This deep chocolate Almond Flour Mug Cake is single serving-sized and can be made in just 60 seconds! Perfect for a quick dessert or afternoon pick-me-up, and totally gluten-free.
Has it been one of those weeks? I encourage you to give yourself a me-time break, and make yourself this Chocolate Almond Flour Mug Cake. Dark and fudgy, with melty little chocolate chip pockets, this cake is guaranteed to make life at least slightly more tolerable.
If it’s gone way beyond one of those weeks and has ventured into complete train wreck territory, may I suggest an Oat Milk Hot Chocolate too?
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Why Make This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: This cake is quick to put together and only needs around 60 seconds to “bake”. Best of all, no mixing bowls to wash!
- Perfect Single-Serving Dessert: Sometimes you just don’t want a whole cake sitting around, you know? With a mug cake, you eat the entire cake without guilt.
- Gluten-Free: The almond flour in this cake makes it completely gluten-free!
🥗 Ingredients for Almond Flour Mug Cake
- Almond Flour: Almond flour is key to this recipe, making this cake entirely gluten-free, and adding a lightly nutty flavor. Look for blanched almond flour rather than almond meal (see below for why). If you don't have almond flour, you can also substitute hazelnut flour for a slightly different flavor.
- Cocoa Powder: Personally, I love a dark dutch-process cocoa powder like Valrhona cocoa powder, but you can use whatever cocoa powder you prefer. Just make sure it is unsweetened.
- Vegetable Oil: A neutral oil is recommended for this recipe, but you could use a mild olive oil or coconut oil as well.
- Sugar: You can substitute coconut sugar, monk fruit sweetener, or your other favorite sugar substitute instead of regular granulated sugar. Maple syrup could also be substituted.
- Chocolate Chips: I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but choose your own adventure. You can leave them out as well, though I enjoy the extra bit of chocolate sweetness.
🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions
Mix together almond flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt in your microwave-safe mug.
Then stir in egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Stir well until dry ingredients are very well incorporated—about 20 seconds of stirring is best.
Top with chocolate chips. (No need to stir in.)
Microwave for 60-70 seconds—the cake will rise at the end of the bake time but will fall after heating stops. The top of the cake should look very slightly wet when you take it out of the microwave oven. Serve immediately, sprinkled with powdered sugar.
🧐 Recipe FAQs
You have doubts, I get it. Mug cakes can be delicious, but they can also be gummy and unappetizing. Make sure you use a good recipe (like this one), and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Mug cakes are fast and easy, and they’re a perfect size for portion control! Plus, a chocolate mug cake is perfect for those late afternoon chocolate cravings.
Want to try another flavor? How about this Biscoff Mug Cake or this Matcha Mug Cake? Or maybe Chocolate Chip Mug Cake or Banana Mug Cake? So good!
No, this mug cake is made to be eaten warm, straight out of the microwave. As it sits and cools, the texture of the cake will get more dense, so I don’t recommend making this in advance.
Almond meal and almond flour are terms used for the same thing—both mean finely ground almonds. The majority of almond flour products are made by finely grinding blanched almonds (almonds where the skins have been removed).
Almond meal can mean finely ground blanched or unblanched almonds, and almond meal may be a coarser grind than almond flour. In general, I prefer almond flour for my baking recipes, as finely ground as possible.
Yes! And since almond flour is expensive both to buy and to make, you should definitely freeze any leftovers for your next batch. According to Bob’s Red Mill, you can even freeze almond flour for 4-5 months after its sell by date, as long as you keep it in an airtight container.
You can also keep it in the fridge if you prefer, and in fact, if you are planning to store almond flour for over a few weeks, you should keep it in the refrigerator or freezer. Almond flour (and other nut flours) can turn rancid more quickly than traditional flour.
👩🍳 Expert Tips for Almond Flour Mug Cake
I did quite a bit of research and testing for this easy recipe, and here are the tips that I think are the most important to getting the most delicious almond flour mug cake:
- Use a regular ceramic mug. One with a more narrow opening is better than one with a very wide opening, as a narrow tube helps the cake develop volume.
