This fudgy and comforting individual mug cake will be ready in no time to satisfy your sweet tooth.
My chocolate cravings are the strangest thing. They can occur at the completely unexpected moments – first thing in the morning, in the middle of the night, during business meetings, while doing yoga, or in the middle of an ugly cry. Luckily, though, it’s usually nothing that this quick chocolate mug cake can’t fix.
The cake
This spongy cake has a perfect chocolate flavor, and its secret lies in slightly under-cooking it, which yields a lava cake with gooey molten spots all around. Not only is it delicious, but it’s incredibly quick and easy to make. It takes minimal preparation, and no oven preheating is needed; instead, it’s cooked in the microwave.
Don’t stop reading just because I said microwave.
I’ll be the first to agree that microwave cakes usually aren’t that tasty, so it was a challenge for me to come up with a recipe that actually works. I use melted chocolate and butter which, in my opinion, yield better results than most other recipes that call for cocoa powder.
What’s really gonna make or break this cake for you is the cooking duration and heat level. Microwave heat is strong and uneven, so it’s not always easy to know when the cake is done and not overbaked. If your microwave is one of those that gets really hot or uneven, start with microwaving the cake for less than the one minute suggested in the recipe.
More Super Quick Recipes:
- No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Rocky Road
- Chocolate Biscoff Truffles
- 5-Ingredient Individual Apple Crumble
- Peanut Butter Fudge
- 40 g/1.4 oz dark chocolate , coarsely chopped (or 1/4 cup chocolate chunks)
- 1/3 stick (40 g/1.4 oz) unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons (40 g/1.4 oz) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons (18 g/0.6 oz) all-purpose flour
- Place chocolate and butter in a small heatproof bowl, then set in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds. Take it out and stir, then continue to microwave in 20-second intervals, stirring between each interval until melted and smooth.
- Add sugar to the bowl and mix until combined. Add egg and whisk vigorously until completely smooth. Lastly, add flour and mix just until combined and lump-free, but don’t over mix.
- Scrape batter into your favorite mug (the mug should be bigger in capacity than the batter to avoid overflowing). Microwave for 1 minute at 700-750 W. If it’s undercooked, heat for a few seconds longer. I like it when it’s not fully cooked and there are still molten parts. Let stand for 2 minutes, then dig in.
14 Comments
Emma
January 5, 2016 at 11:54 pmThanks for this! I’ve been looking for a mug cake for ages but most I’ve seen don’t look as lovely as this one.
Shiran
January 7, 2016 at 10:02 amThank you so much, Emma! 🙂
Max
November 16, 2021 at 10:22 pmSO GOOD thank you so much
Laila
January 6, 2016 at 9:31 pmHaha, this is so cute. It’s like the perfect indulgence for a lonely Friday night or something. Of which I have too many. Now I know what to do 😉
Shiran
January 7, 2016 at 10:01 amIt’s the perfect friend for those lonely nights! 🙂
Nbh
July 5, 2019 at 6:16 pmI’ve tried tons of mug cakes and this is THE BEST I have ever found! And I love how few ingredients it requires! Thank you for sharing
Misha
August 8, 2019 at 10:06 amSo happy that I have found such an amazing blog with lots of yummy recipes.
Taliesha
May 24, 2020 at 7:23 amThis recipe didnt even taste like cake its more like a pudding
Mia
September 17, 2020 at 4:47 pmIt was AMAZING! I had no trouble making it at all!
Vishva
February 1, 2021 at 5:49 amCan we use any other alternative for eggs ? And also what if we use salted butter?
Can wait to try the recipe !!
Shiran
February 2, 2021 at 9:22 amSorry Vishva, but I have no experience baking with egg substitutes. I don’t like to use salted butter because the cake can turn out too salty.
Shelby Curtis
February 25, 2021 at 7:13 pmWhat are the macros?
Brittany
June 15, 2021 at 12:05 amOmg this recipe is spot on!!!! I had mini chocolate chips on hand and used that. I did taste the sweetness and added a little more sugar than recommended but that was to taste. I also didn’t have any unsalted butter but it came out just fine. This recipe tastes like the molten lava cake from carnival cruise line! That was the taste I was going for and this definitely delivered. I followed the recommended cooking time of one minute, let it sit, and it is perfect! Right amount of cake, lava ratio. Thank you for this recipe!!!!!
Aria Lee
November 23, 2021 at 10:44 pmThis was so freaking good. I was craving brownies/lava cakes, but didn’t want to make a whole batch. So this mug cake was perfect and was probably just as good as any lava cake I’ve had from the oven. I added a dash of vanilla to the batter and topped the cake with vanilla ice cream at the end. I will definitely be making this again.