Lava cake in a mug with cake mix is good and only takes 1 minute to microwave!! With an ooey gooey chocolatey center, it is faster to make than our Brownie in a Mug and the solid quick dessert we love.

A spoon holding gooey chocolate banana bread above a ramekin filled with the same decadent dessert.

Ok so we are obsessed with all of our mug recipes but the chocolate ones are our favorites. Using cake mix and 3 other ingredients makes it even easier! When we need something sweet after dinnertime we are all about this one. Now our teens make it for themselves now and then after dinner.

You know that gooey center of lava cakes that oozes out when you stick a spoon in the middle, that is melted chocolate (duh). You could use about 10 chips in the center like our chocolate chip cookie in a mug or better yet we use these Hershey's nuggets.

Don't dirty a bowl for this one, you can mix everything up in your large mug and you're set to “bake” in the microwave. That is right, no need to heat up your whole house with the oven for this one.

A hand holding a foil-wrapped Hershey's Nuggets chocolate above a cup of hot cocoa, solid for pairing with a slice of homemade chocolate banana bread.

A hand presses a chocolate square into chocolate batter inside a white mug, preparing a quick and good Lava Cake.

Ingredient notes

You are going to need a few Tbsp. of chocolate cake mix as the base of the dry ingredients necessary. We like Devil's Food but any of them will work really. This is the best way of how to make a mug cake with cake mix ever.

We like to make it as tender and moist as possible so instead of oil it is better to moisten with Greek yogurt. Plain works or even vanilla is fine. Don't have that? Use mayonnaise instead (seriously).

You'll need some liquid to thin out the cake batter, whole or 2% milk is best. If you needed to use a dairy free alternative we would choose cashew milk as that is thickest and richest.

And then like we said we like chocolate nuggets to push into the center to create the gooey center. We add 2 but 1 would work and isn't as rich.

A spoon holds chocolate cake with a molten center above a white cup and cake mix box—solid for your next Lava Cake Recipe or quick Mug Cake craving.

Make sure that your mug is large like this one. The best option is one with a wide lip too so you can see into the bottom and reach every nook and cranny so nothing is left behind. It doesn't stick since it should be ceramic coated and slide right out. Alternatively you could use a 10 oz. ramekin.

How Long to Cook Lava Cake in a Mug

This method only takes 1 minute and is a great way to make an individual dessert! This timing is for a typical 1000 watt machine cooked one or two at a time for the solid texture which should be super moist but “baked” all the way thru.

Can you cook lava mug cake too long?

Yes, and you shouldn't do it! We have tested this extensively and 60 seconds is right. If you cook it any longer than that the cake won't be as moist and the chocolate won't be melted, rather it will harden and actually start to burn beyond 90 seconds or so.

Lava Cake in a Mug Recipe

By Prep: 5 minutes minsCook: 1 minute minServings: 1 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe

Equipment

1 large mug
1 Spoon

Ingredients

6 tbsp chocolate cake mixDevils food used
2 tbsp Greek yogurt, high protein oikos used
2 tbsp milk, 2% used, water is fine too
2 small chocolate pieces, we used Hersheys chunks

Instructions

Mix together cake mix, yogurt and milk in your mug until smooth. Press into the middle 2 chocolate pieces and cover the top with batter so they are surrounded.
Microwave on high (1000 watt) for 1 minute.

Notes

Oven Directions

You will use the same ingredients above but mix in a bowl and spoon into a 10 oz. ramekin instead. Preheat oven to 350F. and bake for 14 minutes, enjoy.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: DessertCuisine: American Tried this recipe?Mention @thetypical_mom or tag #thetypicalmom!

Can you bake this in the oven?

You can using a ramekin instead. Using the same ingredients above you can instead bake it for 13-14 minutes to achieve the same result but of course that takes much longer but still a great cake mix hack.

Can you make lava cake in an air fryer?

Yep, we made Air Fryer Cake that way too in small ramekins to get a bit of a crisp on the top layer which was fun when breaking thru to the center to find the ooey gooeyness.

Slow Cooker option

You can, that is how we made our Crockpot Lava Cake. In this case the “liquid” used to make the batter was a can of pie filling though which gave it a great duo of flavor with chunks of cherries in it too which was out of this world.

Want to try something else with the same cake mix? Try a loaf of our good Chocolate Banana Bread with Cake Mix recipe with your ripened fruit.

Chocolate lava cake in a white ramekin with a spoonful missing, revealing gooey melted chocolate inside—solid for those who love the rich, decadent flavor of homemade treats like Chocolate Banana Bread.