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Multi-Purpose Mug Cakes

Originally posted November 16, 2025 on Ko-Fi.

I recently had a commission for a tasty bedtime snack or dessert that would double as a spell. In my opinion, to be a bedtime snack, it had to be something that would be easy to make or have in the moment. And the commission was for one particular purpose that wouldn't necessarily be repeated over and over again nightly, so I needed to eliminate waste. A whole cake, sheets of cookies, trays of muffins... delicious, but a little impractical for this.

I had the idea of creating something fully modular -- a recipe that's so simple, it can be easily adapted with different ingredients to just about any purpose. I was stumped for days trying to think of a good solution. The mug cake idea seemed super far-fetched until I considered the many merits:

  • You can make just one cake at a time, so there's no waste
  • You can make a big bowl of dry mix, so there's virtually no prep time
  • If the dry mix is super basic, you could easily add ingredients to change the flavor and, by extension, the magical purpose
  • You could cast a spell one night and another one the next with no waste and no extra preparations
  • It's cake, and it's delicious

Mug in hand, I set about figuring out the best ratios for a dry mix, and then the method for making a basic cake, and then adapting it to the particular commissioned purpose. I've been enamored with the mug cakes (and so has my partner), so I asked permission from the commissioner to share the base recipe and some spell options, and she said to go for it!

So, here we are!

The Mug Cake Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 c All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 c Sugar
  • 1 t Salt
  • 1 t Baking Soda

And that's it! Mix it all together in a container with an air-tight lid, and the mix will keep for a couple months in your cupboard. This amount of mix will make about four large mug cakes.

When you're ready to have a cake, you'll need:
  • A large mug (12 ounces at the least)
  • 1/2 c Mug Cake Mix
  • 2 T Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 1/4 c Milk
  • Your chosen flavorings

And that's also it! Melt the butter right in the mug, stir in the milk and mix with a fork, add your extras, and microwave for 70 to 90 seconds. Let it cool for a minute, top with whatever you like, and then enjoy! You can have a tasty little cake flavored just the way you like in less than five minutes.

Note: If you only have smaller mugs, divide the cake ingredients by half.

Now, let's talk flavorings. Depending on what you add, you may need more milk or less dry mix. Below are a few variations on the recipe, all using the same dry mixture. You can assign your own meanings to the ingredients to adapt them into spells for your needs. If you're partial to incantations or prayers, I would suggest speaking them while you mix all of your ingredients together before microwaving.

Simple Vanilla Mug Cake

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 c Mug Cake Mix
  • 2 T Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 1/4 c Milk
  • 1/2 t Vanilla
  • Frosting, sprinkles
  1. Melt the butter in the mug.
  2. Whisk in the milk, vanilla, and mug cake mix with a fork until smooth.
  3. Microwave for 70 to 90 seconds.
  4. Let cool for a minute, then decorate with frosting and sprinkles.

Chocolate Mug Cake

  • 1/2 c Mug Cake Mix
  • 2 T Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 1/4 c Milk
  • 2-3 T Cocoa Powder
  • 1/2 t Vanilla
  • Chocolate syrup or frosting
  1. Melt the butter in the mug.
  2. Whisk in the milk, vanilla, mug cake mix, and cocoa powder with a fork until smooth.
  3. If the mixture is too thick, add more milk one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.
  4. Microwave for 70 to 90 seconds.
  5. Let cool for a minute, then top with a drizzle of chocolate syrup or a layer of frosting.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mug Cake

  • 1/2 c Mug Cake Mix
  • 2 T Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 1/4 c Milk
  • 1/2 t Vanilla
  • 2 T Brown Sugar
  • 2 T Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  1. Melt the butter in the mug.
  2. Whisk in the mug cake mix, milk, vanilla, and brown sugar with a fork until smooth.
  3. Mix in the chocolate chips.
  4. Microwave for 70 to 90 seconds.
  5. Let cool for a minute. Top with a couple more chocolate chips, if desired.

Cinnamon Mug Cake

  • 1/2 c Mug Cake Mix
  • 2 T Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 1/4 c Milk
  • 2 T + 1 T Brown Sugar
  • 1 T Cinnamon
  1. Melt the butter in the mug.
  2. Whisk in the mug cake mix, milk, two tablespoons of brown sugar, and cinnamon with a fork until smooth.
  3. Sprinkle one tablespoon of brown sugar on top. Carefully mix it in, but do not thoroughly combine, for a brown sugar swirl.
  4. Microwave for 70 to 90 seconds.
  5. Let cool for a minute. Optionally, combine a small amount of milk and powdered sugar to drizzle on top.

Extra option: Before microwaving, create a crumble by melting a tablespoon of butter and mixing in a small amount of flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon until it's similar to wet sand in texture. Coat the top of the batter with the crumble and then microwave as usual.

Lemon Poppyseed Mug Cake

  • 1/2 c Mug Cake Mix
  • 2 T Unsalted Butter, melted
  • 1/4 c Milk
  • 1 t Poppy Seeds
  • 1 T Lemon Juice
  1. Melt the butter in the mug.
  2. Whisk in the mug cake mix, milk, and poppy seeds with a fork until well combined.
  3. Mix in the lemon juice until just combined.
  4. Microwave for 70 to 90 seconds.
  5. Let cool for a minute. Optionally, combine a small amount of lemon juice and powdered sugar to drizzle on top.