With Christmas greetings from Heli Ainola, Heureka, Finland
Winner of the Heureka Cupcake Competition - a little different Christmas pastry A mug cake competition was held in Heureka in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Society of Finnish Chemists in 2019. Festive cakes that can be made in an instant in the microwave, were baked all over Finland. People could enter the competition by sending in their recipe and a photo of the finished cake. Mug cakes were made alone and in groups: in schools during home economics lessons, at home with parents and kids alone. The photos showed insight and a desire to experiment, and the recipes contained both fascinating and strange elements. Inspirational chemistry is everywhere!
The judge of the competition was Professor Anu Hopia, a specialist in molecular gastronomy. The Smurf Cake was one of the winners, and Professor Hopia described it as follows: The Smurf Cake recipe discusses the mug cake recipe further in an innovative way. A simple creation has been made from a simple list of ingredients. The result shows the joy of making!
THE SMURF
Baker: Jesse from Arola School in Mäntsälä
1/2 dl wheat flour
1/2 dl sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Two pieces of melted white chocolate
1 egg
1/2 dl milk
2 tablespoons melted margarine
A little bit of blue food colouring
A hint: If you want the Smurf Mug Cake to look like a Christmas elf, use red food colouring!
- First, mix the dry ingredients together.
- Then add milk, egg, melted white chocolate and margarine, and blue (or red) food colouring.
- Mix the ingredients well and pour them into a suitable mug.
- Heat in the microwave (800w) for approximately 2:50 min.
- Allow the cake to cool and take it out of the mug.
- Cut small pieces of filled licorice for eyes. Stick the eyes on the cake with white icing and make a hat out of whipped cream on top of the cake.