out birthday cake worthy =[

The first time, I used 3 spoons cake mix and 2 spoons full-fat milk (hoped the fat in the milk would substitute for the butter). It was just ok, not much of a cake, more like a sick-poop-colored stack of hockey pucks.

Now I tried again with 1/2 cup mix, 1/3 cup full-fat milk, and an egg. The portion is bigger but the ratios are the same. I added the egg to try to get more fat in from the yolk. Again, it came out not cake-like at all!

I thought maybe I should just add a yolk without the white. It's rubbery, which I think is probably enhanced by the protein in the egg white (?).

Suggestions and advice, please? This is really important and means a lot to me!!!

Thank you all you wonderful people =]

50kgRussianBallerina

Bump bump bump.

Doesn't anyone want to help me make my friend's birthday awesome? =[

WaimanaloMan

Have you tried it without the butter, and just use the water? Most if not all cake mixes say use butter, but the beauty of the 3-2-1 way is that you don't have to listen to them. Try it with water the way the 3-2-1 says, and let us know how it goes. You can do it!

Dawn793

Use angel food cake and any other cake mix you want put them in a bag and shake together. Then follow the 3-2-1 cake recipe. One has to be angel food or it won't work.

MSam1205

maybe try brownie mix? Here is the states Trader Joes has a guiltless brownie mix that uses vanilla greek yogurt as the "liquid" Might also try yogurt in the cake mix? Just a thought

50kgRussianBallerina

MSam, I haven't seen brownie mix here, but I will give it a try with yogurt tomorrow if I can get my hands on some!

Dawn, I haven't seen angel food cake - pretty sure that doesn't exist in Russia =P

Waimanalo, that's what I did! I wrote about it in the OP Didn't work =(

SavvyCake

Hmm, could you just buy a cupcake and put it in the mug and send it wrapped in pretty cellophane with the candle and all? Maybe?

Or, what part of Russia are you in? There may be an international foods store nearby that would have a cake mix that would work?

maddieprice87

you could send the ingredients for a chocolate mug cake to her?

Mix the dry ingredients together and put them into a bag, and send one of the minature bottles of oil you can buy or decant 3 tbsp of oil into a small container).

Then write the instructions out on black/red/purple paper in glitter ink?

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/8047/molten-mug-chocolate-cake

1 coffee mug
4 Tbsp. cake flour (plain, not self-rising)
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. oil
Small splash of vanilla
3 Tbsp. chocolate chips, optional
1 teaspoon peanut butter, optional

Add dry ingredients to mug, mix well with a fork.
Add egg, mix throughly.
Pour in milk, oil and vanilla, mix well.
Add chocolate chips if desired. Push a dollop of peanut butter into the center of the batter if desired.
Put mug into microwave and cook for three minutes on 1000 watts. Cake will rise over top of mug. Allow to cool for 2 minutes.

You could use dried vanilla? she will probably have milk and oil anyway! xx

50kgRussianBallerina

SavvyCake, that would be a nice idea but I don't think it would arrive intact - and even if it did, there's no such thing as cupcakes in Russia!! Not that I've seen yet at least, haha.

maddie, I can't send her the ingredients because I can't buy all of that just for one mug cake. I'm living at my school's dorm so it's not like I have a kitchen, or anything to cook with all that, or the calories to afford making my own mug cakes with all of that!! Lol! But I think than anyway sending her the ingredients would be the same as the cake mix (that was the idea behind the cake mix); and I would run into the same problem with the butter. I actually did think about sending a little mini bottle of oil but I've yet to find any appropriate containers here - and I also have no oil :P She has no oil but she probably does have milk, although I'm pretty sure she's using soy milk or almond milk or something like that.

I saw a pack of little squares of butter at the store which could actually work quite well, but will they keep in the package? Unrefrigerated? Granted, it's absolutely freezing outside here now and the package is going to Siberia where it's even colder!! =D