Sometimes it’s the small things that mean the most, like a morning cup of coffee, a hug after a long day, or making this Red Velvet Mug Cake for someone you love on Valentine's Day.
This recipe is for a gooey red velvet mug cake with a velvety texture that takes 10 minutes to prep and 1 minute 30 seconds to cook! This is the perfect sweet treat to make when you’re low on time, or just feeling slightly tired!
If you love this mug cake recipe and are looking for other recipes to make for someone special, then have a look at this recipe for Espresso Panna Cotta or this recipe for Cinnamon Pancakes.
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Ingredients
To make these easy mug cakes, you will need the simple ingredients listed below. Remember to always use fresh room temperature ingredients when baking.
- Sunflower oil
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla extract
- Sugar
- Cake flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- White vinegar
- Salt
- Red food coloring
- Cream cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
To make this quick and easy red velvet mug cake recipe, follow the simple steps below. Start by making the super quick cream cheese frosting and then make the mug cake. This way you can spoon the frosting onto the cake while it's hot and eat them when they’re at their best!
Instructions for frosting
STEP 1: Beat butter and icing sugar. Add the butter and powdered sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until combined.
STEP 2: Add cream cheese. Add the cream cheese to the mixer and beat again until light and fluffy, scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula and beat again.
Instructions for mug cake
STEP 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine using a small whisk.
STEP 2: Combine wet ingredients. Into a small bowl or jug, add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and vinegar. Whisk to combine.
STEP 3: Mix wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix them using a whisk making sure there are no lumps.
STEP 4: Add food coloring. Add the food coloring to the smooth batter and stir to combine. Adjust the quantity if needed.
STEP 5: Bake. Divide the cake batter between the mugs and cook in the microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The cakes are cooked when the edges of the cake have pulled away slightly from the mugs and the center is no longer runny.
STEP 6: Add frosting. Spoon the frosting onto the hot mug cakes and decorate with sprinkles, serve immediately.
Hint: make sure you serve these mug cakes as soon as they are done cooking, this is when they’re at their best!
Variations
If you don’t feel like going through the effort of making the frosting, you can choose to serve this delicious red velvet mug cake with store-bought frosting or skip the frosting and serve it with vanilla ice cream instead.
You could also add a tablespoon of chocolate chips to the batter if you're feeling for something chocolatey!
Equipment
To make these red velvet mug cakes you don’t need any fancy equipment, just a mixing bowl, a mini whisk, and of course a microwave!
You will also need two small mugs or ramekins. For this version of this recipe I used heart-shaped ramekins, you can do the same or use mugs. Make sure you have chosen a microwave-safe mug or ramekin.
Storage
This recipe makes 2 mug cakes and the entire cake should be gone as soon as you serve them, they’re that good! So storage shouldn’t be an issue, this recipe is best eaten soon after it has cooked so do not make this ahead.
If you do have leftover cake, cover the coffee cup it plastic wrap and store them in the fridge, alternatively, you can transfer the cakes to an airtight container.
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe.
Top tip
Follow the tips below to make sure your mug cakes come out perfectly!
- Check the size of the mug or ramekins you’re using, if they’re too small the batter will overflow and you’ll have a messy microwave.
- Make the frosting before cooking the cakes, this way you’ll get to serve the cakes as soon as they’re done cooking.
- For a fluffy smooth frosting, make sure you are using room-temperature butter.
FAQ
As long as you’re not overfilling the mugs and leaving space for the batter to rise, you should be ok. Remember different-sized mugs will affect how this cake cooks, so check the centre to ensure it's baked through before serving.
I only recommend making frosting with room-temperature butter, especially for cream cheese frostings. Otherwise, you may end up with a lumpy frosting with bits of cold butter.
I recommend using red gel food coloring as this gives an intense red color to the mug cakes. You can use other food coloring types, you will just have to use a little more.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Whether it's Valentine’s Day or Christmas, this is an easy treat to make for two when there's a sweet tooth to satisfy. And guaranteed there’ll be some excitement as you watch them rise and serve these perfect mini desserts!
If you have tried this recipe for microwave mug cakes and love it as much as I do, please leave a comment and star rating below – I love hearing from all of you!
Happy Baking
With Love,
Kitty
📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Mug Cake
Equipment
- 2x microwave safe mugs
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 60 g powdered sugar
- 30 g unsalted butter
- 60 g cream cheese
Red Velvet Mug Cakes
- 80 g sugar white granulated
- 70 g cake flour
- 10 g cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 35 ml sunflower oil
- 70 ml buttermilk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- red gel food coloring
Instructions
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the butter and powdered sugar to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until combined.
- Add the cream cheese to the mixer and beat again until light and fluffy, scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula and beat again.
Red Velvet Mug Cake
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine using a small whisk.
- Into a small bowl or jug, add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and vinegar. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix them using a whisk making sure there are no lumps.
- Add two drops of red food coloring to the smooth batter and stir to combine. Adjust the quantity if needed.
- Divide the cake batter between the mugs and cook in the microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds. The cakes are cooked when the edges of the cake have pulled away slightly from the mugs and the center is no longer runny.
- Spoon the frosting onto the hot mug cakes and decorate with sprinkles, serve immediately.
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