- Don’t fill your mug more than halfway.
- Don’t worry if your cake deflates a bit after it comes out of the microwave—this is going to happen with a mug cake recipe.
- Check the wattage of your microwave—you may need to adjust your cooking time more or less. This recipe is tested with a 800-watt microwave, and 65 seconds was the sweet spot for me!
Now that you've made the best almond flour mug cake, let’s move on to the fun part—toppings! You can top your cake with a drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce, or with whipped cream or ice cream. A sprinkle of chopped nuts is delicious too.
And, you can experiment with making a molten filling to your cake by adding a spoonful of Nutella or peanut butter once the batter is ready to bake. Presto, molten chocolate cake.
If you’re looking for a creative way to serve your microwave mug cake, mix the batter in a bowl, then fill small espresso cups. As with the traditional mugs, only fill halfway, and adjust your baking time accordingly. Then serve with a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream and a dusting of cocoa powder. Adorable!
Other Delicious Almond Flour Recipes
I love baking with almond flour, and have compiled a round-up of my favorite Almond Flour Dessert Recipes if you're interested in finding more. Here are a few favorites:
If you try this Almond Flour Mug Cake recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Almond Flour Mug Cake
This deep chocolate Almond Flour Mug Cake is single serving-sized and can be made in just 60 seconds!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (.9 ounces) almond flour
- 1 ⅓ tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 ⅔ tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix together almond flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt in your mug.
- Stir in egg, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Stir well until dry ingredients are very well incorporated—about 20 seconds of stirring is best.
- Top with chocolate chips. (No need to stir in.)
- Microwave for 60-70 seconds—the cake will rise at the end of the bake time but will fall after heating stops. The top of the mug cake should look very slightly wet when you take it out.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Notes
Top Tips
- Use a regular ceramic mug. One with a more narrow opening is better than one with a very wide opening, as a narrow tube helps the cake develop volume.
- Don’t fill your mug more than halfway.
- Don’t worry if your cake deflates a bit after it comes out of the microwave—this is going to happen with a mug cake recipe.
- Check the wattage of your microwave—you may need to adjust your cooking time more or less. This recipe is tested with a 800-watt microwave, and 65 seconds was the sweet spot for me!
Now that you’re happy with your cake, let’s move on to the fun part—toppings! Besides powdered sugar, you can top your cake with a drizzle of caramel or chocolate sauce, or with whipped cream or ice cream. A sprinkle of chopped nuts is delicious too.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 555Total Fat: 35gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 346mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 5gSugar: 41gProtein: 13g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this chocolate mug cake recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Ang says
I absolutely love this recipe. It's perfect for when you just need a sweet treat without wanting to do all the extra work of baking a whole cake/dessert. I try to always have the ingredients on hand, so that when a craving hits, I'm ready to make it 🙂
Molly Pisula says
Yes, my thoughts exactly! Thanks so much for commenting.
Shehnaz says
Had some almond flour sitting & searched for a recipe. This is the best mug cake recipe ever. So wholesome and complete. All other recipes I tried lacked something.
I used dutch-processed dark cocoa and Ghiradeli semi sweet chocolate chips. Also added 1/8 tsp of instant coffee. So yumm. 100% recommend whoever wants to try.
Molly Pisula says
Awww, thank you, Shehnaz. I really appreciate your comment! I have to say, using high-quality chocolate makes a big difference, and a little bit of instant coffee is a great tip!
Michelle says
This is a good recipe. I use monk fruit (less amount because it is sweetie than regular sugar). I use melted coconut oil too. I’ve forgotten the baking powder and it still turns out yummy. Just denser like a brownie. I like it. Sometimes I put a spoon of peanut butter or jam or mini marshmallows…. Anything on top for an extra yum 🥰
Molly Pisula says
Oooh, I love all of these ideas. Thanks so much for sharing--it's great to know that monk fruit works well as a sub for sugar!
