Banging Banana Mug Cake: In less than 7 minutes!
With a heavenly mix of banana and maple syrup, this delicious banana mug cake has to be one of my favorite mug cake recipes.
Such an easy recipe, that even the kids can have a go, it’ll be ready in just 6 minutes!

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Ingredients
Bananas
Ok, this wasn’t a surprise I take it? Banana mug cake recipes kind of need bananas. But guess what, they don’t need to be fresh.
This is a great recipe to use up those overripe bananas that have been hanging around in the fruit bowl all week. In fact, they’re the best ones to use as they will give a lovely sweet banana flavor.
Flour
I used plain flour for this recipe and added baking powder to give it a little lift as it cooked. As you know plain flour gives it more of a “sweet treat” feel. But healthier flours work too!
Dairy
Now that I’ve discussed the dry ingredients let’s have a look at the rest. Firstly, butter, then milk (any kind will do), and then an egg is needed (bonus protein points there!).
They all combine nicely to make a lovely cake batter.
Sweetness
I opted for maple syrup rather than the more refined sugar. Mostly because I enjoy that caramelly, woodsy flavor over the simple sugar.
There might be some minor health benefits to maple syrup, but in the end, it’s sugar, haha.
No maple syrup at hand? Just use sugar :thumbsup:
I used 1 teaspoon maple syrup, but you can increase this if you have a bit of a sweet tooth (just remember it will alter the nutritional information).
Toppings
There are literally loads of things you could pop on the top of your banana microwave mug cake.
Some ideas could be, raisins, Nutella (naughty), peanut butter, hazelnuts, almonds, coconut shavings, and grated dark chocolate. Whatever you fancy really – it’s also great on its own!
How many calories are in this fluffy banana mug cake?
Well it’s a single-serve dessert so you get to keep all 359 calories and 10 grams of protein to yourself wink wink
Here’s a quick overview of 1 serving:
Health Benefits
Bananas are the main ingredient of this sweet dessert of course and they have numerous health benefits, including being highly nutritious and filling.
They are packed with antioxidants and may aid lots of ailments such as kidney and heart health. They’re cheap to buy and could aid weight loss too!
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The egg will give you 6 grams of protein, it may not seem much but when trying to heal or gain new muscle, every bit of protein helps, and to gain a bit from a delicious mug cake at that is awesome!
And after all maple syrup contains a third of your daily intake of Manganese which is essential to healthy bones. If not much, it’s slightly “better” than plain sugar.
We should be aiming to keep our sugar intake low (6 teaspoons a day for women, 9 for men), and if this banana mug cake helps us do it, then all the better.
How to make the best banana mug cake?
With simple ingredients, that’s how – and it will be ready in just 6 minutes just follow these simple steps…

- Prep work – Using a microwave-safe bowl or large microwave-safe mug, melt the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Then add the egg, sliced banana, flour, maple syrup, milk, and baking powder.
- Give it a good whisk with a fork, hand blender, or by using a food processor. Make sure the banana gets mashed.

- Cook work – Pop the mug or bowl into the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds. Take it out, turn it around and give it another 1-minute blast. Use none, some, or all of the toppings, and enjoy!
For any more tips take a look at the recipe card below.

Easy Mug Cake FAQs
How many calories are in a banana?
There are 89 calories in 100 grams of banana.
How to store and reheat a banana mug cake?
You can’t really store a mug cake, it’s best to eat after being cooked.
If you try and reheat a mug cake, you might find it dries it out so I would suggest eating it there and then before it needs reheating.
What to serve with banana mug cake?
A lovely spoonful of yogurt or scoop of ice cream would go really well on top of this delicious mug cake.
Can you make a mug cake ahead of time?
It’s probably best to make your mug cake when it’s ready to be eaten so it’s nice and fresh and warm.
Can you cook a mug cake in the oven?
Yes, actually if you don’t have a microwave, you can use an oven. I recommend preheating to 180 C / 360 F and baking for 20 minutes.
Is glass safe in the microwave?
Yes, glass is safe in the microwave as long as it is marked as ‘microwave-safe’, and the same goes for any ceramic mugs you use as well.
Why are mug cakes chewy?
There could be a couple of reasons why your cake is a bit rubbery or chewy, including overmixing the batter and overcooking the cake.
Luckily it takes minimal ingredients to make this mug recipe, so perhaps if you don’t get your first mug cake quite right, you can easily try again.
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Recipe Variations
There are several different options for changing up this recipe,
- Different flours – One reader has tried this with spelt flour, and I think this is a great idea. Another option could be oat flour or almond flour.
- Different fillings – if you thought a banana mug cake sounded good, a banana chocolate mug cake sounds even better! Mixing in chocolate chips would really push up that sweetness level. Why not add extra fruit, like blueberries?

More Recipes Like This
If you love healthy snack recipes as much as I do I know you’ll be dying to try these as well,
Top Tips!
- Use a very large mug and don’t overfill
- If the cake is leaning to one side, stop cooking, turn and continue cooking
- It’s easiest to mix all the ingredients in a separate bowl
- Cook shorter times rather than overcooking – an overcooked cake isn’t what you want – you can always give it another ten seconds when needed
- You may need to adjust your cook time depending on your microwave. I based this on my 1000w microwave, however, the best way to check is to do the toothpick test into the center of the cake, if it comes out clean it’s ready.

