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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.
Kai
The absolute best mug cake I’ve ever tried !!!!! I felt like I’ve tried every mug cake online and I’m excited to say that I found the perfect one! Thank you.
Sara
I'm so glad you approve, Kai!
Myka
It turned out polvorised and it smelled like buttering and tasted like sugar and it felt like sand in my mouth. Was very dissapointed.
Sara
Myka, I'm so sorry to hear that the recipe didn't turn out for you. If you followed the directions closely, you shouldn't have gotten the results you did. 🙁
Lynda
First time making mug cake this recipe is awesome very moist and light cake I’m not a great fan of sugar so I’ve only used 2 tablespoons of sugar
Sara
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Lynda!
Anonymous person
Very helpful!
Idara
I loved it. Just tried it out. Thanks.
Sara
Awesome!!
Anonymous
I have a question,I don’t have baking powder so can i use baking soda?
Sara
Well, technically yes but it's not a 1:1 substitute. For every 1 teaspoon of baking powder, you would need to combine ½ teaspoon cream of tartar plus ¼ teaspoon baking soda. The other option is to use lemon juice and baking soda (it may affect the taste a bit more, though). You'd use a teaspoon of lemon juice plus a ¼ teaspoon baking soda to make 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Hope this helps!
Lily Ortiz
This cake is very good! I have Celiac Disease but I decided to try it anyway and it was so good! What I did was I replaced the regular flour with rice flour and it worked the same. I also switched the milk for Dr. Pepper, another happy surprise! It tasted great and I bet you could switch the milk for any kind of soda. I like this recipe because its easy and it doesn't take a ton of ingredients. Don't be dumb like me and eat it straight from the microwave, I'd give it a minute or two. Great recipe easily made gluten-free.
Sara
Thank you for sharing your gluten-free twist on the recipe! So glad you enjoyed it!
Jamie
Where is the nutritional information? Am I just not seeing it?
Sara
I don't include nutritional information on the recipes I share. I used to have a plug-in that calculated it for me but I saw too many inaccuracies. I didn't feel comfortable providing information that I wasn't sure was correct. I hope you understand!
Susan Claire
Wanted a little something to go with the last of the vanilla ice cream, so I doubled the recipe and made a couple of mugs. Wonderful cake, moist and fluffy. Didn't come out of the mug in one piece, but we were too busy scarfing it down to care. This is a diet wrecker, way too easy to make!
Sara
This mug cake + ice cream = a diet wrecker! I love that. LOL So happy you loved it!
Cynthia
The best vanilla mug cake I've tasted so far! I did make some adjustments after the first batch. I use coconut oil instead of butter, 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream + 2 tbsp water instead of the milk, and increased cooking time. Also, if I feel like having chocolate cake, I just add 1 tbsp of dark cocoa powder and changes above to the recipe. Delish!
Sara
So glad you enjoyed it, Cynthia! Your additions sound delicious!
Sally
Mine turned out dry crumbly and flavorless. I must have done something wrong. Disappointed ?
Sara
Gosh, I'm not sure what happened, Sally. Maybe try again and check the cake halfway through cooking next time?
Liz
Just made this because I was really craving cake and wanted to watch my portion.. oh my gosh it was PERFECT! I mixed sprinkles into the batter to make it a confetti cake and skipped the icing because I'm not a fan personally. It was so moist and tasty <3
Sara
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it, Liz!
Estella
I was wondering if it's possible I use lactose-free milk instead of regular and it still having the same texture and taste?
Sara
I don't have much experience with lactose-free milk so I probably can't help there. The good news is, because it's a mug cake, the amount of ingredients used is small so you it gives you a bit more freedom to experiment with the recipe! 🙂 Let me know how it turns out with the lactose-free milk if you try it.
Cece
It tastes good, but no matter how long you cook it for, it is still slimy and undercooked in some places.
Sara
Hi Cece, well that doesn't seem right. Have you tried cooking it in different mugs? Sometimes microwavable crock soup bowls work well also. So many people love this recipe. I hope you'll try it again. You may have to experiment a little with different mugs and cook times to get it right for the microwave you're using.
Lisa
I used coconut oil instead of butter and omg! This was so good and fast and simple to make when u are craving sweets and nothing is in the house.
Sara
Great idea using coconut oil!
Julia
My batter only came up to 1/4 th of my cup, and the mug was not uncommonly large. How ever, I used all of the ingredients in the right amounts. What happened?
Sara
The batter won't fill your mug, Julia. When the cake cooks it will begin to fill the cup. Did you try cooking it? Did it turn out after you placed it in the microwave?