Chocolate Nutella {2-Minute} Mug Cake
This chocolate Nutella {2-Minute} mug cake is as easy as throwing ingredients in a mug, but the result is a moist chocolate cake that is sure to satisfy.
All too often, I find myself craving over-the-top desserts like this Double Chocolate Mousse Torte. Or this Unbelievable Chocolate Cake. Or this Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake.
Need I go on?
Of course these cravings occur on days I have no business entertaining even the thought of tackling such a dessert. Especially now when I have a list a mile long of projects-to-do-before-baby-comes. And I’m not talking fluffy hair bow projects. I’m talking, clean the ceiling fan projects that are so desperate to be done, the inches of dust are beckoning to me and haunting my dreams at night.
In fact, if I calculate correctly, I can complete one project every day and still not finish my to-do list before the baby arrives. And that’s counting on her being two weeks late. I’m having a major lazy pity party while in the back of my mind trying not to succumb to the reality that if I had just kept up on some of these leeetle housekeeping things, I wouldn’t be so overwhelmed now.
Ahem. I digress. My point is – sometimes I want something homemade and chocolatey and divine and decadent but I simply can’t justify the time and effort for a crazy wow-worthy dessert.
Enter this little mug cake. My sister, Em, sent the recipe to me. And I was skeptical. I mean, I just generally don’t mix microwave and baking. Things can get really weird. Fast. But this works. Really works!
A handful of simple ingredients are thrown together in a large mug and microwaved for less than 2 minutes. The result is a dense, moist chocolate cake that will satisfy any craving.
We’ve made this dozens of times since my sis sent me the recipe and my kids seriously think it is the coolest thing in the world that we can have cake on the table in less than 3 minutes. Actually, so do I.
And for those who also cringe at “baking” anything in the microwave – I promise, this is really delicious. BUT (there’s always a but), eat it immediately and err on the side of underbaking it a bit. The texture gets a little weird after sitting for a while. In our house, it doesn’t sit around long at all, if you know what I mean, but there you have the disclaimer anyway.
One Year Ago: Chicken Pot Pie Crumble
Two Years Ago: Hawaiian Haystacks: Chicken Sauce Reinvented
Three Years Ago: Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Chocolate Nutella {2-Minute} Mug Cake
Ingredients
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon nutella
- Dash of vanilla and salt
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a large cocoa or coffee mug until smooth.
- Microwave the cake on high until puffed, about 2 minutes, watching carefully as microwaves can vary in strength. If desired, drizzle chocolate syrup or hot fudge sauce on top.
- Scoop cake onto a plate or in a bowl and serve immediately with a scoop of ice cream, if desired, but which I highly recommend.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: sent to me by my sister, Emily, as given to her by her friend, Suzanne N.
This was my first mug cake. I’m surprised how easy it was to make. Good texture and very chocolaty. More calories than I should have eaten alone!
Just made this recipe and it is perfection, especially with some ice cream! I needed something sweet and mug cakes have been my go to! Thanks for this recipe!!
Someone may have already suggested this but, just in case, I think I’ll try this substituting Cookie Butter for Nutella. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
I never comment, sorry Mel! My family has enjoyed many of your recipes and this is again, a winner. It was great using regular all-purpose flour and in my household, this makes enough to serve 2. We cook it in the same bowl we mix it in for sheer laziness.
I did want to comment this time so people would know this also works gluten free! I used Erika’s Gluten Free All Purpose Flour mix (https://alittleinsanity.com/all-purpose-gluten-free-flour-mix-recipe/), no affiliation, just a GF mix that has worked amazingly for me in many gluten recipes. I kept everything else the same except added 1/8tsp of baking powder since GF recipes sometimes need a little extra lift. My microwave is 1700 watts so this only took 1:20 in mine. It was puffed, so I pulled it out and stuck a toothpick in and it was already clean. Might try 10 seconds less next time, but we had it immediately with ice cream and it was fantastic. Thanks for all the recipes, Mel!
Thanks for the detailed review, Jen!
I have recently re-discovered this recipe, and I can’t help but wonder–“HOW COULD I FORGET THIS???????” It’s so yummy, and so easy!!!!! It literally only takes me about 5 minutes to whip it together, and then I cook it for about 1:45 minutes in the microwave. If I don’t have nutella or creamy peanut butter, I just leave them out, and it’s still amazing! Yum!!!!!
This was great for a dessert ready in three minutes! Of course it’s in a different playing field than The Best Chocolate Cake but it was terrific for a quick sweet fix.
I did notice that my mini wire whisk got overwhelmed quickly with the thick mixture so I switched to a fork and that seemed to navigate easier in the cup & was easier to clean off.
I subbed peanut butter for the Nutella & used peanut butter/milk chocolate chips and then served it with vanilla ice cream–yum! As Mel says, make sure to eat it promptly since it dries out quickly (like within 5-10 minutes) so dig right in, making sure to pair it with ice cream and/or caramel/ganache/chocolate syrup.
Ha, my 9 year old was wondering what I was making and she’s like, “A cake in a mug? Who’s idea was that?” I responded with, “It’s a recipe from Mel.” And she’s like, “Oh, okay. It will be good, then.” Mel’s reputation is so well known in our house!
Haha. Well, clearly I really like your 9-year old. 🙂
Lol!
