2 Minute Gingerbread Mug Cake
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This 2 Minute Gingerbread Mug Cake is a moist and boldly flavored cake, generously seasoned with molasses, cinnamon, and ginger. A cold-weather, holiday, cozy favorite to whip up in two minutes or less.
When the autumn leaves begin to change into brilliant colors, and the nights grow darker and longer, the oh-so-familiar scent of gingerbread isn’t far from my mind.
It’s cozy, and richly flavored… and even bold.
When the air turns chilly… there’s nothing like a gingerbread cake baking in the oven.
Unless… I don’t have time to bake that cake. Or… I just want a taste. An individual portion, for one… or two.
Maybe I want to curl up by a fire with a favorite book… or two. A cozy handknit throw on a cold-weather night.
In that case… I still want gingerbread.
But this time… in a mug. In 2 minutes!
Yep — two minutes.
Gingerbread Mug Cake
This Gingerbread Mug Cake, seriously, is as good as a traditional cake baked in your oven. Fresh and warm and perfect for individual servings.
And easy enough that when I get the urge… say, in a few days… I have no compunction about making it again.
Or, if unexpected big people, like teenagers, wander in out of the cold on that evening by the fire… it’s no problem to make another.
How Many Servings Does this Recipe Make?
This recipe will make one mug cake.
When making multiples, which I do often, I increase the ingredients multiplied by the number of mugs I’m making. I then mix the batter in a small bowl, divide it evenly, and pour it into the mugs. Microwaving separately.
RELATED: 2 Minute Bread Pudding in a Mug
It’s not cold outside today as my fingers fly over the keyboard. A slight breeze sweetens the air through an open window on this autumn day. The sun is shining brightly. The trees are beginning are still turning.
And I’m enjoying that gingerbread, as I sit and talk to you… in gorgeous weather. No rain is needed.
It’s just that good!
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2 Minute Gingerbread Cake in a Mug
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- pinch of salt and black pepper
Instructions
- In a microwave-safe mug, microwave the butter until melted, about 30 seconds. Swirl around the sides of the mug.
- Add to the mug or separate bowl the sugar, milk, vanilla, and molasses; stir vigorously until smooth. Then stir in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and black pepper until completely combined. You will want it to resemble a simple cake batter.
- Microwave the cake for 1 minute to 1 minute 30 seconds (90 seconds) depending on your microwave. Mine is done at 1 minute 15 seconds. Check to make sure it's done, top with a dusting of confectioners' sugar, ice cream, or whipped cream.
- Two minutes to amazing? Yes. You'll have to try it to believe it!
Notes
Gingerbread Mug Cake Tip
Be careful not to overbake in the microwave. Start testing at about 1 minute. Stir the mug cake thoroughly before microwaving.Topping Ideas
- Confectioners' sugar
- Ice cream
- Whipping cream
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I make this often enough that I premix the dry ingredients in several containers so I can make this even faster when the mood strikes! No changes—it works great exactly as written. Thank you!
Hi Kristen! I’m so happy you are enjoying the mug cake — Your tip on premixing the dry ingredients is SO smart. Quick question, how many mug servings do you normally premix? I’m off to do the same thing!
This is a rarity—an online baling recipe that comes out perfect as-is! We made these in oversized mugs but resisted the urge to scale up the recipe, and it came out just right—perfect gingerbready flavor profile, fluffy texture, not stodgy at all. I had some nutmeg icing leftover from a previous recipe and it glazed the tops perfectly.
If I did scale it up, I suspect it might need a bit of egg yolk to hold it up, but at the given size no egg needed. Thank you so much for this, it made our night!
You’ve made my day. Thank you so much — I’m thrilled you enjoyed the mug cake. I’ve not upsized the recipe, but oh my, have I been tempted! I literally crave this one sometimes, especially on a chilly day. Thank you for trying it!
Made this yesterday, read reviews and followed a poster about adding an egg yolk since I had one to use up. Turned out great. Flavor was good and texture was good. Added some cool whip and had myself an excellent snack last night!
Hi JoAnn! Thank you for trying the recipe! I don’t normally use an egg in mug cakes so it’s great to know that it worked well for you and that you enjoyed it last night!
Oof – this is so good, but so rich! I made the mistake of making a quick cream cheese icing for this, but oh man, it just pushed it over into being way too sweet. I added more salt than the recipe called for, too. It was still very good, but my fiance and I couldn’t finish it, ha ha. I think next time I might leave out a half tablespoon of sugar or add just a drop or two of vinegar to enhance the sour notes in the molasses and offset some of that cloying sweetness.
