Recipe: My 90-Second Chocolate Mug Cake
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My disclaimer (or testament) for this recipe is that I don’t like chocolate cake—most of the time. But like any breathing human, I do get a craving for them now and again. In times like those, it can perhaps be argued that the taste of instant gratification is the sweetest of them all. I sometimes wonder if the reason I like mug cakes so much has less to do with the quality of the cake and more to do with my fascination for the microwave’s awesome and terrifying power to transform basic pantry ingredients into the semblance of a baked confection in 90 seconds.
And yet my spouse—a professed great lover of chocolate cakes—can attest that this chocolate cake sure does tick a lot of the boxes: moist, fudgy, not too cloyingly sweet, yummy. The things I’d want in a chocolate cake, somehow achievable in a mug in less than 3 minutes if you include the time it takes for me to dig the ingredients out. I’m not trying to win any pâtisserie awards any time soon, but I am trying to win over my spouse’s heart (again) and perhaps yours, too.
Some things to note about this recipe:
Trust me on the amount of sugar. It seems like a lot for such a small amount of other ingredients, but I tried it a few times with less sugar and it just didn’t taste right. I hate overly sweet things, and this doesn’t turn out overly sweet. I’d say it turns out more like an Asian style dessert, that strives to not be cloying or sugary tasting.
Use a big mug. The mixture will puff up in the microwave and you don’t want spillage.
The images with the stenciled sugar were done with the ‘gram in mind. I didn’t do the last step of adding extra chocolate chunks, and instead, I dusted powdered sugar on top. Here is a photo of what the mug cake will look like if you follow my usual recipe, as presented below:
If you want to make the powdered sugar version, skip the step about adding chocolate chunks on top, and just microwave the cake batter for the full 90 seconds. I used a laser-cut wood snowflake ornament from Cost Plus World Market as a stencil. I placed the ornament on top of the cake, dusted the powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve, and then carefully lifted off the ornament.
This recipe was adapted from a recipe by user safinabakes1231 on Allrecipes.
One last stray comment, for those who got lured here from my Instagram post—yes, the green on the mugs in those images was Photoshopped! #doitforthegram
How I Make a Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients
1/4 cup AP flour
scant 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp* unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp table salt
4 tbsp oat milk
3 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil
~ 1 tsp date syrup
~ 1 tsp raw almond butter
a few chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or marshmallows (optional)
(* I know, a half-tablespoon is not a very standard measurement, but just eyeball it! 2 teaspoons (2/3 tablespoon) would be too much though.)
Procedure
Add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to a large microwave-safe mug and whisk to combine.
Stir in oat milk and olive oil.
Add date syrup and almond butter to the top of the cake batter and use a butter knife or toothpick to create a marbled swirl on the top (this sometimes turns out pretty after cooking, and other times it gets lost, but I do it every time).
Microwave mug for 1 minute.
Add chocolate or marshmallows on top, if desired. Microwave for 30 more seconds. Allow to cool a bit (if you can wait!) before eating out of the mug with a spoon. (Would be amazing with vanilla ice cream!)