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. 👀
This was absolutely wonderful. Sweet, chocolatey and salty peanutty at the same time and so easy!
I did not have flour, so I substituted with buttermilk pancake mix instead, it came out awesome!!!! Thank you!!!!
I just made this deliciousness tonight. Oh my gawd it was so good. I used gluten free flour because my kid is celiac, and I added chocolate chips. It was also surprisingly large and filling.
I think this recipe is great as-is, but after playing with it on and off several times, I’ve started using coconut oil for the oil, and vanilla almond milk for the milk. It makes the texture come out perfect, plus the added sugar in the vanilla almond milk makes it just sweet enough. And of course there is the bonus of being dairy-free. :)
I will switch up the oil next time. That sounds good. I used almond milk to make it vegan and it was great
This is PERFECT!!!!!!!! So easy to make! And it is the perfect amount for just a little sweet craving without feeling gross and eating a whole cake.
Good, but needs tweaking, in my opinion. It’s got a lot going for it, so with some more sugar and chocolatey goodness, it’ll be perfect!
Nutella next time. Extra couple tsp’s of sugar.
Three stars as-is, but making it a tad more sinful will knock it outta the park!
I thought the texture was very nice, but I found the cake extremely short on sugar. I would definitely use this recipe again, but with more sugar. Perhaps brown sugar would make it brownie like!
That sounds good!
Was craving something chocolatey, but didn’t want a huge amount. This definitely hit the spot! I used whole wheat flour (I’m pretty much out of all purpose), and it tasted just fine.
Just made this with no cocoa powder as I’ve given up chocolate for lent! Great recipe, just added another half tbsp flour, splash extra milk and drop of vanilla essence – was delicious! Used strawberry jam instead of peanut butter too! Thanks!
I found this site yesterday & now I’m back after doing a search for egg-less mug cake- this site is apparently my new home. Anyhow, it’s 1am, I’m out of eggs & milk, so I subbed yogurt (recipe +1 tbsp) & halved the oil, instead stirring in the oily peanut butter & it came out cake-in-ma-face good.
I also halved the sugar & it was still sweet enough, but I eat dark chocolate (like 80%, tastes-like-dirt chocolate) so I may not be the best source for that, but try it. But yeah- this is the first mug cake with these limited ingredients that didn’t come out a gummy mess. (Not gonna lie, I ate the gummy messes. Chocolate’s chocolate, yo.)
Oooh, I love the yogurt idea! I’m going to have to try that. :)
I made this just because it seemed amazing. And it turned out to be wonderful! Delicious! I can’t wait to make it again.
I wanted to comment on my test since a few people wondered about substituting applesauce. I substituted the oil with unsweetened applesauce and the sugar with Stevia and did coconut flakes instead of Peanut Butter. It settled the chocolate urge for about 85 calories but my boys did the full fledged and I did have to take a bite of theirs just for comparison purposes of course ;) and the texture was only slightly different but still not to bad for a mug cake. It is doable but the original is a little bit better.
In case anyone was wondering, this works very well if you just straight up omit the cocoa powder. You might want to add some vanilla or some chips of your chosen flavor if you end up going that route, though!
I made this just now and it is perfect! I’ve tried several other recipes and this is the best one. The portion size is lovely. I added chocolate chips instead of peanut butter. I also used soy milk as that’s all I had. I really like the texture. It is light and fluffy and wasn’t tough at all or dry as some other recipes can get. (I think the recipes with an egg can make it tough actually) I’ll definitely be making it again! I’m an avid baker and experimenting with microwave cakes is something I’ve been trying out just for fun over the past few weeks. This is the best one yet!!
Added a little raspberry jam to this – amazeballs has never seemed a more appropriate adjective!