About This Recipe

Vanilla mug cake is the gentler, more versatile sibling of the chocolate version. Where the chocolate mug cake is dramatic and intense, the vanilla version is soft, buttery, and accommodating, its neutral base making it the ideal canvas for whatever topping or addition sounds appealing at the moment. Jam swirled in, a spoonful of lemon curd dropped in the centre, a handful of berries pressed into the batter, all of these work beautifully with a vanilla base in a way they would compete with a chocolate one.

Butter rather than oil makes the difference between a vanilla mug cake that tastes genuinely like a proper cake and one that tastes like a quick fix. The butter must be melted, which takes thirty seconds in the microwave, but the flavour contribution is significant. Combined with a generous quantity of vanilla extract, which is the primary flavour here, the result has the warm, buttery, fragrant quality of a proper vanilla sponge rather than the flat, neutral quality of an oil-based version.

The vanilla glaze, made from icing sugar and a splash of milk, drizzled over the warm cake in the mug, takes thirty seconds and provides a sweet, set surface that makes the mug cake look and feel finished rather than simply functional. It is the small touch that elevates the whole experience.

History and Origins

Vanilla sponge cake in its classic form has been made since at least the 18th century in Britain and Europe, where the combination of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour in a light creamed batter became the foundation of the modern layer cake tradition. The mug cake version translates these centuries-old proportions into a microwave-friendly single-serving format that retains the essential flavour character of the original.

Why It Is Fast To Make

Microwave cooking. One mug, one fork, four minutes. The glaze takes 30 seconds.

Microwave Vanilla Mug Cake

Recipe by By butter u0026 berriesCourse: Baking, Cake

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

2

minutes

Cooking time

2

minutes

Calories

420

kcal

Ingredients

• •t3 tbsp unsalted butter melted

• •t3 tbsp white sugar

• •t1 large egg

• •t3 tbsp milk

• •t2 tsp vanilla extract

• •t4 tbsp self-raising flour

• •tPinch of salt

• •tFor glaze: 3 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp milk

Directions

• Melt butter in a large microwave-safe mug for 30 seconds.
• Add sugar, egg, milk and vanilla. Beat with a fork until combined.
• Add flour and salt. Mix until just smooth.
• Microwave on high for 60 to 75 seconds until the top looks just set.
• Mix icing sugar and milk. Drizzle over warm cake. Eat immediately.

Notes

•  
  Do not overmix after adding flour. A few strokes of the fork is enough.
  The cake is done when the top looks matte and just set. Shiny and wet means more time. Dry and pulled away means overdone.
  Self-raising flour is important here. Plain flour without leavening produces a dense, flat result.
  Add a teaspoon of lemon zest to the batter and use lemon juice in the glaze for an instant lemon mug cake.

Make Ahead Tips

The dry ingredients can be measured into the mug in advance. Add wet ingredients and cook fresh.

Storage and Serving

Eat immediately. Mug cakes do not store or reheat well. Make fresh each time in under five minutes.

Variations and Substitutions

Add a spoonful of jam or lemon curd pressed into the centre of the batter before cooking for a filled version. Press a few fresh blueberries into the batter. Add the zest of half a lemon and replace vanilla glaze with lemon glaze. Fold a tablespoon of desiccated coconut into the batter.

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