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Easy Vanilla Mug Cake - Ready in 90 seconds! This mug cake is moist, delicious and topped with a lovely vanilla icing that soaks into the cake and infuses it with sweetness!
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So, eating healthier and getting in shape are part of my goals each year. . .mine and a bazillion other people's no doubt. It has to be the reason I'm craving sweetness now more than ever. You always want what you can't or shouldn't have, right?
Well, to satisfy my sweet tooth but keep the portion size in check, I made this yummy and easy Vanilla Mug Cake.
This little cake is moist, delicious and topped with a lovely vanilla icing that soaks into the cake and infuses it with sweetness! Pretty smart, right?
I've never really "trusted" mug cakes. So many have turned out dry and tasteless. It took a little experimenting until I achieved the sweetness I was looking for.
And in my opinion, cake isn't really cake if you eat it out of a mug. Cake out of a mason jar, now that's a different story. You can "see" through a mason jar so it can still be "pretty." You following me?
So, this is usually my hot chocolate mug from which I drink the most wonderful hot chocolate in the world. Alright, so I'm a little biased, but you can't get much better than ice cream AND white chocolate.
Oh, man. I need to make more of that this winter. . .
What were we talking about again? Oh yes. This mug cake. . .
All it takes is 90 seconds in the microwave, and you'll have a little "mug" o' heaven. Classic vanilla cake is just the best. In fact, vanilla truly IS our favorite cake flavor here in the house.
One of the most important tips I can offer if you're going to make this cake is to make sure that your mug is at least 14 ounces or it may "bubble" over while baking in the microwave.
Watch that mug closely!! If you use a big enough mug there's nothing to worry about. My cake took up about ¾ of the cup, which was perfect.
I made sure to spray the mug generously with cooking spray before adding the batter and baking it. That way, when it was done, I just ran a butter knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the mug and flipped it over!
Here's the disclaimer. This is not about perfection. It may not look "perfect" when you flip it out of the mug. But in my opinion, it looks much prettier out of the mug than in it.
Top it with some sprinkles and you'll begin to fall in love.
Add some sweet icing, and you'll forget the cake was ever even in a mug. What mug? See.
I let the icing soak in a little bit while I filled a glass of milk. . .AND. . .put a few more sprinkles on top.
Just look at how moist this is. Drag the cake right through that little pool of icing. Holy moly. Seriously now. Promise me you'll try this. Believe it or not, the cake is fairly sweet without the icing.
If you wanted to switch out the icing for some whipped cream, you could do that, too. Heck, next time I may add some sprinkles to the actual cake batter!
So, yeah. There you have it. An easy vanilla mug cake perfect for one. . .or two, if you really wanted to share. But when it comes to cake is that even a consideration?
I'm going to go and grab an extra mug just to be safe. I'll make you your own. Do you have 90 seconds to spare? After that, we'll do PiYo in my basement. You in?
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Easy Vanilla Mug Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 4 Tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- ½ Tablespoon butter (softened)
- 4 Tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
For the Icing
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon butter. softened
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Cake
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
- Pour into greased mug (at least 16 ounces).
- Microwave on high for 1 minute 30 seconds (or 90 seconds).
For the Icing
- Mix all ingredients together and drizzle over cake either inside the mug or pop cake out of mug onto plate.
Notes
- Mind the Mug Size: Use a mug that is at least 16 ounces in size to allow for the cake to rise without overflowing during microwaving. Using a smaller mug may result in the batter spilling over and creating a mess in the microwave.
- Check for Doneness: Microwave cooking times can vary depending on the wattage of your microwave oven. After microwaving the cake for the recommended time of 1 minute and 30 seconds, check the cake's doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center. If it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, the cake is ready. If not, microwave in 10-second intervals until done to avoid overcooking.
