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Chocolate-Raspberry Mug Cakes

By America's Test Kitchen Kids

Published on January 4, 2023

Time

25 minutes

Yield

Serves 2

What Kids Are Saying

“It was cool to cook a cake in the microwave!” —Lake, recipe tester, age 6

Chocolate-Raspberry Mug Cakes

Ingredients

¼ cup (1¼ ounces/35 grams) all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking powder 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips 2 large eggs ¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ⅛ teaspoon table salt 10 raspberries

Before You Begin

These fudgy cakes must be served warm. Add whipped cream or a small scoop of ice cream for a deluxe treat. We highly recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. If you use natural cocoa powder, the mug cakes will be drier in texture and lighter in color.

Instructions

  1. In small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
  2. In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate chips. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from microwave. Use spoon to stir mixture until smooth. 
  3. Add eggs, sugar, cocoa, jam, vanilla, and salt to chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.
  4. Use spoon to divide batter evenly between 2 coffee mugs.
  5. Place mugs on opposite sides of microwave turntable. Cook in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Stop microwave and use spoon to stir batter in each mug, making sure to reach bottom of mug. 
  6. Cook at 50 percent power for 1 more minute (batter will rise to below rim of mug and cake will look wet around edges—if edges are not set, cook at 50 percent power for 15 to 30 seconds more).
  7. Use oven mitts to remove mugs from microwave , and let cool for 5 minutes. Place 5 raspberries on top of each cake. Serve.

Chocolate-Raspberry Mug Cakes

Save

Time

25 minutes

Yield

Serves 2

What Kids Are Saying

“It was cool to cook a cake in the microwave!” —Lake, recipe tester, age 6

Ingredients

¼ cup (1¼ ounces/35 grams) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon table salt
10 raspberries

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¼ cup (1¼ ounces/35 grams) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon table salt
10 raspberries

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

¼ cup (1¼ ounces/35 grams) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon table salt
10 raspberries

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Kids (and grown-ups) will melt over these gooey mug cakes. For maximum chocolate flavor, we use a combination of Dutch-processed cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate chips. A few spoonfuls of raspberry jam in the batter and a sprinkle of fresh raspberries on top provides a sweet-tart twist. Kids can mix together their ingredients in a large bowl, divide the batter between two mugs, then pop the mugs into the microwave. Have young chefs keep an eye on the microwave—what do they observe? They’ll likely notice the cakes rising tall in their mugs. Baking powder helps them achieve that height. When baking powder and a liquid mix, a chemical reaction occurs that creates bubbly carbon dioxide gas. Those tiny bubbles of gas become trapped when the liquid batter "bakes" into a solid dessert in the microwave.

Before You Begin

These fudgy cakes must be served warm. Add whipped cream or a small scoop of ice cream for a deluxe treat. We highly recommend using Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe. If you use natural cocoa powder, the mug cakes will be drier in texture and lighter in color.

Instructions

  1. In small bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.
  2. In medium microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and chocolate chips. Heat in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from microwave. Use spoon to stir mixture until smooth. 
  3. Add eggs, sugar, cocoa, jam, vanilla, and salt to chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth.
  4. Use spoon to divide batter evenly between 2 coffee mugs.
  5. Place mugs on opposite sides of microwave turntable. Cook in microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute. Stop microwave and use spoon to stir batter in each mug, making sure to reach bottom of mug. 
  6. Cook at 50 percent power for 1 more minute (batter will rise to below rim of mug and cake will look wet around edges—if edges are not set, cook at 50 percent power for 15 to 30 seconds more).
  7. Use oven mitts to remove mugs from microwave , and let cool for 5 minutes. Place 5 raspberries on top of each cake. Serve.

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