You’re going to want to have this Coffee Cake In A Mug recipe tucked into your back pocket for the next time you get a sugar craving. It can be mixed up and cooked in just 2 minutes!
By now we all know that I like food, but what I haven’t told you is that I’m not a huge chocolate fan. Gasp! I like chocolate, I really do, and while I think that chocolate milkshakes and Reese’s peanut butter cups are from the gods, I just can’t handle a lot of it. Dark chocolate? No thanks. If I had my choice between a fruit cobbler with ice cream and a Death by Chocolate cake, I’m going with the cobbler. Sorry folks, no shame.
What I’m really trying to get at here is that I’ve done the cake in a mug thing before and wasn’t sold- that totally relates, right?. I usually try to stay FAR, FAR away from the microwave when it comes to anything besides reheating food. In fact, baking in the microwave pretty much goes against everything I believe in. Until now. The chocolate mug cakes I’ve made in the past were 1. WAY too chocolaty for my tastes and 2. like eating rubber.
I was in the mood for cake the other morning – it was almost noon, don’t judge– and I had zero counter, oven, or sink space because I was in the midst of cooking for 300 people. So I went against my better judgement and headed for the microwave and I am so glad that I did. Well, kind of. It may or may not be true that I’ve made this every day for the past week during nap time and my butt is getting big.
**Update: If you like pumpkin, hop on over here for a pumpkin version of this cake that is just as sinfully good as this one!**
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp applesauce
- vanilla extract, few drops
- 1/4 C All Purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- In a mug soften 1 tbsp of butter in microwave, about 5 seconds. You don’t want it melted, just soft. Stir in 2 tbsp of sugar and mix until well incorporated. Stir in applesauce, vanilla (just a tiny bit, we’re talking drops), flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt; stirring until just combined. Use the back of your spoon to smooth it out in the bottom of the mug.
- Want struesel? Of course you do! In a separate, small bowl, combine 1 tbsp of butter, 2 tbsp of flour, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, and ¼ tsp cinnamon. Use your fingers to to pinch the butter and mix it in with the other ingredients. When it starts to look like lumpy sand (appetizing, eh?) and all ingredients are combined, pour on top of cake batter in mug.
- Cook in the microwave for 50-80 seconds depending on your microwave. At 1 minute, my microwave cooks it perfectly. It will look just barely set on top. You don’t want to overcook it and things tend to get ugly fast in the microwave. I suggest cooking it 50 seconds, and then in 10 second intervals checking after each interval until done. Eat white it’s still warm. Once it cools off, it tends to loose some of it’s magic!
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Sounds yummy! I’ll try it out this a.m. unless I am out of butter! :o(
Thanks Heather.
I too dislike chocolate, and I like that you make it from scratch. I usually don’t like sweets, but I have a nostalgic twang for coffee cakes, because it was something I enjoyed as a kid.
That said, I will take your recipe and deconstruct it, try almond meal and stevia and try to incorporate some ground flax seed into it… healthy(ish) can be tasty too
Thanks for the recipe and inspiration<3
I hope your deconstruction works–I can’t use regular flour, being gluten-free, so I need to deconstruct, too. Maybe coconut flour would work as well?
So how did the deconstruction go? 13 weight watchers points total- I am searching for a healthier alternative 🙂
YES! Thank you! Finally a mug cake that isn’t some sort of chocolatey – I’m kinda with you on the chocolate thing. Too much of it is pretty boring to me. Plus, the texture of this actually does look baked. Pinning this one for sure!
That sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to try it.
Have you ever heard of the 3-2-1 minute cupcake? In a gallon bag -Mix 1 dry cake mix any flavor you like with 1 angel food cake mix. (you must use 1 angel food mix) To make one serving, mix in a cup or ramekin – 3 tbsp cake mixture with 2 tbsp of water, stir well and bake in microwave 1 minute. Serve with ice cream and your favorite topping. Whenever you need a quick dessert in a minute try this. (Sometimes I stir in a few white choclate chips.)
I haven’t tried it, but I will now! Thanks!
I make 3-2-1 Microwave cake all the time. I live alone so making a big cake is out of the question because I would feel obligated to eat it before it got funny. I do like chocolate, so I’ve made 3-2-1 with chocolate cake mix last winter, but for the warmer weather I’ve made it with lemon cake and topped it with fruit or ice cream.
