Chocolate mug cake and ice cream for one – Need I say more? This mug cake recipe is a five-minute-microwave hero when a chocolate craving hits.
Chocolate Mug Cake with Chocolate Chips
I don’t often have a reason to bake a cake and even if I think, “well, I don’t need a reason!” baking a big cake for myself is just a bad idea. It means I will either eat the entire thing or end up throwing most of it away. Depending on the outcome, it’s either an exercise in excessiveness or wastefulness and so there hasn’t been a lot of homemade cakes in my life.
And then I talked to my best friend who told me people use their microwaves to cook things. Not just to reheat leftovers, or nuke a frozen meal, but real cooking where you combine raw ingredients, toss them in the microwave, and, voila, dinner or dessert (or both!) is served. It was a revelation.
Turns out, my microwave could deliver what I thought was out of reach: a single-serve chocolate mug cake that’s fast and easy. Plus, there’s no risk of a chocolate overdose followed by the day-after self-hate that goes with a regular-sized cake. The moderation is built right in.
A Mug and a Microwave
It really is as simple as combining a few ingredients in a mug and popping it in the microwave, but if you need a visual reference you must watch this Lucky Peach video. Not so much for the detailed steps, but more for the quirkiness of it that might make you smile.
I adapted this same recipe here – I switched a few things up like cream for milk, butter for oil, and a nice dollop of ice cream to finish it off.
Decadence, it seems, is the order of the day.
Ingredients and Recipe Tips
- A 10 to 12-ounce microwave-safe mug
- Melted butter
- An egg
- Heavy cream
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar and unsweetened baking cocoa (using dark cocoa powder makes it extra rich!)
- Vanilla
- Chocolate chips
Combine all of the wet ingredients in the mug. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until the batter is combined.
Technically this is a molten chocolate mug cake but it’s not like a lava cake which has a very liquid center. Instead, you pile the chocolate chips on top of the batter – when the cake is cooking it will puff up and cover the chocolate chips which will melt into the cake. When you dig in there will be small pockets of melted chocolate just under the top of the cake.
You can also just stir the cakes into the batter but you won’t get as many pockets of melted chocolate.
Tips for Cooking the Mug Cake
Don’t overmix the batter. Just stir until it comes together and be sure to scrape the sides of the mug so all of the flour and cocoa powder are mixed in.
I’ve made this mug cake in a few different microwaves and it usually takes 2 minutes. Every microwave is different so I recommend that you start at one minute and then cook it in 30-second increments checking it each time.
The cake is done when the top is fully cooked and springs back when you lightly press it.
The cake will be very hot so let it stand for several minutes before digging in.
This recipe makes one large chocolate mug cake that’s perfect for sharing – or keep it all to yourself!
Happy microwaving,
More Easy Recipes
- Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Microwave Cheddar Cheese Sauce
- Easy Cheese Dip (In the Microwave!)
- 4-Ingredient Banana Mocha Smoothie
Chocolate Mug Cake
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 large mug cake 1x
Description
As the name of this recipe suggests, this single-serve cake is “baked” in a mug in the microwave meaning there are just five minutes between you and a big spoonful of this chocolaty rich dessert. This recipe makes one large mug cake that can easily serve two people.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 egg
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
- 3 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup vanilla bean ice cream (optional)
Instructions
- Combine the butter, cream, egg, vanilla, and salt together in a 12-ounce microwave-safe mug until well combined. Add the flour, sugar and cocoa and stir until just combined. Be sure to scrape the sides of the mug so all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
- Once you’ve mixed the batter, pile the chocolate chips on top of the batter. As the cake cooks, it will puff up and cover the chocolate chips and they will melt into the top of the cake. You can also stir the chocolate chips into the batter if you prefer.
- This cake usually takes two minutes to cook in the microwave, but I recommend starting at one minute and checking it every 30 seconds until it’s fully cooked. The cake is done when the top is cooked and springs back when you lightly press it.
- Remove the mug from the microwave and let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Top the cake with the ice cream, grab a spoon, and dig in.
Notes
The nutrition estimate does not include the ice cream.
- Prep Time: 3 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Microwave
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mug cake
- Calories: 961
- Sugar: 75.6g
- Sodium: 2412.8mg
- Fat: 57.3g
- Saturated Fat: 33.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15.2g
- Trans Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 102.6g
- Fiber: 5.6g
- Protein: 15.2g
- Cholesterol: 297.9mg
Keywords: chocolate mug cake, mug cake recipe
Jyoti Mehrotra says
I just wanted to ask if you could use a oven instead of a microwave
And what can can you use for a substitute for eggs?
April Anderson says
I haven’t tested this one in the oven but I have a chocolate pudding cake that makes two servings you might like plus it doesn’t have eggs. https://www.girlgonegourmet.com/mocha-pudding-cake/
Callista says
Could we use vanilla extract instead of vanilla?
April Anderson says
Yes you can 🙂
The Blogpreneur says
Made this tonight and did quite a bit of tweaks. I did not have heavy cream so I did a 2 tbs butter and 1 tbs milk combo to substitute it which made my cake a bit too salty (my bad). I think I should’ve done 2 tbs milk and 1 tbs butter instead. Overall, it was okay. Could’ve been better (maybe) if I had the heavy cream.
Taylor says
I’m not sure what I did wrong but this did not turn out good for me. The butter was in chunks and I think I microwaved it too long. But I will try again! I am determined to get this right!
★★★
April Anderson says
Hi Taylor – did you melt the butter first?
Taylor says
Yes I did
Olivia says
SOOOOOO GOOOOOOODDDDD!!!!! I really loved this recipe. But I think I microwaved it too long because it was spongey, not gooey.
★★★★
April Anderson says
Hi Olivia – the cake isn’t really gooey, it’s definitely more of a cake texture. If it was too spongey maybe try cooking it a little less.
Rose says
I just made this again for me and my daughter. It’s our favourite mug cake recipe. Turns out perfect every time! Great recipe, thanks so much!
★★★★★