Posts may contain affiliate links that help enable me to continue to provide you with free recipes. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please see my Privacy Policy for further details.
When that sweet tooth craving hits and you NEED a sweet treat and fast, this Gooey Brownie Mug Cake is perfect! Delicious chocolatey goodness is just minutes away!
When You NEED Dessert…and fast!
Did you ever get one of those nights where it’s late, kind of too late to really make anything big but you’re going to go nuts if you don’t get something sweet? Like you want, no…you CRAVE cake or something sweet?
Now I know all of your professional and Mama bakers will scoff at this recipe because it breaks tradition but hey, when a girl wants chocolate and cake, and she doesn’t want to wait 45 minutes for it well by golly, she shouldn’t have to! It’s still homemade, it’s still delicious – it just happens to be done in under 3 minutes.
Yeah, take a look at that gooey, chocolate-ly, brownie yummy yumness in a mug just for one! Well okay, it’s technically enough for 2 buttttttttttt if you’re home alone on a Friday night, you have “Pitch Perfect” queued, your favorite jammies on, and the only hot date you have is with Mr. Sandman then by all means this is just perfect for you!
Grab Your Ingredients
I’m pretty sure you have most of these ingredients already in your pantry and fridge.
- Dry – flour, light brown sugar, chocolate powder, espresso powder (if you don’t have it you can omit it). baking powder), and salt
- Dairy – egg, butter, milk
- Oil
- Chocolate Chips
- Additional toppings
Grab Your Mug(s)
This is for one very large mug cake (like we’re talking about the big mugs) or you could easily make 2 and save one for later!
- Spray a LARGE 16-ounce coffee mug with cooking spray. *you can use 2 10-12 ounce cups and make an extra for later!
- In a bowl whisk together the brown sugar and melted butter. Whisk in the egg, milk, and oil and extract until smooth and well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder. Whisk just until combined – don’t over-whisk as you do not want to aerate this.
- Fold in the 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Pour this mixture into the mug (or mugs if you plan on sharing). The batter should fill the mug only to the 1/2-way mark as it will rise
- Microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Mine took about 2 minutes and 15 seconds as it’s a smaller microwave. The cake will be done when it’s puffed and still slightly wet/moist. The max cooking time is 3 minutes.
Chef’s Tips About Overflow
The cake might look overflowing from the mug, but it will settle. If it starts to get too high, shut off the microwave, give the mug a jiggle, and then microwave in 5-10-second increments.
This is why I suggest using a larger mug (not the one that comes with your dish set) or you use 2 regular-sized mugs.
Recipe Additions
What I did for mine is when the gooey brownie cake was done I added the remaining 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips on top and then drizzled the warmed peanut butter caramel sauce over it. I then just swirled the mug around a big and the warm sauce melted the chips on top.
- Chopped Nuts
- Splash of bourbon
- Chopped dried fruits
- 1-2 Tablespoons of peanut butter mixed into it
Not All Microwaves Are The Same
One thing to keep in mind is you need to pay attention when you’re cooking these. Not all microwaves are the same.
Mine takes about 2 minutes to cook this, yours may only take 1:30 and another may take 2:45 minutes. The brownie cake should look moist/wet and as you dig your spoon into it, it’ll be fudgy and gooey. Not raw. If you want it less fudgy, just cook it another 10-15 seconds but again this is supposed to be wet/moist and gooey fudgy.
PrintGooey Brownie Chocolate Mug Cake For One
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Category: cakes, desserts, mug cakes, quick desserts, gooey brownie, chocolate cake
- Method: microwave
- Cuisine: cakes, desserts, mug cakes, quick desserts, gooey brownie, chocolate cake
When that sweet tooth craving hits and you NEED a sweet treat and fast, this Gooey Brownie Mug Cake is perfect! Delicious chocolatey goodness is just minutes away!
Ingredients
- 1 large microwave-safe coffee mug (16 ounces or larger)
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour or 4 tablespoons Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or coconut oil (melted)
- 1 teaspoon chocolate extract (can use vanilla)
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips
- *Options: 1-2 tablespoon Peanut Butter Caramel Sauce, warmed
- 1 tablespoon of additional chocolate chips
Instructions
- Spray a LARGE 16-ounce coffee mug with cooking spray. *you can use 2 10-12 ounce cups and make an extra for later!
- In a bowl whisk together the brown sugar and melted butter. Whisk in the egg, milk, and oil and extract until smooth and well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder. Whisk just until combined – don’t over-whisk as you do not want to aerate this.
