Three perfect microwave mug cake recipes

We’ve heard that microwave mug cakes are very simple and only take a few minutes to whip together, so we thought we’d put them to the test right here in The Gift Experience headquarters. After a quick trip to our local supermarket we decided to make three different types of mug cake in our very own office kitchen and we were not disappointed.

These little treasures are easy, quick and utterly delicious. If you need to fix your sweet, chocolate or cakey cravings these little beauties take around five minutes each to make and are much, much better than you would imagine.

We’ve tried out three recipes that you can use to make these mug cakes, from tart lemon to indulgent chocolate and they are magnificent, especially when made in our perfectly sized Cake Cups.

If you want to try them out for yourself, the recipes are below:

1. Indulgent Chocolate Mug Cake

This indulgent chocolate cake is perfect if you’re having chocolate cravings and want to whip something up in a hurry. It’s fudgy, warm and perfect with ice cream!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. plain flour                               

1 tbsp. dark cocoa powder                   

1 tbsp. sugar                                     

¼ tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. oil

1 tbsp. chocolate spread (optional)

Method:

1. Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar and baking powder to the mug and mix.
2. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and then add the milk and oil and mix again.
3. Cook in the microwave for 1 minute – we checked ours every 30 seconds to make sure there were no spillages/eruptions.
4. Remove from microwave and let it stand for 2 minutes.
5. Add chocolate spread on top for extra indulgence (optional) and tuck in!

2. Lemon Mug Cake

This zingy little number is great if you prefer a tart treat over something chocolatey. The lemon really lifts the flavour of this cake and you won’t believe how easy it is to make. Our recipe below is an adaption of Life Love Liz’s cake recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tbps. plain flour                               

¼ tsp. baking powder                         

2 tbsp. sugar                                     

1 tbsp. oil

1 medium egg

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tsp. lemon juice

Method:

1. Add the flour, baking powder and sugar to the mug and mix.
2. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and then add the oil, egg, lemon zest & lemon juice and mix until batter is smooth.
3. Microwave for 1 minute and 50 seconds – we checked ours every 30 seconds to make sure there were no spillages/eruptions.
4. Remove from microwave and let it stand for 2 minutes.
5. Add ice cream (optional) and tuck in!

Another great idea we had for this cake - after we'd eaten it - is to mix any leftover lemon juice you might have with a little water and icing sugar for a tart frosting.

3. Coffee Cake

This one is our own play on Life Love Liz’s cake but it turned out great, especially for those of us that are a little addicted to coffee. This sweet treat is a perfect fluffy cup of caffeine and sugar – lovely!

 Ingredients:

2 tbps. plain flour                               

¼ tsp. baking powder                         

2 tbsp. sugar                                     

1 tbsp. oil

1 medium egg

2 tsp. coffee granules

2 tsp. boiling water

Method:

1. Add the flour, baking powder and sugar to the mug and mix.
2. In a separate mug/glass/bowl, dissolve the coffee in the boiling water – don’t worry if it doesn’t fully dissolve.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and then add the oil, egg & coffee and mix until batter is smooth.
4. Microwave for 1 minute and 50 seconds – we checked ours every 30 seconds to make sure there were no spillages/eruptions.
5. Remove from microwave and let it stand for 2 minutes.
6. Add ice cream (optional) and tuck in!

The three cakes we made in this blog were made in our Cake Cup, which really was the perfect size for these delights, and were also cooked in a 900 watt microwave so if yours is more or less powerful you may have to adjust the cooking times accordingly.

For even more extravagant microwave mug cake ideas we’d recommend you have a look at Real Simple's list of 9 recipes that look rather yummy. Unfortunately we didn’t get to try all of these out – as our experiments took place in our, now rather well-stocked, office kitchen – but we’ve got our eyes on both the Banana Mug Cake and the Salted Caramel Apple Spice Mug Cake.

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