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The vanilla version to my chocolate mug cake is this very vanilla mug cake! It’s just as easy to make as her chocolate friend and just as light and fluffy! Still has no eggs and fully customizable!
A very vanilla mug cake to rule the land!
If you have been hanging around the blog for a few years now, you’ll know that my chocolate mug cake has been such a hit.
But not everyone is a fan of chocolate, which is quite shocking.
That’s always the age-old question, right? “Chocolate or vanilla?”
So if you are a vanilla lover, here is the vanilla mug cake version of the chocolate mug cake!
Honestly, several of people asked for one and honestly, it wasn’t a bad idea.
It’s like having chocolate and vanilla ice cream flavors to choose from.
Sometimes you’re wanting chocolate, some days you’re wanting vanilla. Same deal for mug cakes, right?
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 that is made in a mug!
It’s great because you don’t need to whip out a bunch of tools to make this simple mug cake.
This vanilla 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 recall how it turned out and/or what temperature or time.
What is different about this vanilla mug cake vs. your chocolate mug cake?
Well, for one, the most obvious: this is vanilla, not chocolate!
Additionally, this mug cake takes slightly longer to “bake” since the batter is thicker than the chocolate mug cake one.
Also, this vanilla version is easier to be built upon (or at least I think so) – add chocolate chips to it, a dollop of peanut butter, a dollop of nutella, anything!
I mean, what you can put on a cupcake, I’m sure you could put in this :)
If you love mug cakes, you may like these different variations on my vanilla mug cake:
- Chocolate mug cake
- Dark chocolate mug cake
- Pumpkin spice mug cake
- Salted caramel apple spice mug cake
The Moistest Very Vanilla Mug Cake
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (31 g) + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (59 ml) + 2 tbsp milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
- In a measuring cup, whisk together milk, vanilla bean paste, and vanilla extract.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour the milk mixture into the center, followed by the melted butter.
- Whisk until no lumps remain and batter is smooth and well combined.
- Pour into a 16-ounce microwave-safe mug.
- Microwave on high for 130 seconds or 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
- Carefully remove and enjoy!
Just so you know, I am a missionary living in Uganda where cakes are just not real… My favorite local place with yummy chocolate cake closed within the last year and I have been so sad… Tonight I had some of my good friends over, and you can know that your recipe is now American, Ugandan, and European approved! We all loved it! Thank you!
just and FYI… I was referring to your CHOCOLATE mug cake… will try this one soon!
That’s so awesome to hear, Lauren!! Thank you for letting me know :) :)
well, now I feel useless. I followed the recipe and all I got was a rubbery lump of uncooked dough that tasted bland :(
Super delicious! I halved the recipe (i wasn’t too hungry) and it still came out perfect. I didn’t have any butter and used olive oil, and I’m gluten free so i used a flour replacement. Delicious! Perfect midnight snack
If you add sprinkles into the mix it becomes a confetti cake perfect for kids
I meant I DID search the comments for the word gooey and nothing turned up! Sorry about that typo!
I have a 1,100 watt microwave and mine turned out gooey. I microwaved for 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Then 45 seconds. Then another 45 seconds. After that I gave up. I used just the vanilla extract and no vanilla bean. I have no baking skills so I have no idea what the problem is… I’m guessing I need to reduce the liquid… Should I reduce the butter, milk, or vanilla? And by how much do you think? I don’t have time to read through the comments, but I didn’t search the comments for the word gooey and it turned up nothing.
I would definitely reduce the milk – if your batter is really runny, then that’s the issue. So maybe slowly drizzle the milk in and once it gets to a nice consistency, not super runny and not super thick, then pop it in the microwave and see what happens! Good luck :)
So I just made this and it was delicious! One of the better mug cakes I’ve had. I made a few changes (some for necessity; some for fun), but it turned out great! I didn’t have vanilla extract (who doesn’t have vanilla extract?), but I did have coconut extract for some reason, so I used that. I also didn’t have vanilla bean paste, but I did have vanilla bean sugar, so I added an extra 1/2 tbsp or so. I also added some pink sprinkles just for kicks. So good!
Oh dear! I made a gluten free version and used straight tapioca flour. If you make it GF use a flour that is a mix of things as mine is a beautifully smelling gelatinous glug. Haha I’ll try again with all purpose flour when I get some more butter!
Hi! My kids and I made these again tonight. They prefer them over the chocolate ones (but I love both flavours!). Super easy to assemble and lovely looking if you do use the vanilla bean paste. Thank you Julie for sharing this recipe.
Hy Julie!
Can I use fruits (e.g. plum) for this recipe? What do you think, the cake will be wet?
Thank you for your answer :)
You could use fruits but I would add them in after the cake has cooked.