Desserts · Cakes & loaves

Chocolate mug cake

Name: Chocolate mug cake
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1 servings
Ingredients: 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 2 tbsp granulated sugar; 2 tbsp cocoa powder; 1/2 tsp baking powder; a pinch salt; 1/4 cup whole milk; 1 tbsp canola oil; 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 squares dark chocolate 70-85%, pushed into the middle

The 90-second dessert the internet never stopped making: a single-serving chocolate cake microwaved in the mug you eat it from. Dangerous knowledge, honestly scored.

Time: 5 min (3 prep + 2 cook)
Servings: 1
Per serving: 503 kcal
Protein: 10 g

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour32 g
2 tbsp granulated sugar25 g
2 tbsp cocoa powder12 g
1/2 tsp baking powder2 g
a pinch salt1 g
1/4 cup whole milk60 g
1 tbsp canola oil15 g
1/2 tsp vanilla extract2 g
2 squares dark chocolate 70-85%, pushed into the middle15 g

Every ingredient links to its food page — same data, same score, same formula.

Steps

Whisk the dry things right in the mug with a fork, then stir in the milk, oil and vanilla until just smooth.
Push the chocolate squares into the centre — they become the molten middle.
Microwave 70–90 seconds at full power. It's done when the top looks set but barely; every extra ten seconds costs moisture.
One minute of patience (it's lava), then a spoon.

Why do mug cakes turn rubbery?

Overcooking, almost always. Microwaves keep cooking the crumb after the ding; pull it at 'just set' and carryover finishes the job. If yours is still rubbery at 70 seconds, your microwave runs hot — try 60.

Alternative

Protein mug cakethe whey rebuild49

Why this score

engineered against fullness

Fat and refined carbohydrate converging the way engineered food does; dense calories with little protein, volume or fiber to fill you up.

Three routes to fullness — one is enough

7% of kcal

21% water

14 g/Mcal

What pulls it down

25%

33%

How scores work

Computed on the finished dish, not an average of the parts: 503 kcal goes into the pot, 164 g of ingredients comes out as ~130 g of food → 387 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water, and energy density is the score's biggest lever — so we show the math. Full formula here.

Per

Calories: 387
Protein: (7%); 7 g
Fat: (43%); 20 g
Carbohydrates: (50%); 51 g
of which sugar: 25 g
Fiber: 5 g
Sodium: 443 mg

Percentages are the share of calories from each macronutrient.

Computed from the ingredients' USDA data — nothing typed by hand. Every number is traceable, every score recomputable.

More desserts

Photo: AI-generated. Nutrition and score are computed from the ingredients with the published formula — this recipe hasn't been kitchen-tested by us yet.