She saw pictures of your kids on a Friday thoughts post and said, “If we all go to BYU, we can be friends!”
Mel I made it today and I loved it! Thanks!!!
Oh my goodness! I was craving chocolate cake last night and didn’t want to drive 30 minutes to the nearest restaurant to get dessert… so I looked up this recipe. It did not disappoint! It was so rich, it really hit the spot. It was so rich, I couldn’t even finish it. So I covered it and put it in the fridge. I just had it for an after church snack and it was delicious! It became a rich, decadent brownie. Now I’m in trouble because I can make a personal chocolate cake whenever I want!
Would this work gluten-free? This looks AMAZING but I have celiac…
Certainly worth a try!
I am 100% capable of eating an entire one of these mug cakes unassisted. I was feeling semi guilty, and wanted to try for a slimmer version. So tonight I made this using nonfat plain yogurt for the oil and egg substitute for the egg, and the taste is STILL amazing. I think the yogurt made it even creamier, more like a pudding cake. Wow.
Mel… I have made these so many times during my pregnancy. I don’t know whether to bless you or curse you. It doesn’t help that the basic ingredients are (in tablespoons) 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 egg, so I don’t even need to look up the recipe any time I have a hankering for something delicious. Mmmm.
Could I substitute melted unsalted butter or melted shortening for the oil? I don’t have any oil on hand. Would it be less moist or good??
Viktoriya – Definitely worth a try!
Mel, love love all your recipes! Just whipped this one up with six scoops of ice cream, some hot fudge, and six spoons for the family. Smiles across the board. 3 minutes for chocolate cake? That is what I’m talking about girl!!
Don’t forget the egg. . .it doesn’t work! It overflowed in the mug and never set. My second try with the egg was much better. Delicious.
Dessert. Something french, tasty, and not available in the U.S. 🙂
just made this n it has totally satisfied my chocolate dessert craving fr d night! its way past midnight, infact almost dawn! i had a bad night putting my baby to sleep. and this has solved all of my problems!!! m gonna make this more often!
PS: must eat it hot! d cooler it gets, 🙁
Unlike other reviewers, I didn’t like this recipe so much. It tasted more like a chocolate cake, and I could barely taste the nutella. Even for a sugar-lover, 5 tablespoons of sugar were too much.
I made a few adjustments to this recipe but it was still delicious. I subbed applesauce for the oil and an egg white + a bit of water for the egg. I also used only 3 T of sugar, rather than 5 and it was plenty sweet. Great recipe!
Yum! This looks superb and so easy!
Perfect for a movie night in 😉
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate! I love Chocolate cake! I immediately made two giant mugs of this when I read your post. It was our dessert after we had a dinner of your sweet and sour chicken (big hit!) It was a huge mug so I let my 2 older kids share it. Big mistake because as soon as they finished it, they were asking for one more. I should have just made separate mugs for them.=) My son is constantly asking when I could make this chocolate cake again. I love how convenient that I’ll have chocolate cake in a matter of minutes without all the fussy preparations. Thank you Melanie! =)
these mug recipes are usually WAY too much cake for me so i decided to halve this recipe with my husband. i was glad i did because neither of us were really able to finish even the half recipe. don’t get me wrong, it was DELICIOUS. but so so rich. i think next time i’ll eliminiate the chocolate chips and use less sugar.
I just made this and it was AMAZING! I didn’t have cocoa, but I did have a packet of pre-melted semi-sweet chocolate I use for baking, and the cake still worked just fine. VERY rich, so I recommend sharing with someone. 🙂
This is great. I didn’t want the extra fat from the oil, so I used 3Tbsp of applesauce instead. It turned out well, definitely worth the substitution.
Eating this divine concoction as I type this review. Couldn’t wait to post. This is the third time this month that I’ve been pretty convinced you live in my head because the recipes you post are EXACTLY what I’m looking for! Couldn’t be easier to put together and the result is lethal. I agree with the previous reviews that one mug is enough for two people…would make an easy date night dessert 🙂
Oh. Wow. My kids and I are already in love with this. I LOVE to bake and I was a little skeptical, too. However, this is fantastic. It tastes awesome!!! I’ve been buying the Betty Crocker Warm Delights. No more! I love that I can make a mug of cake and share it with my kids. It’s instant chocolate satisfaction without the guilt of eating an entire pan of brownies. Ahem… Who does that anway?!! 😉 Awesome recipe. Thank you!!!! Just don’t make five mug cakes in a row; if you know what I mean. 😉
I just made this…oh dear. You have come up with a dangerously easy and delicious recipe! What a great treat after a long day!
i love all of the cakes in mug recipes that are perfect for college!! yumm
We needed a quick chocolate fix this afternoon – this little gem did the trick!! I made mine with peanut butter & my husband’s with nutella intending for us to swap a few bites. Ha! Not happening! We each held onto ours with a death grip while we all but licked our mugs clean.
I have to try this! How great that it’s such a small quantity. I like cake, but one piece and I’m good – for quite awhile, so it tends to sit around getting stale after that first piece. No chance of that happening with this!
Mel – Nutella is actually Italian. There’s a whole Nutella Facebook page in Italian. I don’t understand much but all of their recipes look delicious AS DOES THIS! I cannot wait to try it! Also can’t wait to hear all about your baby girl once she gets here!