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This easy chocolate mug cake recipe has no eggs and can be made for one or two (if you like to share). It is one of the easiest dessert recipes you’ll ever make and you’ll never make another mug cake again after you try my recipe!
Holy bananas, you guys. This chocolate mug cake recipe is one of your all’s favorite desserts to make. The simplest chocolate dessert yet incredibly moist, easy, and the best single-serving dessert out there (to share or not to share)! Mug cake for one or two and it is eggless and all made in the microwave!
You likely have ALL the ingredients in your pantry already. When you get that late night craving? Or want a small batch dessert (and not whip out a giant baking pan to make brownies to nip that craving)? This chocolate mug cake IS FOR YOU!! If you haven’t made this yet; you are 100% missing out.
What is a mug cake?
I still seem to get this question a lot and a mug cake is literally as it sounds. A cake in a cup! It’s great because you don’t need to whip out a bunch of tools to make this easy chocolate mug cake.
Why is this the BEST Easy Chocolate Mug Cake recipe out there!
Seriously though, you’re probably so over mug cake recipes and you’re probably rolling your eyes at me right now but STOP! I promise you this isn’t like any other mug cake out there. I’ve tried a bunch of mug cakes and I hated them.
I thought they were a really neat concept for a quick dessert fix but nothing would ever beat baking an entire cake or cupcake. I hated that all the mug cakes came out SPONGY and they had the grossest texture.
Last week, I was CRAVING chocolate like none other. It was a pretty dire situation. We didn’t have any desserts in the house because I hadn’t been baking and I didn’t want to run out to get anything so I thought I’d give a mug cake a shot.
It ended up turning into a recipe development hour because the first batch came out horrible. Like, I threw it in the trash can and it was just one lumpy sponge thing.
The second one was slightly better but still really bad. The third, I switched out some ingredients and added a little bit more of some and it came out how I wanted but I knew it could’ve been better so on the fourth try, I finally got it to work and the exact texture I wanted.
Ingredients you’ll need
For the exact measurements, please scroll down to the recipe card.
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking powder – make sure to check the “best by” date for this. It’s an important factor.
- Sugar
- Salt
- Milk
- Oil
- Chocolate hazelnut spread
Substitutions and variations
- You can use dark cocoa powder if you desire but I actually have a dark chocolate mug cake recipe for that!
- I’ve heard of so many variations that folks have used for the chocolate hazelnut spread. Here are a few ideas:
- Mini chocolate chips
- Lindt truffle in the center
- Mini M&M’s or your favorite mini candy bar
- Caramel sauce
How to make chocolate mug cake
For complete instructions, visit the recipe card below.
Whisk together dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
Add the liquids. Next, add the liquids into the bowl and whisk until a batter-like consistency forms and there are no remaining dry ingredient lumps.
Pour into a mug. As it’s a microwave mug cake, make sure you are pouring the batter into a microwave-safe mug!
Time for add-ins! If you’re using the chocolate hazelnut spread, go ahead and add that right into the center! Same for other add-ins. You don’t have to push it down, the batter will cook around it and sink it down.
Microwave! Time cook it! Place the mug in the microwave and cook for 70 seconds (please see important notes below).
Tips for success
- Please note that ALL microwaves are different therefore can yield different results and can overcook this mug cake if you aren’t careful. My microwave is 950 watts and I cooked mine on 100% power for 70 seconds*. Knowing this information, it may help you better judge how long to cook yours for and at what power.
- Mug size makes a huge difference! If you’re using a larger mug that is taller then it will take longer to cook. If you’re using a larger but wider mug, it may take less time to cook. There isn’t a one size fits all for this, sadly. The cooking time is a general cook time that works best for most. Unfortunately, there are so many factors that can contribute to your particular mug cake.
Common questions
This chocolate mug cake is made without eggs. Why?
Okay, I get asked this a lot too and the reason why this mug cake is made without any eggs is because that is what makes it have a spongey texture!
If you think about it, it makes sense. Why would you put an entire egg into a mug cake when a regular full-sized cake often asks for one or two eggs? This isn’t a full-sized cake. And of course I’m not going to ask you to divide an egg in half. Just omit it! Best texture, ever!
Can I make this with self-raising flour?
You can, but I tested it with self-raising flour and it just came out spongey and not the texture I wanted.
I like my cakes light, fluffy, and moist and with the self-raising flour, it just didn’t yield the results I wanted.
There have been many people who have used self-raising flour in this recipe and didn’t notice a difference so if you’re up for the challenge, I say go for it.
Can this mug cake be made in the oven?
No, this was solely developed for the microwave. I have had readers who have baked this but I honestly don’t recall how it turned out and/or what temperature or time.
If you love mug cakes, you may like these different variations on my chocolate mug cake:
- Dark chocolate mug cake
- Very vanilla mug cake
- Peanut butter chocolate mug cake
- Espresso chocolate mug cake
- Pumpkin spice mug cake
- Salted caramel apple spice mug cake
The Moistest Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (31 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, (you can add 1 tbsp. more if you like it a bit sweeter)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup (59 ml) + 1 tbsp. milk
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon hazelnut chocolate spread or mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
- Whisk in the milk and vegetable oil until all ingredients are combined and batter has no clumps.