It’s also great when I have unexpected guests. It means I always have something quick I can serve and people have fun adding their own toppings.
I haven’t got adventurous enough yet to try making microwave cakes from scratch yet, but this one looks easy and yummy. So I’ll make sure I get the needed ingredients the next time I grocery shop.
How fun this will be to make for my kids in the morning…thank you!
I am a fan of chocolate, but the microwave chocolate cake left a lot to be desired (at least the one I tried a few years ago). However, I am also a fan of cinnamon, and this looks pretty fantastic.
One question – I don’t routinely have applesauce in my house, can I substitute canola oil?
(You may be weird not liking chocolate, but I’m weird by not liking anything make from apples…. applesauce, apple juice, apple pie – YUCK. Give me a REAL apple any day!)
Haha, I’ve never heard of an aversion to all things apple! Love it. I’ve never used canola oil, but I have used sour cream and greek yogurt with good results. I don’t see why the canola oil wouldn’t work, I’ve just never tried it. If you do give it a go, let me know how it works!
Tried this cake if it’s doughy did I add a bit too much apple sauce or did I cook it too long ?
I’m thinking it probably wasn’t cooked long enough. I would try adding 10 seconds at a time, checking between intervals until it’s where you would like it. Too much applesauce might be the culprit to, but if you kept it at 2 tbsp. you should be good.
most likely too long. the applesauce would make it spongy
I made this. It was goooood. I didn’t have applesauce and used an equal amount of greek yogurt instead. I didn’t have vanilla (I know, weird right?) but I used brown sugar instead of white sugar and it tastes just fine. Mine took about a minute and five seconds in my mysterious dorm microwave. I’ll probably make it again, and next time I might mix it up after cooking. The streusel to cake ratio was too low on the last bites. Thanks for the recipe.
Made this with 2 1/2 year old. He enjoyed the process and the product. We made it in one of those clear glass Irish coffee mug type glasses. After 50 seconds, it was done and the glass itself was still cool enough for my little one to take out of the microwave. we did take it out of the mug to cool quicker for eating right away – as toddlers aren’t know for their patience. We did use a little less sugar and whole wheat flour. This is a good recipe to experiment with a bit for little ones. Thank you for posting.
I tried this by substituting the apple sauce for nonfat blueberry yogurt and got a delicious blueberry coffee cake!! Way to go- this cake recipe also cooks better than a lot of the others I’ve tried. Great job (:
Sorry – nonfat blueberry GREEK yogurt (:
Tried this with a couple minor substitutions. Didn’t have applesauce so I pureed some pear pieces that come in juice. Also added a heaping tablespoon of mini chocolate chips and left off the streusal. Smelled a bit doughy but tasted delicious!
Since I do like chocolate, I tried this with switching out a tablespoon of flour for cocoa powder and adding a tablespoon of pb morsels. (Left off streusal again.) It was fabulous. This is not desperation cake, like so many mug cakes. This is treat cake.
DO NOT USE CANOLA OIL! The cake just stays in dough ball at the bottom of the mug. When trying to cook it longer in hopes that it would turn into a more cake like texture, it just ended up burning.
I am a lover of ALL things chocolate, but the 2 minute chocolate mug cake I cannot eat, it’s so rubbery and just not-so-nice. And that is a lot coming from me, I eat pretty much anything.
So I made this one today and it was delicious. I made a half quantity and it worked perfectly, soft and yummy and delish 🙂
Yay! So glad to hear it!
Were you supposed to soften the butter for the struesel?
Sorry, just saw this! You can soften it a little bit if it makes it easier to come together. But the cold butter with create better streusel. You can use two forks and kind of cut it up to make it easier.
Oh this was delicious! I’ve been looking for an instant breakfast food I can make and this is perfect. I just softened the butter a little longer than you suggested and waited until my struesel topping looked like wet sand. Thanks for sharing.
How perfect that my visit coincides with your announcement that you’re not a big fan of chocolate. I can’t stand the stuff! Which is no big deal, except that 3 out of 4 recipes out there dabble in it. This looks perfect for helping get Hubby out the door in the morning. I’m wondering if I can make the mugs, put them uncooked in the fridge and then let him pop them in the microwave in the morning. If I put them in canning jars, all he has to do is take the lid off. Hmmmmm, much to think on. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with us. It’s truly a winner.
