This Gluten-Free Mug Cake is rich and chocolatey without any grains or dairy. A decadent chocolate mug cake that is ready in under two minutes, you’ll love how quickly you can make this microwave souffle. Open your pantry, grab a few ingredients and whip up a paleo mug cake today!
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WARNING: making this chocolate mug cake even once will lead to microwave mug cake addiction. You cannot avoid it. It’s going to happen.
I have been working on this microwave souffle recipe for seven months. SEVEN. It took me forever to get just right, and I cannot wait for you to make your own gooey chocolate mug cake at home.
I don’t post a lot of desserts on this blog. The last were these Fudgy Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownies that will blow your freaking mind. To post a dessert, it has to be really special, and this chocolate mug cake recipe is truly divine.
And holy smokes, it’s SO EASY.
From a texture standpoint, I would say this is more like a lava cake or a souffle. And given that I don’t actually like cake, I consider that a good thing.
What Is a Mug Cake?
It’s a cake. In a mug.
I know. You hate me a little bit right now. I deserve that.
Basically, a mug cake is a single-serve cake you make in a microwave in a mug or ramekin. You might see mug cake recipes called microwave souffle, microwave mug cake, cake in a cup, or a microwave cake recipe.
They’re all the same thing and they all eat the same!
Can You Bake a Mug Cake?
Yes! If you don’t have a microwave, you can bake this gooey chocolate mug cake in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-25 minutes.
What Ingredients are In Gluten-Free Chocolate Mug Cake?
- 1 Egg
- Milk (use your favorite, and see recipe notes for dairy-free options)
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Butter, ghee, or olive oil cooking spray
- Vanilla extract (related: Homemade Vanilla Extract)
- Almond extract (optional)
- Maple Syrup
- Milk or dark chocolate (optional)
How to Make Gluten-Free Mug Cake
*A detailed (with measurements) and printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.
You’ll want to use a mug that is 12 oz or bigger since the mug cake will rise as it is cooking (and then sink back down a bit).
(1) Give the mug a little spray with olive oil (I used my Misto). Pro tip: if you prefer to use butter or ghee, add a sliver to the mug and microwave for 15 seconds. Swirl around the bottom and sides.
(2-3) Add the ingredients in this order:
- Milk
- Maple syrup
- Egg
- Extracts
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
(4) Mix really well with a fork, scraping down the sides (the cocoa powder will definitely get on the sides).
(5) If you are adding a square of chocolate, drop it into the center.
Microwave for 40 seconds. Allow it to cool for a minute and then dig in!
Yeah, that’s it. Seriously.
Recipe Notes
- Use your favorite milk for this paleo mug cake recipe. If you are dairy-free, any non-dairy milk would work except for full-fat coconut milk. One recipe tester used Vanilla Nutpods!
- If you’re making multiple gooey chocolate mug cakes, mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl with a pour spout (this is my all-time favorite kitchen bowls) and then distribute to individual containers.
- You can make your microwave souffle ahead of time, but the top will crust up a bit. Instead, I recommend mixing everything up and having it ready to go in the fridge and then microwaving at the time of serving. Since they only take 45 seconds each, they’re so easy to make on-demand.
Paleo Mug Cake Variations
- Add a teaspoon of jam (related: Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam or No-Cook Raspberry Jam) instead of the square of chocolate to make a fruity chocolate mug cake.
- Sub out the almond extract for hazelnut extract and make it a “Nutella” mug cake.
- Top with sprinkles, whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar (related: How to Make Powdered Sugar).
- Fresh fruit: raspberries, strawberries, a sprig a mint. Yes, I know mint is not fruit. 🙂
- Grate in a little orange zest before cooking it in the microwave for a chocolate orange mug cake.
More Gluten-Free Dessert Recipe Ideas
- Strawberry Truffles
- Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
- Mocha Frosting
- Healthy Marshmallows
- Gluten-Free Blackberry Crisp
- Chocolate Vegan Ice Cream
- Old-Fashioned Fudge
- No Churn Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Raspberry Lemon Creme Brulee
- Vegan Chocolate Mousse from Hey Nutrition Lady
- Chocolate Pretzel Bark
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Gluten-Free Mug Cake {Paleo Chocolate Mug Cake}
Ingredients
- olive oil cooking spray or a sliver of butter or ghee
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tbsp milk non-dairy, dairy, whatever!
