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Picture this: it’s late at night, and you have a sudden, strong craving for something sweet, but you really don’t want to spend energy or a big batch of ingredients. Enter: the most decadent, delicious and unbelievably easy Hot Chocolate Mugs For Two. These moist, chocolatey mug cakes are covered in a rich, silky hot chocolate, and take just 10 minutes to make with basic pantry ingredients. Sound too good to be true? Well, lucky for you, it’s really not!
Read the full blog post below for detailed notes, tips, tricks, photos and videos.
Why you need this recipe in your life
To be honest, these hot chocolate mug cakes are so good that I was flabbergasted when tasting them. I didn’t feel worthy of such a delicious dessert after the near-zero effort I put in making it. It felt like I had stumbled upon a forgotten $100 bill in an old pair of jeans!
I took them to my friends for a tasting the next day and they were similarly blown away. Their first bites were followed by some “mmm”s and “aaaaahhh”s and they said they had to have the recipe right away.
If that doesn’t convince you, here are a few more reasons you MUST try this recipe:
- You want a quick fix that doesn’t feel like a quick fix. I know, most mug cakes turn out crappy and dry and sugary. But trust me, these are NOT that! They are so incredible that you won’t believe they’re mug cakes. They will hit all the right spots and make it into your permanent dessert rotation
- You don’t want to make a big batch of dessert. Whether you’re baking for yourself or you and a partner, this is the perfect small batch dessert. The recipe yields two servings, but you can also easily halve all quantities to make just one
- You love chocolate. Chocolate cake with hot chocolate on top – it doesn’t get much more chocolatey than this
Oh, also, they are eggless and use basic pantry ingredients. So, I actually think the better question is why should you not make this recipe… there really isn’t an excuse!
What are these hot chocolate mug cakes made of?
These hot chocolate mug cakes have 2 simple and quick components:
- The chocolate mug cake itself, based on my Viral Chocolate Mug Cake. Made with 7 basic pantry ingredients (and no eggs), the cake batter comes together in just 2 minutes in one bowl. The cakes are then cooked in the microwave for 60-70s one by one
- The hot chocolate. This is inspired by my incredible Paris Hot Chocolate recipe, and is not made for the faint of heart. It is ultra chocolatey, rich and decadent. You simply chuck the ingredients into a saucepan and cook until everything is melted. Then pour the hot chocolate on top of the mug cakes and you’re ready to enjoy!
If you’re feeling fancy, you can top off the mug cakes with whipped cream, shaved chocolate, or marshmallows. You don’t really need any of that, though.
Tips to perfect this recipe
Here are a few quick tips for this quick recipe:
- Measure the dry ingredients accurately. Especially with flour and cocoa powder, make sure you don’t stuff the spoon measures as you will end up with too much. Here’s a set of spoon measures I love
- Sift the dry ingredients. It is a quick step which helps ensure there aren’t any lumps in the cakes
- Use large, microwave safe mugs. Your mugs should be around 15oz for this recipe. These are the exact ones I used and loved!
- Microwave the cakes one by one. I don’t really know the science behind this, but placing 2 mugs in the microwave at once will make it so neither of them cooks properly
- Don’t overcook the mug cakes. 60-70 seconds in the microwave on high should be more than enough, and it’s better to undercook than overcook
- Use good quality dark chocolate for the hot chocolate. I use Lindt 70%!
Process with photos
The detailed recipe is provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but let’s quickly go over the steps with photos.
For the cake batter, start by whisking together the milk, oil and sugar:
Sift in the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined:
Divide evenly between 2 15oz mugs and microwave one by one:
Make the hot chocolate by placing all ingredients in a saucepan and cooking until melted:
Pour the hot chocolate on top of the mug cakes. Decorate however you like, serve and enjoy!
Frequently asked questions
To accommodate both the cake and hot chocolate, your mugs should be at least 15oz. These are the mugs I used
Yes! This recipe makes 2 mug cakes, but you can easily halve all quantities to make just one, or similarly increase all quantities to make more. Just make sure to microwave each mug cake one by one if making multiple.
This is likely because your mug is too small, or you added too much baking powder. Measure accurately and make sure your mug is the right size.
This recipe should make a very moist and soft mug cake. A rubbery or dry cake is indicative of being overcooked, or incorrect measurements. Please be precise with the measurements and stop cooking once the cake is soft but not wet on the top (60-70s).
Since this is a quick small serve dessert, I recommend eating it in one sitting. However, if you have leftovers, place them in an airtight container in the fridge, and microwave to warm up when you’re ready to eat again.
