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This chocolate mug cake recipe is the perfect quick fix dessert. No need to make an entire cake! Instead, make chocolate cake in a mug and dig into fluffy, moist cake in minutes.
Looking for more mug cakes? Try this vanilla mug cake, which also has a snickerdoodle variation, or this Nutella mug cake.
If you’re in the mood for a big slice of chocolate cake – but not in the mood for baking or waiting for said cake – then this chocolate mug cake is for you. It takes about 3 minutes to put together, then cooks in the microwave for 2 minutes.
This single-serving chocolate cake is moist, tender and fluffy. It is not overly sweet, but not bitter either. It has just enough sweetness to compliment your favorite toppings.
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe
- Easy. It doesn’t get any easier than mug cake recipes. Just mix the ingredients in a large mug, then microwave until your cake has cooked through. Let it cool, add toppings, then dig in!
- Quick. Start to finish this entire cake is ready in less than 5 minutes. If you have a midnight craving for chocolate cake, this is the answer.
- Satisfying. Despite being made in a mug, the finished product is a moist and fluffy chocolate cake. This recipe hits all the right notes and can be dressed up with ice cream, chocolate sauce , sprinkles or even frosting if you like.
What You’ll Need
The ingredients for this mug cake are pretty simple, but here are a few notes to help you mix and match what you have on hand. Be sure to check out the recipe card below for exact amounts.
- Egg yolk – I know that eggless mug cakes are a thing, but an egg yolk adds a velvety texture to this mug cake that I quite enjoy. So in goes a yolk!
- Milk – You can use any kind of milk. I have made this with low fat and whole cow milk, as well as oat milk, soy milk and almond milk.
- Oil – This is also flexible. I usually use olive oil, but canola oil would also do nicely.
- Vanilla Extract + Sugar
- All Purpose Flour + Baking Powder
- Cocoa Powder – I like Trader Joe’s cocoa powder, Ghirardelli or Hershey’s.
How to Make Chocolate Mug Cake
Making cake in a mug is super easy and only takes a few minutes. Here’s how to do it:
- Add the wet ingredients to a large microwave safe mug. This includes the egg yolk, milk, oil and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients. This includes the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar.
- Mix well, but don’t over mix. Make sure there are no dry bits of batter on the bottom of the mug. As soon as everything is well combined, stop mixing. You just want the ingredients to be well incorporated together.
- Microwave. This mug cake cooks for me in 2 minutes, but the time may vary depending on the strength of your microwave. I’d start with 1 minute 45 seconds and then check the cake. It is done when it has risen nicely and is firm on the top when you press it gently with your finger. (Careful, it will be hot.)
- Cool and serve. Let the mug cake cool for a few minutes. It will be very hot! Then add your favorite toppings. I’m always partial to caramel sauce, sprinkles, ice cream or chocolate sauce.
Tips for Success
Here are a few simple tricks to make sure you make the best mug cake possible:
- Don’t skimp on the mixing. Mug cakes come together so quickly it’s easy to want to rush the process. However, it’s important that you take a few seconds to give everything a good stir before you cook your cake. Dry bits of batter can get stuck in the crevices at the bottom of your mug, so really get in there with a spoon and mix everything together.
- Use a large, microwave safe mug. It’s important to use a large mug for this cake because it does rise quite a bit. Also, a larger mug leaves room to add your preferred toppings right to the mug!
How Do You Eat a Microwave Cake?
When I first started making mug cakes friends frequently asked: How do you eat it? This of course, was after they got over the shock of realizing you can make a cake in a mug in the first place.
The most important thing to know when eating a mug cake is that you need to give it a few minutes to cool. It’s hard, I know. I mean you just made this quick cake and now you have to wait to eat it?! But because it cooks at high temperature in the microwave it will be quite hot. Give it a few minutes and gather your toppings.
You can go big or you can go simple with a mug cake. Sometimes I’ll just add a drizzle of caramel sauce and some sprinkles like you see here. Other times I’ll add a big old scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Maybe even a drizzle of chocolate sauce and caramel sauce too. And sprinkles. This is where a large microwave safe mug is helpful. Not only does it give your cake plenty of room to rise, but it gives you plenty of room to add toppings! My son prefers to scoop his mug cake into a bowl so that he has room for extra ice cream, whipped cream and sprinkles.
Pile on your toppings, then grab a spoon and dig in. I love scooping cake out from the bottom of the mug, then gathering bits of as many toppings as possible as I pull the spoon out.
5 stars. Highly recommend. Give it a try!
Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons sugar *
- 1 egg yolk
- 4 tablespoons milk, cow or plant milk
- 1 tablespoon oil, olive oil or canola oil
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the wet ingredients to a large microwave safe mug. This includes the egg yolk, milk, oil and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients. This includes the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar.
- Mix well. Make sure there are no dry bits of batter on the bottom of the mug.
- Microwave. This mug cake cooks for me in 2 minutes, but the time may vary depending on the strength of your microwave. I'd start with 1 minute 45 seconds and then check the cake. It is done when it has risen nicely and is firm on the top when you press it gently with your finger. (Careful, it will be hot.)
- Cool and serve. Let the mug cake cool for a few minutes. It will be very hot! Then add your favorite toppings. I'm always partial to caramel sauce, sprinkles, ice cream or chocolate sauce.
Really tasty! We all loved this mug cake.
Wonderful! We just made these last night. Always so satisfying to have a cake in less than 5 min. Glad you liked the recipe!