5-minute Chocolate Cake

There are a lot of cake-in-a-mug recipes out there, but I've taken the time to experiment with eight variations on a a recipe to come up with the best, tastiest, and most reliable 5-minute chocolate cake on the web.  Give it a try - you won't be disappointed! 

Step 1 Supplies

microwave!

• coffee mug
• 4 tablespoons flour - make sure you measure it right - or the cake is a lie!
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2 tablespoons whisked egg - 1 egg is too much, 1 egg white is too eggy, 1 yolk is too dense, but 2 tblsp is just right!
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips
• splash vanilla or other flavoring - try peppermint or cinnamon

For a fudgier version, omit egg!

Comments

[Chucky46]

There are so many bad versions of this recipe everywhere but yours really works Thankyou :D

[scoochmaroo]

Thank you!
I actually experimented with about 6 different variations of the recipe before I decided that this one was the best.

[TechNerd1012]

love this instructable, turns out awesome cake

i made one yesterday that rose to almost double the height of the mug, but was deflated by the time i got a camera. turned out nice and fluffy though

I experimented with this, and found that pudding mix works great! just substitute any pudding mix for the chocolate powder (and eliminate the chips, unless you want them in there). So far Ive tried strawberry, vanilla, and white chocolate. They tasted great

[warrnie7]

My masterpiece I made 5 min ago! ta* da*

Enjoy!

[scoochmaroo]

That is truly a thing of beauty.

[P3T376]

bOOm! Or like the romans say: veni vedi vici - a total winner that lil' cupcake! Even I could do it - and that's nothing short of miraculous ;) I was able to use the microwave w/o causing radiationburns on the better part of northern europe AND got a super tasty result. I used 600 watts for approx. 4 mns - and YES - I will do it again... and again...and...

Cheers from germany,

Pete

[milothefultz]

Tried it and it was excellent. Kudos for taking some very shady looking recipes from online and making it a sure bet!

[TheMightyBeagle]

I'm eating this right now... and I LOVE IT! I noticed someone else mentioned using a mashed bananna instead of oil so I tried it that way and used white chocolate chips... all I can think though is "this would be awesome with nuts". Not sure how well nuts would do being nuked. I also noticed other people mentioning the bottom of theirs being burnt and the top not being done. To make sure I didn't run into this problem I put mine in for 1 minute, then stirred it to bring the already cooked pieces up to the top so half of the cake wouldn't be burned. I also nuked it in short intervals (1 minute check and stir, another minute check, 30 seconds etc) to make sure it wasn't burning and also because i'm not sure how powerful my nuker is. When it was done I let it sit in the microwave for as long as I could stand (so the ambient heat would help cook anything that wasn't yet done without burning the rest). Mine didn't puff up out of the mug, but that could either be from the mug or stirring it after a minute of cooking. I think i'm going to try this again tomorrow and instead of a mug use a small glass microwave safe pyrex dish, I think that will help it cook evenly without having to stir halfway. Either way I can't wait to tell my mom-in-law about this she's gonna love it.

[suayres]

I'm playing with your recipe, for one very important reason: I'm a Weight Watchers member, and the recipe as you wrote it is 20 points (I have an allowance of 29 points per day + 49 extra discretionary points to use per week). That's more than I want to spend in one place. BUT the recipe is SO good, that I really want to fit it in to my program. So. A major portion of those points come from the oil (9) & the chocolate chips (3). I didn't want to completely eliminate the chips, but I could cut back to 1 Tbsp (1pt). And I cut the oil to 2 tsps, because I am required to have 2 tsps of oil daily. For the rest of the oil, I subbed--ta da! applesauce! Surprisingly, there was no difference in flavor, and the texture was still good! This knocked the points count down to 11, which I find a comfortable splurge evey now and again. Oh, and one other amendment? I a changed the 3Tbs of milk to 3Tbs of fresh-brewed coffee, for a nice mocha note. All in all, a happy dance for me! It also occurs to me that, for a nice nutty note, you could used toasted sesame seed oil.

[cattibalistic]

I made this recipe using 6 tablespoons of hot cocoa powder in place of the unsweetened cocoa and sugar. IT TURNED OUT GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mishoo]

Oh, this is terribly dangerously DANGEROUS to know. :-) My mugs are pretty small, so I made this in a bowl, which required reducing the cooking time to about 1: 45. I omitted the egg for a fudgier result, and it's a wonderful cake/brownie hybrid. I chopped up 3 tablespoons' worth of Hershey with Almond bar, since it's all I had; I also made a glaze with about 3 tbsp. confectioner's sugar and just a few drops of milk. DAN. GER. OUS. It's incredibly rich and I'm not sure I'll be able to eat the whole thing, but dangit, I'm trying.

[jakebaldwin]

After some instant microwave cake disasters, this recipe came out great! I've tried a few microwave treats, and this was the only one that came out on the first try. It was delicious! It also looked like it needed frosting. We didn't have any, so I used chocolate sauce.
Thanks!

[lakins1]

yum! This recipe has come out great all three times I've used it. I love to add cinnamon, chili powder, nutmeg... whatever I have around.

I mix the batter in a small bowl and then pour it into two smaller oiled mugs and cook for about a minute.

