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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!
Really good recipe.i loved it. maybe next time explain how to do a frosting
I made this with xylitol instead of sugar and left out the filling to make it more diabetic friendly. I also added just a dash of vanilla. It was delicious! Thank you.
Great recipe. I had to microwave a bit longer – added an extra 30 seconds. It was totally delicious!
Works great with Aldi’s “LiveGFree” gluten free baking mix too!! Thanks!!!!!!
I used this recipe and it was not chocolatey or moist enough and not sweet really :/ if you’re looking for decadent, moiiiiiist chocolate cake do not use this recipe. Thank you anyways
Did you happen to read any of the other 2,000 comments on this recipe and what people thought of it? Additionally, did you read the notes in the recipe where I mention if you like it a bit sweeter to add a tablespoon more of sugar? It also may not be moist enough because you might have cooked it too long. And your note on not chocolatey – add more cocoa powder? Or what type did you use? It’s hard to imagine that there wouldn’t be enough chocolate flavor if you used cocoa powder.
This was not exactly CAKE, but it was still very good!
I personally like a LOT of frosting or moistness on my cakes so I put it in for 55 seconds and it works just fine!
When I come home from a long day I quickly start making this wonder! Thank you so much!
I commented on 08/12/2017 about how this was the best mug cake recipe I’ve tried so far. Made it again this afternoon because I didn’t have enough cocoa powder for a whole cake and once again, the result was utterly delicious!
After looking at the other comments you’ve received, I can only surmise that most good recipes on the Net will have, for every 99 good comments, 1 troll who never follow the recipe properly (no matter how much they insist they did) and point the blame at the recipe (instead of at themselves).
Please ignore them – the rest of us who have licked our mugs and spoons clean can’t possibly be wrong!
Thank you so much! This is so true and I always have to keep that in mind! Thanks for the reminder :)
When I first red the title of this recipe, I thought : “why is she grubbing so much about her cake being the moistest mug cake ever? Maybe it ain’t that good and she’s just trying to make us do it and we will probably have the same results as the other mug cakes.”
Well, then I gave it try. Followed all the steps just like you wrote. I ddnt have hazelnut chocolate, so I dd a quick chocolate sauce instead. When I took the first bite, I regretted all my thoughts.
It was the best mug cake i’ve Ever tasted. I ended up saving the recipe and will do it again today, maybe four or five of them for myself hahahaha. It is amazing and moist indeed.
LOL well, I’m glad I didn’t disappoint!
I was craving something sweet when I got off work, and this really hit the spot. I didn’t have any hazelnut spread, but I added a splash of cold brew coconut coffee concentrate, and a hefty amount of dark chocolate chips, and it was a wonderful. Fluffy and warm, and would’ve been excellent with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. 5/5 for me
I’ve never felt the need to comment about a recipe before, but for this I have to! This is quite simply THE BEST mug cake recipe I have used. Not spongy or rubbery but perfectly light, fluffy and excellent with a scoop of pistachio ice cream. I substituted 3 squares of green and blacks for the Nutella and was rewarded with a chocolate fondant style centre. I used an 800w microwave and cooked for 1m40sec, perfect! Will not use any other mug cake recipe in the future. Can’t wait to try the vanilla! Many thanks, your hour was not wasted!