There comes a time in every girl’s life when she needs a chocolate mug cake.
Perhaps it’s one of those days where you just want to curl up on the couch all day and watch bad Lifetime movies about stolen babies (ladies, you know what I’m talking about).
Or maybe you just ran four miles for the first time in your entire life and unless you counteract it immediately with a dessert, the universe will be thrown out of balance and implode, and the entire 2012 apocalypse will be all your fault.
Or maybe it’s your birthday and everyone forgot so there was no cake. Okay, sorry, that last one was kind of depressing. Anyway, my point is, sometimes you just need a bite of cake to make things right. Just a bite.
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Love peanut butter and chocolate? Check out my No-Bake Pretzel Peanut Butter Bars or Peanut Butter Fluff Cups.
What Makes This Mug Cake The Best?
I was never a fan of mug cakes because all of the versions I’ve tried have turned out rubbery and just not at all delightful. Until I found this recipe, which for me is the one. This is why I like it:
- It’s not overly sweet. (If you want it sweeter, add more sugar or some chocolate chips.)
- It’s small. Other recipes I’ve tried have just been too big and they make me feel like I just over indulged. This one is just a few, rich, delightful bites.
- There is no egg. I find that eggs make mug cakes rubbery or spongey and they also mean that you can’t scale the recipe in size. If you want a small cake, you can’t just split an egg in half, right?
- There are a lot of variations. Add chocolate chips, use nutella, jam, or caramel sauce in place of the peanut butter, vegan-ize it by using soy milk in place of cow’s milk… lots of options.
Don’t be tempted to leave out the peanut butter (or jam, or whatever you drop in the center) because it helps keep the cake moist and rich. It simply wouldn’t be the same without it.
Make it a Vegan (Dairy-Free Mug Cake)
With one simple swap, this Chocolate Mug Cake can be made vegan. Simply swap the milk with your favorite non-dairy milk and you’re good to go! Life is good.
So, shout out to Jessie at Made From Scratch for experimenting with mug cakes until finding this perfect mix. You just saved the universe from imploding!
“The One” Chocolate Mug Cake
Servings 1Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder ($0.03)
- 2 tsp sugar ($0.01)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder ($0.02)
- a pinch salt ($0.01)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 2 Tbsp milk ($0.04)
- 1 Tbsp peanut butter ($0.13)
Instructions
- In your mug, stir together the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and a pinch of salt). Make sure there are no clumps.
- Stir in the vegetable oil and milk until the mixture is smooth. Drop a tablespoon of peanut butter into the center and push it down into the batter.
- Microwave on high for one minute and then enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
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Love microwave mug cakes? Check out my Funfetti Mug Cake, or Cinnamon Nut Swirl Mug Cake!
How to Make a Chocolate Mug Cake – Step By Step Photos
Add 2 Tbsp flour, 1 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp baking powder, and a pinch of salt to a microwave-safe mug. Stir them together very well.
Add 2 Tbsp milk and 1 Tbsp oil, then stir until it forms a batter.
Drop a dollop of peanut butter (about 1 Tbsp) down into the center of the batter.
Microwave on high for one minute and you’ve got yourself a cake with a melty, peanut butter center! The cake turns out extra light and fluffy and the peanut butter kind of sinks in as the cake rises up around it. So magical!
Every bite has a light cake and a gooey, rich bit of melty peanut butter. Absolutely perfect.
And then five or six delightful bites later, you’re done and you don’t feel like you do when you “accidentally” eat a whole pint of ice cream. …not that that ever happens. 👀
If you want any hint of sweetness, this recipe isn’t for you. I don’t like overly sweet desserts, but needs twice as much sugar, especially with the peanut butter adding salt. Also it’s designed for tiny mugs. Yes, the description says it’s a smaller portion but it’s really minuscule. Double it and double the sugar too.
