A quick and easy gingerbread mug cake that will give you a cozy wintery feeling without all the work! This moist mug cake is seasoned with molasses and an assortment of warm spices.
Note: this post was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2021 with new photos and improved instructions.
This gingerbread mug cake recipe will bring the holiday cheer in a flash! All you need are some basic (mostly pantry!) ingredients, a mug, and a few minutes. This delicious gingerbread dessert will have you feeling oh-so-cozy on a cold night, and without a whole sink of dishes to wash!
This mug cake has all the warm cozy flavors of more traditional gingerbread: molasses, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground ginger. But it's really easy to make and in a convenient singe serving size. So you can make it any time you are craving a delicious holiday dessert!
(If you love mug cakes as much as I do, be sure to check out my chocolate berry mug cake and strawberry shortcake mug cake recipes too!)
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Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Butter: unsalted if you've got it. If not, just don't add the extra pinch of salt the recipe calls for.
- Milk: I've made this with both whole milk and low-fat milk and they both work well, so use whichever you prefer.
- Salt: as mentioned, omit if you want to use salted butter.
Step by step photos
1. The first step is to melt the tablespoon of butter in a large, microwave-safe mug. This should take about 30 seconds on high.
2. Next, add in the molasses, granulated sugar, and milk to the melted butter in the mug. Whisk everything together with a fork, or use my favorite mini whisk! (Affiliate link.)
3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt in a separate small bowl. Then, gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, until the batter is fully incorporated and mostly free of lumps.
4. Finally, microwave the mug cake for 1 minute 15 seconds on high. Check the top of the cake; if it's still a little wet, microwave again in 10 second increments until the top of the cake is just set.
Tips and tricks
- If you want to unmold your mug cake after it's cooked, swirl the melted butter around the sides of the mug before adding the other ingredients. This will help it from sticking as much!
- If your baking powder is a little pebbly, break the lumps apart with your fingers or a fork before adding to the other ingredients. Any unmixed chunks of baking powder will taste bitter in the finished cake.
- To avoid a lumpy batter, add the dry ingredients into the wet gradually, whisking with a fork (or mini whisk) in between. I had good results by adding in 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients first, whisking until most of the lumps are gone. Then I added the second tablespoon and whisked again. After that, I just added the rest of the dry ingredients and whisked until everything was evenly combined. You may still have one or two little lumps, but that's ok.
- If the bottom of your mug is narrow, tilt the mug a little to the side when mixing. This will give you more space to maneuver the fork or mini whisk around so it's easier to mix.
Recipe FAQs
You will need a microwave-safe mug that holds at least 12 ounces (355 ml). This will ensure there is enough space for the cake to expand without overflowing!
If you're curious, the exact mug I'm using here is the 13 ounce Gladelig mug from Ikea.
Yes, you can make a couple spice swaps if you don't have or don't like some of the spices in the cake. To recap, this recipe calls for ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. If you don't have all of these spices, here's what you can do:
- If you don't have ground ginger or cinnamon: try pumpkin pie spice instead! I would avoid just doubling up on the cinnamon or ginger though, because it may overwhelm the cake, resulting in a bitter aftertaste.
- If you don't have nutmeg: this recipe only calls for a pinch of nutmeg, so you can just leave it out. Or, substitute a pinch of allspice or cloves.
Alternatively, you can create your own spice blend with whatever warm holiday-type spices you have in your cabinet. This recipe calls for a total of ½ teaspoon (plus a pinch) of spices. So, throw together whatever warm spices you have to equal that amount. You can try cloves, allspice, mace, and pumpkin pie spice.
This mug cake tastes great on its own, but if you want to make it an even more indulgent experience, try the mug cake topped with powdered sugar and/or an extra dusting of cinnamon, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or festive sprinkles!
Related recipes
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Print📖 Recipe
Gingerbread Mug Cake
An easy to make single serve holiday dessert that's delicious topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute 15 seconds
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: microwave
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 2 tablespoons (23 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (59 ml) milk
- 5 tablespoons (57 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Place butter in a microwave-safe mug and microwave 30 seconds on high or until melted.
- Add molasses, milk, and sugar to the melted butter and whisk together with a fork or small whisk until evenly combined.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the mug gradually, whisking in between each addition, until smooth.
- Microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 seconds. If the top of the mug cake is still wet, microwave in 10 second bursts until the top of the cake is just set.
Notes
If you would like to substitute salted butter for the unsalted butter, omit the pinch of salt from the recipe.
Be sure to use a microwave-safe mug that holds at least 12 ounces (355 ml) to make sure the batter doesn't overflow while it cooks. You can also place the mug onto a microwave-safe plate to catch any potential drips.
If you want to unmold the mug cake after it's cooked, swirl the melted butter around the sides of the mug before adding the other ingredients. This will help it from sticking as much!
