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Mug Cake Recipe

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Mug Cakes

Here’s how to use my homemade cake mixes to make a single-serve mug cake in under two minutes.

Have you tried my homemade cake mixes yet? If not, you’re really missing out.

Homemade Cake Mixes

Yellow Cake Mix
Spice Cake Mix
Chocolate Cake Mix

You can use them to make a full-size cake, and now you can use them to make mug cakes, too. Because sometimes you just don’t need a whole cake (or the temptation of a whole cake). And sometimes you just want cake, without all the mess and time that goes into making one. I get that.

So, I experimented a bit, and figured out how to use my cake mixes to make a mug cake – a mug cake that you’ll actually want to eat. Because honestly, guys? A lot of those mug cake recipes circulating on the web just aren’t edible. They’re dry and spongy and eggy. And they require you to pull out everything that you’d need to make a full-size cake. Who wants to do that?

Start with one of my cake mixes, and you won’t have to pull out flour, baking powder, sugar and all that other stuff. You’ll just need the mix and a few things from the fridge. Much easier, and you’ll only have a mug and a set of measuring spoons to wash when you’re done.

Mug Cake Mixes

To keep things simple, I developed one mug cake recipe that works across all of my cake mix recipes. And because I know you may be looking at mug cakes as a way to control portions, I sized the recipe accordingly. It makes a cake that’s roughly the size of a cupcake. If you want your cake to come all the way to the top of the cup, make it in a tea cup instead.

Alright, let’s get on to making cake, shall we?

How to Make a Mug Cake

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp of MyFrugalHome Cake Mix: yellow, chocolate or spice cake
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp butter
1-1/2 tsp unsweetened applesauce or cooking oil

What You Do:

Melt a Tablespoon of Butter

Melt a Tablespoon of butter in the bottom of your mug. That takes about 35 seconds in my microwave (it may be a bit different for you).

Spray Inside of Mug with Cooking Spray

Spray the inside of the mug with cooking spray, so it’ll be easy to wash later. I don’t like to use commercial cooking sprays, so I use a Misto instead. It’s a refillable spray bottle that you pump up before each use. I keep one filled with canola oil, and another filled with olive oil.

Mix Cake Batter

Add the cake mix and other ingredients to the mug, and mix with a fork. Only mix long enough to bring all the ingredients together, so your cake comes out light and fluffy.

Note: The applesauce or cooking oil is a stand-in for the eggs that are called for in my full-size cake recipes. I like to use applesauce because it cuts the fat in the recipe, but you should get good results with either.

Microwave Mug Cakes

Microwave your mug cake. One minute and 30 seconds is perfect in my 1000-watt microwave, but you may need to experiment a bit to determine the perfect time for your microwave. If you have a higher-wattage microwave, start with one minute, and adjust up as needed.

Be careful not to cook your cake too long, this will result in a cake that is dense and spongy. A lot of mug cake recipes say to cook your cake until the edges brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. These tests work well for a cake that you’ve baked in the oven, but they don’t apply to a cake that you’ve made in the microwave. Since this cake is egg-free, you don’t have to worry about eating a cake that is under-baked. So, go ahead and give it a taste test, even if you aren’t sure that it’s done.

Mug Cake with Good Crumb

If you get the cook time right, your cake will be moist all the way through and have a nice crumb.

Frosted Mug Cakes

Enjoy your cake as is, or frost it. My homemade cream cheese frosting has a long fridge life. Keep some in the fridge, so you’ll be ready whenever your next cake craving hits. You can even halve the recipe, if you want.

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Mug Cake Recipe

Mug Cake Recipe

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Make a single-serve cake in the microwave in just over a minute. This recipe is moist and flavorful, just like an oven-baked cake.

  • Total Time: 2 minutes
  • Yield: 1 mug cake 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 Tbsp of MyFrugalHome Cake Mix: yellow, chocolate or spice cake (see website for recipes)
  • 2 Tbsp milk
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 11/2 tsp unsweetened applesauce or cooking oil

Instructions

Melt a Tablespoon of butter in the bottom of your mug.

Spray the inside of the mug with cooking spray, so it’ll be easy to wash later.

Add the cake mix and other ingredients to the mug, and mix with a fork. Only mix long enough to bring all the ingredients together.

Microwave your mug cake. One minute and 30 seconds is perfect in my 1000-watt microwave, but you may need to experiment a bit to determine the perfect time for your microwave. If you have a higher-wattage microwave, start with one minute, and adjust up as needed.

Enjoy your cake plain, or frost it.

Notes

  • Be careful not to cook your cake too long, this will result in a cake that is dense and spongy. A lot of mug cake recipes say to cook your cake until the edges brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. These tests work well for a cake that you’ve baked in the oven, but they don’t apply to a cake that you’ve made in the microwave. Since this cake is egg-free, you don’t have to worry about eating a cake that is under-baked. So, go ahead and give it a taste test, even if you aren’t sure that it’s done.

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3 Comments

  1. Hi Erin, this sounds perfect! gotta make your mixes and try it!

    BTW, on the mixes, I think you said 1 recipe will fit in a qt jar? so I’m guessing the whole jar is used for a regular cake, correct? if so, then if you make lots of cakes, you have lots of jars…..lol thanks!

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