After I made the brownie mug cake which I absolutely love, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could do anything to improve on it.
So, of course, the first thing I thought was to experiment with Nutella. I’ve had Nutella lava brownies before and decided to try to do something similar. Since the brownie is enclosed in a mug, it’s hard to have a real lava flowing effect when you break into the cake, but you can create a liquid gooey center of Nutella that comes up with a spoonful of brownie.
I was worried that the Nutella might sink to the bottom, but it was thick enough to bake right in the middle of the brownie. From the outside the brownie looked the same. But dig in and you’re treated to a rich brownie plus some melty Nutella. This was soo good.
Nutella Lava Brownie Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 2 oz semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 egg
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3 tbsp Nutella
Instructions
- Select two microwave-safe mugs. In each mug place one tbsp of butter and 1 oz of semisweet chocolate. Microwave each mug for 40 seconds (microwave them separately). Remove and stir until chocolate is completely melted with a small fork.
- Add 2 tbsp sugar to each mug and stir. Beat egg in a small bowl, add half to each mug and mix. Add in 1 tbsp flour to each cup and mix until smooth. Add in 1 1/2 tablespoons of Nutella into the cup, trying to center it in the middle of the batter (you don't need to squish down as the Nutella will start to sink and the cake will rise over it when baking.
- Cook each brownie for 1 minute in microwave (do each separately). Serve while warm.
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
I love these cakes, over time this one has become my go to. To cut back a bit on calories/sugar I have cut the amount of sugar and Nutella in half and it is still plenty sweet. These are perfect for those cravings without having a whole tray of baking in the house tempting you, thank you very much!
I’m so happy you like this one!
If anybody is finding it too sweet , you could replace the nutella with pb or use 1/2T nutella and 1T pb. It tastes better than the choc-pb cake. Also using 3T flour and sugar makes it a bit firmer but it still works if you don’t have/want to use pb.
Do you know the calorie content? Love it btw
nope, but there are many websites that you can input the ingredient list and have it give you the calorie information
Omg I have been making mug cake after mug cake trying to find one i love and this is it. Not got oil or too much rubbish so I dont feel bad (I just made one serving with less nutella and sugar) It was AMAZING! Not very brownie ish- probably because i used self raising flour, but it was light and airy which I’ve never had from a mug cake, it tasted delicious and rose and I’m loving it.
I’m glad you enjoyed it and I hope you check out my other mug cakes! And yes, the self raising flour will make it rise more so it won’t have a brownie texture.
If I don’t want to do two separate mugs, but I don’t want to halve the recipe, could put all of it in one massive mug and cook it a little bit longer? I have a HUGE mug that would probably work.
the main reason for the division is the texture. if you try to make it as one, the texture never gets chewy and stays cakey.
I am from India and I don’t know how I found your blog but I am currently totally addicted to it! I love your 5 minute recipes and also the recipes with minimum ingredients! Going to try everything soon! Thank you sooo much!
P.S. – I absolutely love how you reply to each and every comment on your blog! keep up the good work! 🙂
I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes! There is a whole section on 4 ingredients or less https://kirbiecravings.com/category/recipes/four-ingredients-or-less and most of my mug cakes are 5 minutes or less (Hmm maybe I should make a 5 minute recipe section!) https://kirbiecravings.com/category/recipes/mug-cakes
I just made this, and I think the egg created a very rubbery texture. 🙁 Should I have just used the egg yolk, and not the whole egg?
Using the whole egg should be fine. I haven’t had any rubbery issues with this cake. Are you sure you added enough chocolate chips? And did you make sure to make this as two mug cakes? It’s hard to get the brownie texture if you cook it as one big one.
My god that was way too sweet for me, but still good. I’ll make it again, but I will definitely cut the sugar in half!
I always find brownies in general to be too sweet but still delicious, so that is how I created mine as well. I’m glad you still enjoyed it despite it being too sweet.
Arghhhhhsome kirbie…m having it ryt now…best taste ever…xoxoxo
haha
Ok, I just tried this recipe for the first time…it was awesome! I’ve been on a health kick for the last 3 months, and this was my first sugary food in the last three months. It was super easy, and I definitely got my chocolate fix. The only thing is it was too sweet for me, so I think I will cut the sugar and nutella in half next time. That is no criticism of the recipe though, I believe my tastebuds have simply adjusted since I rarely eat processed foods or anything sweet (except fruit).
