Chocolate Mug Cake - Gluten Free Mug Cake Recipe, Vegan

Chocolate Mug Cake takes five minutes to make and is seriously so decadent.

I'm kind of obsessed with this mug cake. It uses pantry staple ingredients and can be whipped up in a flash, making it perfect for late-night cravings. The best part? This recipe uses no egg, so you don't even have to worry about it cooking all the way through. That's awesome for a worry wart like me.

After you try this recipe, you'll start trying to come up with reasons to make this mug cake for everything. Midnight snacks. Midday snacks. For lunch (yes, that's happened twice). Dessert.

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What Is a Mug Cake?

Mug Cakes are single-serving cakes that are traditionally made in a mug and microwaved. All the ingredients are added into a large mug and whisked together until incorporated, making it so that no mixing bowl is needed.

Mug Cakes are great for late-night snacks or when you just want a single serving of cake. If you want to make more than one mug cake, simply double the ingredients and split them between two mugs.

Is Chocolate Mug Cake Vegan?

Yes, this mug cake is vegan. It contains no eggs, milk, or butter. Everyone will love this mug cake. Vegan mug cakes are great because you don't have to worry about the possibility of a raw egg in the cake. This also makes this mug cake super affordable to make.

What Is The Best Way to Eat a Mug Cake?

I prefer to eat this mug cake plain as is, with maybe a little whipped cream on top. It kind of reminds me of the brownies that come in frozen dinners like Hungry Man - I used to LOVE those.

However, feel free to scavenge your pantry or refrigerator and add on top whatever sounds good. Some toppings you could try are:

• Chocolate chips
• Peanut butter chips
• Chopped nuts
• Whipped cream
• Hot fudge
• Served with ice cream

What Ingredients Do I Need To Make Chocolate Mug Cake?

The pantry staple ingredients you need to make a mug cake are:

• High-quality gluten-free all-purpose flour containing xanthan gum. I used Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour (the blue bag). Avoid GF flours that contain ingredients such as cassava flour, garbanzo bean/chickpea flour, or pea protein in desserts because they can add a strange aftertaste.
• Granulated sugar.
• Unsweetened cocoa powder. I used Hershey's, but you could go fancy here with a Dutch process cocoa powder.
• Baking powder.
• Salt.
• A touch of cinnamon. This adds depth of flavor to the chocolate cake - you won't actually taste cinnamon.
• Vegetable oil.
• Pure vanilla extract.
• Water.

How to Make Chocolate Mug Cake:

• Add the dry ingredients to a large and tall 12 oz. mug; GF flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
• Whisk until well incorporated. I use a mini whisk that I stole from my old mixer. You may want to use a spoon to check that no powder is left unincorporated on the bottom of the mug.
• Add the wet ingredients to the mug; water, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.

• Whisk until the batter is completely smooth.
• Microwave for 70-80 seconds on high. I have a 1500-watt microwave. You may need to adjust the cooking time to be longer or shorter depending on your microwave wattage. Try adjusting in 10-second intervals. If your cake is underdone (wet on top), simply place it back in the microwave for another 10 seconds and reassess. It's easy to fix an undercooked cake, but an overcooked cake can't be undone. You may want to place a plate underneath the mug the first time making this recipe to catch any potential spillage if your mug is too shallow.

• Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes before eating. Top with desired toppings, if adding any. Enjoy!

Notes:

• I recommend using at least a 12 oz. mug to allow some space for the cake to rise. It's best to use tall mugs when making mug cakes, rather than shallow wide-mouth mugs.
• I have a 1500-watt microwave. You may need to adjust the cooking time to be longer or shorter depending on your microwave wattage. Try adjusting in 10-second intervals. If your cake is underdone (wet on top), simply place it back in the microwave for another 10 seconds and reassess. It's easy to fix an undercooked cake, but an overcooked cake can't be undone.
• Avoid coating the top of the mug cake with chocolate chips, that way you will be able to tell the cake's doneness. Melty chocolate chips can be perceived as undercooked cake.