People say this fudgy chocolate mug cake recipe is the best mug cake they’ve ever tried. And you can make it in the microwave or oven!
The best chocolate cake in a mug
This is the chocolate mug cake recipe for chocolate lovers.
Rich, decadent, and delicious, the recipe has over two thousand positive reviews from readers who’ve made the chocolate cake and absolutely love it.
So if you’ve been disappointed with other chocolate mug cake recipes in the past, definitely be sure to give this one a try, because it will not disappoint!
Readers also love this Brownie in a Mug
Microwave chocolate mug cake recipe
I could tell you that I labored in front of a hot oven all day baking this cake.
But the reality is that the chocolate mug cake took only one minute.
Yes, really.
And it is made with pantry staple ingredients you can always keep on hand, with no eggs required.
Any time you are craving chocolate, now all you have to do is head to the kitchen and whip up this easy chocolate dessert in the microwave.
You can even portion out the dry ingredients ahead of time and store the chocolate cake mix in small Ziploc bags so the recipe will be even quicker to make when you’re ready to eat.
It’s like chocolate cake meal prep!
For a larger version, try this Vegan Chocolate Cake
Chocolate mug cake flavors
Chocolate Peanut Butter: Omit the oil in the recipe below, and stir in one or two tablespoons of peanut butter (or almond butter) in its place.
Nutella Mug Cake: Instead of oil, add a tablespoon of your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread. I like this Homemade Nutella Recipe. Top with more Nutella!
Chocolate Peppermint: Stir a fourth teaspoon of pure peppermint extract into the liquid ingredients before stirring everything together to form a batter.
Dark Chocolate Coconut: Use coconut oil, and top the finished mug cake with dark chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and a scoop of Coconut Ice Cream.
Mocha Mug Cake: Stir half a teaspoon of instant coffee granules, regular or decaf, in with the cake’s dry ingredients.
Chocolate Orange: Add one teaspoon of orange zest to the mug before stirring.
What is your dream single serving mug cake flavor? If there are any other ideas you’d like to see that I do not have listed above, definitely let me know!
Frosting options
Feel free to decorate your single serving chocolate cake with shredded coconut, chopped walnuts or pecans, mini chocolate chips, hot fudge sauce or caramel sauce.
I used this homemade Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting.
Or you can frost the cake however you wish, such as with store bought or homemade vanilla or chocolate frosting, powdered sugar or melted chocolate, sliced bananas, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, or raspberry jam.
It’s also wonderful topped with Coconut Whipped Cream or Almond Milk Ice Cream.
Chocolate mug cake recipe video
Above, watch the step-by-step video
How to make a chocolate mug cake
Step One: Start by combining all of the dry ingredients in a cereal bowl or small dish. Stir very well, to ensure the salt and baking powder are evenly distributed.
Step Two: Add liquid, stir to form a chocolate cake batter, and pour the batter into a microwave or oven safe dish, ramekin, or coffee mug.
Especially if you are not planning to eat the cake straight out of the mug, be sure to grease the dish well before adding the batter.
Step Three: Microwave for thirty to forty seconds. Mine is always fluffy and cooked through after this time, but you may need to cook longer depending on your microwave’s wattage.
Or bake the mug cake in the oven for fourteen minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out mostly clean.
Step Four: Frost the top of the chocolatey dessert and enjoy. To store leftovers… Wait, what leftovers?
Mug cake recipe ingredients
Here’s what you need to make the single serving recipe: cocoa, flour, sweetener, salt, baking powder, milk of choice, pure vanilla extract, and oil or banana.
Cocoa powder – Use regular unsweetened cocoa powder for the first tablespoon of cocoa. Dutch cocoa powder, hot chocolate mix, or additional regular unsweetened cocoa can be used for the two teaspoons.
Flour – The recipe works well with white flour, oat flour, all purpose gluten free flour, or spelt flour (my personal preference). I have not tried it with any other options such as whole wheat flour or pastry flour.
A keto mug cake version with almond flour is also included in the recipe box below.
Sweetener – This can be granulated sugar or unrefined coconut sugar or a liquid option like pure maple syrup or honey.
For a sugar free mug cake, use xylitol or granulated erythritol. Stevia technically works, but the flavor and texture are better if you go with one of the other options listed here.
Fat source – I think the cake tastes best made with coconut oil. My second favorite choice is peanut butter or almond butter. Vegetable oil is also fine to use.