Thanks for sharing!
I’m glad you enjoyed it. And yeah I can see how this may be super sweet after not eating sweets for months.
I made this without egg- a substitute I found awhile back is to use water (a tablespoon or so) and a pinch of baking soda. It worked well in this recipe. This was the best mug cake/brownie recipe I’ve tried! The batter was pretty tasty too…it almost didn’t make it into the microwave.
I will have to try that substitute next time!
Holly Macerole! I found this and tried it right away, seriously the best brownie in a mug I’ve ever had =) Thank you!
So glad you like it!
Hi this mug cake is really good!!! made it for the very first time and definitely won’t be the last! haha! but can the egg give you salmonella? I know you have to microwave it and all, but does that cleanse the disease germs from the egg? thnxs!
The egg is completely cooked just like if you were to bake the brownie.
Yes,the measurements are different; the Australian tablespoon measurement is 20mL, whereas the American tablespoon measurement is 15mL. Would the recipe still work if I used the AU measurements? Or might I have to scale it down a bit?
Yes, then you will have to scale the measurements down.
Absolutely delicious! I was craving quite a bit and made the entire recipe in one big mug, it ended up spilling over so i had to split it with my brother. But this tastes amazing! And satisfies those chocolate cravings 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoy this one as much as I do!
Hi Kirbie,
So excited to try out this recipe.
But I was just wondering, since I live in Australia, if this recipe would work if I used the Australian measurement for a tablespoon?
I’m not sure..is the Australian tablespoon measurement different? I thought it was the same everywhere..
sooo goood i made it when my parents were gone for like ten minutes.I loved it. i used unswetened chocolate and a little bit more sugar delicious!!!
So glad you liked it!
My friends and I had a Kirbie’s Mug Cakes and movie watching night recently. My best friend and I made this mug cake and we both loved it – the cake was dense and the nutella on top was so melty and gooey and delicious! It was positively divine. We added just a bit of expresso powder to give it a little coffee-flavor edge, too. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
I’m so glad you two enjoyed it! I love hearing about good experiences. I also like the idea of adding the espresso powder.
TRIED IT AND IT’S SOOOOO GOOOOODDDD!! super love it! thanks! 😀
Yay!!
Made it, it’s awesome. I cut the sugar to 1 TB each mug & 1 TB Nutella each mug and it was plenty sweet for me & hubby.
I’m so glad you like! this is one of my favs
But I really am not allowed to eat egg.
Anything I can substitute the egg with?
Sorry I don’t know how to substitute the egg in this recipe. I would suggest you check out another recipe. Perhaps this eggless chocolate coke cake one? https://kirbiecravings.com/2012/05/eggless-chocolate-mug-cake.html
It looks incredible but is it okay if I make it without egg?
And it takes about 5 mins right?
You don’t need to use any ready made brownie?!
Actually you do need the egg for this recipe to work. And yes it only takes about 5 minutes.
Wow! They look amazing!
It tastes amazing too
Absolutely I become your mug cakes fan!
Yay! Happy to hear that
Sounds incredible! So these ingredients make 2 mug cakes? Is the flour just ordinary all-purpose or should it be self-raising?
Just ordinary all purpose flour =)
Would this still work without the sugar?
I haven’t tried it but I think it may not be sweet enough and will taste off. I recently made a flourless nutella cake and I tried not adding the sugar and it just didn’t taste very good.
Re: how far you can go, how about a coffee cake version?
Ah good idea! I’ll work on it!
This is my favorite mug recipe by far – so easy and delicious!! Try adding banana slices to the mix as well…. So tasty!
Interesting. bananas? I need to try that out. I think this one is my favorite one too. The chocolate flavor is so intense and the Nutella adds a little something extra.
I am loving all of your mug cakes!!
Thanks! I’m sort of curious how far I can with mug creations.
I love my mugs~ mostly for the coffee i drink! But nutella is forever one league higher!
So true! I might need to buy more mugs for all these mug cake variations!
Oh Nutella…that will definitely make that brownie recipe all the more deliciouser.
I love all of your mug cake/brownie recipes!
Thanks! I plan on trying out many more.
Yum, perfect for that small bite of sweetness after dinner! Nutella makes everything better!
I agree!