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I am so excited to share this 5 Minute Red Velvet Mug Cake made in a microwave with you guys! We’ve all been there: it’s midnight, we are craving dessert, and we simply don’t want to go through the trouble of making a whole batch of something when we just need a quick sweet fix. Well, this is the answer.
This cake takes only 5 minutes (including the microwaving), the texture is ultra moist and velvety quite similar to a red velvet cake, and it tastes really good. And the ultra quick and easy cream cheese frosting is the icing on top of the cake (literally).
I’m not going to lie and tell you this cake is as good as a proper, oven-baked red velvet cake. Because microwaves cannot compete with ovens when it comes to baking. But when you consider the effort to output ratio, this cake IS really good, and does satisfy the sweet cravings.
TIPS TO MAKE RED VELVET MUG CAKE
Before we delve into the recipe, here are some tips to make this Red Velvet mug cake:
- Choose the right kind of mug. It should be microwave safe, and have around 10-12oz of capacity. The cake won’t take up the full mug, but can rise quite a bit in the microwave, and using a big enough mug will help ensure the batter does not spill
- Start with the wet ingredients. When you put the wet ingredients into the mug first, it is easier to mix everything together. Starting with dry ingredients sometimes results in clumps of flour in the bottom corners of the mug which are hard to mix in.
- Sift the dry ingredients. Since we are pretty much dumping everything into the mug, I recommend sifting the dry ingredients to minimize any lumps
- Adjust the sweetness to your preference. I find that 2 tbsp of sugar leads to a mildly sweet cake, but you can add more or less based on how you like things
- “Bake” for the right amount of time. For me, this cake takes 90s in a 12oz glass mug. But with microwave cakes, it is really hard to give a precise amount of time, since different microwaves have different power settings, and the time will also depend on how large or wide your mug is. This cake can take anywhere between 60-90s (maybe even longer), and you have to judge based on how the cake looks. I start pausing and looking at my cake around the ~75s mark – if I see wet batter on it, it needs a few more seconds, but if I don’t see any wet batter and the cake pushes back when lightly poked, it is ready. You can also adjust the timing based on the texture you want – cooking for longer will result in a more dry, spongey texture vs shorter will result in a more moist, dense texture.
VARIATIONS
You can play around with this recipe in many ways! Aside from just adjusting the quantity of sugar to your liking, you can:
- Add chocolate chips (milk, semi or white all work great)
- Add more cocoa powder and omit the red food color to make this cake taste more chocolatey
- Remove the cocoa powder to turn this into a vanilla cake, though you might need to add more vanilla extract
- Play around with different toppings – e.g., chocolate ganache, Nutella, buttercream
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Ingredients
Cake:
- 4 tbsp milk (60g)
- 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil (20g)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Few drops of gel red food color
- 4 tbsp all purpose flour (32g)
- 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (4g)
- 2 tbsp sugar (27g)
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
Cream cheese frosting:
- 1 tbsp cream cheese, room temperature (15g)
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1–2 tbsp powdered sugar, to taste
Instructions
- To a ~10-12oz microwave safe mug, add the milk, vinegar, oil and vanilla. Use a whisk or fork to mix together
- Add red food color and mix. The color should be a strong red (it will get diluted once we add cocoa powder)
- Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Add the sugar. Whisk again until a smooth batter is formed (no need to overmix)
- Microwave on the default setting for 60-90 seconds (my cake takes 90 seconds to cook fully, but cooking time can vary; see notes)
- Let the cake cool for 15 minutes (you can place it in the fridge after 5 minutes to speed up the cooling process)
- In the meanwhile, use a fork to mix together the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting until it looks creamy
- Spread a generous amount of the cream cheese frosting onto the cake
- Serve and enjoy!
Video Tutorial
Notes
- Cooking time can vary based on the Microwave and your mug. I recommend you start checking for doneness around the 60s mark – see if there is any wet batter, if there is, immediately cook again for 10-20 seconds. If there isn’t any wet batter, lightly poke the cake – if it is done, it should spring back. Try not to leave long gaps between Microwaving as this can cause the cake to deflate and become dense in texture
MORE MUG CAKES
Here are some more microwave mug cakes you will enjoy:
- 5 minute oreo mug cake which uses crushed oreos in the batter and is ultra moist and decadent
- My most popular 5 minute chocolate mug cake that actually tastes like proper cake
- My personal favorite Biscoff mug cake that has a beautiful warm flavor and soft texture
- Hot chocolate mug cakes for two made with a microwave chocolate cake and topped with a delectable hot chocolate
Comments
Finley
Really good, but could have been a little more flavorful.
Tomi
Oh, wow! This was by far the best mug cake recipe I’ve ever tried! I was hesitant to try a mug recipe that suggests sifting, because it contradicted my idea of “ease” I usually associate with mug cakes – but I think it made a huge difference (and sifting, as it turns out, is waaay easier to do in micro batches). Loved it!
jack
was very yummy!! i didn’t include the white vinegar, and added more sugar, but stayed true to the recipe for the most of it. i was worried cuz the batter was soupy, but it turned out to be just fine after baking it. thank you so much for the recipe :]
ariel
bad
Manzi
hands down the best red velvet mug cake I’ve had!!
It was perfectly moist and fudgy and just tasted sooooo good I loved it!!!
much love and prayers to you zoha♡
Carolyn
I love is recipe but, I used store-bought, Betty Crocker cream cheese icing. It was WAY too sweet but the bites of cake I got w/o icing were heavenly. If you do make this, I advise you use the icing recipe that Zoha wrote, or just go without. This cake is amazing though.
Zoha
Glad you liked the cake, Carolyn!
Shez
My kids just loved it, the fact is that its such an easy recipe of yours, my 9 year old daughter made it by herself. And the little one just enjoyed it too much.
Zoha
Awww!!! That makes me so so happy. Another baker in the making <3
Bob
It tasted like playdoh I’m so sorry I didn’t like it