If your baking powder is pebbly, break it apart with your fingers or a fork before adding to the other ingredients. Any unmixed chunks of baking powder will taste bitter in the finished cake.
The nutrition information below is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator, and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, health, or nutritional advice. See our full disclosure policy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mug cake
- Calories: 407
- Sugar: 35.4 g
- Sodium: 196 mg
- Fat: 12.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 69.3 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 7.1 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
roze albina ches says
Oh my gosh. I was in the mood for something gingery. I found this recipe and believe me, it is fabulous! This is a keeper and I think it will do the double and triple next time so I can have extra. Wow. This is amazing. Best ginger cake recipe ever! Thank you for this one!
Kate says
Roze I am absolutely delighted that you enjoyed this recipe, you made my day 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Emily says
Best mug cake I’ve ever made, and I’ve made quite a few! Such a moist, fine crumb!
Kate says
I'm so happy that you enjoyed the mug cake Emily! That makes my day 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Naomi says
I made this today and can attest that it is lovely. Delicious
Kate says
Naomi thank you so much for sharing, I am absolutely delighted that you enjoyed the mug cake! 🙂
Donna says
Do you think this ginger mug cake would work out ok still using GF flour? We can't use almond or any nut flour mixes as we have an ALL nuts allergy in our house.
Kathy says
Super easy, moist, and tasty. Perfect for a cold Winter's night. I added just under a quarter cup of raisins. That was fun.
Kate says
Oooo raisins! That sounds like a great addition Kathy, thanks for sharing! I'll have to try it that way next time!
Penny says
delicious...I like cake to be moist and this is perfect.
Kate says
Thank you for sharing Penny I'm so glad you enjoyed the mug cake!
Ayne says
I just made my first mug cake. This is amazing. I added a 1/4 cup of diced crystallized ginger to oomph up the ginger impact. Thank you for the recipe,
Kate says
Ooo that crystallized ginger in there sounds like it would be so tasty! I'm really glad you enjoyed the recipe Ayne!
Annie says
Best mug cake recipe I've made. I had to make some subs as I am vegan. Almond milk and coconut oil instead of butter, also used golden syrup as I don't have molasses.
Kate says
Yay I'm so happy you enjoyed it Annie! And thank you for sharing the modifications you used, I'm sure other vegan readers will be interested to try your version! 🙂
Urmom says
Delicious and good for snack time.
Kate says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it Urmom, thank you for sharing!
DIANE A PERKINS says
This sounds very interesting, will def try. was curious if you have done this with other flavors as well. Thanks for sharing
DIANE A PERKINS says
Silly me, just saw that you have other recipes of this kind, very excited to try
Kate says
Hi Diane! I'm happy you like the recipe, if you end up trying it please let me know how it turns out for you! And yes I have a lot of other mug cake recipes, some of my favorites are mocha mug cake (with a gooey mocha sauce at the bottom!) and apple cinnamon mug cake. Have a great day!
Tara says
If I wanted to make this into a dry mix for gifting do you think I could just use brown sugar?
Kate says
Hi Tara! Making this into a dry mix for a gift is such a cool idea! I haven't made the mug cake with brown sugar instead of molasses, but I did some research and it looks like you can replace molasses with a slightly lesser amount of brown sugar. So perhaps you could try using 1 1/2 teaspoon packed brown sugar instead of the 2 teaspoons molasses and see. To be sure you could always mix up one of the mug cakes yourself that way as a test (and then you get a bonus dessert for yourself!). If you try it please let me know how it turns out 🙂
Tara says
Thank you very much for the reply and doing some research! We have a snow day here today. I have everything on hand so I’ll have to try it and let you know!
Kate says
A snow day how nice! (I love a good snow day, perfect time for a cozy dessert!).
Rita says
Best mug cake ever!
Kate says
So glad you enjoyed it Rita thank you!!
Rita says
This is my new favorite mug cake! I have diabetes so I changed the sugar to stevia and milk to 1%. Worked great! Just love it. ❤️
Kate says
Rita that is wonderful, I am really happy that you love the mug cake, and that you were able to modify the recipe to suit your needs. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Annie says
Oh my goodness, this is the best mug cake I have EVER made!!! I am over the moon that I found this recipe! It is absolute perfection!
Kate says
Aw thank you so much Annie for your nice comment, I am so happy that you enjoyed the mug cake 🙂
Jackie says
I stumbled upon this recipe while doing a quick Google search, and I knew I had to try it when I saw that you posted it on my birthday! I gave it a shot and added a bit of ginger candy to the mix—let me tell you, it turned out absolutely delicious! I’m definitely saving this one in my notes for safekeeping. Seriously so good—thank you for sharing!
Kate says
Jackie that is wonderful! I have a November birthday as well 🙂 The addition of ginger candy sounds really good. I will definitely have to try it that way next time I make it. I'm so glad that you enjoyed the recipe 🙂