Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (16 g) all-purpose flour

• 2 tablespoons (25 g) sugar

• 4 teaspoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt use a pinch

• 1 ounce (28 g) milk or dark chocolate broken into roughly 1-inch pieces or chocolate chips, divided (see notes)

• 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together. To a 12-ounce mug, add half of chocolate pieces with butter. Microwave butter and chocolate pieces at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. (See notes regarding microwave power below.)

2. Add flour mixture, egg, and vanilla and using a fork, thoroughly mix until smooth and well combined (being sure to scrape corners of mug).

3. Microwave cake batter at 50% power until batter has doubled in size, 50 to 70 seconds. 

4. Press remaining chocolate pieces into center of cake until top of chocolate pieces are flush with top of cake. Microwave cake at 50% power until cake is firm but top is just wet and tacky to the touch, 15 to 30 seconds (cake may rise above edge of mug, but should not overflow). Let cake rest for 2 minutes. Serve.

Special Equipment

12-ounce microwave-safe mug, microwave

Notes

I developed this recipe in a full-size 1,000-watt microwave. If the wattage of your microwave is less than or greater than 1,000 watts, you will need to increase or decrease the cooking times throughout to reach the visual cues. I recommend writing down the cooking time once you've dialed it in for your particular microwave.

I prefer bar chocolate (milk, dark, or bittersweet), as chocolate chips are harder to insert into the cake to form the molten center, but chocolate chips will do in a pinch.