Single - Serve Baking Ideas

More and more of us live alone these days and when that’s the case, it can be hard to find the motivation to do some home baking if only one person is going to enjoy it. Similarly, if you have family members who have gluten or dairy intolerances, who are on a diet, or who simply don’t like cakes and pastries, making a full-sized cake, quiche or pie can seem like a waste. Finally, if you have an elderly relative who you’d like to bake for, but who could never manage a whole flan, for example, it’s easy not to bother at all.

All of these scenarios call for single-serve baking - where you make things in single-portion sizes instead of the regular ‘serves 6’ style. So grab a mixing bowl and let’s take a look at some clever ideas for single-serve bakes.

Chocolate Cake In A Mug

If you’re a student and just learning to cook, the good news is that you don’t need loads of fancy baking tools to rustle up a chocolate cake treat, and you don’t need very much time either. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

3tbsps plain flour
3tbsps dark brown sugar
3tbsps cocoa powder
3tbsps sunflower oil
3tbsps water
Chocolate buttons or sprinkles

Method:

There’s no need for a full-sized mixing bowl with this recipe; simply grab a mug and add all of the ingredients apart from the chocolate buttons or sprinkles. Mix them all together so that they are properly combined. Add the chocolate buttons or sprinkles on the top of the mixture.

Pop the mug in the microwave and cook on full power for 60 seconds. Remove from the microwave and allow the cake in a mug to stand for 5 minutes (we know how hard this part will be!).

That’s all there is to it. Your chocolate cake is good to go and it’s heavenly served with vanilla ice cream or cold custard. These clever little creations are also a brilliant solution if you ever have friends drop in for supper unexpectedly. You can rustle up an impressive dessert for everyone even when you think your shelves are virtually bare.

Microwave mug cakes are one of the simplest ways to get into single serve baking and the world really is your oyster once you’ve got the basic concept in place. Try a single-serve carrot cake, or maybe a banana bread or a scone as they are so easy and quick to make. It’s worth experimenting to find your own personal favourites; then you can store those ideas up to use in the future when you need a little comfort cake in a hurry!

Savoury Tarts And Flans

If you love the idea of making a quiche lorraine or a goat’s cheese and cherry tomato flan, for example, but you know that you couldn’t eat it all, why not invest in some single-portion flan cases or tart tins? That way, you can follow a standard recipe for your favourite savoury flans or tarts and simply divide up the mixture into four smaller tins.

Enjoy one for supper on the day you bake them and pop the rest in the freezer for another day. Quiches and flans freeze perfectly once cooked and they’re quick and easy to defrost and reheat too, making them ideal for busy lifestyles. Just cook them when you have time and enjoy them when you don’t have so much time to spend in the kitchen. Check out our range of mini cake tins and other baking tools to see exactly what’s available in single-serve sizes.

Savoury Muffins

Muffins are another great single-serve idea and savoury muffins make an excellent packed lunch idea, or a tasty savoury snack as part of a salad supper. One of our favourite recipes is for brie, red pepper and courgette muffins and it involves mixing flour, eggs, milk, sunflower oil and baking powder together in a mixing bowl to form a basic muffin mix, and then adding chopped courgette, pepper and brie to the mix.

Be careful not to overwork the mixture as this will make the muffins heavy; a lumpy mixture is always fine for muffins. Add paper muffin cases to a muffin pan and then spoon the mixture into the cases and place in a preheated oven (180°C) for about 20-25 minutes until a skewer pushed into the muffins comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

These muffins can also be frozen and then enjoyed individually.

Do you enjoy single-serve baking? Do you have any great recipes of your own that you’d like to share with us? We love to hear all about our readers and customers and what they make and bake at home, so do feel free to share your stories with us on social media. Find us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and tell us all about those amazing single-serve bakes you’ve discovered for yourselves.