You’ll have to let me know how it works to keep them in the fridge before cooking. My only concern would be that the baking powder would be activated for too long and loose it’s effectiveness, but maybe not. Thanks for stopping by!
Maybe your husband needs to learn where the Cheerios are kept.
Just tried this…. couldn’t hold a candle to my grandma’s coffee cake, but is BY FAR the best mug cake I’ve ever eaten! Thanks!
Loved it! I have made it two mornings in a row, hahaha, there goes my diet! I did cut it in half the second time around, and I used my homemade yogurt for the applesauce. It turned out a little more doughy than a real coffee cake, but definitely better than most microwave cake recipes. Thanks!
My 10yr. old daughter cooked this one cup cake and we all love it. It very easy for children to make and it satisfies a sweet tooth. I did add the flax seed and I like it even better. thanks for this great recipe.
Oddly enough the cake was good, but the crumble was way too wet! I will tweak that next time and lessen the sugar as I found this really sweet. GREAT base cake, tasty and not rubbery! So excited to have found a ‘cup’ cake that isn’t chocolate!
Totally hit the spot…thanks for sharing!
I love coffee, good to know I can make desserts with it other than tiramisu!
Just saw this on Pinterest and tried it immediately. Loved it! This was my first cake in a mug because I’ve heard mixed reviews on others. This was dynamite – thanks for sharing!
I screwed it up unfortunately, it smelled doughy and didn’t look dark brown on top like the pictures (now assuming you used dark brown sugar vs. light) and so I overlooked it. It was chewy and inedible, totally my fault though. Oh well.
Oh no! The top doesn’t brown, it just stays the color of the brown sugar. I used regular brown sugar, though the picture might look a little dark. It’s totally worth a try again! 🙂 Good luck! It doesn’t take much longer than a minute.
I found this to be really sweet :O
But I had run out of Vanilla extract earlier in the week so I tried it with Almond extract. I had thought that the almond would make it more coffee-like but it just made it too sweet.
Yeah, the almond extract might do that.
This came out beautiful for me. Not doughy at all unlike other cakes in the mug. I subbed the white sugar in the cake part with brown sugar and it was just enough sweetness for me. Perfect and dangerous for that late night cravings!
Wow! This is perfect. I didn’t have applesauce so I used 1/4 of an apple, diced, and 1 tbs of plain greek yogurt. Microwaved for 1 min 15 sec and came out perfectly cooked and moist. Thanks!
I was a bit skeptical on this whole microwave cake in a cup thing, but I decided to give it a try. I will have to say… it came out quite yummy.
This is DELICIOUS!!!! I am a baker and just didn’t feel like actually baking and my 3year old and I wer having a sweet tooth moment so decided to give it a go and just the perfect serving size to share it with her 🙂 (she wants me to make it again lol)
like your food
I tried cutting the measurements in half- it was delicious!! Next time i am going for the full recipe… One question: does margarine work just as well?
I’ve never tried it with margarine so I’m not sure. If you try it, will you let me know?
Just made these for me and my boyfriend. He now wants me to make them every night!
Was out of applesauce – substituted chopped apple and Honey greek yogurt. Threw a dollop of pecan icecream on top. Heaven. ^^ Nom Nom Nom
Hi Heather,
I tried this and it cam out beautifully!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Bless you, my friend! My 8 year old decided she wanted coffee cake for dessert, 30 minutes before bedtime and we had no eggs. This is easy, REALLY yummy, and your recipe is fun to read on top of that. From one Heather to another: Thank you!! Definitely want to try out the pumpkin one next!
I just made this with only 1 tbsp splenda, and sub’ almond flour. I used oil instead of applesauce and I still felt this was too sugary/sweet. I am thinking about trying some xanthan gum next time so it isn’t as crumbly- and playing around with less sugar. I can’t lie, this was still one kick butt recipe and allows a lot of room for play- you rock! Thanks for the idea!
This is probably the best (tasty and easy) and worse (calories) thing I have discovered on Pinterest! I have reduced the sugar and butter. Any other recommendations for making it healthier? Do you think whole wheat flour would work? What is a viable butter replacement?