In the picture below I added semi-sweet and white chocolate chips. Then melted a bit of the white chocolate and decorated the tops.

[rebecca_]

can i use self-rising flour?
and i wonder if any kind of oil is okay to be used in this recipe. i hv only corn oil at home:(

[joleanrook]

My comment got deleted. Let me rephrase. This cake is DELICIOUS!!! REALLY SUPER TASTY, HONESTLY. I just think it's fair to mention that the recipe = 965 calories, 76 grams of sugar, 59 grams of fat, and 109 carbs. That being said it really did taste great.

[joleanrook]

WHOA!! WATCH OUT!!! I entered in all the ingredients as shown on the list into my nutrition calculator and this cake is WAY HIGH in calories, sugar, fat, and carbs!!! See for yourself...

[Galanthus]

Made one today with baking powder instead of egg. I also added vanilla and rum extract and chopped almonds. It was great!

[iBake]

If I wish to add some baking powder, what would you suggest for it's quantity?? Quantity of baking powder in it. :)
Thanks! ''Be Nice" :)

[Galanthus]

I didn't write this article, obviously, but I've been using baking powder instead of eggs and I'd recommend you use no more than a teaspoon of baking powder.

[jyotipatel134]

hey i am vegetairian from India and i can not add egg but i want to try the reciepe so what is the best substitute of egg.

[Galanthus]

A little bit of baking powder will do the trick. Don't add too much baking powder though, unless you want cake all over the inside of your microwave :-)

[craft.girl]

can i add nuts?

[Galanthus]

Yep! You absolutely can.

I've been making this delicious cake plenty of times. Today I tried adding chopped almonds along with the chocolate chips and it worked wonderfully!

[anonymouse197]

Use half of the ingredients, cook, add cream, icing sugar, and a tiny amount of salt (stops it freezing too solid), and pour liquid nitrogen (tiny amount) into the top! The fastest most wonderful cake and icecream EVER!

[fewdaysofwonderful]

I read the comments expecting for a nice little chocolate cake, I watched the video and did the recipe exactly as described, without the egg though because I didn't want to risk getting hurt. I put it in the microwave for 2:30, and when I opened the microwave door I was attacked by smoke, coming from my brownie which was now burnt and it hadn't even rose. I used a non alcoholic based vanilla as well. What happened? :/

[daemonicblackcat]

Try checking the wattage of your microwave, if you have like a 1750 watt set on high power then your lucky the things didn't light up like a molotov cocktail. If you have a microwave with high wattage then set the power level to medium.

[daemonicblackcat]

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but when I make cake in the oven I put a little flour on the chocolate chips to make sure they don't sink to the bottom. I'm not sure if that happens here, but I thought that since there is space for the chips to sink, I might as well give you heads up.

[somebody12345]

the first time mine burnt but that was my own faukt i have a 1750 watt microwave and it was set on high power the second one turned out great though. IT'S DELICOUS AND NUTRICOUS!

[RobertStefanel]

DELICIOUS!

[MrSinene]

This was so good. My mom thought it was going to make my sick until i showed he what i created. Delicious with cold vitamin D milk. I made some for my 1 year old sister and she loved it! Thanks for posting this. When i search "chocolate cake in mug" on Google your recipe is the first the pop up.

[kicksledkid]

love the recipem a little dry but still awsome! i used bakers chocolate for a extra kick :)

[djhusi]

Wow this is awesome.
The first time I tied my 700w microwave was set on high and the cake burnt like the Reichstag under 4 minutes :D
Next time I tried it on medium and it turned out to be perfect, comme il faut.
Thank you very much. Great work. A couple of ideas like this and you'll rule the World :)

[AzuriaHill]

Mine was also a burning ball of smoke with my 700w. The smell was really awful and it lingered way too long. I hope my next try will be better, I'll take your tip with medium!

[Hobo in Training]

This just happened to me. I would like to describe it as, "A molten ball of death and decay." I think I'm gunna be sick... DO NOT OVERCOOK!

[donedirtcheap]

Mmm. Another smash hit! I can't wait for the kids to get home from schoolmaroo to try it! The first one turned out great.

[Sulfurite]

what kind of awesome sorcery is this?!
:D going to try it tomorrow ;)

[cadia]

Blueberry Muffin cooked in a toaster oven

A "few" changes
2 TBL milk with 1 TBL yogurt whisked together with
2 TBL egg and splash vanilla
4 TBL WH WH Bread flour
2 TBL sugar
2 TBL coconut oil mashed into dry ingredients
Cinnamon a few shakes
2 TBL toasted coconut mixed into dry
2 big TBL frozen blueberrys mixed into dry ingredients right before mixing dry with wet
After dumping into mug I sprinkled raw sugar on top :)

Cooked at 375 20 minutes ( might be higher temp next time)

[GOHOKIES!]

Someone please tell me if I should use all purpose or self-rising flour? Text doesn't specify & video shows all purpose bag so thats what I used. Gotta say it didn't rise at all and was quite blah. I really, really, really want this recipe to work for me. I'm tired of searching for a good cup recipe. Thanks!

[Finlay Page]

this is great. worked very well

[Pinksalamander]

Is there a specific type of flour you have to use for this? Please reply :)