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. 👀
FABULOUS …. thank you. I’m off to try this NOW
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I like this recipe but most of the kids I made it for said it wasn’t sweet enough :( … However, I only buy “natural” peanut butter without sugar added so, that may be why. I experimented by using one tablespoon of sugar instead of 2 tsp. and it turned out great! My friend added Jam to the cake batter instead of peanut butter and she said it made up for the little sugar! I will try that next time. Also, I am dairy-free and used water instead of milk (didn’t have an alternative milk on hand) and surprisingly, it was wonderfully fluffy and perfect!!!
Great recipe, made for a fun experiment with my younger daughter. Very moist, and delicious!!
Used applesauce instead of oil – turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe, thanks for it and for adding the in-process pictures! I realised that I had to add a bit more milk so that it would turn out well, because the tablespoons you’re using are apparently a bit smaller than mine.
one mug chocolate cake has been one of the most failed attempts so far in my kitchen. I am surely going to try this one and hopefully save the planet from exploding :) thanks for this recipe
So easy! So tasty! So perfect for after dinner! I’ve never made a mug cake before – though I’ve seen them many times before… your recipe intrigued me. I’m going to mix up the dry ingredients in a few individual snack size baggies so I can whip this up after dinner in a blink of an eye! Fresh chocolate cake right out of the oven! Thanks for this tasty, easy finish!
Looks AMAZING Beth! Hmmm…if you used a large marshmallow and topped it with cherry jam, would that constitute a personal mug black forest cake?
Some recipes call for a chocolate cookie crust on top of everything else, but a baked pie shell works just as well. Use what you like best. The baked shell will lower the richness factor by a little bit.
Chocolate topping
I don’t really keep cocoa around the house, but I have successfully turned this into a molasses cookie by cutting the sugar just a tad, dropping in molasses, and substituting 1 tsp of ginger powder and 1 tsp of powdered clove for the 2 tsp of chocolate. You can keep the peanut butter in there; it’s still delicious :)
I found your amazing blog last weekend and this is the third recipe of yours I’ve made this week. The first two were delicious and this – despite my creative substitution to make up for the lack of cocoa powdwer – was no exception. The hardest part of this recipe is resisting the urge to make and devour a second cake.
I added raspberry preserves instead of peanut butter. yum!
Yum! I used a tsp of cinnamon instead of the cocoa powder and it was fantastic. Gonna try adding some vanilla extract next time :)
Okay, I’ve gained 5 lbs since discovering this cake three weeks ago. I make one almost every night, I can’t stop. It’s too good. Thanks for all of your great recipes and work that goes into sharing with us. Much appreciated.