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Ingredients
Mug Cakes
- 1/2 cup milk (120g)
- 3 tbsp oil (40g)
- 6 tbsp sugar (80g)
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour (65g)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder (25g)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Hot Chocolate
- 1/4 cup milk (60g)
- 1/2 cup cream (120g)
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ tsp espresso powder
- 4 oz good quality dark chocolate (113g); between 60-70% cocoa
Instructions
- For the cake batter, first whisk together the oil, milk and sugar for a few seconds
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, and whisk again until the ingredients are just combined
- Divide the batter evenly between 2 15 oz mugs
- Microwave the mug cakes one by one for 60-70 seconds. When done, the cakes should still be soft but not have any wet batter on top. If in doubt, lean on the side of undercooking vs overcooking as that will make them dry
- In the meanwhile, get started with the hot chocolate. Add all the ingredients (milk, cream, powdered sugar, espresso powder and dark chocolate) in a nonstick saucepan. Cook and stir over medium low heat for a few minutes until everything is melted and the mixture starts to simmer and thicken up
- Pour the hot chocolate on top of the mug cakes
- Optionally, top off with whipped cream, marshmallows or shaved chocolate
- Serve while still hot and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
Here are some more quick small-serve chocolate recipes for you!
Comments
Nabila Taha Yahya
Absolutely going to try this. Looks irresistible. Will you please suggest a diabetic friendly substitute? Like monk-fruit sugar? I baked using it but tended to get the monk-fruit-sugar quantity wrong. Any low-sugar substitute will do.
Zoha Malik
Hi Nabila! You can try with monk fruit sugar but I haven’t – not sure if it will develop a strange flavor from the heat!
Aminah saad
can i make this in an oven or air fryer instead?
Zoha Malik
Nope, this is a microwave recipe!
Zuhaa
Hi, Baker from Lahore, Pakistan!
Love your recipes and been trying them instantly always. 😌
Muskaan
Saw this recipe on Instagram and tried it out today…turned out so good ❤️
Ruhaimah
Hi Zoha
I made it and it is so good thank you so much for this recipe
I have also tried you salted Carmel chocolate fudge cake and that was delicious and amazing
Khadija
Amazing!
Rizwana Ibrahim
can we split into 3 smaller cups
Faiza
The stars
Faiza
Me and my husband made this together just now and the mug cakes with the hot chocolate turned out just amazing!
You are right to say that the hot chocolate topping is not for the faint hearted!
It felt a bit heavy though so we couldn’t finish it all up in one go… waiting for more space in my stomach to eat it again tomorrow!
Zoha
i totally understand, next time you can make less of the topping!
Aishwarya
Have made this countless number of times. It’s absolutely amazing
Ariba
Just made this hot chocolate for my son and he loved it. He is not feeling well and this warm and delicious hot chocolate was a perfect treat for him. Thank you for the recipe 💕
Sadaf
Made this with my 4yo.
so easy and soooooo good!
no one can say it was made in literally 5 mins.
It’s a keeper!
ayezel
i made this right now and it was so easy and SO good!!
Sonia
So decadent and delicious!! And easy to make too! Thank you for the wonderful recipe 😋
Urooba
Made the mug cakes (minus the hot chocolate) with my 6-yo niece, as a fun lil activity. Threw in a few dark chocolate chips as well. They turned out soooo good! Even my brother exclaimed, “after such a long time I’ve had a good dessert!”. I’m sure this will be my go-to recipe for mug cakes, from now on.
Zoha
AWW how sweet is that! Thank you!
Zoha
Isn’t this just the best!? I am so obsessed!
Fatima Zaidi
Omg absolutely love this!
Shehla
Hi Zoha,
Really love your recipes. My daughter wants to try this mug cake but I don’t have a microwave. It’s my request to kindly mention oven alternative for your microwave recipes🫰🏽 I would be grateful.
Zoha
I knowwwwww!!!
Ibtesam
Hi Zoha!! I saw you link this mug cake recipe in your stories and I had to try it ASAP. It was so easy to prepare it without a hassle and it turned out so much better than expected. That hot chocolate on top was chef’s kiss!! My siblings devoured the cake in minutes!! Thanks a lot for this recipe and I’ll always support your recipes- Both savoury and sweet <3
Zoha
AWWW thank you so much Ibtesam!! It means the world to me that you trusted and tried this recipe so quickly!
Hafsa
Hi zoha..
I made this mug cake today. It was heavenly delicious 😋. Thank you for the recipe ❤️❤️❤️
Zoha
YAYYY thank you Hafsa!