- Pour batter into a microwave-safe mug. Mine was a 14-ounce mug. You want enough head space for the cake to rise without pouring over.
- Add hazelnut chocolate spread in the middle of the batter or mini chocolate chips. Just drop it in the middle, no need to push it down and sink it in the batter. It does that on its own when it cooks! :)
- Place a paper towel into the microwave and set the mug on top (this is to catch any batter if your mug cake overflows).
- Microwave mug cake for 70 seconds on high (PLEASE READ NOTES CAREFULLY BELOW)
- Carefully remove from microwave and enjoy!
I was definitely dubious making this recipe; many mug cakes have failed me in the past. However, you have restored my faith with this lovely dessert! Truly delicious and moist!
Glad to hear this, Eileen!
Oops, just read what you said about optional nutella. Sorry! would adding chocolate chips be a good idea?
I just did it with chocolate chips and it was *delightful*!
Another yummy substitution? Reduce the milk to just 1/4 cup, and add 1 tbsp of your favorite rum or whisky. I used Dewar’s Highlander Honey. Mmm =) Irish cream or chocolate liqueur would probably be great too…
Hi, Julie! That looks great, definitely trying later! I’m not a huge hazelnut (Nutella) fan, though, and was wondering what would happen if i just left the hazelnut spread out. Would it ruin the cake? Any suggestions for a substitution? Please reply ASAP! Thanks so much.
Julie,
I’m eating my cake as I type this, it’s absolutely heavenly! Thanks for sharing. This honestly made my day :)
I’m so happy to hear it made your day :) yay!
This was delicious. I have never made a mug cake but omitting the egg makes sense- especially the white which would easily overwhelm a small batter and give you an unpleasant spongy texture. The crumb of this dessert is perfect. I didn’t have the nuttella so I added a tiny bit of homemade chocolate frosting I had left over. Oh and I served it with vanilla ice cream. It was just amazing.
I’m so so glad it worked out for you and you loved it! Thanks for letting me know, Kathy!
In an attempt to add more protein to my diet I once did an experiment of putting egg white powder in nearly everything and nearly everything came out spongy. I easily grasp that egg could ruin mug cake since the ratios would easily be way off. Oh I used a premium cocoa from King Arthur. This would be a good recipe to make with both premium and regular cocoa blends to see if the expensive cocoa’s are actually worth it. Thank you for a keeper recipe. :))
Wowzers! I’ve tried too many of these mug cake things, an they all sucked. This one was actually really moist and good though; even though I didn’t follow the recipe exactly it came out great. It’s probably better than any boxed or homemade cake I’ve ever made.
I’m glad it turned out great for you, Shawna!
Hi Julie,
Will the baking time still be 70seconds if I put two of these in at the same time?
Will have to make two… otherwise either hubby or me will have a very long face… :-(
Hi Hanlie, I’m not sure since I did one at a time. Could you do one at a time?
I tried this and it’s AMAZING. I was wondering… If I wanted to make half the recipe (the original size is far too large, I had to share it with my 2 older sisters) how long should I leave it in the microwave? The time for the normal amount was just perfect, by the way.
If you were going to halve the recipe, just halve the original cook time.
This mug cake is the BEST!! I made it one night when my husband was practically begging me to bake brownies. I knew I didn’t want to have a whole pan of brownies in the house, especially since he was getting ready to leave on a work trip. It was the PERFECT solution… unfortunately, he requests it at least once a week now, which is good and bad! I make his with a spoonful of Biscoff & mine with a spoonful of peanut butter & top it with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. The best solution for a dessert craving! I can’t wait to try the vanilla version!
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it! It’s the perfect dessert alternative! Sorry your husband is now addicted to it, haha ;)
So this cake LOOKS amazing-so I made it. The cake is very moist, you’re right about that. But to make this taste good you would need to add like 5 Tbls of sugar. The cake is bitter and doesn’t taste good at all without modifications.
Hi Paige! Thanks for your comment. Bitterness of your cake may be due to the type of cocoa powder you used. If you used dark cocoa powder or dutch-processed cocoa powder then your cake will yield a more bitter taste. However, I would like to point out that your suggested modification of 5 tbsp. of sugar is equal to 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. of sugar; that amount for this mug cake would be wayyy too sweet; however, I understand everyone has their own taste preference so this is why I encourage modifications to your own taste.
Great recipe, enjoyed mine but the kids didn’t finish theirs. We noticed a bitter taste and I thought I’d added too much cocoa, but I think it was because I used “Cacao Power” which is a raw product, not roasted like cocoa. I hadn’t even realised there’s a difference between cocoa and cacao. Looks like I should use less next time, but I’ll definitely be making this again!
Glad you were able to figure out the reason why it was bitter tasting. Hope your kids enjoy it next time :) I’m glad you enjoyed it either way!
This is the exact way I do mine! But I try to bury the nutella in the dough a little. My first couple of mugs also turned out spongy and dry.
It’s also super yummy with peanut butter :)
Nice, Laura!