The Moistest Chocolate Mug Cake
Holy bananas, you guys. It has been FOUR YEARS since I first developed this chocolate mug cake recipe. Omg, it seriously feels like just yesterday. Ever since then it has broken the internet. Well, not really, but it’s the most popular dessert recipe on my site to date — for good reason!
I’m revisiting this mug cake post specifically today because 1. I have a recipe video that goes with it now (check below right above the recipe!), 2. I cannot believe the response on this mug cake, and 3. if you’re into Valentine’s Day — wouldn’t this be the perfect dessert for you and that special someone??
The simplest dessert yet incredibly moist, easy, and the best single-serving dessert out there (to share or not to share)!
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.
Seriously though, you’re probably so over mug cakes 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.
You guys, this is the moistest chocolate mug cake I’ve ever tasted before. I’m not joking! You have to try this and see for yourself.
It’s a great alternative to baking an entire pan of brownies & it’s a super awesome quick fix for that chocolate craving! Jason loved it and said it tasted like brownies! Yay :)
I mean seriously. How could you not want to drop everything and go make this immediately?!
This best and moistest chocolate mug cake you will ever have. It's not spongey or dry like other mug cakes! You will never use another chocolate mug cake recipe again!
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (you can add 1 tbsp. more if you like it a bit sweeter)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp. milk
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon hazelnut chocolate spread or mini chocolate chips
- 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!
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.
You can totally omit the tablespoon of chocolate hazelnut spread if you want or use a different spread of your choice (peanut butter, biscoff, etc.) or even chocolate chips like I used in the video. I just thought it made the cake even more moist but the cake itself is moist enough without it!
**This recipe is specifically made for the microwave. I developed it for the microwave. I don't know cook time or temperature for an oven...I'd imagine it'd be a very quick cook time at a low temp., but since I didn't test the recipe for an oven, I cannot give specifics. Sorry!
No eggs? Correct. There are NO EGGS in this recipe. Why? Egg is what makes the mug cake spongy. If you think about it, when you bake a full-sized cake, you typically use 1 or 2 eggs...for a mug cake to use 1 egg is A LOT!
Self-rising flour? I have tested this with self-rising and it does NOT work. At least I felt it didn't work because it was too spongy for me. You are more than welcome to use it, however, please keep in mind that I don't recommend this method.
If you're looking for a VANILLA version, here is the link to The Moistest Vanilla Mug Cake recipe!
*Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.
Posted on February 13, 2018
I really love this cake the texture is amazing. I cooked the cake for the same time even though my microwave is 1200 watts and it came out fine. I have bunches of these mug cake recipes and I am going to leave the egg out and see how it effects the texture. Thanks for sharing your recipe. These cakes are perfect for when you just want a little somethin-somethin. It is only my husband and I so baking a full cake is silly.
hi, i made this mug cake and it turned out pretty well, very sweet and very chocolaty though, probably wont put quite as much sugar in next time ;) all and all,i think it was pretty good, but i think that eggs would have given it a bit extra goodness.
If you read the post, I mentioned I tested with eggs and it gives it an extremely spongy texture.
This is by far the best cake in a mug recipe I’ve tried!! Thank you!
Just made this for 5 children as a quick and easy desert. Doubled up the ingredients and put them all in a large microwavable bowl. They loved it! Thank you for sharing :)
Can I use wheat flour instead
I haven’t tested with it and not sure what texture will be, but you can definitely give it a shot!
its a bit bitter even with the added sugar but other than that this is the best mug cake i’ve ever had
I made this mug cake late last night when having a “cakey” craving. It turned out beautifully satisfying! Thank-you so much for sharing it 😊
Just made the chocolate mug cake…mixed everything in the mug….mixed all dry with fork, added wet, mixed, scraped down side, plopped on top 1T cookie butter. Cooked 70 seconds. Made vanilla glaze: heavy cream, powdered sugar, several drops vanilla. This was really fast and good for a quick sweet, but not over sweet, bite!
I absolutely adore this cake, I tried putting coconut oil and 100% cane sugar and tasted great with a little more healthy you could say.
I added marshmallow fluff instead of choco chips or hazelnut spread
Hi! I made it and it was great, perfect for me. Thank you! 😜
i dont like overly sweet and trying to watch fat/calories. cut sugar in half, use applesauce instead of oil, water instead of milk, added peanutbutter in center. used gluten free flour-delicious!
Hi, I tried a dozen mug cake recipies before this one, none of them came close to yours. Your mug cake recipe turned out great in my first try and I have been a fan ever since! Thanks for such a great and easy recipe :)
I see someone mentioned it was bitter. I noticed a bitter flavor when my oil was a little off. Maybe that is why. Loved the recipe, but will make sure I have fresh oil on hand next time!
I’ve made this recipe quite a few times now, reduced the amount of sugar just for my taste, made it with/without the hazelnut spread, a blob of crunchy peanut butter instead (yum), a blob of raspberry jam is yum too, I’ve even pushed a marshmallow into the middle of the mix, awesomely yummy!!! Thank you so much for my new ‘go to’ recipe :o)
THANK YOU. I’m 33 weeks pregnant, super uncomfortable, craving chocolate like crazy, and after a day chasing my toddler I do not have the energy or mental capacity to bake, let alone shop for ingredients. This recipe was so very, very appreciated tonight!
yass queen finally a mug cake that wasn’t dryyy. I sprinkled granulated sugar on top since I didn’t have hazelnut spread and it turned into caramel inside the microwave. perfection. perfect snack for studying for my exams thank youuuuuuu <3 XD
Hi! I have all ingredients except cocoa powder. What can I use instead?
The cocoa powder is what makes this a chocolate cake so you should probably make a vanilla mug cake instead! https://www.tablefortwoblog.com/the-moistest-very-vanilla-mug-cake/
Hey, if I don’t have baking powder so what should I do?
I’m not sure. I haven’t tried it with another leavening agent that would work.
Tried this recipe for the very first time tonight and it was so quick,easy and delicious
This was the best mug cake I’ve ever eaten! It is so moist!!
Just made it with coconut milk & coconut oil (as the vegetable one), added some nutella on top aand OMG! it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe <3
-A.
It was okay I guess. The taste was very bitter, bland, and watery. Even after adding extra sugar, and spread it wasn’t very good. Sorry
This recipe is great! I switched out the vegetable oil for butter, and added a little less milk, and it came out so incredibly moist. It looks a bit weird after you add the milk, and you have to make sure you stir well. I made it in the microwave the first couple times, and I tried it in the oven where I put the temperature to 180 degrees and checked back a couple of times, came out great too!
Other recipes I’ve tried ended up either tasting terrible, feeling like play-dough or not cooking through.
Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this and forgot the baking powder and it was still freaking amazing
I translated the recipe into Swedish (we don’t use cups in recipes here) and used melted butter instead of oil since I only had olive oil at home. 2 pieces of milk chocolate in the middle and WOW! A pretty big portion, but far too good to share ;-) It turned out just as good (or even better) than most chocolate desserts at fine restaurants. Thanks you so much! Is it OK for me to share my ”Swedish translation” if I link to the original recipe?
Sure
I’ve tried so many homemade chocolate mug cake recipes and this was by far the best one! the texture is perfect and super easy to make! highly recommend.
Thank you for the great recipes that you share. You even give s little counter to add more to the recipe. It was so good. Just the right size.
The best mug cake I’ve ever tried. Tho I like to cook mine in glass bowls instead for more even cooking and I used melted butter instead of oil bcecause my oil was old