I made this with unbleached white whole wheat flour and it came out perfectly! Didn’t have any of that heavy whole-wheat flavor that happen in some baked goods.
I really dislike the heavy whole-wheat flavor you’re talking about so good to know! Thanks.
OMG! Thanks this definitely satisfied my cravings! Im not much of a chocolate person so this was aweosme!!
Awesome! It’s also good to know that I’m not alone in my non-chocolate liking! 🙂
I’m allergic to wheat–can you think of a wheat-free flour that might work? Maybe some of my gluten free pancake mix?
I’m fantasizing about adding 1 tsp of rum instead of the vanilla–too much?
Honestly I’m really unfamiliar with gluten free options but I imagine a GF flour mix would work well. You’ll have to let me know how the rum turns out, too!
Bravo!! 🙂
Thanks! It was a fun recipe to work on.
Coffee Cake??? Where is the coffee mentioned in the ingredients?
Coffee cake typically doesn’t have coffee in it but is a great cake to accompany it. 🙂
Totally want to try
Just read my name and you’ll know me 🙂
Dark Chocolate is one of my faves.
I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Is it fine if I add like 1/2 tsp of espresso powder ?
Thanks for the recipe!
For some reason, I’m going through the mug cake/cookie phase.
I will try this soon!
Has anyone ever made this in an oven? We don’t own a microwave.
Love your recipes. I will look forward to the newsletter!
This is all I hear,read about!! So…MUST,MUST see what all the fabulous reviewers are talking about!!
I would like to serve 12 of these at one time and let my guests keep the mugs. Do you have a recipe for making a batch of these coffee cakes?
I would just multiply the recipe by 12 and split it up evenly amongst the mugs. Good luck, that’s a fun idea to have them keep the mugs!
I generally make the 3-2-1 mug cakes (3 tbsp. cake misture, 2 tbsp. water, 1 minute in microwave) BUT I use other cake mix flavors that just chocolate; I can mix a box of white, pineapple, red velvet, devilsfood – you name it – with a box of angle food cake mix and stove in ziplock bags, readh whenever I want to indulge. Chocolate is at the bottom of the list of flavors I’d make.
Wow, delicious! This was my first time trying a mug cake, will make again, very enjoyable! Thanks!!
I’ve made this many times and it’s so good. Today, I didn’t have any applesauce so I subbed half of a small very ripe banana and it is amazing!!
Ooh, good idea! I’ll have to try that.
In the recipe, 1 tablespoon of butter is listed twice.
Nevermind silly me. Great recipe
No worries! 🙂
Heather, thanks for this nifty recipe! It works like a charm! I sometimes add a few drops of almond extract as well as vanilla and occasionally I’ll add a layer of raisins between the cake and streusel layers (but tonight I added fresh blueberries). To cut down on some of the fat, I omit the butter in the cake part, and just have it in the streusel. The possibilities are endless!
Hi,
I really like this recipe, so I thought about making the pumpkin…but I can’t get the page to come up —is it no longer available ??
Thanks
When I originally left a comment I seem to have clicked on the
-Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and
now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment.
Is there a way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
There should be an option to opt out at the end of the email that’s sent when a new comment is made.
Hey, I tried this today and boy was it delicious! YUMMO! I will definitely make this again!
I made again and still good!
So yummy!
We didn’t have any applesauce, so instead I used 1/4 of a banana and it worked perfectly! Definitely a success in my book!
Sounds great. I am also not a big fan of chocolate. Gasp! People look at me funny. Then I tell them I am a huge fan of sugar. That make it o.k. This recipe sounds perfect for a mom trying to stream line the time spent cooking in order to spend more time with her kids.
They are definitely great when you want to share something sweet with your kiddos but don’t have a lot of time!
So, the streusel came out white and spongey for me? How can I fix that? I feel like I missed something?
Hmm, that’s odd. Did you add the whole amount of butter and sugar? Sounds like there was too much flour to me.
I’ll stick to real coffee cake made in oven.
Mate these receipes weight watcher friendly counting points and love your reciepes
We are doing extensive renovation of our house currently and are living in a tent (!) in the meantime. I have an electric skillet and microwave to cook with. We have long ago used up any baked goodies I made ahead but I have been longing for something tasty and bread-y. This hit the spot SO perfectly! Thank you for sharing this and bringing a nice bright spot of sunshine into extremely difficult situation! PS, I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free flour with a teeny bit of xanthan gum.