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 square dark chocolate optional
Instructions
- Lightly spray the inside of the mug with olive oil. Pro tip: if you prefer to use butter or ghee, add a sliver to the mug and microwave for 15 seconds. Swirl around the bottom and sides.
- Add the ingredients in this order:-Milk-Maple syrup-Egg-Vanilla and almond extracts-Cocoa powder-Baking powder
- Mix ingredients really well with a fork, scraping down the sides (the cocoa powder will get on the sides).
- If you are adding a square of chocolate, drop it into the center now.
- Microwave for 40 seconds. Allow it to cool for a minute and then enjoy!
Notes
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
A special thank you to long-time reader Erin for testing this recipe for me!
Recipes Mentioned In this Post
I made this with carob powder instead of cocoa (migraines) and it was delicious! Almond milk worked just fine. I did have to cook it for closer to 65 seconds. Next time adding a little peanut butter to the middle. Perfect for a small sweet at the end of the day! I used Bob’s Red Mill Toasted Carob Powder, it’s the tastiest carob powder I’ve found so far.
Love the substitution and the idea of the peanut butter Karen! And toasted carob powder sounds delightful.
Winner! I made this for my hubby’s birthday.
I made it with heavy cream, sugar free syrup, and Lily’s milk chocolate bar in the middle as my keto substitutions.
In the written recipe, your ingredients have baking powder but the instructions and blog say baking soda. I went with baking soda.
Who-hoo, so glad it worked out! But you know I can’t let you get away with just that. What syrup did you use? How much? Same amount as the maple syrup?
Someone pointed out the powder vs soda error on Instagram and yeah, that’s confusing! It’s supposed to be baking powder but I’m glad the soda worked out.
Checking emails after coming home from vacation & this is by far my favorite one! My daughter is mug cake obsessed, so I’ve been pretty jealous, but now I can make my own!!! So excited to try this!
Hurray, I’m so glad I could help Izzy! Can’t wait to hear what you think of it. Hilariously enough, everyone who has made it so far has made it for breakfast.
Yum! It boggles my mind that you can have something cake like without any kind of flour like substance. I tried this out for breakfast this morning with a bit of cherry preserves. So delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I have to say, I love that of everyone who has made this cake, they ALL made it for breakfast. It makes my heart so happy!
I’m thrilled you loved it Emily!
I do think it would make a lovely dessert but I was anxious to make it so I figured why not breakfast. I am dreaming of a version with some added peanut butter…. Clearly that is a sign that I need to check out your peanut butter ice cream recipe next.
I think peanut butter would be divine!!!
Umm, amazing timing. (Is it bad that my phone autocorrected amazing to Amazon? Don’t answer that).
I was just asking my husband what he needed to make brownie batter so I could eat the batter, not the cooked brownies. I think this is a better option…cooked eggs but still gooey, and a smaller size.
Haha, that autocorrect is amazing! My phone kept changing “pepperspray” to “peppers pray”. Come on Apple, do better.
Please report back once you try the mug cake. I’m pretty much obsessed with them now and can’t wait for others to make them too!
Totally going to do this with sugar free syrup. It looks yummy! And I still haven’t made your gluten free brownies.
Girl, I was hoping you’d pipe in with a sugar-free option! If you do make it, please report back how it turned out and what brand/type of syrup you used. I’ll update the recipe with it as an option.
When you get an email from Sarah that basically says, “I need 1 minute of your life to test a recipe for me”, you do it! This microwave souffle/cake was a hit with my 3 year old. He enjoyed helping me make it, watching it in the microwave, and then devouring the ooey, gooey deliciousness. When she says that they are addictive, she is absolutely correct. I have made one every day since the recipe was given to me for testing.
I will add that when making multiple batches this morning at breakfast (don’t judge me) I mixed all the ingredients for the multiple cakes together in a larger container and then poured it out into each mug for baking. It worked really well!
Ha, you’re now my official GF recipe tester! I mean, Davy is. 🙂
No judgment about the breakfast cake. It DOES have eggs in it. I mean, eggs are a breakfast food!
Great tip about mixing up multiple ones at once. That’s what I did for the styled photos in the post. I’ll add that as a tip to the recipe. Thanks again lady!