With these easy microwave gluten-free mug cake recipes, you're just five minutes away from a fluffy dessert for one. With recipes for both chocolate mug cake and vanilla mug cake, you can customize your personal cake to your heart's content. Mix in sprinkles, peanut butter, or nutella, and top with whipped cream, fresh fruit, or ice cream!

This post is sponsored by Andronico's Community Markets, a year-long partner of Snixy Kitchen, but the opinions are all my own.

Someone jokingly asked if I'd be making my own birthday cake this month. Usually yes, with the help of my kids. Don't get me wrong, I love baking with my kids, but sometimes I just want to relax on my birthday.

So this year, I planned ahead. For the past month, I've made over 30 mug cakes to develop the perfect recipes for gluten-free mug cake in both chocolate and vanilla. Sure, I could have just made a couple of normal-sized cakes at that rate, but I was dedicated to the cause.

By the time my birthday rolled around, we could each have our favorite flavor cake in less than 10 minutes from start to finish, leaving plenty of time to snuggle up on the couch with a movie.

What is a mug cake?

A mug cake is a single-serving cake that's mixed up and microwaved in a mug. Best eaten warm with a spoon right out of the mug. You can serve it as is or get creative with your favorite toppings (see below!).

Mug cakes satisfy your cake cravings quickly without the need to pull out all your baking equipment or preheat the oven. These microwave cakes are no fuss and cook in 1-3 minutes.

Microwaving a cake might sound wacky, but see this picture from the 80s of my mom and I making a boxed cake? She made me crop out the part of the photo where the box read "MICRORAVE." That's right, we were making a full-sized microwaved cake. It was all the rage back then. While I'm not suggesting we go back to microwaving sheet cakes, it's the perfect solution for single-serving cakes to satisfy a hankering in an instant!

The Best Gluten-Free Mug Cakes

These mug cakes are oh-so-satisfying. The chocolate mug cake cooks up gooey with a tender crumb. A puddle of melted chocolate in the middle keeps the cake moist and rich in deep chocolate flavor. Almost brownie-like, it pairs perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The vanilla mug cake cooks up light and fluffy with a sweet tender crumb. Add sprinkles for optimum fun. Serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream and/or fresh berries!

Andronico's: Ingredients for Gluten-Free Mug Cakes

Here I've created two base recipes - one for gluten-free chocolate mug cake and one for gluten-free vanilla mug cake - with endless flavor mix-in or topping variations. The ingredients for each are simple baking staples, all of which I've stocked up on at my local Bay Area Andronico's Community Market. I love that Andronico's carries high-quality baking chocolate, cocoa powder, organic sugar, and a wide array of Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flours. Both of these recipes use Bob's Red Mill Oat Flour, which I always keep on hand! Don't forget to swing by their seasonally rotating sprinkle aisle while you're at it!

Here's a list of all the recipes I've made in partnership with Andronico's this past year.

Ingredients for Gluten-Free Chocolate Mug Cake

These are the ingredients you'll need to make this gluten-free chocolate mug cake:

Gluten-free oat flour: Don't have oat flour? Grind up gluten-free rolled oats in a blender and sift to make oat flour
Dutch-processed cocoa powder: Natural cocoa powder will work too!
Sugar
Baking powder and salt
Milk: Either dairy or non-dairy
Vegetable oil
Egg yolk
Vanilla extract
Hot water
Dark chocolate for on top: Either Chips or baking wafers work

Ingredients for Gluten-Free Vanilla Mug Cake

These are the ingredients you'll need to make this gluten-free vanilla mug cake. While the ratios differ for the two cakes, the main ingredient difference between the vanilla and chocolate mug cake is swapping out cocoa powder for almond flour, and oil for butter.

Gluten-Free oat flour: Don't have oat flour? Grind up rolled oats in a blender and sift to make oat flour
Almond flour
Sugar
Baking powder and salt
Milk: Either dairy or dairy-free
Unsalted butter or vegetable oil
Egg yolk
Vanilla extract
Optional: sprinkles!

What type of cocoa powder for gluten-free chocolate mug cake?

The flavor driver of the chocolate mug cake is the cocoa powder. I recommend a high-quality dutch-processed cocoa powder, as it's darker in color and has a richer chocolate flavor. Don't know if it's dutch-processed or not? Look for a cocoa powder that is processed with alkali.

However, you can also sub in natural cocoa powder if that's what you have on hand!

Can you Make this Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Mug Cake

To make either of these mug cakes dairy-free, replace the milk with your favorite non-dairy milk, such as oat milk or almond milk, and use the oil variation for the vanilla mug cake!

Can you Make a Vegan Gluten-Free Mug Cake?

