This mugcake is for those times when you just have to have chocolate. And cake. Or brownies.
And you need it all within 5 minutes.
The mugcake is part rich chocolate cake, part fudgy brownie, and it’s so fast and easy. It’s a very dangerous little trick to have up your sleeve.
The batter is whisked together in a minute, and the cake cooks in under 3 minutes.
I’ve made mugcakes in the past on my blog and in my cookbook, and have experimented with my fair share of microwave cakes over the years.
Many cakes and goodies made in the microwave tend to be dry with a weird texture. And the surface is pock-marked with crater-like holes, which don’t exactly persuade me to dive right in.
This, however, is the best microwave cake I’ve ever made because it’s not dry in the least.
There’s butter and Greek yogurt in the batter, which helps it stay moist.
And the easy vanilla glaze that’s poured over it seeps into the open, tender crumb, boosting the moisture level even more.
There’s only a small amount of flour, which also keeps the mugcake on the fudgier and denser side. Just the way I like my cakes.
Light and airy is overrated.
There’s both melted chocolate chips and cocoa powder, making it very chocolaty.
I like to add a pinch of instant espresso granules to my chocolate cakes and brownies because it really brings out the chocolate flavor, and it doesn’t make them taste like coffee.
It gave this little cake extra chocolate oomph.
Because microwaves and mugs vary, you may have to play around with things to find the sweet spot for your setup.
I used a 14 ounce mug which is bigger than most, and cooked for 3 minutes. If your mugs are smaller, divide the batter between two mugs and cook separately for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes.
Do not fill your mug more than halfway full with batter because it’ll overflow. It’s amazing how much puff these things get, and you need to leave major room for expansion.
All that stands between you and brownie-cake is 5 minutes..
There’s no catch. It’s dangerously fast, easy, and is sure to satisfy your chocolate cravings.
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Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Microwave Mugcake with Vanilla Glaze
Ingredients
Mugcake
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons vanilla or plain Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup buttermilk may be substituted and if using buttermilk, omit the 1 tablespoon of water
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon instant espresso granules, optional (but recommended to boost chocolate intensity; make sure they’re instant so they dissolve. Instant coffee granules may be substituted)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- scant 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, a little less than 1/4 teaspoon
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Vanilla Glaze
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- about 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- splash of cream or milk, only if necessary for consistency
Instructions
- For the Mugcake – Prepare a large mug (at least 14 to 16 ounces) or two smaller mugs by spraying the inside with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir with a fork or whisk until melted and mixture is smooth. If necessary, heat for about 10 seconds if your chips are resisting melting.
- Add the egg, yogurt and water (or buttermilk, and omit the water if using buttermilk), sugar, cocoa powder, brown sugar, vanilla, optional espresso granules, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour, baking powder, optional salt, and stir until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared mug(s). Do not fill your mug over halfway full with batter because it will overflow in the microwave. Use two mugs rather than one if you’re on the fence because mugcakes need ample room for expansion because they puff dramatically during cooking.
- For 1 large mug, cook on high power for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until firm yet springy to the touch. For 2 smaller mugs, cook separately for about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes, each. For my 1 large mugcake as shown, I cooked for 3 minutes. At the 1 1/2 minute mark, the cake puffed up over the top of the mug by about 1 inch, where it stayed and ‘hoovered’ above the mug for the duration of microwaving. Immediately upon powering off the microwave, the cake fell, by about 2 inches below the top edge of the mug. Your mugcake will deflate considerably while it cools. While it cools, make the glaze.
- For the Vanilla Glaze – In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and stir with a fork or whisk until smooth and combined. If necessary to achieve desired glaze consistency, add a splash of cream or milk.
- Pour glaze over the cake(s). It’s amazing how much glaze the cake will soak up so don’t be alarmed if it looks like you have a lot. If you do have extra glaze, it will keep airtight for many weeks in the refrigerator. Mugcakes are best eaten fresh, but will keep airtight for up to 2 days at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you ever made a mugcake?
Following up to this comment – there isn’t an amount listed for butter to be melted for the chocolate chips. I took a stab and went with 2 tablespoons and everything seems to be ok. It actually tastes great! But same, not seeing in the instructions how much to use.
great
I was preparing to make this recipe and Instruction 2 says to melt the butter on high. 3 says to add the chocolate chips. On the printed recipe there is no mention about how much butter to use with the chocolate chips. There is a butter amount for the glaze, but not for the cake. What am I missing???
I don’t know what version is printing for you but the directions you can read/see for the recipe on your screen are what you should follow.
If for some reason that is just not working for your devices after restarting and troubleshooting, perhaps this recipe will work and it’s similar and amazing! https://www.averiecooks.com/one-minute-microwave-brownie/
Following up to this comment – there isn’t an amount listed for butter to be melted for the chocolate chips. I took a stab and went with 2 tablespoons and everything seems to be ok. It actually tastes great! But same, not seeing in the instructions how much to use.
