Apple Mug Cake with Caramel Sauce

This apple mug cake is the easiest dessert for two! So quick to make and tastes deliciously decadent with gooey caramel sauce.

Mug cakes are how they sound, cakes cooked in a mug! They're whipped up super quickly and cooked in the microwave so there is no preheating of the oven and long waiting for the cake to bake.

This is an apple mug cake for two though the recipe can easily be doubled if you're wanting to make extra.

What is a mug cake

Mug cakes are single serve cakes, cooked in mugs, usually in the microwave. Now, a microwave isn't the ideal cake making tool but it does work very quickly and is a great solution for a dessert in a hurry.

A mug cake doesn't have quite the same texture as an oven baked cake will, as microwaves cook very quickly and remove moisture from foods. It's therefore important that you don't over cook the mug cake.

The batter for the mug cake needs to be measured correctly and not overmixed to ensure a fluffy and moist cake.

The caramel sauce

Caramel sauce is a key component in this mug cake. It brings flavor and moisture and is used in the batter as well as when serving.

Homemade caramel sauce is really easy to make and uses only 4 ingredients (sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt). You can however use store-bought caramel if you like.

The ingredients

Apart from the caramel, the main ingredients in this apple mug cake are pantry stapes. You will need -

• All-purpose flour
• Spices - Cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Vegetable oil
• Vanilla extract
• Egg
• Milk
• Diced apple
• Caramel sauce
• Whipped cream or ice cream to serve

The mugs

The mugs need to be microwave safe and big enough to hold double the cake batter as it will rise a bit as it cooks.

The batter

Some recipes for mug cakes will mix the batter in the mug itself. This recipes calls for mixing the batter seperatly before adding it to the mugs. This ensures there is consistency in the mixture and allows the addition of caramel sauce in between the batter layers.

Step by step instructions

In a bowl whisk the flour, spices, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, vanilla, and brown sugar.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold them together alongside the milk. Take care not to overmix it. Stir in the diced apple pieces.

Scoop ¼ of the batter into each mug. Add in a teaspoon of caramel sauce, then top with the remaining batter.

Don't worry if the cake batter doesn't spread out to fill the mugs. It will spread as it cooks.

Microwave on high for 90-120 seconds. The top of the cake will still be sticky when touched but the rest will be cooked.

If there is still a lot of wet cake batter after this you can place it back in for another 5-10 seconds at a time. Do take care as putting it in too long will dry out the cake.

Serve while still warm with extra caramel sauce and whipped cream or ice cream.

This recipe is written using grams as the main measurement.

If you don't have a scale US* cup equivalents are also included, however, using a kitchen scale to measure grams will give the best, and most consistent results. *US cup sizes are smaller than metric cup sizes.

Mug cake FAQs