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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!
To the poster recently asking about refrigerating it–we do that ALL the time. We make a batch of 4 cups; we eat one or two the night of, and simply slap the other two in the fridge with Cling Wrap over the top of the cup. When we take it out, we cook it about 30 seconds longer. I should have mentioned, in my prior review, that we’ve upped our cooking time, with the Cocoa Barry Brut Cocoa, to 2 minutes per, but we get a positively divine cake from using it.
So, possibly, as Julie says, it’s best “day of,” but I haven’t noticed any real difference between day of and 1-2 days later. Hell, we even slap the Nutella in the ones that are going in the fridge, no worries. Making 2-4 at a time is FAR more convenient than doing 1 at a pop if you know you’re going to eat them.
I love this recipe! It’s my go to when I have a chocolate cake craving! I make these two modifications:
1. Use self rising flour instead of plain flour. I find the extra baking powder keeps the cake fluffy. If I use all purpose flour I get massive wet patches during microwave.
2. If I use add ins (chocolate chips, peanut butter, powdered sugar dusting on top) I keep the sugar level low (2T). If I don’t have any add ins, I boost the sugar level a bit (1.5t)
The perfect chocolate mug cake!! I made this 5 times already :) with different topping each time. This recipe is great with banana/marshmallow/coffee toppings!
The best mug cake ever!!!!
I had to let it stay in the microwave for 2 minutes and 50 seconds.
One of the BEST mug cakes I’ve eaten! I added chocolate chips then made an mocha icing of a tbsp of sweetened condensed milk + about a tbsp of cocoa powder+ about a 1/2 tsp of instant coffee granules instead of the hazelnut spread.
It was AMAZING!
Can I store in the fridge or something for the next day?
this is best made day-of
THIS IS THE BEST MUG CAKE EVER, I’ve never had one so moist and flavoursome, I loved it!!!
Great recipe! Five stars! Though I would advise you to put a plate under the mug when putting in the microwave instead of a paper towel as it says in the recipe, in my opinion it’s better to catch the overflowing batter
We’ve made this for years now. I recently upgraded our cocoa from the usual, boring Nestle’s or other baking cocoa that you snag in the grocery to Cocoa Barry’s Brut Cocoa and OMG, it has completely apotheosized this cake into the heavens. (For those who want amazing cocoa: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BLTNL4Q/ ). I prefer it over all the usual “upgraded” cocoas, like Ghirardelli, etc.
Yes, we modified the recipe a bit–we’ve increased the milk a skosh, due to the fineness of the Barry Cocoa and we’ve added sugar (again, due to the Cocoa being Brut). But I now actually prefer this cake over pretty much any other. (I have this one French-style Gateau that I make, but it requires yeast and this, happily, does not and is fast, fast fast!). We get a lovely cakey texture which you can make denser or lighter with some experimentation. We quadruple the recipe and make 4 cups at once, which last in the fridge until we need a sugar/chocolate pick-me-up. In this Year of the Plague, something like this is sorely needed. Cannot recommend this recipe highly enough–especially if you oomph it up with some high-quality cocoa.
This was a lovely recipe… I also made some additions in the recipe. Instead of Cocoa Powder, I used Hershey’s chocolate spread. I also added coffee powder. It worked out beautifully.
The BEST mug cake ever had! I love this recipe. Thank you.