Warm, soft, super fluffy & cinnamon-y Snickerdoodle Mug Cake ready in minutes. Perfect for when you need a single-serving sweet treat fast!
Snickerdoodle Mug Cake. Brought to you today by those sudden urges for a cake-y type treat that you always get when you have no cake-y type treats in the house. And that my friends is a regular occurrence here.
I'm no stranger to mug cakes. My Cinnamon Roll in a Mug is one of the most popular recipes on AVV. But we all need a bit of variety in our lives and this no egg mug cake can be mixed up in minutes right there in the mug you are going to cook it in and eat it from.
It's like a super-hero cake-y dessert here to save the day, with flavours not unlike my Vegan Snickerdoodles or my Snickerdoodle Hummus, and it's conveniently sized for one person so you don't need to make a full on cake. Almost too convenient ....
What ingredients & equipment do I need?
For detailed measurements and instructions, scroll to my printable recipe card at the bottom of the page or click the "jump to recipe" button at the top of the page.
This is a basic recipe. All you need to make it is a mug and some regular pantry ingredients including:
Nut/seed butter or oil - Yep, we're making a snickerdoodle mug cake without butter. Some fat is needed for a good texture though. Nut or seed butter is my preference because it gives the mug cake more flavour. However, oil (any kind) works well too so use whichever you prefer.
Vanilla & Salt - Flavour!
Dairy-free milk - For moisture. Any type is fine to use.
Sugar - For sweetness and structure. You can safely cut the amount down to 2 tablespoons if you want to. For me 3 tablespoons is just right.
Flour - All purpose flour or spelt flour both work well. I've included instructions for using oat flour in the recipe notes too in case you need a gluten -free option. I would imagine that a good gluten-free all purpose flour like Bob's Red Mill 1 for 1 would work well too but I haven't tested it.
Cinnamon - For that snickerdoodle flavour!
Baking Soda - This is our raising agent and it's my choice over baking powder because that's what's more typical in snickerdoodle cookies. You can switch it for baking powder if you like though. It will work just as well but the flavour won't be so snickerdoodle-like.
How to measure your mug
For this microwave snickerdoodle cake in a mug recipe you need a mug that holds 350 mls. Thats about 12 fl oz or a little under 1½ cups.
To find out the volume of your mug simply fill with water then pour the water into a measuring cup or jug. Then you will know how much it holds.
How to make a Snickerdoodle Mug Cake
Are you ready for it? It is so easy to make my Snickerdoodle Mug Cake recipe. Here's how:
Step 1 - In a mug, mix up all of the wet ingredients.
Step 2 - Then add the dry ingredients and stir them in so you have a thick cake batter.
Step 3 - Microwave for about 1 minute.
Step 4 - Sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar and dessert is served!
Success tips
- Like any cake'y type recipe it's important not to over-mix. Stir it up until you can no longer see any dry flour and most of the lumps are worked out. Some small ones are fine.
- Pop a plate under the mug in the microwave just in case it overflows.
- Eat it immediately. As with all mug cakes, you can't leave them hanging around after cooking. They are designed to eat right away.
- It's better to slightly under-cook it than over-cook it so err on the side of caution the first time you make it. All microwaves are slightly different and the cooking time is just a guide.
Serving suggestions
Ok so let's discuss how we are going to eat this snickerdoodle cake in a mug ... First choice - Warm from the microwave with a dollop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream. The Best.
Some other delicious partnership ideas that will lead you to mug cake bliss include:
- vegan whipped cream
- banana nice-cream (i.e just blend or food process frozen banana chunks with a tiny drop of plant milk until ice-cream like)
- vegan yogurt
- a drizzle of my super quick vegan caramel sauce
- a quick powdered sugar glaze (add a couple tablespoons of powdered sugar to a small bowl and very gradually add tiny drops of plant milk or water and mix until it's smooth and just pourable
- chocolate sauce
- vegan cream cheese frosting
Possible variations
This Snickerdoodle Mug Cake is great as it is but feel free to switch it up and make it your own. Here are some ideas:
- Make it gluten-free! See the recipe notes for how.