The texture was interesting, there’s no egg yolk like many other mug cakes call for so it was on the cusp of being too stodgy. But it was still very good, the crumb was nice given that it didn’t have that structure egg would provide. So I think I’ll experiment and add an egg yolk or tablespoon of whisked egg next time. And believe me, there will be a next time!
P. S. I also recommend adding a pinch of powdered clove and allspice, it really brings out the flavor of ginger and cinnamon.
Oof – this is so good, but so rich! I made the mistake of making a quick cream cheese icing for this, but oh man, it just pushed it over into being way too sweet. I added more salt than the recipe called for, too. It was still very good, but my fiance and I couldn’t finish it, ha ha. I think next time I might leave out a half tablespoon of sugar or add just a drop or two of vinegar to enhance the sour notes in the molasses and offset some of that cloying sweetness.
The texture was interesting, there’s no egg yolk like many other mug cakes call for so it was on the cusp of being too stodgy. But it was still very good, the crumb was nice given that it didn’t have that structure egg would provide. So I think I’ll experiment and add an egg yolk or tablespoon of whisked egg next time. And believe me, there will be a next time!
P. S. I also recommend adding a pinch of powdered clove and allspice, it really brings out the flavor of ginger and cinnamon.
Hi Amelia! Thank you for trying the mug cake! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for all your ideas!!
I’ve made mug cakes before, but this is NEXT LEVEL! So good and perfect texture. Even better with a small dollop of vanilla ice cream. Thank you for sharing this!
Yay!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! And I so completely agree with the vanilla ice cream 😍.
Wow, this recipe is so good! Made it exactly as written and it was perfect. Thanks Stephanie!
Hi Meg! This makes me so happy. It was our first ever mug cake (I think) and is always a favorite at my house. Thank you for trying it and letting me know how it worked for you!
Not exaggerating this is the best mug cake I’ve ever tasted. So much so that i wish the recipe was for a larger cake!! Do not miss out on this recipe… it’s flavorful, fluffy, and super moist. As explained in the directions key is to not over cook it. Thank you for sharing this one!
Kendall, you’ve MADE my day. This was the first mug cake I shared and remains my all-time favorite. I’m SO glad you enjoyed it!
I cant wait to try this today- we are quite cold here in New England this weekend-Can you please tell me the name of these dishes- I love the embossed rims
Hi Judi! I’ve been watching your weather– stay warm! I’m glad you like the dishes– I started the set when my husband and I got married and I still love them! When one needs replacing I can still find them on Replacements. The pattern is English Countryside by Mikasa.
Delicious! I’ve made it twice already. I love gingerbread! The second time was the best. I only microwaved it for 1 minute 15 seconds and it came out perfect. Thanks!
Hi Shirlee! I’m so glad you enjoyed the Gingerbread Mug Cake. It’s honestly one of my favorites too. Thank you for letting us know what your perfect microwave time was!
This was exactly what I was craving tonight. I COULD have driven to the grocery store for lackluster ginger cookies (too meh) or baked a ginger cake from scratch (too long). I didn’t encounter the butter issue like others, but I did beat the sugar and room-temperature butter together, skipping the melting process. I added a dash of nutmeg and a sprinkle of red pepper as well for some extra zing. Microwave time was 1 minute 35 seconds at 80% power, followed by one minute of tempering in the warm microwave afterwards.
This is really good and so fast and easy to make. I like it spicy so added a pinch of cloves and it was perfect!
Perfection!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Stephanie,
Would you happen to know what the nutritional values are as well as what the calories are in a single serving? Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Aleithia! I updated the nutritional information in the recipe card this morning– thank you for asking! The values are from an online calculator as follows:
CALORIES: 349TOTAL FAT: 11gCHOLESTEROL: 31mgSODIUM: 228mgCARBOHYDRATES: 55gFIBER: 1gSUGAR: 28gPROTEIN: 6g
I was looking for a quick ginger recipe as didn’t have time to make my oven ginger cake. This was perfect and so rich and tasty! I doubled the recipe and cooked in a bowl. I made the cake as written apart from subbing half of the cinnamon for 1/4 tsp mixed spice. I’m in the UK so used black treacle for the molasses. We had it with a scoop of vanilla icecream and butterscotch syrup melting on top.This will now be my go to ginger microwave cake! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I just made this recipe and was quite impressed with it. Having read some of the comments I was careful to mix it well. In my home we use almond milk so that went in instead of dairy milk and I also added a pinch of cloves as recommended. The finished cake was perfect. There is nothing better than a good Gingerbread. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I made this exactly as detailed in the recipe and it came out perfect. Thank you for the quick and delicious recipe. I used a largish mug so it was easy to stir all the ingredients fully.
