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. 👀
I’ve been following your blog for quite a while without commenting, but this mug cake was so good I had to comment! I always found other mug cakes to be too rubbery (because of the egg) and this recipe has my ideal serving size, sweetness and consistency. Thank you so much!
So quick, easy and delicious! Thank you!!
Love this little cake. Thank you.
Needed something sweet after lunch, so I gave this a try. It was great! I used Jiff Chocolate Hazelnut spread for a little extra chocolate. I have sent links of this page to some of my friends for them to give it a try.
This was awesome! I made it with hot chocolate mix & unsweetened almond milk….still came out yummy. This is the best chocolate mug cake I’ve made so far. Leaving out the egg really makes a difference. Thank you so much for the recipe! I can’t wait to try these other ideas people have posted!
I just made this and am enjoying it as I type. Personally, I am a nutella fan but it’s not very budget friendly. However, Jif (the peanut butter brand) now makes hazelnut spread in chocolate and mocha cappachino which are both considerably cheaper and almost tastier. I used the mocha cappachino and it is wonderful.
This was fantastic! I substituted the flour for brown rice flour, substituted almond milk for the milk and I used coconut sugar in place of white sugar, and in spite of all my hippy substitutions it still turned out great. Thanks!
Hi, this is my first post here. I’m a new convert to your site & actually having FUN cooking & trying out your recipes! Made this mug cake tonight & it was easy, tasted great, just enough of a treat. Awesome! I made two – one for hubby & one for me. His had the peanut butter & for mine, I used a large marshmallow. We liked them both but the marshmallow one was really good.
fabulous! didn’t have any cocoa powder so i grated a chunk of solid baking chocolate. worked great!
Wow, this is great! I alsways made this cake with egg, but it is much better without! Thank you!
I have been waiting for a great simple recipe of this to appear as I live by myself and making an entire cake is insane. The only catch for me was that I don’t have a microwave at home.
So I decided I would make a few dry batches (like another comment mentioned)and take them into the office for my chocolate craving post lunch. In order to make them with only water, I added in about a 1/2 Tbsp dry milk and the oil and then put the packages in the refrigerator. At work all I did was dump it all in a mug and add in 2 Tbsp water. This could be a dangerous discovery. Thanks for the recipe!
OMG. This was soooooo yummy! Thank you, thank you, thank you
Thank you so much for this recipe. I tried it with cherry preserves in the center and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Delicious!
I just subbed 4 tablespoons of hot chocolate mix for the cocoa powder & sugar and used Trader Joe’s unsweetened soy mil and it still worked! It was pretty sweet, but still did the trick!
I’ve made this about 5 times now. I usually use Better’n Peanut Butter, almond milk, dark cocoa powder and granulated sugar substitute and it is always delicious. I find 1 minute is perfect for my microwave.
Oh, I also tried it with pumpkin puree instead of PB once and it was good. I bought some fancy preserves today just to try with this cake soon.
Seriously, this is the best thing.