- Omit the cinnamon and add a drop more vanilla to make a vanilla mug cake. If you have some vegan sprinkles you could mix a teaspoon or two of them through the batter for a birthday cake type treat.
- Add some chocolate chips.
Can I bake a mug cake in an oven instead of a microwave?
You can bake a mug cake that's meant to be cooked in the microwave in the oven, but it does kind of defeat the object, which is to make a super quick dessert in a few minutes. It will also probably turn out a little drier. That's because a microwave is a pretty moist environment and an oven isn't.
If you want to go ahead with it, first up you need to check that your mug is oven safe. Not all of them are. If it's not you will need to find a container of a similar size that is oven safe. Then I would bake it on 350 °F (175 °C) for 15 to 20 minutes. Test it with a toothpick to check it's done. When inserted into the middle it should come out clean.
Hungry for more?
Love mug cakes? Check out these reader favourites next:
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📖 Recipe
Snickerdoodle Mug Cake
Ingredients
For the mug cake
- 1½ tablespoons nut/seed butter or oil of choice ,see notes
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons milk of choice , (only use 3 tablespoons if you use oil instead of nut butter)
- 3 tablespoons / 38 grams sugar , any will do
- 6 tablespoons / 54 grams all purpose flour , (plain flour in the UK). Spelt flour will work too. For gluten-free see recipe notes.
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda , or baking powder
- 1 small pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon sugar for sprinkling
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 big pinch ground cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a roughly 12oz/350ml size mug, add the nut butter or oil, vanilla extract, milk and sugar. Stir until combined and smooth. You might need to squish the nut butter about a bit with the back of the spoon to break it down.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and stir until combined. Don't over mix it. Just keep going until you can't see any dry flour anymore, making sure to reach right down into the bottom of the mug as you stir.
- Put in the microwave leaving it uncovered. I recommend sitting the mug on a small plate the first time you make it in just in case you get the mug size a bit wrong and it overflows.
- The first time you cook it there will be a little trial and error because all microwaves are different. I suggest cooking it on full power for 1 minute (50 seconds if you used oat flour) then check it and cook in 5 second increments after that until done. My microwave is 1200w and takes 1 minute 5 seconds. You will know when it is ready because it will have puffed up in the mug, almost to the top. The top of the cake will be slightly damp (because it's microwaved), but if you give it a little poke with a fork you should see fluffy sponge underneath.
- Sprinkle generously with the cinnamon and sugar before eating immediately. A dollop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream is highly recommended!
NOTES
If you choose to use oil, any liquid oil is fine, except for extra virgin olive oil because of its strong flavour. You can also use coconut oil but melt it before measuring. Gluten-free To make the mug cake gluten-free use certified gluten-free oat flour in place of the all purpose flour but you will need to increase the amount to ½ cup / 50 grams. You will likely need less liquid too, so start off with only 2 tablespoons of milk, then add extra if you need to when mixing. You are looking for a thick cake batter texture. Success Tips
- Like any cake-y type recipe it's important not to over-mix. Stir it up until you can no longer see any dry flour and most of the lumps are worked out. Some small ones are fine.
- Pop a plate under the mug in the microwave just in case it overflows.
- Eat it immediately. As with all mug cakes, you can't leave them hanging around after cooking. They are designed to eat right away.
- It's better to slightly under-cook it than over-cook it so err on the side of caution the first time you make it. All microwaves are slightly different and the cooking time is just a guide.
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
This recipe was originally published on November 14th 2015. I've updated it am now republishing it for you. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you for following A Virtual Vegan!
Amy says
Fun and delicious! Perfect!
Lauren says
I may have over cooked. But really dry and gritty (I used tahini) the taste is good but not cake-y enough for me
Kayla says
A quick and healthy fix for a sweet tooth like me! Used oat flour (slightly less than 1/2 cup), with no adjustments to the other ingredients and it turned out great!! Don't forget to sprinkle a generous amount of sugar and cinnamon on top :) Thank you for this!
Shanna says
Very good. This turned out great. Next time i'll probably whip up a small amount of vanilla cinnamon icing to throw on there too. But that's just me and it was really good without any icing.
Denise says
Amazing for such a quick microwaved dessert!
Gail says
I love it. We make it all the time and eat it with coconut whip.