Mug cakes are the latest Internet life hack. The convenience of making dessert in a mug is appealing to busy college students or anyone feeling too lazy to create something more sophisticated. I tried out three recipes to see whether these microwave snacks live up to the hype.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

 Recipe from Yammie’s Noshery 

Mug cake Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips

Recipe:

1. Melt the butter in a small dish.
2. Add the peanut butter and mix well.
3. In the mug, mix together the vanilla, egg, and sugar until well combined.
4. Combine the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder and add to the mug.
5. Pour in the peanut butter/butter mixture and mix well.
6. Stir in the chocolate chips.
7. Put in the microwave for 1–2 minutes or until desired doneness is reached (all microwaves are different so you might have to experiment a little).
8. Top with peanut butter pie mousse and/or hot fudge.

Peanut Butter Pie Mousse Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon softened cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons whipped cream
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Recipe:

1. Mix together the cream cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla.
2. Fold in the whipped cream.
3. Sift in the powdered sugar and fold that in too, trying not to over stir.

Verdict:

This looked like a cake, but didn’t taste like one. It was very dry and powdery, basically a mug of cocoa powder and chocolate chips. But the peanut butter mousse was surprisingly appetizing. It tasted like sugary peanut butter and had an airy and light consistency. The mousse would be better used as a peanut butter dip to supplement a different dessert—it doesn’t blend well with this mug cake.

Minute Microwave Cheesecake

Recipe from Your Lighter Side

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2–4 tablespoons sugar (or sugar substitute)

Recipe:

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Cook on high heat for 90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds incorporating all ingredients. Refrigerate until serving.
3. Optional: Top with fresh fruit, whipped cream and chopped nuts.

Verdict:

The cheesecake had the right texture and set well. The consistency was probably the best part because there wasn’t a definite flavor. I don’t recommend trying this at home unless you have penchant for tasteless desserts. This was a simple recipe and the easiest of the three cakes to make, but the serving size was surprisingly small and barely filled half a mug.

Five Minute Chocolate Fudge S’mores Mug Cake

Recipe from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 ounces milk chocolate (chopped or morsels)
  marshmallow fluff, cream or actual marshmallows

Recipe:

1. Combine 3 tablespoons butter and 1 ounce of chocolate in a small bowl.
2. Melt in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
3. Set aside.
4. In another bowl, combine remaining melted butter with 2-3 tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs and stir until moistened.
5. Press graham crumbs into the bottom of your mug.
6. In a third bowl, whisk egg, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add in flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa, stir until a thick batter forms.
7. Stream in melted butter and chocolate, mixing to combine.
8. Fold in remaining chocolate chips.
9. Add half of the mixture to the top of the graham crust, then throw on a scoop of marshmallow fluff/cream or a few marshmallows.
10. Add remaining batter on top, then pop in the microwave for 1 minute and 20 seconds to almost 2 minutes.
11. Remove and top with additional marshmallow if desired.
12. You can pop it back in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to make them melty, or pop them directly under the broiler for about 10 seconds to toast if desired. You can also use a kitchen torch if you have one.
13. Sprinkle with graham crumbs.

Verdict:

This cake was by far the best relative to the others, but it still wasn’t great. Dryness seems to be a reoccurring issue with microwave “baking.” If I were to make this again I would definitely add some butter or cream to help the texture. The marshmallows on top were fun, but the layer in the middle completely dissolved into the cake.