Is this an ironic coffee cake? Or does it mean you’re supposed to eat this cake with coffee? I can’t see any coffee in it?
You’ve got butter, sugar, applesauce, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon… but no coffee? Am I missing something?
Coffee cake is typically served WITH coffee and doesn’t have coffee in the ingredients. 🙂
ANY cake can be served with coffee. Coffee Cake is a cake made with coffee.
You’re crazy! 😛
Coffee cake has NEVER been made with coffee – it is typically a streusel cake served with coffee.
I tried this today as was craving something sweet and easy. Oh my goodness!!!!! I used 1 tablespoon less of sugar in the base and topped it with dollop of whipped cream. I was amazing!
It was amazing. I also sprayed the inside of the mug with non stick spray.
I hadn’t been feeling like turning the oven on, so I thought I would try this recipe for my husband when he came in for coffee ( he was in the field cutting hay )he was excited to try it, when he did he said it was good .
Thanks for sharing! ! ☺
Very sweet. Non of us cared for it. Wouldn’t make it again. Unable to give it one star.
Is there a substitute for apple sauce?
Hi, I love coffee anything ! Please tell me how much coffee you use in this coffee cake. Not sure if I am missing something. Thank you
Melanie
I’ve tried a lot of different microwavable mug cakes and they’ve been bland, dry, or tasted too much like eggs. This recipe is delicious and very easy.
Very good for a microwave coffee cake!
I just did this recipe to the T. Used the whole 80 seconds and it was real gooey. I checked every 10 seconds.
What did I do wrong?
The coffee cake in a mug.
What can I use instead of apple sauce, I just strongly HATE apple sauce 🙁
It gives me a laugh how many people don’t know what coffee cake is! They must be very young . I can’t wait to try this.
This was absolutely delicious! I’m a cinnamon lover, so this I just had to try. I will probably never make biscotti again, when this recipe exists! Thank you for sharing it.
I ❤ coffee cake! I tried this for me & my boyfriend. I was surprised he loved it & so did I. I substituted almond flour for white flour & added chocolate chips. A healthier version with a kick of chocolate. ( So I don’t feel as bad) I will share this with family members since it’s quick, fun, and hits the sweet spot! Many more yummy adventures for you & happiness!! ?❤☕
I have tried many mug recipes and they all turned out to be disappointing, BUT not this one. It is delicious, so glad I found your recipe!!
I have tried quite a few different mug cakes, and this is by far my favorite. I usually add part of a package of instant oatmeal (Maple Brown sugar) in place of some of the flour in the topping. Soo good. Thank you for the recipe.
Is there any way you can do a video on this?
I like a tangier coffee cake (and wasn’t feeling like apple-y cake this morning), so I subbed 1:1 sour cream instead of applesauce. It took 60 seconds in my microwave, and this was PERFECT. I’d dare say even more moist than my regular coffee cake recipe. Definitely going to be my go-to when these prego cravings demand cinnamon baked goods in the morning. Printed, pinned, will be loved forever.
There’s probably a million calories. But this was absolutely awesome! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Hi Heather —
I realize it’s been 5 years since you 1st posted your Coffee Cake in a Mug recipe, but it’s been reposted since then, so you now have a whole new bunch of folks trying it out! I just came across it today & I’m going to try it soon, but also wanted to grab the Pumpkin version, since you know — all the stores are so subtly hinting to us that it’s already Pumpkin Season!
Sadly, however, your Pumpkin Coffee Cake in a Mug recipe link doesn’t work anymore. Can you get a webmaster kind of person to fix it? Hey — maybe that person is you? I’d really appreciate it — and I saw that at least one other person wants to access the recipe too, so she’ll appreciate it as well!
Thanks in advance,
Sandi J.
The link in the post should be working now, thanks for letting me know. Here’s the link again, too. 🙂 https://heatherlikesfood.com/2-minute-pumpkin-coffee-cake-in-a-mug/
What if we want to cook in oven? How much degrees and how many minutes? :((
I’ve never tried baking this and it’s only formulated for the microwave so I’m not sure it would work. If you end up trying it, let me know!