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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.
Bemzi
I've never baked a mug cake. I was craving for a vanilla cake and google led me to your recipe. So good. So moist. Cravings satisfied 200%. (I only used 2 Tbsps of sugar as I am not a sweet tooth) thank you so much for creating this recipe...!
jenni
i’ve always been sceptical of te idea of a mug cake (i mean...a cake...in a mug!...COOKED IN A MICROWAVE!?!) but this was simply delish. sadly, bc my microwave is older than me! some parts were not cooked (but that might’ve just been the way i mixed the butter in, next time i’ll use melted butter! or make sur met butter is soft enough!). def will make again!
Sara
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Jenni!
Gina Navani
Does this recipe NEED the icing? If it tastes like a pound cake, that's perfect. But if it's a bit flavourless without the icing, then I'll try something else. Just not a fan of icing I know, I'm weird).
Sara
No of course not! You definitely don't "need" the icing. Sometimes I just put a dollop of Cool Whip on top!
Olivia
I tried this and it was gross!!
Don’t know what happened I followed the recipe perfectly and it tasted like it was poisonous ☠️. It took almost triple the time it said on here and I have a high power microwave.
So disappointed because all over recipes on here are lovely this one was just not good.
Sara
Oh no, Olivia. I'm so sorry to hear this. This recipe is a reader favorite but as I've said before, microwaves differ and maybe the combination between the mug and the microwave didn't turn out? I'm not sure but I'm so disappointed this didn't work for you!
Anonymous
That was the best mug cake I've ever made! I was craving something sweet and needed to be a fat kid for a second. Thank you so much 🙂
Sara
Ha! I'm so glad you enjoyed the mug cake!
dori
I notice that some mug cake recipes include an egg. What difference does including an egg make? Thank you 🙂
Sara
Hi Dori! I have mug cake recipes on the site that use eggs as well. An egg often leavens and firms the cake. In my recipe, the baking powder helps with that. I often use an egg in chocolate mug cakes because it'll make the mug cake much richer, too!
dori
Thank you!
Becky
I made the regular version. It was good but next time I will mix the dry ingredients first because it had a slight baking powder taste. Thanks for the easy recipe!
Sara
You are welcome! Enjoy!
Hannah
HEY! I ABSOLUTELY loved this recipe!! It was so amazing! But I was wondering... if I were to make the icing chocolate, how much cocoa powder would I add? Thanks so much!
Sara
Start with a teaspoon and work your way up from there. Just keep tasting!
Sum
my 9 year old son made it all by himself! So moist and yummy! Only used 2 tbs of sugar in the cake and came out great!
Sara
So glad to hear that! I bet you'll find him making these quite often now!
Rosie
I have to say, I don't know how your recipe is so good, but that mug cake tasted and looked amazing! <3 I didn't have any vanilla essence so I used a bit of golden syrup instead and it tasted lovely. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Chicken nugget
Absolutely delicious!! Easy to make and yummy to eat! It has a super fluffy texture and is super super sweet. I’ve been looking for recipes and every one I find is chocolate so I was glad to find a nice yummy vanilla recipe!!
Anonymous
Mine was super dry what did i do wrong? 🙁
Sara
It's possible you cooked it too long. Every microwave cooks a bit different so you'll need to experiment a little to see how much time the cake needs in your microwave. The 90 seconds I shared for timing is pretty standard, however.
Inga
Just made this and I’m not even finished eating it but I had to give you another rave review right away. This is my go-to now for mug cake! I used Cool Whip as a topping and let me tell you it was fabulous! I used vanilla almond milk due to lactose intolerance and just left out the vanilla. Divine!!!!
Sara
I'm so glad you're enjoying this recipe, Inga! Thanks for the awesome review!
Aamina
Hi! I tried your recipe. Really superb. And yummy
Anonymous
MY MUG BROKE
Sara
Hmmm. I'm sorry to hear that. You need to make sure you're using a microwave-safe mug. If the mug you were using was marked as microwave-safe, I would contact the mug manufacturer and let them know what happened. Good luck.