If you’re a fan of single serving desserts like I am, I think you’re going to love this cute little Funfetti Mug Cake. In classic mug cake fashion, this perfectly sized dessert takes only a few minutes to mix together and about 60 seconds to cook. It’s the perfect quick fix for those times when you want just a little something sweet. Plus it’s just cute and cute food makes me smile.
What is Funfetti, Anyway?
Funfetti cake is basically just vanilla cake with rainbow sprinkles. The sprinkles kind of look like confetti, and so it is sometimes called “confetti cake,” but somewhere along the line someone coined the term funfetti (fun + confetti) because, let’s just face it, sprinkles are FUN. And I guess that name stuck! Now you can find “funfetti” everything, from frosting to cake mixes, cookies, and more.
Frosting Options
The recipe below is just for the cake part of the funfetti mug cake. There are a lot of options for the topping, so I wanted to leave that part up to you.
Whipped Cream – It’s really difficult to make just a couple of tablespoons of frosting at once, so I found whipped cream to be the most reasonable option for topping this mug cake. You will want to let the cake cool a bit before adding whipped cream, or else the whipped cream will melt.
Buttercream – You can kind of create a make-shift buttercream frosting by mixing 2 Tbsp room temperature butter, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp milk, and ⅛ tsp vanilla. You’ll want to use a fork to vigorously “whip” the ingredients together until they get sort of aerated. Since it’s such a small amount, it’s tricky and doesn’t turn out quite as well as a normal-sized batch of frosting where you’d use a mixer to whip air into the frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting – Similar to the buttercream frosting above, you can mix together 1 oz. room temperature cream cheese, 1 Tbsp room temperature butter, 1 tsp milk, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, and ⅛ tsp vanilla. Again, you’ll want to try to “whip” it as best you can with a fork until slightly aerated.
Ice Cream – OR you could just go all out and top your mug cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Honestly, that actually sounds like the best choice. ;)
Can I Make This Funfetti Mug Cake Vegan?
Yes, this mug cake should be pretty easy to make vegan. You can use any type of dairy milk alternative in place of the whole milk listed in the recipe, and simply substitute a store-bought vegan butter in place of the dairy butter. It’s also a good idea to check the ingredients on your sprinkles just to make sure those are vegan as well.
What Size Mug to Use
I’m used a small 8oz. mug for my funfetti mug cake and it completely filled the mug and even domed out over the top. I would suggest using a mug anywhere in the 8-12oz. size range for this mug cake.
Funfetti Mug Cake
Servings 1Ingredients
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 1 Tbsp sugar ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder ($0.02)
- 1 tsp rainbow sprinkles ($0.10)
- 3 Tbsp milk ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp butter (melted) ($0.09)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract ($0.07)
Instructions
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and sprinkles to a microwave safe mug (8oz. or larger). Stir until everything is well combined.
- Add the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract to the mug. Stir until a soft batter forms, making sure to scrape all the flour out of the corners of the mug.
- Microwave the mug cake for about 60 seconds, or until it has puffed to about 2-3 times the volume. Cook time will vary with the wattage of your microwave (I used a 1000 watt microwave and 60-70 seconds was perfect).
- Allow the mug cake to cool for a few minutes and then top with your preferred frosting option, or enjoy unfrosted.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
How to Make A Funfetti Mug Cake – Step by Step Photos
First, combine the dry ingredients. Add ¼ cup all-purpose flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, ½ tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp rainbow sprinkles to a mug (8oz. or larger). Stir until everything is really well combined.
Next, add 3 Tbsp milk, 1 Tbsp melted butter, and ¼ tsp vanilla extract.
Stir everything together until it forms a soft batter. Make sure to scrape all the dry flour out of the bottom corners of the mug.
Microwave the mug cake for about 60 seconds, depending on your microwave wattage (I’m using a 1000 watt microwave). The mug cake should puff up to about 2-3 times the volume of the uncooked batter.
Either eat the mug cake as-is or let it cool a few minutes then top with your favorite icing. Whipped cream is an easy option, but a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top would also be sublime. I’ve also listed a couple of options for making small-batch frosting in the blog post above the recipe.
Can this be made with store bought cake mix? If so, how much of each?
Unfortunately, I’ve never tried that so I’m not sure how it would turn out.
Perfect single serve funfetti cake! I love birthday cake more than anything in the world, but I know if I buy a sheet cake I’m taking the entire thing down in a day. I’ve made this numerous times already and it is delicious as is, but the most recent time I was feeling fancy and added a pinch of salt and about an 1/8 tsp of almond extract. Omg it takes it to the next level. Pair this with a good quality buttercream frosting and it hits the spot every time.
Just didn’t come out good for me. Somehow both mushy and crumbly, and didn’t taste great. Definitely have to try again sometime tho
If you use unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to really bring out the cake’s flavor.
How would it be if I added an egg? I can call it breakfast then! I am too bad a cook to know how much of liquids to reduce. Or should I take a larger mug?
I love your recipes and your blog.
I find that eggs tend to make mug cakes very rubbery in texture, so I don’t suggest it. And, as you mentioned, it would alter the moisture balance in the cake, so you’d probably need to end up adjusting all the other ingredients to compensate (which would take a lot of testing to get right). :)
Just made this with the cream cheese frosting – it was great! I used vanilla oat milk since I didn’t have regular milk on-hand, and seems like it didn’t make a difference in the end product. The resulting cake was about the size of a standard cupcake. I love these 1-serving or 2-serving desserts (like your “brownies for 2”) where you’re not left with the predicament of trying not to eat an entire layer cake by yourself on a Sunday afternoon, haha.
do you think oil would work in place of melted butter? that would be simpler and vegan
Yes, I’ve definitely used oil for mug cakes with great success, but in this particular cake, it will make it a little less flavorful.
Another frosting option: Mix a teaspoon or 2 of water or milk with powdered sugar to get a sort of glaze/icing. Add however much powdered sugar it takes to get the consistency you want.
As a kid, and well into my 20’s, funfetti was my favorite kind of cake, and still is for boxed mixes. This makes my day, thanks so much!
Yes!!! I’m a staunch chocolate hater but have always jealously admired the ease of a mug cake, this is a dream come true!
Perfect for me–DH is diabetic and I can’t tell you how much I yearn for cake from time to time. I like this little vanilla cake, even though Beth has others here on the site–the carrot cake is my fave, but this one is faster and easier. I skipped the sprinkles and did fudge icing. An easy one is 1/2 tsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp softened butter, 1 T confectioners sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 1/2 tsp milk, stirred then dribbled on the hot cake. I’ve been doing these kinds of things for decades. Although mug cakes are fairly new, supermarkets have been selling sliced cakes for decades, and icing a single slice is similar.
Are you replacing the vanilla with the almond extract, or adding the almond to the recipe? I’m a big white almond cake fan!!!
Sorry, Janet! I meant to ask if you’ve tried anything like this for your hubby with a sugar substitute. I’m also diabetic, and have been craving cake lately!
Have you tried any GF versions of this (I.e. with coconut flour)?
I haven’t, unfortunately.
I was just looking for something to make with my 4-yr old granddaughter. How perfect! She loves anything with sprinkles.
This worked like magic! Question: can I sprinkle some salt in there, or will that mess up the chemistry that allows this to work?
Yes, you can add a small pinch of salt. :) I actually did that one of the 100 times I tested this one, but found it to be too salty for my taste buds. If you’re using unsalted butter that would probably be good, though!
Can I make this with cake mix? Do you happen to know how much of each ingredient of I do use a mix?
Unfortunately, I’ve never tried that so I don’t know.