Super fast Christmas ideas - 3

Calling this cooking is silly. In fact, these little treats have more to do with assembling than cooking, but provided you have jars available and can go to a supermarket, they will provide the best stocking fillers ever with the minimum of effort.

3 - Cake in a jar

This is straight-out silly. It is barely a real present, but with a nice ribbon and a lovely card it has made some people happier than actual presents!

 Choose a pretty glass 250ml jam jar, and pour in there 4 tablespoons flour, 2 tablespoons of dark sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa and 1 tablespoon of dark chocolate chips. Mix well until you obtain a homogenous earthy-like mixture. Then add 3 tablespoons of oil and close the jar. On the tag, specify to add 1 tablespoon of milk and 1 egg, to close the jar and shake vigorously. Then take the lid off and pop in the microwave at max power for 3 minutes. Delicious, thick chocolate cake in no time and with minimal ingredients! 

This being the original "cake in a mug" recipe that has pulled me through moments of discomfort and loneliness, it is also a great finishing touch if you are giving someone a mug for Christmas. I love receiving mugs as gifts, and this would really give it a special kick (of course you'd need to seal the end of the mug with some cellophane and an elastic band that you can conceal with the ribbon.  

If it feels to shabby, try and mix it up by giving three different jars together: a classic one, a white chocolate one and a chocolate orange one. For the white chocolate one substitute the dark chocolate chips and the cocoa with two tablespoons of white chocolate chips or white chocolate passed through the food processor. For the chocolate orange one, add a tablespoon of orange marmalade (the kind with pieces of caramelised oranges skin in it) to the oil and mix it well before pouring it in.

You can even give these with a cellophane bag full of crushed meringues or mini meringues to use as topping!