Unfortunately, it did not turn out too great for me. The spice flavour was very good though. I might cut the sugar somewhat. I wonder if it would suffice to just smear butter inside the cup instead of melting 1 1/2 Tbsp. The bottom was very oily and gooey and the whole concoction was rather gummy. I microwaved as per instructions.. The mug I used was thicker ceramic not China. Maybe that was the problem?
I’m so sorry this didn’t turn out for you. I’m glad you liked the flavor. As you know, all microwaves perform differently. It’s important to keep checking and microwaving in intervals. Be sure to mix it very thoroughly before cooking and perhaps try microwaving it longer. Thank you so much for trying the recipe though!
I’m eating this as I type. Utterly delicious. Had to fight my husband to keep him from stealing it, LOL
I was craving gingerbread and was amazed to find this great recipe. So scrumptious. The one thing I would say is be sure you mix all the batter from the bottom. I didn’t but it was only a little and like someone else said it. was a delicious piece of fudge. I want to make and EAT another. I’m trying not to.
Thanks so much for sharing.
That’s a great point, Ali! Stirring is super important in mug cakes. I love this one too and am always wishing for “one more bite!” 😍 Thank you for trying it and letting me know how you liked it!
I was craving gingerbread and was amazed to find this great recipe. So scrumptious. The one thing I would say is be sure you mix all the batter from the bottom. I didn’t but it was only a little and like someone else said it. was a delicious piece of fudge. I want to make and EAT another. I’m trying not to.
Thanks so much for sharing.
This is wonderful! When I make it again, and I will, I’ll add the 1/8 tsp ground cloves that Tova Mulligan used. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Susan! I also love adding cloves. In fact, it’s one of my favorite spices!
This is great! I am the molasses lover in our family, and now I can make it anytime. I followed the recipe and it turned out perfect. I let the pepper to spice it up, and found the amount of molasses was right on the money. Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
This is great! I am the molasses lover in our family, and now I can make it anytime. I followed the recipe and it turned out perfect. I let the pepper to spice it up, and found the amount of molasses was right on the money. Thank you!
Made this last. night and it’s the first time one of my mug cake recipes didn’t work out. Using 1 1/2/Tbs, of butter seems to be the problem. I mixed the batter well and it looked it was supposed to. but when microwaved for 1. 1/2 minutes the butter was floating on top and the cake resembled a very underdone brownie. The flavor was terrific and I ate it like a piece of molasses fudge. 😉
Thank you for your comment, Terrie. I’ve made this many times but have never had mine turn out that way. I made it again last night and it turned out as expected. I’m so sorry you had trouble with it.
Thank you!! I used the brown sugar and it came out great!!!
Hi! This sounds yummy and I really want to try this but I don’t have any molasses, honey, or syrup of any kind. Any substitutions?
Thank you,
Darla
Hi Darla! I’m so sorry it took me until this afternoon to answer you back. I’ve been in meetings all day. I love the Gingerbread Mug Cake, but I’ve not tested it with substitutions. Dark corn syrup is the closest substitution for molasses as far as flavor. Maple syrup works too, or, you can swap the molasses for 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. It won’t be exactly the same… but it should be really good. Hope this helps!
Thank you!! I used the brown sugar and it came out great!!!
Yay! I’m so glad it worked and you like it. Thanks for letting me know!
I made it gluten free using cassava flour. And I add 1/8 tap of ground clove to give it a kick. I omitted the pepper. I love it! It tastes really good. 🙂
Hi Tova! Thank you SO much for posting your alternative flour! I love the adjustments you made as I’m also a huge fan of cloves.
I made it gluten free using cassava flour. And I add 1/8 tap of ground clove to give it a kick. I omitted the pepper. I love it! It tastes really good. 🙂
Just made this tonight. It’s delicious! Thanks for sharing. Took 1 minute & 30 seconds in my tiny microwave. Topped with some Maple Walnut ice cream. Yum!
Hi Chrissy! Oh my – your Maple Walnut Ice Cream is brilliant as a topping! Now I’m hungry 😍! I’m so glad you liked it!!
This turned out so delicious. I followed the recipe exactly. I wonder if those having trouble with the ingredients not being mixed enough are using too small of a mug so they can not stir the batter fully. I’m looking forward to trying your other mug cakes.
