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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!
Sorry, Im not good at english.
Bad. It was chocotly, but the flavor wasn’t very exiting, the hazlenut spread helped, but if you rely on a premade topping to make your desert edible, you do badly.
Natalie,
I am sorry that this recipe did not work for you but it is a bit rude to insult someone who came up with a delicious and QUICK recipe and took the time to post it so clearly. Maybe you did something wrong or your microwave timing is off but there are plenty of others who tried this recipe and loved it so…….
Nice fudge texture but I think could have been a Lil sweeter. I used 2 tbsp coco oil in place of veg oil. Still – did the job when I had no eggs in the house & a cake craving
My first ever mug cake and I chanced upon this recipe. It worked like MAGIC! All done in less than 5 minutes and it tastes divine! Perfect for the sudden chocolate cravings….so simple and tastes absolutely wonderful!
Truly delicious! Simple yet totally perfect. Boyfriend absolutely loved it too.
This looked really good. I agree with you about a whole egg being way too much for a mug cake!
I just tried this recipe (at 11pm in my bathrobe: don’t judge! ;-) ) but, because I’m celiac, I used an all-purpose gluten free flour. The results were NOT good. I don’t blame the recipe at all, since GF baking can be so very different from conventional baking.
I don’t leave this comment to bash the recipe, as it looks like a winner, but to let other celiacs know. Maybe someone has an awesome GF mug cake recipe?? I’d love to try it!
For GF flour, you would need to use less flour since its more dense when it bakes. I’ve done lots of baking with substituting GF flour instead of regular flour, I use Pamela’s all purpose Gf flour.
Awesome recipe – I’ve been craving fudgy chocolate cake for days and this REALLY hit the spot. So simple to make and so delicious. I put a dollop of Wowbutter in mine (nut free spread that tastes like peanut butter). It didn’t disperse or go gooey, which was a shame but I’ll try experimenting next time I fancy mug cake. Served with a dollop of cream. Delicious. Thank you!
I was in the mood for chocolate but didn’t have any in the house. It’s slim pickings before I get to the grocery store. Enter mug cake. I whipped this up easily and it was so tasty! I made some modifications though. I didn’t have milk but I did have half and half so I used that, and instead of vegetable oil I melted butter. I’m all out of Nutella so instead I used some of this caramel I had in a jar and put a little whipped cream on top. Delicious!
Literally just made this as I too needed something sweet. Incredibly easy and delicious! I added several chocolate chips to the center of mine before putting in the microwave. Can’t wait to try it with peanut butter next time. Thank you!
the texture was great…much better than ever other mug cake i’ve made. however, it was incredibly bland. it needed more sugar and cocoa powder, i honestly couldn’t taste anything :\
Even with the Nutella in the center you couldn’t taste anything? With the Nutella in the center you definitely don’t need more sugar or cocoa powder, unless you’re used to eating super sweet desserts. Did you add the Nutella in the center?
Hi I would like to make these for teacher presents in a teacher mug do these cakes need to be eaten straight away or would they be ok to be eaten the next day?? Thanks xx ps they look amazing!M
They need to be eaten straight away. I would just mix the dry ingredients in a mug and give it as their gift then tell the what liquids to add to it to make the mug cake. Please credit my blog on the gift tag, hehe :)