This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my full disclosure for details.
Hi Bold Bakers!
With a brand new 5-week-old, we have to take all the precautions while distancing at home. So that means our film crew is back to being just my husband, Kevin, and me for now! Juggling a baby, having limited ingredients to hand, and small amounts of those said ingredients, I thought what better time to share with you my Best-Ever Chocolate Mug Cake recipe.
When it comes to mug recipes, I pride myself on knowing a thing or two, having over 100 Mug Cakes & Meals — so you know this is going to truly be the Best-Ever!
Everyone needs a little sweet treat once in a while and now is no exception. Plus, I’m betting that you have these mug cake ingredients already and can make this mug cake today! And if you have children out of school right now I’m sure your wheels are turning thinking this is a great recipe for small (and idle) hands.
It is!
What Makes This Chocolate Mug Cake The Best
This is truly a ‘Best-Ever’ recipe because it originated from my Best-Ever Chocolate Cake recipe! Yes, with my limited math skills and lots of time on my hands I divided my chocolate cake recipe down to this cupcake-sized mug cake. I mean, I love that cake so it makes perfect sense I would use the same one just on a smaller scale for a microwave mug cake.
Not only that, but by microwaving a cake it steams instead of getting dry baked like in an oven, leading to a wonderfully moist chocolate cake worthy of “Best-Ever.”
What You Need To Make The Best-Ever Chocolate Mug Cake
4 pieces of kitchen equipment are all you need to make a microwave mug cake, with a 5th optional one:
- Microwaveable Mug
- Fork
- Set of Measuring Spoons
- Microwave (or Oven)
- Piping Bag with Nozzle (Optional, but great if you want to get fancy!)
How to Make A Chocolate Mug Cake
The beauty of a mug cake is you mix, microwave, and enjoy all out of the one mug! Here’s an overview of what you’ll need to do. For measurements, you can get those near the bottom of the page.
- In your microwaveable mug, stir together the dry ingredients with a fork.
- Next, add in the wet ingredients and whisk together with a fork until you have a smooth batter.
- Microwave on high for roughly 45 seconds – 1 minute.
- Decorate with my Chocolate Fudge Frosting and sprinkles before enjoying. Best eaten when freshly made.
I honestly don’t think it could get much simpler — make sure you watch the how-to video to see how it’s done! Then, check out/print the recipe with full measurements down below.
Gemma’s Pro Tips for Making the Best-Ever Chocolate Mug Cake
- Take care not to over mix the mug cake as it can toughen the cake
- Don’t over-microwave! These only need seconds to cook so check after 45 seconds and go from there
- Make sure your mug has no metal or metallic paint on it that will react in the microwave
- If you don’t have a microwave you can bake the mug cake at 350°F (180°C) for roughly 10 minutes
- If you don’t eat eggs you can substitute them using my Egg Substitute Chart
How to Store a Chocolate Mug Cake
So, microwave mug cakes are best eaten once they have cooled from the microwave. Store it at room temperature for 24 hours if there is any leftover, but I’m sure that’s highly unlikely!
Bonus Tip: Mix up the batter beforehand and that can be held in the fridge for 48 hours and microwaved as you wish.
Don’t forget to buy a copy of my NEW Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day Cookbook!
Make More Mug Meals!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Best-Ever Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon oil (canola, veg, sunflower)
- 1 small egg*
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a microwaveable mug mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt with a fork.
- Add in the milk, oil, egg & chocolate chips and whisk until you have a smooth cake batter.
- Microwave your cake for roughly 45 seconds to 1 minute or until the cake has risen and is firm to the touch. Take care not to overcook as it will toughen the cake. (The timing is based on my microwave which is 1200 WATTS so check the wattage of your microwave because your timing may vary.)
- Once cooked, top with a little fudge frosting, whipped cream or ice-cream, some sprinkles, and enjoy!!
こんにちは！日本語をはなせますか。（Do you speak Japanese?) I know… pointless question.
Is it okay if I leave out the chocolate chips or are they obligatory? I want to make sure I don’t get anything wrong… I’m sort of a perfectionist, if you’ve guessed. I am only 12, though😅and the kitchen is always busy, so I just make mug meals or else I would be yelled at… because everything else takes a lot of time. Thank you very much! ありがとう御座います！
さようなら！
-リン (Rin)💮
I take snack bags (the zippered kind) and mix up several packets of the dry ingredients at one time. Then, when I want a mug cake, all I have to do is dump a packet into my mug, add the wet ingredients and microwave. It is sort of like “buying” a box of those mug cakes put out by Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines only cheaper and much much better!!
That looks so good but I was wondering. Since all mugs are not the same size what size mug did you use? Or what sizes would work?
Your correct, a mug cake is exactly what I need. As far as leftovers, don’t count on any.
I only had a lg. egg. I used almond butter instead of oil 1 T, 1T milk. It was delicious. Your son will have a story to tell about his birth year when he gets older. Happy to know you are away and all safe. Thanks again for what you do for others. Be well.
I made this today and the cake turned out to be chewy.I microvawed it for 1.5 minutes but in some places it was undercooked. I used 3 tbsp of your buttermilk substitute for a small egg.It turned out to be sour.Wondering what went wrong
i like how you give recipes that are fast and easy using items that are normally stocked in a kitchen thank-you! I needed a pick me up this week.
Hi Gemma, Did I miss the directions for the chocolate chips or are they just for garnish. Thanks for all your great recipes.
every time I make a mug cake it doesn’t work so I decided to do one of your whiles in quarantine and it worked so well but it was really weird my worked well but then when my sister made it did not work very well at all as some parts were cooked and some were raw and we put it on for the same amount of time
I really love all your recipes.. There are so easy and can be made just in a short amount of time.. I made this cake and it was absolutely delicious…
how long do i microwave it if the wattage of my microwave is 800 watts ??