If you want a low fat or fat free mug cake, many readers have written in to say it works to substitute applesauce, Greek yogurt, sweet potato, pumpkin, or mashed banana. I much prefer the taste with some fat added, but that is a personal taste preference.
Vegan chocolate mug cake
The mug cake is already naturally eggless, which means it is super easy to create a dairy free and vegan version.
Just use a plant based milk, such as coconut milk, soy milk, or almond milk. If topping with chocolate chips, ice cream, or frosting, choose vegan options for those as well.
For a gluten free chocolate mug cake, use either oat flour or gluten free all purpose flour. If you experiment with any other gluten free flours, let me know how it goes.
You may also like these Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tsp Dutch cocoa powder or additional regular
- 3 tbsp flour spelt, white, oat, or all purpose gluten free (or try this Keto Mug Cake Recipe)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sweetener of choice
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 2 1/2 tsp oil or nut butter (While I much prefer the version with fat, many commenters say they love substituting applesauce or mashed banana here)
- 3 tbsp milk of choice
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- How to make a chocolate mug cake recipe: Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. Add liquid, stir, then transfer to a little dish, ramekin, or even a coffee mug. Either microwave 30-60 seconds (time will depend on your microwave's wattage) OR cook in a preheated 350 F oven for about 14 minutes. If you don’t want to eat it straight out of the dish, be sure to spray your dish first and then wait for the mug cake to cool before trying to remove it. Frosting ideas are listed above in the post!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Easy Chocolate Dessert Recipes
I’m not vegan, but I am a poor college student who sometimes finds herself without eggs and milk in the fridge and nothing sweet to devour. In a fit of desperation, I decided to google “microwave vegan chocolate cake” and that’s what led me to this recipe. I was a little skeptical, especially since I didn’t have some of the ingredients. I used a mix of brown sugar and white sugar (2 tsp of white 1 tbsp of brown), all purpose flour, water instead of milk (I didn’t have anything that would work better), and butter instead of oil, because I still wanted some richness. So mine’s not vegan, but was it delicious! I agree that it could have used just a little extra sugar, but it was so moist and dense and had a wonderful texture! Mine was in the microwave for about 1:10, until the top no longer looked wet and shiny. I also mixed in some chocolate chips, which made it perfect for satisfying my craving. This is legitimately the best microwave cake I’ve ever tried, and I’ve tried quite a few. The texture was so spot on I could hardly believe myself that it came out of the microwave. I’m definitely going to be trying this recipe again in the future, whether I have milk and eggs on hand or not!
Hi Katie! I just tried this recipe and it was pretty good:) however the texture was kinda off, it was a bit gummy and not really crumbly the kinda way a cake usually is. My batter was really thick and I ended up using close to 5 tbsp of milk, and I used an oven toaster and it took more than 20 mins… I was wondering what the consistency of the batter should be like? Thanks so much for the recipe though, it was still pretty nice:)
I made this at 12:05 a.m. when a craving for chocolate struck. Amazing! The texture and sweetness were perfect! Now I want to make this for my classes. Is there an upsized version of this recipe so that I can make it with my muffin pans? Thank you (now I am off to have the other half of the cake)!
I LOVE this recipe ! ? I’ve been craving chocolate all evening! ? So I googled Chocolate cake in a cup n found this delicious recipe ? n made myself a lil cup of this amazing chocolate cake before I head to bed.? I’m Totally going to make one with my boyfriend this week! ?
Hey I really love this recipe! It tastes so good and it is so easy to make, especially for someone who just started baking. I made some tweaks to it. I used Almond Flour instead of spelt flour and I found it made the cake lighter. Thanks for the amazing recipe though!
I made this using 1 tbsp of chickpea flower, 2 tbsp of sorghum flour (instead of spelt as I can not have wheat), also used the mashed banana instead of oil. Microwaved for about 1min 20 and it was delish! my husband wanted one after i made mine!! thank you for an amazing recipe!!!!
I just made this today and it turns out so great! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!
By the way, do you have any single serving fudgy brownies recipe to share? 🙂
Just made this to fix my craving for chocolate cake and fix it now!!! It worked like a dream. I added vegan chocolate chips because you usually add it to everything and it was worth it, so I also used less sugar. Thank you Katie.
Would it still taste good if I don’t add any oil?
I am a lifetime member of WW and it is good to see recipes published online with the points already calculated.