Microwave Waffle Lava Cake

As a recent college graduate, I can say I learned a lot of important things in college. The most important of these is that waffle batter can be cooked in the microwave. A few minutes in the microwave and the gooey batter turns into a surprisingly fluffy muffin. So when I took up a challenge to come up with new recipes for the dining hall every week, my brain exploded with the possibilities of waffle batter in the microwave. The result? I call it a waffle lava cake.

At school I used the waffle batter they had set out. When I made this tonight, I used my trusty old Betty Crocker pancake recipe. Before I mixed up the pancakes, I set out the cream cheese to soften a little.

Once the pancake batter was ready, I poured a little bit into a large soup bowl, so that it covered the bottom of the bowl. I also mixed strawberry jam in with the cream cheese, and added some chocolate chips.

I placed the cream cheese mixture and chocolate chips on top of the waffle batter, and then covered it with more batter. Do not fill the bowl all the way to the top, because it will expand while it cooks.

I placed a small plate over the top to protect the microwave in case of spilling and cooked it for exactly 2 minutes. It is very hot when it comes out, so let it sit for a bit before grabbing the bowl.

Place the bowl upside down on a plate and let the cake fall out. You may have to run your fork along the inside once or twice to loosen the batter from the bowl.

Here is the Betty Crocker pancake recipe I used:

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk

1 T sugar

2 T oil

1 T baking powder

-Beat the egg until fluffy and then stir in the remaining ingredients. Batter can be a bit lumpy.

-Cover the bottom of a bowl with batter.

-Mix up filling. I used cream cheese, strawberry jam and dark chocolate chips.

-Place filling on top of batter and then cover with more batter.

-Microwave for 2 minutes and allow to cool off a bit before pulling it out.