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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 Best 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.1/4 cup (31 g) all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) baking powder, 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1/8 teaspoon (⅛ teaspoon) kosher salt
- Whisk in the milk and vegetable oil until all ingredients are combined and batter has no clumps.1/4 cup (59 ml) + 1 tbsp. milk, 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 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! :)1 tablespoon hazelnut chocolate spread or mini chocolate chips
- 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 substituted milke for 1/4 cup cream 1/8 water and put in half of the oil content. So good!
Thanks for the recipe! I have a weakness for quick and easy desserts (and chocolate). I’ve been on a healthy lifestyle and weight loss crusade this year (81 pounds lost since January), so my approach now is always to look at a recipe and go “hmmm…how can I make that healthier while still tasting good?” So with this recipe I used whole wheat flour, subbed stevia for the sugar, skim milk, and swapped in my secret baking weapon- unsweetened applesauce, for the oil (which by itself cuts out 235 calories!) Instead of the nutella/hazelnut spread I used a teaspoon of chocolate chips.. The resulting cake was awesomely moist, and mildly sweet (might either add more stevia or more of the ‘topping’ next run…(though if you mix even the 1 teaspoon in with the rest of the cake as you’re eating it it was sweet enough for me) but my calorie stats for this was : 182 calories (with that much calorie savings you can splurge and add more topping or use actual sugar….2 tablespoons of sugar is 96 calories, 1 tablespoon of hazelnut spread is around 100 calories). Thanks again!
I’m really surprised how great this cake turned out! The texture is really nice unlike the other microwave cakes that I made in the past. I kind of changed up the recipe by using 4 table spoons of MILO chocolate drink mix instead of cocoa powder and sugar. I also used water because I didn’t have any milk. It was soo good!!!
I made this tonight since I was craving something chocolatey and dont need an entire pan of brownies hanging around. I mixed it all in the mug (one of the huge bowl style mugs from superstore) and substituted almond milk, olive oil and peanut butter. It was like a half sweet bowl of hot brownie – perfect for what I was after! Definitely will be making this again.
THIS is the best. I’ve microwaved my way through a bunch of these and this one is by far the best. I used half n half instead of milk, since that’s all I had and it’s amazing.
I substituted the baking powder with baking soda, the result was awesome. You just need to remember that baking soda has a stronger effect, so you need to put in less of it than if you used baking powder (about half, in fact).
After being home sick for a week the cupboard was bare and I couldn’t go out for a sweet treat so I tried this recipe. It is the first mug cake I have made. I used 2&1/2 tablespoons sugar, and raw cacao powder rather than cocoa powder. I didn’t have any nutella etc so just made the recipe without. My microwave is 1000 watts so I cooked it for 65 seconds. The texture was very nice and so was the flavour. I would have liked some berries or whipped cream etc, or a piece of chocolate in the middle, but as it was it fulfilled the need and was just the right size serving. I’ll definitely make it again. Thanks for a cool recipe.
This is the first mug cake I have ever made and it was DELICIOUS! Followed the recipie to the tee (minus the Nutella). My microwave required 90 seconds. Will definitely be using this recipie again!
Can i use baking soda instead
No, I tested this with baking powder specifically. However, I believe there are others who have used baking soda but I can’t attest to what the texture or results will be. You are more than welcome to try it though!
I am an awful cook/baker, but this turned out AMAZING. My microwave only goes up to 800 watts – 90 seconds worked perfectly for me.