This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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!
Just finished eating the cake and I must say – it’s incredible! I’ve had a few other mug cakes, however, none were as soft nor as tasty as this one. I did change the recipe up a little, swapping the cocoa powder for hazelnut protein powder (seeing as I didn’t have what the recipe called for) and skipping out on the chocolate spread/chips but still, it was delicious. I also microwaved it for a total of 2 and a half minutes, because that’s what mine needed.
I’ve never commented on any recipe blog, but this mug cake definitely deserved it. I’ll surely be making this again in the future, starting tomorrow when my younger siblings and I have a Halloween film marathon! Thank you so much, Julie!
From a pregnant mom craving chocolate at 1am thank you
Wow!so good! I’m in trouble now that I have an unbelievably fast and easy way to eat chocolate cake whenever I want! I cooked it in the microwave safe bowl I mixed it in. Worked great! Saved a dirty dish. Texture was perfect…like a cake-ish brownie. Thank you for posting!
My kids love this recipe so much and they have been sharing your page with all their friends – it something they can do by themselves and when they have friends over. They even make me a mug 😍 it’s a family favorite! Thanks a lot for this recipe.
Help! I must have done something wrong, it came out very gummy :( the batter was thick, not exactly pourable – should it have been thinner? Followed the recipe but not sure what would produce this texture?! It tastes great despite the texture!
the batter should have been pourable and not that thick. a little thinner than brownie batter. when this happens, i can only think that flour measurement was off (too much) or too little liquid was added. can you think of how you measured the flour and/or liquid?
I liked hit a lot, I would recommend not putting chocolate chips or Nutella in unless you want a sort of lava cake.
I don’t typically review recipes but I felt like I needed to review this one just because the only bad reviews it was getting was the soupyness, aka not cooked through and I didn’t feel like that is the author’s fault. She specifically mentioned that the timing may be may need to be adjusted due to your microwave. I doubled this recipe and, after 90 seconds it was incredibly soupy. I ended up microwaving mine closer to 4 minutes which was ridiculous, but my microwave is dumb. It’s not rocket science, if it’s not cooked through, add more time. The recipe itself was delicious, very moist and totally hit the spot. This was the 4th mug cake I’ve tried and the best yet.
thank you for this review. i truly appreciate you taking the time to write this and helping me out a bit. i don’t want to seem defensive in my responses so i tend to just not respond to the comments you mentioned but it’s true this recipe actually works and it hurts when people say all the positive reviews are bots…so not true! i make and photograph all my recipes…i know they work. i don’t put out recipes that don’t work. anyway, i’m just babbling now. thank you again.
@Julie Chiou,
I’m definitely not a bot, & this is WAY better than any box mug cake I’ve ever tried! You hit this one out of the park!
Went to chocolate heaven and back with this recipe. Absolutely devine!!
OMG! This was divine! I cooked mine for 80 seconds and it was perfect. Will def be making again as its so quick and easy and I had everything in my pantry.
We enjoyed this recipe. My son is allergic to eggs and dairy and this was perfect to adapt for him using soy milk. 5 year old loved it! I only did a half recipe for him.
My husband and I had a double batch of the regular recipe without changes. Our microwave is 1000, I cooked for 70 sec and I think it was just a touch too long. Next time, yes I’ll make it next time, I’ll only 60 sec. Good recipe and glad we don’t have a whole cake in the house!