Cake is everything a baked good should be. It’s fluffy. It’s moist. It’s sweet. It’s also time-consuming to make, and there’s no such thing as baking a cake for one if you’re craving something sweet (well, there is, but it leads to either an aggressive amount of leftovers or feeling like Violet Beauregarde after a trip to Mr. Wonka’s chocolate factory). 

That’s why we love a mug cake. These single-serving cakes require nothing more than a few ingredients and a microwave, and they bake in just 60–90 seconds. Basically, mug cakes are ideal for when you want to make a fast dessert for one with minimal effort. 

How to Make a Mug Cake

You may have seen mug cake recipes that call for traditional cake ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, melted butter, milk, etc. While those mug cakes are very delicious, they’re still way more complicated than they need to be. Enter the two-ingredient mug cake. 

These mini cakes rely on convenient boxed cake mix and soda to speed up the prep time. That’s right, all you need to create this easy mug cake is boxed cake—or brownie—mix, regular or diet soda, a mug, and nonstick spray. The nonstick spray is actually optional, but we recommend it to prevent your tiny cake from sticking to the mug. We also recommend sticking a plate under your mug to catch any spillover. 

Mug Cake Recipe

Bake time: 60–90 seconds

Total time: about 2 minutes 

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tbsp yellow cake mix OR chocolate cake mix

• 2 tbsp Sprite (for a yellow mug cake) OR Coca-Cola (for a chocolate mug cake)

• Nonstick butter cooking spray

Directions 

1. Spray the inside of a microwave-safe mug with cooking spray

2. Mix 2 tbsp of yellow cake mix with 2 tbsp of Sprite or 2 tbsp of chocolate cake mix with 2 tbsp of Coca-Cola. Stir until there are no more lumps of powder and your “batter” resembles traditional cake batter.

3. Microwave for 60–90 seconds

4. Enjoy!

Optional Mug Cake Add-Ins

Personalize your cake with your choice of the following add-ins, which work with both the yellow and chocolate mug cake recipe. 

• Vanilla 

• Sprinkles 

• Chocolate chips

• M&Ms minis

• Coconut flakes 

Shop This Recipe

• Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix

• Duncan Hines Swiss Chocolate Cake Mix 

• Pam Non Stick Butter Cooking Spray

• Coca-Cola 

• Sprite 

Perfectly Paired Drinks

• Korbel Brut

• White Claw Natural Lime or Black Cherry

• Starbucks Black Cold Brew