I think a flax egg should work (sub out the egg for ½ tablespoon flax meal + 1.5 tablespoons water), but I haven't tried it! If you do, please leave a comment below!

How to make Gluten-Free Cake in a Mug

Making a gluten-free mug cake is as simple as 1-2-3

Whisk together the wet ingredients in a 12-ounce or larger microwave-safe mug (if making the chocolate mug cake, save the hot water for last). For a cleaner appearance, you can mix up the cake batter in a separate bowl and then pour it into the mug to microwave.
Whisk in the dry ingredients using a fork until smooth. For chocolate mug cake, whisk in hot water until smooth. Fold in any mix-ins.
Microwave!

How to microwave a gluten-free mug cake

Given that a mug cake "bakes" up super quickly in a microwave, it does require a bit of finessing to figure out the timing for your particular microwave. Follow these tips!

Use a large mug. Your mug should hold at least 12 ounces. Anything smaller and your cake will overflow in the microwave, making a giant mess.
Start with less time, then add. Each microwave performs differently, so it's best to err on the shorter side of time. After 1 minute, check to see if the cake looks fully baked and is no longer sticky on top, adding 15 more seconds at a time until it's done. Overcooking a mug cake will lead to a dry rubbery cake. No one wants that. When in doubt, take it out! Slightly undercooking a mug cake is 1000x better than overcooking a mug cake (gooey cake with ice cream on top? I'm listening...).
Take care removing it from the microwave. The mug will be hot! I recommend using a potholder.
Let cool just 2-3 minutes. Like the mug, the cake will be hot when it first comes out of the microwave. Let it cool 2-3 minutes before digging in. This allows the crumb to set, creating a lighter fluffier texture. That being said, mug cakes have an optimum shelf life of about 30 minutes, so don't let it cool too long!

Mix-in Variations for Gluten-Free Mug Cake

With both a classic vanilla and chocolate mug cake base, the mix-in options are endless! Customize the cake to your current cravings. Here are some suggestions to dollop on top or mix in before cooking.

For both chocolate and vanilla mug cakes:

½ tablespoon of peanut butter or nutella dolloped on top
A ball of gluten-free edible cookie dough inside
A handful of chocolate Chips: white, semi-sweet, dark, peanut butter chips, or even toffee chips!

For chocolate mug cakes:

A few drops of peppermint extract mixed in and/or chopped candy canes sprinkled on top
½ teaspoon orange zest folded into the batter
¼ ground cinnamon + dash of ground cayenne mixed in
A few mini marshmallows and toasted pecans mixed in
½ teaspoon espresso powder mixed in

For vanilla mug cakes

Blueberries folded into the batter
½ teaspoon lemon zest folded into the batter

How to top a Gluten-Free Mug Cake

Not all cake needs frosting. Here are a few topping ideas to serve over your fully-cooked mug cake!

Whipped cream or whipped coconut cream
Ice cream
Sprinkles (see also: fun)
Chocolate or caramel sauce
Buttercream frosting: I often have leftover frosting in my fridge or freezer - this is a great use! Alternatively, mash up 1 tablespoons room temperature butter with 2.5 tablespoons (20g) powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla extract, and a splash of milk until smooth.
Toasted nuts
Fresh fruit
Quick fruit compote

FAQ:

What size mug should I use?

For both of these gluten-free mug cake recipes, your mug should hold at least 12 ounces. If you aren't sure, fill up your mug with water, then pour it into a measuring cup to check. Anything smaller and your cake will overflow in the microwave, making a giant mess. Here are two mugs I like to use for mug cakes (one & two).

Can you bake this mug cake?

I knew you'd ask this, so I tried it. And while technically it works, the texture is not ideal. This recipe is specifically designed to work with a microwave.

For a small oven-baked cake, here are my go-to options:

Gluten-free chocolate cake (bake ⅓ of this recipe in an 8-inch round cake pan).
Gluten-free vanilla cake (Bake ⅓ of this recipe in a 6-inch round cake pan).

Can you store gluten-free mug cake?

Mug cake is meant to satisfy your instant cravings. Due to the nature of microwaving the cake, it has an optimum shelf life of about 30 minutes, after which point, the texture changes drastically. I don't recommend microwaving the cake in advance. Rather, microwave it right when you want it!

If you absolutely can't finish your mug cake, store it at room temperature and reheat it for about 10-15 seconds in the microwave to bring back some life to the texture.

Help! My mug cake is dry or chewy/rubbery?

If your mug cake turned out dry, chewy, or rubbery, the culprit is more than likely overcooking. Just 15 seconds can make a drastic difference, depending on the microwave. Start with less time on the clock, checking the cake for doneness, and adding more time in 15-second intervals as needed.

Gluten-Free Mug Cake - Two Ways