American
Warm Chocolate Mug Cake
A single-serve chocolate cake bakes in a mug in the oven until the top is set and the center is still soft. It is a small dessert, not a brownie batter you eat with a spoon raw.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Servings
- 2
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- Two mugs, one bowl of batter.
- The oven sets the cake so it is cooked through at the edge.
- Cocoa and oil keep it moist without a mixer.
- You are not waiting on a whole pan.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
Rough grocery estimate for the full recipe: about $4–$7 at a typical US supermarket. Prices vary by store, region, and season.
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Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 350°F.
- 2
Stir the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- 3
Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla until the batter is smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- 4
Divide the batter between two microwave-safe or oven-safe mugs, filling them no more than halfway. The cake rises.
- 5
Set the mugs on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 13 to 16 minutes, until the tops are set and a toothpick in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
- 6
Cool 3 minutes. The center stays soft. That is the point. A wet shine in the middle means it needs 2 more minutes.
Pro tips
- Overfilled mugs spill. Halfway is the line.
- A microwave will also cook these in about 60 to 80 seconds, but the edge sets less evenly. The oven time above is the method.
- Baking powder is a starting point. Too much and the cake domes and then sinks.
Easy substitutions
- Neutral oil
- Melted butter
- Milk
- A non-dairy milk
- Chocolate chips
- Skip them for a plainer cocoa cake
Storage and reheating
Storage
Best warm. Cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.
Reheating
Warm at 300°F for 5 minutes, or microwave 10 seconds. It will be drier the next day.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 280
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
Budget friendly · Oven · Vegetarian
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From the kitchen
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A heavy 12-inch skillet
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An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
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A sharp chef’s knife
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A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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