Honey Mug Cake (Gluten Free)

This honey mug cake is so delicious and so simple that you will have it on repeat weekly! This easy recipe is gluten-free and made with only natural sugar. Enjoy the sweet taste of honey in only minutes with this gluten-free dessert!

You’ve probably seen mug cakes around the internet. I mean, they’re basically a single-serve cake that's ready in minutes, so they are blowing up the internet for good reason. No one wants to be left out, so we made this gluten-free honey mug cake! This easy dessert is the quickest and best way to satisfy your sweet craving!

This cake uses a gluten-free flour blend and raw honey. The raw honey amplifies the honey flavor and since gluten-free flour doesn’t develop gluten, this cake doesn’t get rubbery like most mug cakes! It’s the best mug cake to enjoy all by yourself or with your plus one!

Want more gluten-free recipes to try after conquering this mug cake?  Try our 3-ingredient Oatmeal Pancakes, Protein Carrot Cake, or Chewy Orange Ginger Cookies.

Jump to:

• Ingredients and Substitutions
• How to Make This - Step by Step
• Watch How to Make It - Step by Step
• Joy Tip! 
• Common Questions
• Want to Save This For Later?  Here’s How!
• More joyful recipes!
• Recipe

Ingredients and Substitutions

Note: All substitution options are a 1:1 substitution unless noted otherwise.

1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Substitute: This is the base of the recipe.  Gluten-free flour blends are awesome because they include a mix of gluten-free flours that have a small amount of stabilizer, like Xanthan gum, that is necessary when baking gluten-free.

Substitutions: You can make your own gluten-free flour with a recipe like this one! They typically use a base of almond flour or coconut flour. Oat flour or regular wheat flour will also work.

Baking Powder and baking soda: These are the leaveners for these mug cakes. Baking powder is a combination of baking soda and cornstarch and baking soda is just baking soda. Because honey is an acid, we need an additional base (baking soda) to neutralize it.

Substitutions: You can make your own baking powder by mixing one part baking soda to one part cornstarch and two parts cream of tartar. For baking soda, you can use an additional ⅛ teaspoon of baking powder to replace the baking soda.

Vegetable Oil: Vegetable oil is the fat for this recipe. The fat helps to blend and enhance flavors (like honey and cinnamon!).

Substitutions: Any oil or butter can be used. Some examples would be vegan butter, coconut oil, olive oil, or avocado oil (what we used).

Honey: Honey provides the sweetness, plus it goes exceptionally well with oats and cinnamon!

Substitutions: White sugar, maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar, or brown sugar can be used.

Pure Vanilla Extract: Vanilla is the essential baking ingredient. It enhances other flavors and adds buttery notes without actually adding butter!

Substitutions: You can use ¼ teaspoon of almond extract or butter extract, or omit vanilla altogether. Imitation vanilla can also be used.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon just tastes good - ha! But, is there anything better than cinnamon and vanilla? I think not.

Substitutions: Allspice, nutmeg, or cardamom would all be great! Or, you can leave it out if you don’t have any of these.

Egg: Eggs are the binder, or glue. When mixed in, eggs help keep all the ingredients together. Once cooked, eggs expand to create more air pockets for the baking powder reaction to occur in.

Substitutions: A flax egg, chia egg, or egg replacer, like this one from Bob’s Red Mill or one from Just Egg, can all be used as an egg substitute. A banana, applesauce, and many other things can be used also. Check out our post of egg substitutes here!

Add-Ins: There are a number of fun things you can add to this mug cake recipe to change up the flavor. Some simple ingredients to add include chocolate chips, cocoa powder, peanut butter, and Nutella. This mug cake also pairs great with ice cream and fresh fruit!

How to Make This - Step by Step

Step one: Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well (yes, both dry ingredients and wet ingredients).

Step two: Spray two mugs with non-stick cooking spray and pour batter into each. The cake batter should only fill about ⅓ of the mug as it will rise A LOT! We recommend a wide, large mug.

Step three: Microwave for 60-90 seconds on high power, watching closely so it does not overflow. It will rise a lot and then sink as it cools. The cooking time will vary based on microwave strength. The cake should be cooked around the outside and look gooey in the middle.

Step four: Let the cake rest for at least one minute to set and cool. Be careful, the mug will be VERY hot! Use a hot pad or towel to remove from the oven.

Watch How to Make It - Step by Step

Joy Tip! 

We call for a pinch of baking soda - just a little bit! This is to help neutralize the honey. BUT if you use too much baking soda the mug cake will rise way too much, making it overflow. So, we recommend taking a very, very small pinch of baking soda to use. And, if you are nervous about using too much, simply omit the baking soda and use a heaping ½ teaspoon of baking powder, as called for.

Common Questions

How do you make a mug cake not rubbery?

Mug cakes are notorious for being rubbery because all of the ingredients are mixed at once and typically over-mixed. This means the gluten is developed and then cooked quickly, resulting in a rubbery cake. We have chosen to use gluten-free flour which does not develop gluten when over-mixed. If using regular flour, you can decrease the eggs in a recipe to help make a less rubbery mug cake.

Why are mug cakes spongy?

A microwave mug cake usually has more leaveners than a typical cake to help it rise quickly. This is why a mug cake can be spongy in texture.

What can I use instead of a mug to make a mug cake?

Any smaller, microwave-safe container can be used. This includes ramekins, glass jars, and Tupperware. We just recommend a wide-mouth container to allow more room for expansion.

What is a normal mug size?

A normal microwave-safe mug is 2” - 3” in diameter. We recommend using a coffee mug that is 3” to 4” in diameter.

My mug cake doesn’t look baked, is it?

Most likely, yes! Your mug cake may not look fully baked right away. You want the cake to look baked around the edges and slightly soft inside. As it rests for 1 minute, it will continue to cook and the result will be perfectly fluffy!

Want to Save This For Later?  Here’s How!

To store your mug cake for later, simply cover it tightly in plastic wrap or a lid. When you are ready to reheat it, just microwave for 10-15 seconds, being careful to not overcook it to ensure you end up with a moist cake.

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Recipe