1-2-3 Mug Cake: A Single-Serving Dessert in a Cup (2024)

ByCarrie Ypma March 26, 2014March 7, 2021

43 Comments

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Need to satisfy your sweet tooth? Try 1-2-3 Mug Cake, a single-serving warm dessert, you just microwave in a cup for a minute. It’s delicious, quick and uses cake mix!

If you want an easy dessert you can make whenever you’re craving something sweet, this simple 1-2-3 mug cake recipe is the answer.

1-2-3 Mug Cake: A Single-Serving Dessert in a Cup (1)

Is 1-2-3 Cake the same thing as Mug Cake?

We are updating this post after receiving questions asking, “is 1-2-3 cake a mug cake recipe?”

Yes it is! Mug cake recipes are as easy as 1-2-3, and that’s exactly what this recipe is all about.

What do you do when you have a craving for something sweet, but you don’t have any cookies, cakes, brownies or other desserts in the house?

A few years ago, I came across the answer on Pinterest for a simple single-serving dessert from The Hidden Pantrycalled Aunt Betty’s 1-2-3 Cake. Named because the original author got the recipe from her husband’s Aunt Betty, this delicious dessert is so fast and easy. It’s the perfect warm dessert on a cold winter night when you just need something to satisfy a sweet tooth.

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How to make 1-2-3 Mug Cake

All you do is combine a couple of boxed cake mixes, add water and throw it in the microwave.It’s easy as 1-2-3! There’s a recipe card later in this post with the specific instructions.

What you need:

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Ingredients:

These are the ingredients you’ll need. All the exact amounts are in the printable card at the bottom of this post.

Cake mix, any flavor
Angel food cake mix
Water
Whipped cream, optional
Sprinkles, optional

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Serving Suggestions for 1-2-3 Mug Cake

As I mentioned in the recipe, you can use any flavor cake for the second cake mix. I used a dark chocolate cake mix for this blog post, but my husband and I think devil’s food just sounds like the right one to combine with angel food for 1-2-3 mug Cake. Don’t you agree? Here are some serving suggestions that we’ve tried:

Replace the water with Kahlua or Bailey’s Irish Cream for a tasty treat.
Top your 1-2-3 Mug Cake with ice cream.
Pour hot fudge on the 1-2-3 Mug Cake in addition to the whipped cream or ice cream.
Spread a tablespoon or two of frosting across the top of the cake.
A few marshmallows or marshmallow fluff melted over the top of the cake would be delicious.
Package 1-2-3 Mug Cake mix in individual jars and give as gifts.
Double the recipe in a larger coffee mug to increase the size of the cake. For example in these photos, we used 5 tablespoons of mix and 3 1/3 tablespoons of water to fill the mug all the way to the top.

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1-2-3 Cake Lessons Learned

As my family and I have experimented with 1-2-3 Cake, we’ve also tried a few things that didn’t work well:

We tried confetti cake mix, but found the colored confetti doesn’t really stand out once it’s mixed with the angel food cake mix.
Red velvet cake mix was delicious, but the cake was such a bright red color, it wasn’t appetizing.
We’ve thrown chocolate or peanut butter chips into the batter before we microwaved the 1-2-3 Cake. The chips sink right to the bottom of the cup.
Make sure to use an appropriately sized cup or your cake will run over the top.
When you’re done enjoying your 1-2-3 Cake, you may need to soak the cup with water before you put it in the dishwasher. The 1-2-3 Cake will stick to the bottom of the cup.

1-2-3 Mug Cake: A Single-Serving Dessert in a Cup (5)

1-2-3 Mug Cake: A Single-Serving Dessert in a Cup (6)

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

4.55 from 11 votes

1-2-3 Mug Cake: A Single-Serving Dessert in a Cup

Need to satisfy your sweet tooth? Try 1-2-3 Mug Cake, a single-serving warm dessert, you just microwave in a cup for a minute. It’s delicious and quick!

Prep Time2 minutes mins

Cook Time1 minute min

Total Time3 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, mug cakes

Servings: 20

Calories: 175kcal

Author: Carrie Ypma

Ingredients

1 box of cake mix any flavor
1 box of angel food cake mix
Water
Whipped cream optional
Sprinkles optional

Instructions

Pour both boxes of cake mix into a gallon sized sealable storage bag and shake to thoroughly combine the mixes.
Put 3 tablespoons of the combined cake mix in a microwaveable coffee cup. Seal and set aside the remaining cake mix to enjoy 1-2-3 Cake another day.
Add 2 tablespoons of water.
Stir the water and cake mix together to form a batter. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the mug to get all the cake mix granules wet.
Cook for 1 minute in the microwave.
Be careful when you remove the hot cup from the microwave. The resulting cake will fill about half the cup and have a spongy appearance.
Top with whipped cream and sprinkles. Enjoy this warm, delicious dessert!

Notes

Based on Aunt Betty’s 1-2-3 Cake by The Hidden Pantry

Nutrition

Did you make this recipe?Tag us on Instagram at @kenarryideas or leave us a comment rating below.

Just Remember 1-2-3

There are just three simple steps: 3 tablespoons of the cake mix, 2 tablespoons of water, 1 minute in the microwave. I write it on the side of the gallon sealable bag so I can easily remember the next time we make 1-2-3 Cake.

We hope you’ll enjoy this delicious warm dessert as much as we do. Please comment below and share your favorite way to serve 1-2-3 Mug Cake.

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This Inspired Idea for Aunt Betty’s 1-2-3 Mug Cake came from The Hidden Pantryand was shared with their permission. Please visit their website to find more great ideas like this.

The words and photos used in this post are our own, derived from our personal experience implementing this idea.

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What’s Next?

While you’re here, be sure to check out some of these other easy dessert ideas on Ideas for the Home by Kenarry® –

Chocolate Fudge Cake: Marshmallow S’mores Dessert
2 Minute Vanilla Chai Mug Cake
The Best Soft Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

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