Everyone will love this easy handmade mug cake in a jar idea with printable instructions, tags, and labels for an easy holiday gift.
Do you have a sweet tooth? After dinner, do you crave a little sweet dessert? I admit to being that person. Yet I try not to have too many temptations calling my name around the house. You know, because once I know they are there, I worry about them.
The Solution: Single-serve mug cake mix. It's just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, without having the rest of the cake left hanging around, tempting you to eat more.
This post contains some affiliate links (that means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, there’s no additional cost to you, but I will earn a very small commission. ) i.e. as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
You mix it with water in a mug, then bake it for just one minute in the microwave. The result is a tasty quick and easy dessert.
This mug cake mix is very cakey, but you can add any toppings on hand to give it a boost. I tried several recipes but ended up using Betty Crocker's Molten Lava Cake Recipe, and varied it up by using a regular chocolate cake mix and chocolate chips.
Here's why. This was the only recipe I tried that tasted good with only dry ingredients. It did not require any additional ingredients like butter, oil, or eggs to make it. All you need is a couple of tablespoons of water, making this gift tasty and convenient.
Be the first to receive new posts and get access to our Subscribers Only Page.
Making the Mug Cake with Cake Mix
So why not make a few for your friends? I already did the math. This will be enough to fill three 1-quart size (32 ounce) mason jars with a little extra room for a small baggie of chocolate chips. Each mason jar will make approx. 12 single servings of mug cake.
Supplies
- 1 box of angel food cake
- 2 boxes of chocolate cake (or any other flavor)
- Large bowl for mixing
- 3 1-quart size mason jars
- bag of chocolate chips (~1/2 cup for each jar)
- small baggies for the chocolate chips
Here's a free printable (click the image below) for the tags to tie to the jar. Just click on the images and you will go to a pdf, that can be printed or saved. Cut out the instructions and glue them to the backing tag.
Printable Tags
The kraft paper labels used on the mason jar lid come from Avery #22808. You can print a message from a large list of templates on Avery's Online site. Here's the one I used.
Options and Substitutions
Change the flavor by substituting a different box cake mix for the chocolate cake mix. For example, use a yellow cake mix to make vanilla mug cake. (keep the angel food cake the same)
Add different add-ins on top instead of chocolate chips such as sprinkles, funfetti, nuts, or small candies.
I think everyone on my list will appreciate a little chocolate cake now and then. And, I'll be sure to keep one for me, so I can satisfy my after-dinner sweet tooth while keeping the portion control in check.
More Foodie Homemade Gift Ideas:
Mason Jar Mug Cake Mix
Equipment
- Computer and printer for tags
- Scissors
Materials
- 1 box of angel food cake
- 2 boxes of chocolate cake or any other flavor
- large bowl for mixing
- 3 1- quart size mason jars
- bag of chocolate chips ~1/2 cup for each jar
- small baggies for the chocolate chips
- card stock and ribbon for tags
Instructions
- Print out mason jar lid labels and tags on the computer.
- In a large bag or bowl combine the angel food cake mix and the 2 boxes of chocolate cake and mix well.
- Portion out the cake mixes into three clean quart size mason jars.
- Fill a small baggie with about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips, tied up, and place on top of the cake mix.
- Close the mason jar and add direction tags with a pretty ribbon.
Rosemary
Do the cake mixes have to be Betty Crocker brand? You said regular chocolate cake mix. I can't find any BC chocolate mixes that aren't super moist or chocolate fudge etc.
Patti Estep
Rosemary, I haven't tried other box mixes but I think they would work just as well as long as they are the same size.
Sue Carlson
how can I print off the labels for the jars???
Patti Estep
Sue, all you need to do is click on the image. You will then be taken to a pdf file in your browser that you can print or download.
Martha
Is it possible to make these with gluten free cake mixes? Also, can they be baked in the oven or air fryer? My DIL won't use a microwave. Thank you.
Patti Estep
Martha, I have never tried any of those ideas. However, I do think you could use an oven and possibly gluten free mix. I have never used an air fryer so I can't even make an educated guess on that one. I suggest you buy what you want and experiment with a small quantity.
Melissa
What size mug is recommended? 12oz+?
Patti Estep
Melissa, Yes, around 10-12 oz.
Hannah
Hi! I am wondering if you could just mix the chocolate chips right into the jar? And make sure to just shake up the jar before using? Or does adding them on top make a big difference?
Patti Estep
Hannah, It's worth a try, but my thought is that it might be difficult to get an even amount of chips as you scoop out the mix.
Juli
Last I checked it was 4 TBSP to a forth of a cup.
Patti Estep
Juli, you're right. 4 tablespoons is a fourth of a cup. When I was using heaping tablespoons when I made the cake so it would be more like 1/4 cup. I probably should have written approx. 1/4 cup. Sorry for the confusion.
Debra
I haven’t made it yet but was wondering if you use water to make it in the mug
Patti Estep
Yes, you do use water. You can see that on the printable cards in the post that goes with the jar.
Dawn
Am I missing the actual recipe somewhere? Having trouble finding it...
Patti Estep
I used Betty Crocker's recipe for the base mix. There's a link in the paragraph below the mug with whipped cream. Instead of dark chocolate cake mix, I used regular chocolate and I placed a baggie of chocolate chips in each jar instead of chocolate squares. Since you are only using 1/2 box of angel food cake it takes 2 chocolate cake boxes and 1 angel food to fill 3-quart mason jars. Mix the 3 boxes up in a large plastic bag and divide evenly between the 3 quart jars. Add a little baggie of chocolate chips to the top of each jar.
Mary
Has anyone tried other cake flavors with the angel food cake? Wondering if this would be good with spice cake instead of chocolate.
Krista
Did you use the whole angel food cake mix? The recipe used only 1 1/3 cup...
Patti Estep
Yes Krista, I did, but that made three gift jars. The original recipe called for 1 1/3 cups which they wrote as 1/2 box with 1 full box of super moist chocolate cake. So I used one whole box of the angel food with 2 whole boxes of the chocolate cake. This amount filled 3 quart sized mason jars. I hope that helps.
Grandmas House DIY
This is so cute and what a great gift idea! We would love to have you at our To Grandma's house we go link party 🙂 It started this morning, thanks! http://www.grandmashousediy.com
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome
I love gift ideas like this! Thanks for sharing on the What's for Dinner link up!
Karen
This is such a great idea, Patti, and I love the portion control. I worry over those sweets hanging around too. This is the perfect amount for a nice treat, without so much guilt.