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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!
easy to make i’m 11 and is so chocolatey!!” i thought add jam in the centre strawberry jam”” OMG so delicious!!!!”
I added peanut butter and it was chefs kiss perfecto.
im 11 and i could make this with my parents promition of corse but tasty and easy to make.
Chewy , too dark in flavour
Been making this recipe constantly lately 😋 It’s soo yummy! Thank you so much for making this recipe and sharing it. First few times I made it exactly as written now I play around with it a bit when I feel like it. I also enjoy your vanilla one. Thanks again.
Super delish and moist! I did however find it quite a bit oily. I followed all the measurements 100% but there was still tons of oil sitting on top of the cake once it was done baking. Not sure what I did wrong as I bake regularly and the batter itself looked perfect! No complains about the flavour, absolutely delish and I’ll definitely try make it again
sooooooo gooood, totally recommend it. Has a very good texture it was soft and good! I used the cocoa Milo because I knew the other cocoa in the pantry wouldn’t work as good as Milo. I added more flour and milk, but I should add more sugar because I have a sweet tooth. but..even without more sugar, it was amazing!!! I loved the recipe. The last time I made a mug cake it was spongey. It was no taste at all and bad, but it wasn’t disgusting just bad and it was a different recipe, but this time, it was soo good! Thank you so much for this recipe I really praise it. the baking powder I have double acting so I just eyeballed it even if I didn’t have double acting I would still have eyeballed it but It was still sooo good! Thank you so much!!!! it was an amazing snack because I was also craving something sweet.
This actually IS the moistest mug cake I’ve ever had. The chocolate flavor is intense and the choc/hazelnut (I used nutella) is a decadent addition. It cries out for a good cup of coffee. Used recipe as-is. We’ll try variations on the next go-round.
A delicious treat not to sweet if I would want something sweeter I would add that extra bit of sugar I devided it into 2 regular size mugs and was a perfect size evening treat for me and my mother.thank you for the delicious treat.I HAVE
NO COMPLAINTS. thanks
Great little recipe. It’s so simple that I let my three year old make it himself and he was delighted with the result
Kosher salt is not table salt! Iodized salt is table salt. My blood sugar was low when I made this and because it was so salty even after half a gallon bag of sweetener since I didn’t have sugar, I had to throw it out because it was so salty.
for the record, i did not say kosher salt is table salt. in the notes of the recipe, it literally says this: Kosher salt and table salt ≠ the same thing. the sign is NOT EQUAL TO. additionally, i feel like you are exaggerating on the “half a gallon bag of sweetener” because even if you did use table salt, 1/8 teaspoon of table salt wouldn’t have made this so salty that you would’ve needed that much sweetener to counterbalance it. if anything, your cake would’ve been extra sweet with half a gallon of sweetener vs. salty.
@Julie Chiou, My mistake on the kosher salt bit about you saying they were the same. I actually used two 1/4 teaspoons thinking it added up to 1/8 teaspoon and that was probably why it was so salty but I had added a tbsp sugar before the Splenda and I didn’t exaggerate at all on the half a gallon bag. I apologize for the hateful comments I made last night but I think the unsweetened cocoa powder on top of the 1/2 teaspoon of of kosher salt was what made it taste so bitter and I literally just had a sweet and salty almond granola bar this morning and it tasted saltier than normal. But that’s on me and I shouldn’t have blamed it on you. Once again I’m sorry.
appreciate you clarifying!