- Fold in the 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips. Pour this mixture into the mug (or mugs if you plan on sharing). Microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Mine took about 2 minutes and 15 seconds as it’s a smaller microwave. The cake will be done when it’s puffed and still slightly wet/moist. The max cooking time is 3 minutes.
- The cake might look overflowing from the mug, but it will settle. If it starts to get too high, shut off the microwave, give the mug a jiggle, and then microwave in 5-10-second increments.
Notes
Now what I did for mine is when the gooey brownie cake was done I added the remaining 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips on top and then drizzled the warmed peanut butter caramel sauce over it. I then just swirled the mug around a big and the warm sauce melted the chips on top.
Pepper says
After thinking ‘I want a sweet treat just for one, just for me’ found this recipe. Made it. And will be making it for the foreseeable future ‘cuz omg I found heaven! I’m the baker to my hubby and roommate and didn’t want a huge batch or mess or depression if it didn’t turn out…so happy! <3 This is going into the family recipe book!
Blessed Be, from a kitchen witch!
TKWAdmin says
Yeah!!! I actually just made this for the two of us. So happy you loved it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Bernadette Whitty says
Omg!!! I’m in LOVE! I didn’t have espresso powder, but this had plenty of flavour. Instead of the 3 tbsp of milk, I used 2 + 1 tbsp of Rumchata (hell yeah!). And I added 2 tbsp of pecans. Amazing! New favourite mug dessert!
TKWAdmin says
OMG no you didn’t!!! That’s friggen awesome! I’m sooooooooooo doing that! Thank you so much!!!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Dea Varner says
Bernadette, you are my kinda person!!!!!!!! LOVE me some Rumchata…. swoon……!!!!!
Zoe says
pretty good 😊……………..!
Jennifer says
My Husband told me he wanted a brownie and I cam across your recipe. I made it exactly and he loved it! Thank you for sharing. Now I don’t have to make a batch of brownies.
Amelia says
Can i use salted butter
TKWAdmin says
You can but omit the salt in the recipe.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Vany says
This is the best chocolate mug cake I’ve ever tried, and I’ve tried many!
The expresso powder adds such a nice taste to it!
I will definitely recommend this recipe to other people.
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Vany! I’m so happy that you loved it as much as I do!
Best Kitchen Wishes
Maggie says
I have tried several microwave mug desserts and this one is BY FAR the best! Thanks for the recipe 😃
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Maggie! I’m so happy you loved this as much as I love it!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Maya Cansdale says
This is the best mug cake I have come across!! I’ve tried many xD normally they come up either still raw, too dry, or spongy. This tasted exactly like a regular cake! I even had to use a baking powder substitute (because I totally forgot to check it I had all the ingredients haha) by mixing 1/4 white vinegar and about 1/3 of a 1/4 tsp (I just eyed it) of baking powder. I also put peanut butter on top and it tasted prime. I will definitely keep this as my go to recipe. Thank you so much!
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Maya! Great tip on the baking powder substitute!
OMG.. peanut butter too?! Are we soul sisters??? 🙂
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Lena says
I have been searching for the perfect brownie in a mug recipe, and OMG have I found it!!!! None of the mug recipes I’ve found even compared to their full pan relative but this one measures up. My hubby doesn’t eat a lot of sweets and I find myself wasting a whole pan of brownies since it is just the two of us. This is perfect for those night where I need a quick chocolate fix.
I didn’t have any espresso so I just left it out nor any caramel sauce but I did have some caramel bits, so I decided to just fold about a tbsp in with the chocolate chips. This lead to heavenly burst of caramel throughout the brownie. I have some left over toffee bits from another recipe. Maybe I will throw them in next time.
If you are looking for a dry brownie, this recipe is not for you. If you are looking for rich and gooey chocolate goodness, then try this out. I put mine in for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. I thought it wasn’t quite done so I put it in for another 30 seconds. It was absolutely wonderful, although I think I will put it in for 1 minute and 45 seconds next time. It will not quite look like it is done, so be careful not to overcook it. Since I did have a small bit of overflow after putting it back in the microwave, I will probably stop it after 1 minute and 15 seconds to let it settle a bit. Sorry to be so wordy but I can’t contain my excitement and I can’t thank you enough for this recipe!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Lena,
Thank you so very, VERY much! I’m so happy you loved it! This is definitely a gooey, fudgy over the top chocolate mug brownie that’s a little sinful and a whole lot of heavenly deliciousness! And please never apologize for how little or much you write. I absolutely love hearing for you all! Even the bad stuff I love it – it helps me become a better chef!
Now if you’ll excuse me I have a date with my microwave and mug 😉
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Caaren says
This was divine! Thanks for sharing ????
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Caaren!
Best Kitchen Wishes!