Thank you so much, Carolyn! I’m so glad you liked it. That mug cake is one of our favorites and your advice on the mug size was spot on and very helpful. Thank you!!
Just made this tonight. It’s delicious! Thanks for sharing. Took 1 minute & 30 seconds in my tiny microwave. Topped with some Maple Walnut ice cream. Yum!
Wondering how long to cook in the oven?
Really enjoyed this recipe!
Thanks!
This came out Perfectly!
Hi Kelley! Thanks for coming back to let me know! Love that one too!!
This came out Perfectly!
I am the only one that likes gingerbread, so this recipe would suit me just fine. Here is a thought, why not tripe or more the dry ingredients, making a note for one
portion. Store it. Then when you want a quick cake, all you would need was to put the wet, butter & sugar, mix, then all the dry. Cook. Voila!!!!
Hi Kari! You know what? Great minds think alike. I’ve been working on a post for just that thing. I’ve been testing the idea — and so far… it works great!!!
I am the only one that likes gingerbread, so this recipe would suit me just fine. Here is a thought, why not tripe or more the dry ingredients, making a note for one
portion. Store it. Then when you want a quick cake, all you would need was to put the wet, butter & sugar, mix, then all the dry. Cook. Voila!!!!
Wow thanks so much for posting this Ginger is my hubbies fav thing of all time. The rest of the family don’t always like it though so now he can have his own little ginger party. I’ll add xtra ginger as I know that will go over so well. Many thanks for this.
Just made it, really good! Thinking of trying to make it with Splenda to cut some calories ? Should work?
I’m so glad you liked it. I love it too! I’ve not made it with Splenda but it should work. Here is an article on swapping Splenda for sugar —
https://www.livestrong.com/article/318716-how-to-convert-sugar-to-splenda-in-recipes/
Just made it, really good! Thinking of trying to make it with Splenda to cut some calories ? Should work?
Absolutely awesome mug cake!! I just made this and ate it warm from the microwave, perfsction.??
Hi Karen! I’m a huge fan of that mug cake too! In fact, I think I’ll make one myself tonight! Thanks for letting us know!
I have made this mug cake several more times, I may have a problem. LOL?
Yay! I’m not alone :)! If you have a problem — so do I!
Absolutely awesome mug cake!! I just made this and ate it warm from the microwave, perfsction.??
I didn’t want to make a whole pan of my gingerbread squares so I decided to try your recipe. I loved it! Moist and gingery!
I’m watching the Great British Baking Show and they’re making ginger cakes. I’m drooling and wondering if I can find a one-person serving. I quickly stumbled upon this recipe, paused the show and went to the kitchen. This. Was. Incredible. 100% satisfied my ginger cake craving. My husband, who normally doesn’t like ginger, asked me to make him one too! So now I’m back on the couch feeling satisfied and sleepy. You made my day, thank you for this recipe!
First of all- fellow Great British Baking Show fan here ❤️. Secondly, I’m so happy you found this recipe, tried, and loved it!
I didn’t want to make a whole pan of my gingerbread squares so I decided to try your recipe. I loved it! Moist and gingery!
This mug cake is delicious. I made one with gluten free flour blend and it turned out well too. The regular recipe was a hit with my family. I’ll definitely make it again.
I’m so glad you liked the mug cake. It’s a favorite at my house too. Especially this time of the year!!
I made this just now and so happy to give it 5 stars – it’s my new favourite dessert! Thank you, Stephanie!
I made this just now and so happy to give it 5 stars – it’s my new favourite dessert! Thank you, Stephanie!
This looks really good. Thanks for the recipe. I remember my Mom making the best homemade gingerbread with a brownsugar/butter topping that sank into the cake. Oh wow warm from the oven with a little ice cream and you are in heaven! I haven’t been able to duplicate my Mom’s recipe so if you ever run into something like it, please publish! Have a wonderful weekend Stephanie.
Thank you, Carolyn! It is SO good. But your mom’s recipe sounds amazing. I’m definitely going to be looking for something similar. That’s the way my husband likes his gingerbread — with vanilla ice cream melting all over the cake :)! Have a great rest of your weekend too!
How many calories are in this mug cake?
Hi Myra – The mug cake has 257 calories. I’ll make a note to add the nutrition tomorrow morning.
This looks really good. Thanks for the recipe. I remember my Mom making the best homemade gingerbread with a brownsugar/butter topping that sank into the cake. Oh wow warm from the oven with a little ice cream and you are in heaven! I haven’t been able to duplicate my Mom’s recipe so if you ever run into something like it, please publish! Have a wonderful weekend Stephanie.