BBC Focus 02.2020

Q&A

WHAT’SHAPPENING

Yourcakeis theresultofseveralchemicalreactionsandphysical

changesdrivenbyenergyprovidedbythemicrowaveoven.

Themainbodyofthecakecomesfromtheourandwater.Mixing

thesetwoingredientstogethercausessomeoftheproteinsinthe

ourtoformanelasticnetworkofproteinscalledgluten.Heatcauses

therubberyglutentocoagulateintoa strongstructure.

Whenthecakebaeris heated,analkali(sodiumbicarbonate)and

anacid(usuallycreamoftartar)inthebakingpowderreactto

producebubblesofcarbondioxide,whichcausethecaketorise.

Meanwhile,theegginthebaercoatsthebubblesandhardens

aroundthem,resultingintheholesinthecakethatgiveit a spongy

texture.Theoilcoatsalloftheingredientsandpreventsthecake

fromdryingout.

Ofcourse,a cakewouldbenothingwithoutitssweetness.The

sugarprovidesthis,andanychocolateorfruit you add creates an

extra dimension of avour and texture.AS

WHATTODO
1.Pourtheour,sugar and baking powder into the mug
andmixwell.

2.Addthewholeegg,oil,andwater and beat with the fork
untilyouhavea smoothbaer.

3.Addchocolatechips,berries or dried fruit as desired and
mixwellintobaer.

4.Placemugin microwave and cook on full power for two
minutes.

5.Removemugfrom microwave and allow to cool for a
minuteorso.

6.Eat cake!

DIY

SCIENCE

MICROWAVE CUPCAKE

We’d love to see pictures of your cakes. Send them to us on Facebook or Twier(@sciencefocus) and we’ll share our favourites!

WHATYOU’LL

NEED

QAmicrowave

oven

QAlargemug

(mustholdat

least375ml

ofliquid.Atall

thinoneisbe

erthanawide

shortone,sothat

thecakemixture

doesn’tspill

outwhenitrises)

Q^4 leveltablespoons

plainwhite

our(40g )

Q2 leveltablespoons

casterorgranulated

sugar (25g )

Qteaspoon

bakingpowder

(2g )

Q^1 smallegg

Q^2 tablespoons

vegetableoil

(30ml)

Q^2 tablespoons

water(30ml)

QAfork

QOptional:^2

tablespoonsof

chocolate

chips/blueberries/chopped

strawberries/dried fruit

WARNING

Thisexperimentinvolvesa microwave

andresultsinanextremelyhotcake,so

make sure youngchildrenaresupervised

by an adult.