Thanks a ton for passing us this recipe, Cris! We’ll be asking you for many more, that’s for sure 😉
Ingredients
For the regular version
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp maple syrup (or honey or sugar)
- 2 tbsp milk (any kind works!)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Salt to taste
Topping ideas (optional)
- 1 tbsp raisins (whatever you fancy really – it’s also great on its own! Some ideas: nutella (naughty), peanut butter, walnuts, almonds, coconut shavings, grated dark chocolate.)
Instructions
For the regular version
- Slice the banana.1 ripe banana
- Using a bowl or large mug, melt the butter in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Then add the egg, sliced banana, flour, maple syrup, milk, baking powder and salt to taste.1 egg, 1 tbsp butter, 4 tbsp flour, 1 tsp maple syrup, 2 tbsp milk, ½ tsp baking powder, Salt to taste
- Give it a good whisk with a fork, hand blender or by using a food processor. Make sure the banana gets crushed.
- Pop the mug or bowl into the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds, using a 1000w microwave (adjust as appropriate for your microwave). Take it out, turn it round and give it another 1 minute blast. Use none, some or all of the toppings and enjoy!
NOTES
- Use a very large mug and don’t overfill
- It’s easiest to mix all the ingredients in a separate bowl
- If the cake is leaning to one side, stop cooking, turn and continue cooking
- Cook shorter times rather than overcooking – an overcooked cake isn’t what you want – you can always give it another ten seconds when needed
Nutrition
Whether you love it as a late-night dessert or afternoon snack, this easy banana bread mug cake is such a simple dessert and it’s sure to also become a favorite!
If you’d like to make it extra fancy, why not pop a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top? And if you’d love a vegan version, keep an eye on the website as this is on its way shortly.
The only question left now is which coffee mug are you going to choose!
Hi! I tried the vegan version and it tastes great. I doubled the maple syrup and also added dates instead of nuts.. Tastes great! However, the mug cake has become a bit hard when cooled. Please let me know how I can correct it next time.. Thank you..
Hi Poornima! Glad you enjoyed! I’ll make it again and see what I can offer in terms of keeping it soft. In the meantime I’d suggest just a drop more almond milk, either when cooking or poured over at the end. Also the softer the banana, the better! Leave it with me 🙂
My kids loves these! I had to extend microwave time but came out delicous! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re very welcome, and I’m glad the kids enjoyed them so much. The microwave really does seem to make a massive difference! Thanks for the heads up 🙂
I have never used the microwave to bake before and found the way the muffins cooked was weird- One of the muffins started spilling out over the top of the jar- but when I checked it the bottom was still raw. It was hard to tell when they were done and they were often unevenly cooked. I think a lot of it depended on our lousy microwave. The flavor was good- I added chia seeds and vanilla. I will definitely try the oven version next time. Also, I quadrupled the recipe so there would be enough for my kids as well (and made the adult ones with protein powder).
Oh dear! Sorry to hear they didn’t come out perfectly, Elise. It definitely could be something to do with the microwave, especially of they’re cooking unevenly. I would recommend a couple of things (as well as trying the oven). First, reduce the heat to 80% or even 60% in the microwave, and cook for longer. Secondly, stop the cooking after a minute or so, and give it all a good stir. Then let it continue cooking. That helped when I made one in a friend’s microwave. Hope it helps you too!
I made the batter for the peanut butter and chocolate mug cakes and took them on a camping trip. We put them in mugs and straight into our campfire for a delicious breakfast! It was so fun to do. I seem to be going backwards in my cooking methods
Ha, that sounds awesome! I’d argue it’s an evolution though, those are some next-level mug cakes. And if you can get them to work on a campfire I bet you can get them to work anywhere!
Was looking for a mid afternoon snack & found a bag of left over cream cheese icing I had in the freezer. Thought it would go great with banana cake but didn’t want to wait for a real one ahahah. This was great with walnuts and cream cheese frosting!
Is baking powder really necessary? I dont often bake so when it comes to flour or anything similar Id prefer to just go for one for the sake of space and avoiding the waste of money…
So I was wondering if I could just use flour? Or is there an alternative thats good in place of a combination of flour and baking powder? Thanks!
Hi Abby! Sorry for the slow reply, we’ve pretty much been locked in the kitchen for the last few days, experimenting with new recipes :D. So, in the regular version, I think you could probably get away with no baking powder. It contains egg which already helps things to rise. It might not be quite as fluffly usual, but I’m sure it would still be more than edible. In the vegan version I think it needs something to help it rise. You could use baking powder or soda, maybe one is cheaper than the other where you live? Also baking powder usually comes in tiny packets so it shouldn’t take up tooo much space. I hope that helps and when I make my next mug cake (the kids always ask for them) I’ll let you know my findings!
I followed your standard recipe to the letter but the cake came out like sludge; no cake texture. Thoughts?
Hi, strange indeed! My first thought is that the heat wasn’t enough in the microwave – that could be why it didn’t rise. What settings did you use and for how long?
I made the regular version. It was good but next time I will mix the dry ingredients first because it had a slight baking powder taste. Thanks for the easy recipe!
That sounds like a good idea, Rom. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!