Excuse me while I attempt to contain frantic excitement that I am FINALLY ABLE TO POST THIS! After so, so, so many recipe tests and so many weeks of this sitting in my bank of delicious food waiting for its turn to join the internet world, today is finally the day!
And – people – it is a special day. This recipe is everything. It is one of my favorite things that I’ve ever posted. It is…
- Ridiculously and wrongly and dangerously easy to make. We’re talking scoop a few things into a mug, stir, and microwave for a minute and and a half.
- Moist. How is it moist when it’s literally baked in the microwave?? I don’t know. Some type of fall black magic, that’s for sure.
- So SO fally and flavorful. The pumpkin puree, the pumpkin pie spice, the deep orange color – it is just pure fall all up in here you guys. The flavor of this cake is just weirdly good for the level of time and effort it takes to throw together.
Are you as pumped about this as I am?!
The different levels of recipe testing that went into this were cray cray, but I was determined to find the perfect combination of everything. Pumpkin puree, fall spice, extra baking soda to add fluffiness that we tamp down a bit with the pumpkin puree, different cook times in the microwave, different mugs to make sure it worked with multiple sizes – it was a journey that I was more than happy to embark on.
Many boxes of white cake mix and cans of pumpkin puree were willingly sacrificed through the process. They fulfilled their duties well. I basically had multiple meals worth of this mug cake by the time I found the perfect mix. Does that mean my baby is going to come out loving pumpkin cake? If so, you’re welcome little man. You. are. welcome.
The best part about this recipe? Any time you have a sweet tooth, you can pop over into your kitchen and whip this together in about five minutes and have a giant mug of cake that is freshly baked and moist and perfect in every single way possible.
I’m calling this a single serving recipe, but even in my sweet-loving state, I can’t kill an entire mug of this. It’s more of a two-person share, but then again…I usually want the mug to myself. So I’ll leave that one up to you. NO SHAME. If you polish off a mug of this single-handedly, we can keep it between you and me, but I will be silently fist bumping you and celebrating your achievements from my end. What else are friends for?
Alright, let’s talk details. Here’s what we’ve got going in here:
- White cake mix
- Pumpkin puree
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Milk
- Baking soda
You throw all that in a mug, stir it together, and microwave it for a minute and a half…and that is literally it. That’s all you do. For people like me who aren’t fans of baking…THIS IS LIFE.
I just can’t even.
I have to stop.
Do yourself a favor and make this immediately as if your life depends on it, and I will do the same. Love ya friends, I’ll catch you on Friday!
PrintPumpkin Mug Cake

- Prep Time: 3 mins
- Cook Time: 1 1/2 mins
- Total Time: 4 1/2 minutes
- Yield: 1 mug cake 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white cake mix (any brand works)
- 3 tablespoons pure pumpkin puree (not the pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 tablespoons milk (I used whole milk but any kind will work)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
Stir ingredients together in a mug and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes, or until there is no liquid batter remaining on the top!
Notes
Cook time may vary per microwave since every microwave is a little different. 1 1/2 minutes was perfect for me, but if yours isn’t done, throw it in for extra fifteen second intervals until the batter on the top is all “baked” and set – no longer liquidy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mug cake
- Calories: 283
- Sugar: 29 g
- Sodium: 378 mg
- Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 53 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 3 mg
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
In the mood for more yummy pumpkin recipes? Check these out:
Cheater Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze
Brilliant idea to use a cake mix!! Luke was home for fall break and we just had to give this recipe a try. It was excellent! Sometimes cake in a mug recipes can come out rubbery. This was perfect, light and fluffy, and yummy!!
★★★★★