I had fun playing in my kitchen today and made a Chocolate Crazy Cake in a Mug! Not familiar with Crazy cake? The recipe is also known as Wacky Cake and Depression Cake – No Eggs, Milk, Butter, Bowls or Mixers! It’s an awesome go-to recipe for egg/dairy allergies and fun to make with kids. The recipe dates back to the Great Depression. It’s darn good cake that’s inexpensive to make, super moist and delicious.
READ GREAT REVIEWS FROM PEOPLE WHO TRIED THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST (PHOTOS)!
Learn more about the Depression era cake recipe below.
Crazy Cake – No Eggs, Milk, Butter or Bowls
I have never made a cake in a mug in the microwave before and wasn’t sure if it could be done with the Crazy Cake recipe. I have seen tons of recipes for single serving microwave mug cakes and wanted to give it a try. I did a quick Google search for mug cakes and actually came across a Microwave Vegan Wacky Cake. After a few adjustments and attempts, I have an awesome go-to recipe for a single serving Crazy Cake that takes just minutes to make – super moist, absolutely delicious chocolate cake! The best part, everyone in my family can enjoy it because it’s egg-free.
Crazy Cake in a Mug
- 5 Tablespoons flour (all-purpose)
- 4 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons cocoa (unsweetened)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (or canola oil)
- 4 1/2 Tablespoons water
Directions
- Each microwave cooks differently, adjust time accordingly! One person made the cake in 1 minute 40 seconds, and another in 1 minute 20 seconds.
- Make sure your baking soda is fresh, vinegar too, they are what make the cake rise.
- If you want a neater mug cake, mix the cake batter in a small bowl, then pour the batter in the mug.
- You can add mini chocolate chips to the batter for a super rich chocolate cake…or do what I did, throw some on top after you make it, while it’s still warm! Mmm, mmm good!
Suvi
What is a depression?
Craig Price
Not made this became it was 12am fri night during the covid-19 lock down and had no milk. Very nice rise & crumb. I used the cocoa to 2 Tbsp but was lacking flavor and had a little bit of an odd smell not bad though.
I will make it again and play with the recipe substitute dark brown sugar for some of the white maybe ½ & ½, milk insted of water, add some espresso powder (coffee intensifies the chocolate flavor) using oil is great as it makes a moister cake then butter, could put a streak of peanut butter in the middle, chocolate chips, maybe a little buttercream icing 2 Tbsp 10X. 1 Tsbp soft butter dash vanilla.
Cathy Hutchins
I made this and it tasted really good but it made a huge mess! Even though the cooked cake only half filled the mug, it ran out all over the microwave and the outside of the mug. I used a normal/large mug like the ones pictured so I am not sure why this happened. I will make this again but will do something to address the spillage issue..
Mary Neumann
Hmmm, check to make sure you are using fresh baking soda and vinegar. It should NOT spill over, just rise while “baking” in the microwave.
Marilyn
I got to thinking about instead of using water why not make chai tea really strong and use that for the water instead for a little spice mug cake… so I brewed about a quarter cup of water with a chai tea bag in it and it worked great ….then I got to thinking why not try different teas like orange spice or some kind of fruity tea like a blueberry concoction …lots of ideas with this little mug cake that you could do.
bob big gay
mine turned out not so good i accidentally used peppermint extract instead of vanilla :c
Stephanie
It is very nice but way too sweet, 2 tablespoons of sugar more than suffice.
It’s also very nice if you only bake it halfway so it’s still a bit runny but it’s hard to get that right.
Stephanie
Oh and I double the amount of cocoa for a more chocolaty flavour
Susan
Can you do this in the oven? I dont own a micro. What would be the time/temp?
Anna
Delicious! My microwave is known to be very powerful so I only cooked it for a minute, turned out perfectly.
Michelle
Made this a few minutes ago and it was delish! So fluffy and light. I used cake flour since that’s what I had on hand, and only did 3 tbsp of sugar. Shared it with my daughter and she loved it too! Topped it with whip cream and sprinkles 🙂 Cooked it for 1 minute and 40 seconds. Will be my go to mug cake when a craving hits!
Joan McC
ANY New RECIPES for Other Mug Cakes ?
This cake is SUPER EASY, Moist & Delicious !
Kristin
Mary, such a good tasting cake!
Marlene Munsell
Awesome! I cooked it for 90 seconds and used coconut oil Also cut the sugar in half. Perfect.
SS
Well, I made the mug cake as per the instructions- What I did not find is the texture that is shown in the image. The texture is somewhat dense and not light. The colour is dark but not as shown in the image. The taste is a rather chocolatey. Not very Impressed.
Mary Neumann
Not sure why you had that result, sorry to hear, SS – As long as you are using fresh baking soda and vinegar, you should have success.
D
Very similar here. Followed the exact instructions in a big mug. After 1 min 40 sec it was going to run over the sides so I stopped it. Not done at all, so did another 30 sec. Still dense, or rather tough & doughy, and not even close to a cake. Bummer! Not for me.
Victoria Noel Barney
Fall time is approaching which means I want everything pumpkin spice! Lol.
I followed this exact recipe until I got to the cocoa part. I used two teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice then proceeded through the recipe as follows.
I microwaved for 90 seconds. It came out perfect!! I made three holes with my fork and added a small dab of butter to each hole (because I’m Southern and everything requires butter)! I then sprinkled some brown sugar and cinnamon across the top.
The cake was the most moist and delicious fall dessert I could ever ask for!! Thank you so much for the recipe and thank god I was fresh out of cocoa for once!
Eddi
The best! And I never leave reviews. I added coconut oil instead of the veg. Oil. Melted it in the water. Added a handful of chocolate chips to the mix before putting in the microwave. Then put mini chocolate chips on top to melt while it cooled. Add a tall glass of cold milk and it is the right size treat!
Mary
I don’t normally comment on anything… but this has been my absolute favorite mug cake to make (and I’ve tried waaaay too many). Today I ran out of flour and I was heartbroken that I couldn’t make it without running to the store—so I made it by replacing the flour with bisquick mix….OMG!!! So good. So creamy and moist. You have to microwave it a longer amount of time, but it’s so fudgy!! If you’re brave or even out of flour, 10/10 recommend bisquick!!
Eno-Obong
Literally just made this.. And it’s delish. I played down the sugar, so it’s not as sweet and there’s a slight aftertaste of baking soda (put a bit much).. Will definitely make this again.. Thanks!
Quintina
Hi there,
I would love to try the mug cake(s) but don’t have a microwave. Any suggestions of how long in an oven? I scrolled thru some of the comments and didn’t see anyone else asking, so hopefully this isn’t a repeat question.
Thanks!
Rachel Johnson
I don’t have a microwave either. I’ve had good results using a toaster oven set to 350 for about 15 minutes.
Elaine Busch
Mary what do you do if you want a vanilla cake?
Nana
You should add a bit more vanilla and take out the chocolate. Hope this works for you!
Anonymous
I followed the recipe according to ingredients however I did put less sugar. Overall it was okay I think it took about 80 seconds to cook on high. I did get one bite that was distinctly the taste of soda which I thought was strange but on a scale with a few additions which would be adding chocolate chips to the the mixture before cooking it would improve the chocolate flavor for me.
Betty
Do u have to use vinigar
Mary Neumann
Hi Betty, Yes, the vinegar is what makes the cake rise (along withthe baking soda). You can use white or apple cider vinegar.