Thanks for the catch, yes 2 tbsp is correct. This recipe has been up for 10 years and no one until now mentioned it! Glad that it tasted great!
I’ve made this recipe a few times now..
But today is the first time I tried it with the glaze. It was AMAZING!! This is 100% the best mug cake I’ve ever made (and sadly/ regrettedly, I’ve made a lot of mug cakes). It requires more ingredients than any other mug cake I’ve made, but don’t let that stop you, this recipe actually tastes like a moist chocolate cake. It also turned out just as good with the pound plus dark chocolate from Trader Joes. Thanks for another great recipe, Averie!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! So glad it’s the best mug cake you’ve ever made! TJ’s Pound Plus bars the best!
I’ve just finished trying this recipe out. Honestly, this stands as one of the best microwave mug recipes that I’ve tried out so far. But… Like you said… It’s a very dangerous little trick… It’s so easy to make and taste so good. But you have to remember to check the weight scale all the time :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that it’s one of the best microwave mug recipes that you’ve tried!
Absolutely devine!!!! just made it now and I feel like im in heaven.
Thanks for sharing
Wonderful :)
Hi! I’m a recent reader of your blog and this is the first recipe of yours I’ve tried. This is what transpired…
I was craving for something brownie-ish and chocolatey tonight and I’ve been DYING to try this mug cake recipe (I’ve tried others and they all ended up dry and inedible) so I figured, well, it’s only 10PM so why not! Lo and behold, we had no eggs in the refrigerator. I was so disappointed, then realized — hey, vegans can make pastries without eggs, and so can I! So I Googled and found out that you can substitute 1 egg with 1/4 cup yogurt. I only had greek yogurt so measuring was pretty difficult, and so I’m not confident I had a very accurate 1/4 cup. I figured I was safe since your recipe called for 3 tablespoons anyway, so I just went with it. I also did not have brown sugar (I made cookies recently and forgot to stock up. And I finished my vanilla while making the glaze. I seriously need to visit the grocery soon.) so I just used white sugar. I mean, it was already messed up from the start. I couldn’t back out now. When I finally got my mug into the microwave, I was freaking out because it wasn’t rising like the mug cakes before. I wasn’t sure if it was because I didn’t put in baking powder (which I had! I just couldn’t find it…) but I still trudged on. I made thr glaze and put in on the mug cake…
Long story short, despite having an incomplete list of ingredients, this turned out the be the best and actually enjoyable mug cake I have ever had!!!! I can only imagine how much better this will be when I try it with egg. My cake turned out a little too sour from the yogurt. It was also a little dry so I’ll need to let it microwave for a shorter time (I couldn’t tell when to stop since it wasn’t rising, so I left it the whole 2 1/2 minutes).
Anyway, sorry this is so long. I felt like I needed to share my experience! Haha! Thank you so much for this recipe! :)
Happy to hear this “turned out the be the best and actually enjoyable mug cake I have ever had” – wonderful!
This recipe is perfect— I’m sick at home today and whipped it up so fast. Comfort food to the max. I didn’t have any Greek yogurt OR buttermilk so I used sour cream instead, turned out great. Thank you!
Perfect way to sub the sour cream for yog/buttermilk! I hope you feel better soon and that this was soothing comfort food for you :)
Hi,
I just bought your book on Mug cakes and I have already tried several recipes.
I have read your instructions and followed them to the letter but the cakes althoug very tasty, seem to have a denser texture or very fine texture compared to regular cakes. The bottom section of the cake seems to be quite ‘holy’…Is that the way they usually turn out or am I missing something?
How light should these turn out to be? (as opposed to heavy rubbery texture?)
Many have the texture of Bread pudding. I must say they are fun to make.
Help please.
Hi Pauline
I wish I could say the mug cakes book was mine but the only book of mine that’s in stores already is my PB book, Peanut Butter Comfort. So for the more detailed questions about mugcakes, I’m not really a huge expert but in my experience, yes, they’re very ‘holey’. And the texture can range from fine to dense. Most of the ones I’ve made or tried are pretty dense unless overcooked, at which point they’re lighter, but quite dry. This particular recipe, the chocolate one, is meant to be dense like a fudgy brownie.
Ooh- going to have to try this for sure. Love the mug. Where did you find it?
it’s linked in the post – see “14 oz mug”…. :)
Just made this–sooooo tasty! I accidentally doubled the water, but ultimately I think that was a good thing because it was VERY soft and gooey (how I like my chocolate desserts) but not liquid. It has a tang from the yogurt that went really nicely with the vanilla glaze. Thanks for the awesome easy recipe!
Thanks for the great comment Rachel & so glad you liked it – despite doubling the water. A happy accident that sounds like it worked out well and everything turned out just right. Glad you loved it! :)