World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes (microwave recipe)

The World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes will turn any classroom or event into a super fun cooking class!

10 minute crafts cake cups

The world’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes are going to be a huge hit!

If your students love chocolate cake and need a great special activity in class or at an event, then these Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes are perfect for you. Not only is this activity a great way to teach kids about the ingredients in chocolate cake and their measurements, but there’s also a fun art element to it. Students can decorate their mugs before they make the cakes and then take them home to use again and again.

You might think that cooking is too complicated or difficult to do with a big class of students, but these Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes can be made in a microwave in just minutes! Plus, you only need a scale, a bowl, a spoon or whisk, a mug, and a few basic ingredients. That’s why they’re called the world’s easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes. We got the idea from a recipe called, “The Moistest Chocolate Mug Cake,” but decided that we could make it even easier (and artsier)!

Live Recipe with Dialog Practice

Check out this dialog for teachers and students to practice as they make the recipe.

Are the world’s easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes safe to make during a pandemic?

Of course this cooking activity is safe! Otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it in our own English school in Japan, Step by Step. We were concerned that eating in the lesson would be a problem since students would have to take off their masks. So, rather than eating in class, we found these great microwave-safe plastic mugs with a lid from the 100 yen shop (like a dollar store, but in Japan). Using these cool mugs, we can make the Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes in class, put the lids on the cups, and send the students home to have their cakes and eat them, too!

easy chocolate cake mugs

Even if you can’t find the same style of mugs in your area, you can simply use a regular mug and put plastic wrap on top for students to easily take it home. This way, students can keep their masks on, keep their fingers away from their faces, and there’s nothing to clean except for the mixing bowl used to make the Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes.

How long does it take to make Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes?

It really depends on the number of students you have and the way you plan the activity, but the preparation and actually making the chocolate cakes in mugs can be done in minutes. Since we make these in our English school classes (50-minute lessons), we like to spend a little time practicing the new vocabulary words and useful phrases such as “How much ~ do we need?,” “Let’s measure 50 grams of flour,” and “What kind of toppings would you like?” We also decided to let students decorate their own cups by writing their names and drawing pictures with oil-based markers to make their cups unique.

The other thing that may take time is cooking the Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes. Each cake takes about 1 – 2 minutes depending on the strength of your microwave. You could try microwaving several cakes at the same time, but there’s the problem of cakes not cooking evenly depending on the placement in the microwave. Another solution is to use multiple microwaves. This will save time, but make sure to test them out before the actual cooking class in case they trip the breakers from using too much power.

Are these really the world’s EASIEST chocolate cakes in a mug?

Yes, they are. We wouldn’t lie to you. If you’ve seen our previous posts about easy recipes for lessons and events, then you’ll understand. Our goal is to do crafts, activities, and cooking classes in less than 10 minutes with the least amount of preparation possible.

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For example, when cooking traditional recipes, you’ll often find a variety of measurements from teaspoons, to tablespoons, cups, and more. We decided that it’s fastest and easiest to get one bowl, put it on a scale, and dump in each of the ingredients based on grams. It’s a fun alternative way to bake, and it’s definitely simple. You can try out the ingredient calculator below. Just type in the number of cakes you want to make and you’re ready to start cooking!

And what’s easier than cooking in a microwave? Just mix the cake batter together as a class, pour the batter in the microwave-safe cups, zap them for 1 – 2 minutes, slap a lid on the mugs, and send the kids home to let the parents deal with cleaning up their chocolate-covered, smiling, satisfied faces. We promise that these are the World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes!

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What You’ll Need

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1 large bowl and spoon- or whisk to mix all the ingredients
1 digital scale- to weigh each ingredient (for fewer numbers of cakes, a precise scale is recommended (0.1 gram accuracy)
A microwave
1 microwave-safe mug per student- non-breakable with a lid is ideal (200ml or larger)

all-purpose flour
unsweetened cocoa powder
baking powder
sugar
salt

milk
vegetable oil
toppings- such as chocolate chips, M&M’s, or nuts
Oil-based markers- to decorate the mugs

The Ingredient Calculator for
The World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes

How many students/cakes? (This will make enough cake for a 200 - 300 ml mug. We like to fill ours half full so that they don't spill over when cooking in the microwave.)

To make 1 Chocolate Cake Cup, you'll need:

A bowl that can hold at least 1.5
1 microwave-safe mug cup(s)

all-purpose flour
unsweetened cocoa powder
baking powder
granulated sugar ( for sweeter cake)
salt
milk
vegetable oil
mini chocolate chips, M&Ms, or other toppings

There's also a dialog script for teachers and students to practice as they make the recipe.

How to make the World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes

This recipe is awesome not just because it makes such delicious chocolate cake, but because it’s also so easy and can be done in under 10 minutes!

(Optional)
Step 1 – Kids decorate their mugs

Students ask for their mugs and oil-based markers.

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Step 2 – Prepare the bowl and scale

Put the big bowl on the scale and set the scale to 0 grams (tare the scale). We recommend a big glass bowl so that students can easily see from their desks or seats.

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Step 3 – Add the dry ingredients

Add the dry ingredients on the list, resetting the scale to 0 after each ingredient. Taring the scale each time allows you to quickly measure the correct amount of each ingredient. (If you’re worried about adding too much of an ingredient, you can use a smaller bowl to weigh each ingredient before adding it to the large bowl.)

For an EFL/ESL style English lesson, ask the students, “What do we need next?”

They can reply, “We need baking powder.”

“How much do we need?”

“We need 20 grams.”

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Step 4 – Add the wet ingredients

Add the wet ingredients on the list, quickly mixing so that there are no clumps in the batter. Be sure to reset the scale to 0 after each ingredient.

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Step 5 – Pour 150g of cake mix into each mug

Put each student’s mug on the scale, reset it to 0, and pour in 150g of the cake mix. This should fill the cup about half full with cake mix. If you want bigger cakes, you can double the recipe, but it might expand and spill over when cooking in the microwave. (The cups pictured are 350ml.)

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Step 6 – Microwave each cake for 1 – 2 minutes at 600 – 800 watts

Every microwave is different so the cooking times will vary greatly. Be sure to do many tests before the actual event to get the exact time for the microwave you’ll be using. The cake should be soft and moist, but not liquid or have a rubbery texture after it cools down.

If the cake is still liquid inside, try adding 20 – 30 seconds more. If the cake is too hard and rubbery after it cools, it’s overcooked. Try reducing the cooking time by 20 or 30 seconds.

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Step 7 – Put a lid on the Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes and send the kids home

If you’re in a classroom and don’t have the time or facilities to eat during the lesson, you can just put a lid or plastic wrap on the mugs filled with yummy chocolate and send the kids home. They’ll be excited and eager to eat their cake as soon as possible, but this way, they learn another lesson in patience.

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The World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes might be your new favorite snack!

Teaching a cooking lesson using the World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes is not only a great way for kids to decorate their own mugs, but they can also learn some basic principles of cooking. The recipe is so easy, and they can also go home with their custom mugs and make chocolate cake in the microwave again and again.

If you’re looking for other fun cooking recipes for the classroom, why not try our Cereal Shape Snackers, S’mores, or even Bacon Cookies in your next lesson or event. We hope you love the World’s Easiest Chocolate Mug Cup Cakes as much as our students, and don’t forget to do lots of tests before the class, at home, at midnight, especially when you need a snack. And even if it comes out perfect, it’s OK to double check and triple check.