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Because it’s Friday and we need our fix…5 Minute Molten Chocolate Mug Cake. You don’t need to be a skilled baker to bake up these deliciously EASY chocolate mug cakes. This deep-dish style cake in a mug requires just one coffee mug, simple pantry staple ingredients, and takes almost no effort or time to make. There are hints of vanilla, swirls of melted chocolate, and every bite is truly delicious. Enjoy this personal-sized cake warm, right out of the microwave, with a scoop of ice cream.
The entire world is baking right now, it’s impressive and exciting. I love so much that you all are making the best of this time at home…and baking up a storm. I’ve said it before, but it’s so fun to see all the HBH recipes being made. And the desserts are without a doubt the most popular.
But the thing that I’ve come to realize? Some of us don’t need a strawberry cobbler that serves eight people. Or a three-layer cake that feeds a twenty-person birthday party. Or two dozen homemade Somoas cookies. Nope, most of us don’t need all those servings. Though I personally love a little leftover dessert…you know for late-night snacking and TV watching.
Sometimes, like on Friday or Saturday night, we just need a rich, heavy on the chocolate, warm, and melty piece of chocolate cake…with a scoop of ice cream too.
Yes, sometimes that is just what we all need most.
Enter these cute little warm chocolate-filled mug cakes. They require no oven and instead are baked in the microwave and ready in just about five minutes.
Truth is, I’m not usually someone who uses the microwave. In fact, for many years I actually didn’t have a microwave in my house. I don’t often find many uses for it, but sometimes it’s a handy kitchen appliance. And you know something? It does have the ability to create a delicious chocolate mug cake within just 5 minute’s time. If there was ever a reason to own a microwave, this cake recipe is it.
The quick details.
This cake comes together in five minutes tops, so the details are pretty darn quick.
Start with your wet ingredients. I like to use coconut oil as the oil for these cakes. Melt it in the microwave in the mug you plan to “bake” your cake in. Once melted, whisk in a single egg, a few tablespoons of milk, a splash of vanilla, and honey…to sweeten things up. I personally like to use honey as my sweetener as I’ve found it creates a perfectly soft, tender, and moist cake. But maple syrup or granulated sugar work well too.
Once the wet ingredients are combined. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. At this point, the cake is almost ready for “baking”.
But I have a couple secrets.
First, coffee. Now, if you don’t enjoy coffee you can use an equal amount of water, but I will say that you really don’t taste the coffee. It only highlights the flavors of the chocolate and creates a slightly “gooey” cake. You want to swirl the coffee into the batter, not fully incorporating it. This is key and keeps the cake from drying out.
Second, chocolate chunks…and a generous helping too. The chunks are a must and act as the “molten” layer to these mug cakes. You will add them to the center of the batter. As the cake bakes, the chocolate sinks in, melting as it sinks. It leaves you with a puddle of warm melted chocolate at the bottom of your cake. With every bite, a little of that melted chocolate is scooped up with the cake.
And it is delicious.
Key for success.
Eat this warm, right after cooking. This isn’t a cake you want to eat leftover, it’s meant as a quick chocolate fix. It should be eaten right away and preferably with ice cream on top.
Nothing is better than warm cake with vanilla ice cream. SO. GOOD.
I will say that that every microwave is different, so the cooking time is a little tricky. That said, I tested this on two different microwaves and found two minutes to be just the right amount of time. You may need to adjust slightly by fifteen seconds, give or take.
So with all that, have I convinced you that you need a chocolate mug cake in your life tonight?
This is the best afternoon pick me up…warm after dinner dessert…or late-night snack with a side of TV watching. Hey, don’t judge, this is life in quarantine. It’s weird, and the normal “rules” of life just don’t apply. So enjoy your cake…any time of day you like!
See you all tomorrow for another Cocktail Saturday.
Looking for other quick desserts? Bake these up!
Crinkle Top Chocolate Peanut Butter Skillet Blondies
Coconut Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread
5 ingredient Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies
watch the how to video:
5 Minute Molten Chocolate Mug Cake
Servings: 1 large mug
Calories Per Serving: 1080 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil/canola oil)
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-4 tablespoons honey, maple syrup, or granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon brewed coffee
- 1 ounce semi-sweet chocolate chunks, very roughly chopped
Instructions
- 1. Melt the coconut oil in a (10-12 ounce) microwave-safe mug. Whisk in the egg, milk, vanilla, and honey until combined. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, stirring until just combined. 2. Spoon the coffee into the center of the batter and gently swirl it in. Do not fully incorporate the coffee. Place the chocolate chunks in the center of the batter. 3. Microwave on full power for 1 minute 45 second to 2 minutes (I always do 2 minutes). Dig your spoon deep into the cake to spoon up melted chocolate with every bite. Serve with ice cream. ENJOY.
Notes
To Oven Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2 cup oven safe ramekin/mug or 2 muffin tins. Add the batter and bake 22-25 minutes.
Microwave: every microwave is very different, so results may vary slightly. I have a 1200 watt microwave and found 2 minutes to be the perfect cooking time. You may need to cook 1 minute 45 seconds or 2 minutes 15 seconds. Start with 2 minutes.