I use this recipe ALL THE TIME. Like, on a weekly/bi-weekly basis, because that’s just how often I crave cake and this is the most convenient solution (maybe not the best solution for my health but I digress). I tweak the recipe (less peanut butter, more sugar, generous milk/oil and baking powder) and find that it improves the dryness of the texture. The original is really not very sweet at all. I also smash up whatever chocolate I have on hand and put it in, since I usually don’t have chocolate chips available. The base recipe isn’t perfect, but the combination of ingredients is so easy and tasty that this deserves 5 stars.
Mine came out kinda dry. Don’t know if it was because I let it sit too long before eating it but the flavor was delicious
Just made this cause me and my boyfriens was craving desert anything I couldn’t believe my eyes, they turned out pretty good and only took 2 minutes to make it, I mean talk about a miracle… Thanks a lot.
Hooray!
Forgot to put the sugar in. You also have very small mugs.
Oh no! Luckily it’s a small batch that you can try again.
I like the idea of adding peanut butter! I’ll give this a try and if turns as good as yours I’ll add it to our post:
https://thefoodellers.com/en/chocolate-mud-cake-in-a-mug-recipe
Thanks
I had used Chatfields premium carob powder and kalot superfood almond butter with almonds, cinnamon and walnuts as substitutes. I like the not so overbearing chocolate & sweet but the texture is throwing me off, i think it’s because of the almond butter. Its a mixture of thick, not brownie thick, kind of moist?, and dry.
I ended up dripping some vanilla extract on top to help moisten and give some flavor.
The chopped walnuts mixed in did help with the flavor but not too much.
Next time i may go for a jam in the center and chopped strawberries and walnuts.
Happy to hear the subs worked for you Taylor! I love carob too!
My BFF was messaging me about craving dessert, but not up to spending either a lot of time on her tired feet, or a lot of ingredients. I knew she’d had a bad week, and loves PB and chocolate as much as I do, so I went on a hunt and found this! She is still moaning (too tired) but I am moaning too – with delight! I had to make it – scribbled it down on the back of an envelope (no room in my tiny kitchen for the laptop) and bing bang boom – dessert! I probably could have put it back in for a couple seconds – mine came out softer – more fudge-brownie than cake – but since I prefer brownies anyway I am delighted! I did add some chocolate chips (never too much chocolate for this girl!), and they melted into the batter. Yum! That envelope is now magneted to the fridge for next time :-)
Following you on Pinterest now! Thanks :-)
It’s so easy and good in a pinch!
I have been looking for the perfect mug cake, you are SO right about them normally turning out rubbery. Gross!! I CANT WAIT to try this tomorrow!! Too full from your amazing Mexican Red Lentil Stew I made tonight for the first time. Love the website and budget breakdowns,
1,000 thank you’s!
Let us know Kara!
I used hot fudge instead of peanut butter and cranked up the sugar to a full tbsp. Omg, amazing!
I dropped a scoop of nutella in the middle and omg it tastes amazing!
Okay.
Have candida overgrowth, and haven’t done sugar for about 8 months. I also lay very low on grains. So, I substituted a packet of stevia for the sugar and used garbanzo flour. Also used almond butter instead of peanut butter. So delicious!
Best cake in a cup recipe EVER!!! I add lots of chocolate chips, which I think gives the recipe an even better consistency. But overall…five stars!! I make it all the time (which is actually probably not a good thing)!
The cake came out absolutely perfect! I enjoyed every bite. I microwaved mine for 1minute and 10seconds. My fiance couldn’t eat his because he was full after dinner,so i ate his too,lol! I drizzled some chocolate frosting on top. Just amazing!
thanks for posting re: leaving out peanut butter, Laura– I was wondering if could get away with that
I made this tonight…doubled it. However, I didn’t have any cocoa powder. Instead I used two packets of hot chocolate mix….chocolate milk instead of regular….added a little vanilla and extra hersheys syrup. Left out the peanut butter. It turned out really well.