Easy vanilla mug cake recipe (no egg)

In the mood for homemade cake, but in minutes instead of an hour? Make this easy vanilla mug cake recipe in the microwave!

What is a mug cake?

In a nutshell, a mug cake is nothing more than cake in a mug from the microwave. Truth be told, a real baker will now turn his nose up at even the mention of making a cake in the microwave, but it can be a real bonus if you know how to make this well. It’s the fastest way for making single serving desserts.

Cake in a mug

We all know this one. You’re in the mood for a nice piece of cake, but the thought of having to wait another hour for it to be done keeps you from getting into the kitchen. That’s why this easy microwave vanilla mug cake is ideal. With this recipe, you can enjoy a delicious serving of vanilla cake in a cozy mug in just five minutes.

Those five minutes include both the prep time ánd the baking time for this recipe. To prepare, all you need to do is stir the ingredients together in the mug. And then the real magic begins, because a mug cake takes about two minutes of microwave time. Yes, a microwaveable cake. And the best part?  It tastes delicious!

Baking tip: I usually use 250-300 ml (1 cup or a little more) large mug for my mug cakes. Make sure the mugs are microwave safe

Of course I already made a couple of different versions for you to try:

• Chocolate mug cake
• Banana bread mug cake

Making a Mug Cake

Once you’ve mastered making the best vanilla mug cake recipe it is super easy to vary and make any kind of mug recipes you want. You can add pieces of fruit, chocolate, spices or nuts. Serve it with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you have an individual serving of a very easy dessert. Pretty close to the perfect dessert or a sweet treat if you ask me!

What you need to make this mug cake

Making this you need pretty simple ingredients and you can add wet ingredients and dry ingredients together at the same time. It just requires a bit of stirring in your mug and you have the best mug cake you’ll ever need.

You will need:

• self-rising flour
• sugar – I use fine granulated sugar for this
• salt
• whole milk – you can even make this vegan by swapping the milk for plant based milk
• vanilla extract – or use vanilla bean paste for even more vanilla flavor
• oil – I use sunflower oil

Can you bake this cupcake in the oven?

After many questions, I have tested this extensively for you and yes, it is possible by adding some extra baking powder to make the cake rise sufficiently. This is because the microwave makes the cake rise explosively in a short amount of time, while eggs combined with baking powder make the cake rise in a normal cake recipe. I prefer not to use eggs in this case because it becomes a complicated calculation for a mug cake.

If you want to make this moist cake in the oven you do the following:

You add 2 grams of baking powder (a little less than half a teaspoon) to the recipe.

Bake this cupcake in the oven at 180°C (350˚F, conventional oven) for 20-25 minutes until done. Test with a cake skewer to make sure the cake is done, otherwise leave it in the oven for a few more minutes.

Want to bake more than one cupcake in the oven? Take my recipe for vanilla cupcakes and divide it in half or four for a smaller portion. After all, this is the best recipe for baking delicious cupcakes in the oven.