Name: Apple Crumble Mug Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 13 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter (melted); 1/2 cup quick oats; 2 tablespoons brown sugar; 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey); 1 teaspoon cinnamon; pinch of salt; 2 apples (chopped bite size); 1 tablespoon flour; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Get the vanilla ice cream ready! This sweet, chewy and EASY Apple Crumble Mug Cake Recipe tastes divine and is ready in 15 minutes or less!

I have an insatiable sweet tooth!

Yep, no matter how full I am, there’s always room to squeeze dessert in.

However, while I absolutely love digging into the fruity goodness of a warm, flaky homemade Dutch apple pie fresh from the oven, most store bought pies are a little too sweet for my taste.

Now even though I spend almost every day in the kitchen, I tend to keep my personal baking pursuits on the simple side of things. Hey, there’s no shame in saving the majority of my dessert intake for the times we eat out 😉

Well, sometimes my sweet tooth is calling the shots and demands dessert NOW. And this is what I make.

This easy apple crumble mug cake recipe came about from the desire to prepare a homemade dessert with the flavors of an apple pie without struggling to prepare crust from scratch, and without turning the oven on to increase the temperature in my already sultry kitchen.

It’s not very often I use my microwave for anything other than heating up leftovers.

And the term microwave dessert just seems vaguely suspect, right?! But, trust me, this sweet mug cake recipe is absolutely designed for a spin in the dingbox!

What is Mug Cake?

As simple as it sounds, the only difference between this mug cake and a typical apple crumble is the size of the container and the method of cooking.

Instead of a large baking dish, we’ll be using a coffee mug. And we’re opting for a spin in the microwave instead of preheating the oven.

Differences in prep aside – once cooked, this is one sweet and tart dessert that is indistinguishable from the original version.

This apple crumble version gets an understated sweetness from a bit of brown sugar and a couple tablespoons of maple syrup or honey (whichever you prefer). Having grown up in Montreal, maple syrup was my obvious choice for this apple crumble mug cake!

But I’ve tried it with both, and each does an admirable job of bringing the sweetness without becoming cloying.

Bonus: this is one of the easiest dessert recipes ever!

How to make a mug cake

If you’ve got 13 minutes to spare and a couple empty coffee mugs, you’ve got the tools you need to whip up a mug cake.

Basically, you’ll want to mix the crumble in one bowl – and mix the filling in another. Sounds easy? It is! Check the recipe card below for ingredients and quantities.

Then simply divide the prepared apple filling between two coffee mugs, and then top each mug with the crumble mixture.

And that’s it!

The real timesaver here is that the tasty mixture goes into the microwave for three to four minutes, until the whole thing is bubbling.

No baking. No fuss!

A word of caution: these mugs will be HOT when you pull them out of the microwave. So either use a tea-towel, a pot-holder or, better yet, give them a couple of minutes to cool before pulling your luscious apple crumble mug cake out.

What apples are best for this mug cake recipe?

When choosing apples for this apple crumble mug cake, I went with one honeycrisp apple because of their crisp champagne-like sweetness.

Then I used one granny smith apple which introduced a tart counterpoint.

You can use whatever apples you have handy though.

But, aside from wholesome ingredients like apples, oats and walnuts, you’ll see a pretty decent dose of butter in the ingredients list.

Hey – sometimes you just gotta let loose and enjoy, right!?

Trust me, a few decadent spoonfuls of this candied, rich, fruity and crunchy mug cake every once in awhile is totally worth a few extra minutes on the stationary bike!

A super easy apple crumble microwave mug cake

As the old saying goes, there’s always room for dessert.

And this is one you can make at home so easily, there’s really no excuse not to, ha!

Since there’s not a ton of sugar in this mug cake recipe, I totally felt justified in topping this dessert with a scoop (or two) of vanilla ice cream. Because, of course, something magical happens when creamy vanilla ice cream meets a hot, cinnamon-laden dessert.

Mmmm, just talking about it now is making me hungry!

What about you? Have you ever followed a cake in a mug recipe? Or whipped up other types of mug desserts? I’d love to hear about your favorites in the comments!

Happy cooking, friends 🙂

Other simple, delicious dessert recipes:

Did you like this Apple Crumble Mug Cake Recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!