Coffee: if you prefer to not use coffee, use an equal amount of warm water.
This post was originally published on April 24, 2020
i would love to try this recipe, but I don’t have a microwave ! Do you think this works also in a normal oven ?
thanks for your suggestions8
Hi Huemer,
Yes you can make this in the oven, all of the instructions are in the notes section. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
To Oven Bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 2 cup oven safe ramekin/mug or 2 muffin tins. Add the batter and bake 22-25 minutes.
Oh Tieghan these look amazing!! Unfortunately I don’t have a microwave, can they be made in the oven? I know that kind of defeats the whole’ quick dessert’ thing, but I’d still love to make them! Thanks for all your amazing recipes, they ALWAYS turn out amazing.
I just made this as a Sunday night treat, before the week begins again!! Used canola oil, regular sugar, almond milk, a large egg and semi sweet chocolate chips. It turned out great!! I put vanilla ice cream on top. My microwave is 1100 watts and I cooked it for 1 minute 40 seconds. Very flexible recipe so don’t be afraid to use what you have on hand!!
I am so glad you loved this one! Thank you! xTieghan
I don’t have a microwave because our old one just broke but this looks fun and easy to make and i think that i should try this soon when we get our new microwave!?☺??♡
Absolutely! I hope you love this! Thank you! xTieghan
I’m sorry, but I wasted 2 eggs on this “recipe”. Both times I ended up with a mug of rubber that was barely reminiscent of chocolate. There are real and better versions if whatever this is, out there.
Hi Patty! I am so sorry to hear that. Is there any questions I could help you with? I hope you try some other recipes on my blog!
iii i i i i didnt like it
Hi Tani! I am so sorry to hear that! Is there anything I can help you with so it turns out better next time! Please let me know!
The recipe is amazing BUT why doesn’t it shock anyone that there’s so many recipes on this site named “single lady” ?!! You don’t need to be single nor a lady to appreciate a solo treat.
Yes, this is “just” a recipe and probably not willing to harm but it’s all the small things we see/hear/read daily that encourages men vs women stereotypes. We all -including me- need to be aware of our sayings’s influence.
Sorry for the mistakes if there is any, I’m not from an english speaking country
Hi Johanna! Thank you so much for your comment. What I mean by single lady in this caption is that the recipe only makes one serving, making it perfect for one person. I did not mean to offend anyone in anyway and I apologize. I hope you can see past this misunderstanding and enjoy some of the recipes on my blog!
Is the coffee optional?
If you dont’ like coffee you can omit it. Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this!
If you don’t like coffee you can omit it.
This was very good. I didn’t put the coffee on top but did put whipped cream. Really hit the spot, kinda full now:). I will try cutting the recipe in half next time! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds delish!! Thanks Linda!
I just tried this cake which looked so decadent for my busy weekday. i was craving dessert and this quick microwave cake looked great! However, I have to say, i was quite disappointed. I did everything according to the recipe but the cake turned out to be a jell-o like consistency; gooey and bland. I didn’t do anything different except substitute the coconut milk for regular milk and the coconut oil for butter. My microwave was 1250 watt so I warmed it for a minute and 20 seconds rather that 2 minutes. I don’t think i did anything incorrectly but it was really sad to have to throw away food (dessert especially)! Please let me know if I was doing anything incorrectly.
HI! I am SO sorry for the trouble! I have found that a lot of people microwaves are very different and can produce extremely differently results. That said, this is supposed to be a very goey cake, so maybe it was just a little gooier than you where thinking. Please let me know if you have any questions or how I might be able to help. Thank you!
Hi, this looks really yummy and I really want to try it but I was wondering if it was possible to sub the coffee with something else?
I just made this and it’s delicious, I’ve tried and failed at numerous mug cake recipes, this worked 🙂
It made a HUGE cake, I shared with my partner and the left overs are in the fridge for tomorow!
I also had to modify your recipe as is isn’t have all the ingredients. I only had 1tbs brown sugar but it was still perfectly sweet. I used rice bran oil as it was more convenient, and normal light cow’s milk. And I just sprinkled instant coffee granules on top and poured on some hot water. And had just 1tbs milk choc chips.
Nevertheless, it was really very very yummy 🙂
THANK YOU! So happy you love this recipe! Happy Valentines Day! 🙂
The pictures looked promising, so had to try it. It came out rubbery, wastage of time and ingredients.
I am sorry it did not work out for you. How long did you end up cooking it?
Cooked it for 1 minute 25 seconds.
Hmm, I am wondering if that was too long. You microwave might be stronger, which would have made the cake rubbery.
Your pix looked soo good I just had to try it! Unfortunately I think I kept it in for too long. My microwave is only 850 watts and usually has to work a lot harder than others… So I kept it for… 3 minutes! (I know i know)
But you know what while it was a bit extra chewy… The taste was pretty good! I ate it all up haha
I make this so often for my kid. Love it being so simple yet satisfying
SO happy it is a hit! THANKS! 🙂