This little Disco Party of a Chocolate Mug Cake is perfect for a late-night snack, a super-fast and easy dessert for surprise dinner guests, and/or an afterschool treat. No matter the reason you want a little cake, this is a delicious option and requires nothing more than a bowl and whisk to make, and then a microwave to bake!
I was late to buy a microwave, but my boys begged me for it. Now, I am the only one in the house that uses it, mostly to melt butter, but that keeps it pretty busy.
It’s a cheeky recipe, but I promise, it is one of those cakes you’ll rely on when you need to indulge at midnight. Just you and a crazy-satisfying mug of chocolate cake. I added Caramel-Peanut ice cream to the top, because who eats chocolate cake at midnight without ice cream?
What is A Mug Cake?
In a nutshell, it’s a simple cake made in a mug (12 oz or 8 oz) and “baked” in the microwave. It only takes a few minutes to make using a few simple ingredients, and satisfies late night cravings or makes for a simple, delicious dessert. You can also make the entire recipe in one of my GIANT mugs! Just microwave it for a little bit longer.
Mug Cake Topping Ideas
I added Caramel-Peanut ice cream, but here are few other fun topping ideas:
- Chopped Nuts (any of your favorite)
- Chocolate shavings
- Whipped Cream
- Sprinkles
- Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
- Coconut Flakes
Video
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tbsp (40g) vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 tbsp (40g) buttermilk
- 2 tbsp (50g) hot coffee
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup (100g) sugar
- 1/3 cup (45g) cake flour
- 3 tbsp (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp chopped Heath bar pieces optional
For Serving
- ice cream*
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the oil, buttermilk, coffee, vanilla, and egg.
- In another bowl sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until smooth. Stir in the chopped Heath bar, if using.
- Divide the batter into two 12-ounce (or three 8-ounce) mugs. Microwave the cakes, one at a time, for about 45 seconds (if you make three, they will "bake" faster) or until they are almost set on the top. They are meant to have just a bit of molten cake batter left on the top, but if they are still liquid, return to microwave for another 10 seconds. The timing will vary slightly, depending on the power of your microwave.
- Serve immediately with ice cream.
Notes
by David Lebovitz and added 1/3 cup caramel sauce and 1/4 cup chopped peanuts to it.
Oven instructions: You can bake these in your regular oven at 375°F for about 10-15 minutes (this will depend on the shape of your cup and how deep the batter is in it. It is done when a tester comes out with wet crumbs clinging to it. You don’t want the tester to be clean.)
If you use one of my giant mugs you can put all the batter inside, just microwave for a little bit longer.
Delicious! I also made an extra cup, put it in the fridge overnight and baked it the next day….just as tasty! Thank you.
Could sour cream replace the buttermilk?
This was so yummy. Added 1 T of water and 1 T of buttermilk instead of coffee and pulled out 1T of flour because I was using all purpose. . Delicious!!
Delicious, chocolaty and rich. The portion size was a little big for me, but it was so yummy I finished it anyway.
Just made this chocolate microwave mug cake, and it was delicious, even without the ice cream or whipped cream, neither of which I had in the house. I had made a microwave mug cake once before and threw it out! I told my husband, “I trust Zoe”, so I mixed the ingredients before dinner so we could have the cakes as dessert. When we finished dinner, I combined the dry and wet ingredients, put it in the cups, and into the microwave. 45 seconds later we had this delicious chocolate cake, just as described by Zoe. dThanks for this new instant dessert.
Can I use all purpose flour in this recipe? I don’t have any cake flour.
Hi Kathy, it should work, just be sure to decrease the all-purpose flour by about 1 tbsp. for this recipe. Enjoy!
Would I be able to use 1:1 gluten free flour?
Substitute yogurt for buttermilk?
Hi Leslie, yes to both! Happy baking!
Great recipe! Can this be done without the coffee? If so, do I need to sub it with something else? Thanks!
Hi Kris! The coffee is in the recipe to add some acid and balance the flavor, but you don’t taste it. To replace it, Zoë suggests Coke or Stout, or you could simply add more buttermilk. Enjoy!