Of you were ever wondering how to save time, effort and electricity when it comes to baking cakes, how about me telling you how to make chocolate cake in a microwave oven?

Sound a little crazy or even unbelieveable?

Well, I can tell you from experience that it can be done and the result is quite shockingly good! Here's where I spill the cocoa beans and tell all... 

For this recipe to work, you need a silicon cake or bread mould. These can be bought in most cookery sections of bigger department stores or in cookery shops.

Now, if I said it is essential to use one of these silicon moulds rather than a regular cake tin, I would not be joking. Here is my important disclaimer:

DO NOT USE METAL CAKE TINS IN A MICROWAVE!!

Why? Because any metallic object can cause serious damage to your microwave if its inside there when you close the door and switch it on. never mind it could also result in your house burning down...

For any type of cake making in a microwave, the very best moulds to use are the silicon, non-stick variaety because not only are they microwave proof, but they are also very easy to remove from the finished cake. For this reason, you shouldn't try this with other oven proof types of containers, such as earthenware, pyrex, glass or china.   

Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, lets get down to making a cake!

Well, believe it or not, the recipe for this astounding confection is very simple and you don't need scales or measuring cups, so there's less washing up to do afterwards as well! 

The best size of mould for this recipe is the regular small bread tin size or a round 7 inch cake mould will work as well. You also need 1 standard yoghurt, plain or flavoured as you prefer, because you'll be using the contents and also the plastic cup it comes in as your measure. Ingredients are measured in yoghurt cups!

You need:

• 1 yoghurt pot
• 3 cups Flour, plain (or wholemeal for a healthier option)
• 1 1/2 cups Sugar
• 3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 heaped tsp Cocoa Powder
• tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 large eggs
• 2 medium ripe bananas

Method:

Peel the bananas (obvious, I know but some people...) then mix the whole lot together in a food processor until you get a smooth cake mix. It should be a little runnier than you would normally have for an oven baked cake, but not too runny!

Lightly grease the cake mould with a little olive oil, as it helps release the finished cake from the mould, even though the silicon moulds are non-stick. Pour all the cake mix into the silicon mould then pop it into the microwave on full power for seven minutes.

When time's up, leave the cake for 10 minutes or so then take it out of the microwave and leave in the mould to cool down for half an hour or so.

Place a plate over the top of the mould and inver the cake, then gently easy the mould off and you will be left with a beautiful chocolate cake with the consistency of sponge. When its completely cool, you can tuck in (if you can wait that long!)

You can add interest to the cake by melting some cooking chocolate and covering the top of the cake, but that means you'll have to wait even longer for it to cool and solidify!

This is a cake mix that can be experimented with. I often add dried fruit, or cherries, or sultanas, or chocolate chips (!!) or whatever to alter the finished cake. A couple of drops of almond or vanilla essence alters the taste a little, as does using different fruit. I've tried it with shredded apple, pear, carrot, sharon fruit, plum and peach so far. They are all delicious, especially when you add a little cinnamon to the apple version!

You can also omit the cocoa powder (make up the shortfall with a little more flour) for a regular sponge cake. I just like chocolate, if you haven't already guessed!