Merry says
The mug cake cake was perfectly light and fluffy. I didn't have chocolate chips but I didn't miss them at all. Also, I am not used to sweeteners anymore so I used 2 tablespoons and that felt a little too sweet. All-in-all, though, this was a great chocolate fix when I needed one. I love the other options too and I look forward to making this yummy little cake again.
Chef Molly says
Great, thanks so much for posting! Glad that cutting the sugar down worked well for you--an extra-dark chocolate mug cake sounds delicious to me too!
Lior says
This is hands down the best mug cake recipe I’ve had, gluten free or not.
This recipe is a perfect combination of fast, oven free, and minimum ingredients, and it’s very versatile…
Almond extract instead of the vanilla extract, nuts or shredded coconut instead of chocolate chips, or “plain” with nothing added.
This evening I decided to substitute the regular oil with a strong extra virgin olive oil, and to avoid a “flavor competition” I added a tiny bit of water instead of vanilla. It came out wonderful!
Thank you!
Chef Molly says
So glad to hear that, Lior! Thanks so much for commenting. And yes, I agree with you--so easy to make all sorts of flavors with this one!
Tracey says
Crazy easy and fast!!
I substituted Monk fruit for the sugar and coconut oil for the vegetable oil.
It came out perfect and absolutely delicious😍
Chef Molly says
Ooh, great substitutions! Thanks for posting!
Cat says
this was too eggy for me, I would just use almond milk rather than an egg.
Chef Molly says
Or maybe try it with 1/2 an egg (whisk with a fork and pour in half)? I think the texture might go a little wrong with almond milk instead, but I'm curious! Would love to know how it turns out. Thank you for commenting!
Alana says
Thank you! I was going mad looking for something sweet and cakey, and didn’t want to wait an hour for a regular cake!
I only had a wide mouth mug, And reduced the power to 80% on the microwave since it said it was a 1000 watt. My cake look like it rose but it also pulled away from the sides and part of it was wet but not quite the center so I might need to play with time and power next time since the texture was a bit off.
I am still happy to have a sweet treat and was more than excited to remember I had some Ghirardelli caramel sauce in the fridge so that with the chocolate chips and some whip cream I’m a happy camper. Thank you so much for a quick treat!
Chef Molly says
Oooh, I bet this was fantastic with that caramel sauce! And yes, definitely play around with your microwave settings/time—-they are all different, which makes it hard to write a recipe sometimes! 🙂
Alana says
This is still my go-to when I need a sweet chocolatey fix without feeling too bad! 🍫☕️❤️🙏
Chef Molly says
same here!
Lisa says
This chocolate mug cake was such a quick and easy treat. I dressed it up with some ice cream and it was a perfect for dessert for one.
Gail says
Love that this mug cake is so easy and quick to make! It really doesn't get easier than this. The almond flour makes it so soft and delicious!
Chef Molly says
Yes, totally agree! Almond flour is perfect for this recipe.
Sherrie says
This was so perfect! I love mug cakes and this made an excellent moist, dense, perfectly chocolatey cake. Appreciate the tips about how full to fill the mugs - that worked like a charm!
Chef Molly says
So glad you liked it, Sherrie! I love this one too.
Candi says
This was so good ! I used the low sugar salted caramel chips and added a little gaur gum to give it a little bit more chewy texture. Thanks for the recipe !
Chef Molly says
Oooh, I love your additions to this recipe. I bet those caramel chips in there were amazing! Thanks so much for commenting.
Chef Mimi says
Very funny! You get your oven finally and post a microwave recipe! I hope you love your new oven. My new oven, from about 8 years ago, is nothing fancy. We’re really limited on space with this house being of a 1927 design, but I did discover that it has an internal probe that is so useful for cooking meats. Way handier and smarter than constantly poking with a thermometer. I hope yours has one as well. Probably everyone already has had these - I’m just way behind!
Chef Molly says
Yes, I love the internal oven probe! So easy. But I have to say, sometimes a microwave does come in handy for a quick treat! 🙂