How to Make a Mug Cake the Easiest Way Possible

This is the best guide for learning how to make a mug cake! Get basic ingredients you’ll need on hand (and a recipe!) plus common substitutions.

Mug cakes. I have a love/hate relationship with them. Love because they are so stinkin’ delicious, and hate because I want more.

But that is the whole reason to make a mug cake, isn’t it? So you don’t pig out on an even bigger dessert? That’s mine, anyway.

Another popular reason is because they take such a short amount of time to make, especially if you want one serving . . . no going through the motions to make an entire cake. You avoid messy cleanup.

And you can raid your cabinet for ingredients as opposed to driving to get something sweet. I love it.

What is a Mug Cake?

It’s is a single serving cake made in a ceramic mug and then cooked in the microwave. That’s it!

The whole purpose is that you can make a quick dessert with ingredients you likely already have AND that you can do it without an oven.

How to Make a Mug Cake

This is where you get to raid your cabinet and see what you have to make your mug cakes. You’re always going to need the following ingredients so I recommend having them on hand should the need for sweets arise:

1. Flour
2. Sugar
3. Baking powder (if you don’t use self rising flour)
4. Salt (enhances the flavor)
5. Flavoring – vanilla, cocoa powder, cinnamon
6. Butter or oil

There are other optional ingredients as well such as eggs, milk, buttermilk, vinegar, and then toppings. Some mug cake recipes even use cake mix.

Besides ingredients, you’ll obviously need the mug and then a microwave. Mug cakes are made in a microwave and not in the oven. There’s no specific kind of mug you need to use – just one that is microwave safe.

Basic Mug Cake Recipe

Are you wondering how to make the best mug cake ever? I have a basic recipe for you below, with two variations (vanilla and chocolate). You’ll use this base recipe and then experiment from there.

Now that you know the basics, let’s move onto some tips!

Tips for Making Mug Cakes

1. Don’t overfill the mug. Fill the mug halfway up at most so that the batter doesn’t spill over the sides when cooking. Grab a bigger mug if you need to!
2. Microwave the shortest time the recipe calls for to start. The cake should start pulling away from the sides and the top should look somewhat dry and be spongy. If it’s not, keep going at 15-second intervals until it’s done.
3. Small to medium eggs are best for a single size (if your recipe calls for them). If you only have large eggs, either make two cakes (double the dry ingredients) or just use the yolk.
4. Don’t worry about looks. Your cake is probably going to sink somewhat, and that’s okay. Mug cakes typically don’t look like the pictures because those are styled for a photo shoot. The point is that your cake in a cup is delicious!

Common Substitutions

I often get asked about substituting ingredients in mug cakes, and here are some common themes:

1. If you don’t have self rising flour, you’ll need baking powder. If you don’t have baking powder, use 1/4 the amount of baking soda. But then I would also substitute the milk (or add) with buttermilk, sour cream, or yogurt. You need something acidic to making the baking soda work and make the cakes rise.
2. If you don’t have an egg, find a recipe that doesn’t contain an egg (there are many). OR try 1/4 cup applesauce.
3. Cake mix is great if you have a box of it and don’t want to use it for an entire cake. In fact, you can keep a box of cake mix on hand and make your own mug cakes on the regular, when you get a craving!

Topping for Mug Cakes

There are a lot of things you can put on the top of mug cakes, but here are my favorite options:

1. Whipped cream
2. Decorative sprinkles
3. Powdered sugar (best on chocolate)
4. Cream cheese frosting (1.5 oz cream cheese, 1/8 c confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 1/2 T milk)
5. Glaze (1/8 c confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 1/2 T milk)
6. Marshmallow fluff
7. Chocolate chips (white, dark, or milk)
8. Sugar/cinnamon (1 T sugar, 1/4 t cinnamon)

Just about anything sweet will work. Are you READY fo a recipe?

Mug Cake

This is the best guide for learning how to make a mug cake! Get basic ingredients you'll need on hand (and a recipe!) plus common substitutions. Nutritional info is for the vanilla cake.

4.83 from 17 votes

Save Saved! Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute minute

Total Time: 3 minutes minutes

Servings: 1 person

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp butter melted
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 Tbsp milk
• 2 1/2 Tbsp milk chocolate chips optional

Instructions

• Place the butter into your mug and microwave about 30 – 40 seconds or until just melted.
• Add remaining ingredients – choosing between a vanilla or chocolate cake. Mix well with a fork.
• Microwave 60 – 90 seconds. Start with 60 seconds and then check. You’ll know it’s done when the cake starts to pull away from the sides of the mug and the top is dry.

Nutrition

Calories: 526kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 421mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 24g

What are your favorite mug cake recipes and have you tried any of these above? Let me know in the comments!