- Customize Your Icing: Adjust the consistency of the icing to your liking by varying the amount of milk added. For a thicker icing, use less milk, and for a thinner drizzle, add more milk. Additionally, feel free to add a drop of food coloring to the icing for a pop of color or swap vanilla extract for other flavor extracts like almond or lemon for a different flavor profile.
Anonymous
What type of flour is used? I'm not quite sure wheather to use all purpose flour or plain flour.
Sara
You can use all purpose flour.
Ness
Best mug cake ever!
Ali
I just broke up with my boyfriend and decided to make this cake. I love the recipe and it made me so happy making and eating this cake!
Sara
Only better times here on out, Ali! Glad you enjoyed the cake. 😉
Dawn
I've tried a few different mug cake recipes and this one is the by far best! The only change I made was I used coconut oil instead of butter. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thank you! 🙂
Sara
I love the coconut oil idea!
Saffron Maxwell
Thus by far the best mug cake I have ever made. Most recipes call for an egg and it makeseems the cake heavy and eggy. This is light and delicious. Thank you so much
Brigit
Hi I was just wondering what kind of flour you used? Is all purpose flour okay?
Sara
Yes! That's exactly what I used!
Heidi
This was delicious!! I only used 2 tbsp sugar for the cake and for the frosting, skipped the butter and drizzled the "fondant" over the cake and let it sink in. Yum!! I also softened the butter for the cake in the microwave in the mug I was going to use and therefore was able to eliminate to cooking spray! This is a keeper and perfect for me as it limits my portion size and prevents me from eating an entire cake. ?
Sara
I'm so glad you enjoyed the cake and I love your tips!
Mary
Best cake mug recipe ever!!! Even my dad liked it and he doesn't like sweet things 🙂
Sara
Yay!! I'm so glad your dad liked the recipe, too! Win win for sure!
baillie
I loved this recipe it was the best mug cake ever and instead of using powdered sugar I used one tablespoon of regular sugar and used cold butter put it in the microwave for 30 seconds and poured it over the cake and it tasted heavenly
Sara
Ooh, your substitutes sound delicious! I'm so glad you enjoyed the mug cake!
Mew
Not a success. Followed every ingredient and step exactly, and still came out terrible. Looked like something you'd get in a school cafeteria, and tasted like floury, slightly sweet play-doh. Had the texture of modeling clay.
Sara
Oh no, I'm so disappointed to hear that. I haven't had any of my readers have this problem and I've never had this problem myself. It almost sounds like it either wasn't cooked long enough or there was too much liquid in your mug? Not sure but I would love for you to try it again sometime - maybe in a different mug or microwave? So sorry you didn't enjoy it. 🙁
Jane
I had the same trouble. Ingredients are spot on, maybe my mug was too big? Came out a complete and total greasy looking blob of what looks like corn bread. I'm gonna try a different mug that's not soo large.
Anita Kaur
Just ended up with the same mess. Quite disappointed and waste of ingredients
Auburn
I made this for breakfast (how is it worse than pancakes or donuts? I asked myself as I tried to justify cake for breakfast) and topped it with strawberry jelly and half a handful of mini chocolate chips. Fantastic!
Sara
Thanks for the giggle today! I'm sure you deserved every bit of that mug cake. Good for you! So glad you enjoyed it!
Cara
I had a hankering for dessert tonight and this totally hit the spot. Thanks so much! I skipped the icing and threw some ice cream and a couple strawberries on top.
Sara
I love your addition of ice cream and strawberries. It sounds delicious!
Livia
For something so absolutely delicious, it is so simple to do! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Stephanie
My first mug cake, and it was delicious! I used coconut sugar so it came out brown but still delicious. I also used coconut oil instead of butter because I was out of butter. I think it still came out just fine. Craving satisfied!
Sara
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Stephanie. great idea to use coconut oil!
Alex
I love this Mug cake but I was wondering, what would be measurements for this cake if I would make it like a regular size cake??
Sara
Oh, Alex. I'm not sure. I've only ever made this as a mug cake!