Best Single-Serve Dessert Recipes from TikTok - ThrillistSkip to main content Like Thrillist on Facebook.Follow Thrillist on Instagram.Follow Thrillist on Twitter.Follow Thrillist on Snapchat.Subscribe to Thrillist on YouTube.Follow Thrillist on TikTok.SUBSCRIBEGo to NavigationEatFood Hacks

Bake for One with These Single-Serve Dessert Recipes

The latest TikTok trend is designed for the solo diner

By Jessica SulimaPublished on 10/18/2022 at 5:01 PM Vezzani Photography/Shutterstock‌Picture this: You live alone, it’s late at night, you’re recovering from an exhausting day of work, and you get hit with a craving for something sweet. If only you could turn your day around with one single, freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Thanks to TikTok’s latest food trend, you can. When life gets too hard to toil over a whole batch of cookies, opt for the single serve. It’s the most convenient and waste-free approach if you’re baking for one—or simply don’t like to share—and you’ll achieve that fresh-out-of-the-oven taste every single time. Plus, it’s a widely held belief that everything’s better when it’s mini. Is this the mug cake trend of 2019, reincarnated? Not quite. Mug cakes, which get zapped in the microwave and often rely on premade mixes, are lazy and bad. The single-serve recipes we’re now seeing on TikTok are lazy and good, bringing a gourmet appeal to Le Creuset cocottes and tiny cast iron pans everywhere. Thrillist TVHistory ofThe History of Tailgating

Chocolate chip cookie

It’s a classic and perhaps the number one contender for late-night cravings. When you don’t feel like running out to Crumbl, bake this no-fuss chocolate chip cookie. This recipe actually yields two cookies, but who’s complaining? Spread some ice cream in the middle and you’ve got yourself an ice cream sandwich for one. Sarah Fennel, queen of single-serve bakes, notes that because this cookie recipe is scaled down, there’s not much room for error. So measure your ingredients carefully.

Basque burnt cheesecake

This individual Basque burnt cheesecake is tossed together in a NutriBullet and broiled to perfection. It calls for ingredients that you likely already have in your fridge, like cream cheese, eggs, and lemon. A lightly scorched top and rich, jiggly center sets it apart from the quintessential New York style. Just make sure you chill the cheesecake for 2 hours before eating. (If you’re making a single-serve dessert, we’re going to assume you already have self control.)

Brown butter apple crumble

The mug cake failed to demonstrate how you can still make one-person desserts taste complex. Take this fall-friendly apple crumble as proof. Here, browned butter enhances a standard oat mixture, made even more special with homemade apple butter. You can’t eat this warm crisp out of the pan without a dollop of Trader Joe’s Salted Maple Ice Cream.

Chocolate lava cake

Technically, the molten lava cake has always been a single-serve dessert. But this recipe simplifies things with vegan and gluten-free ingredients—no eggs, dairy milk, or white flour— and takes seconds to put together. Plus, you’re mostly using tablespoon measurements, so you only have to dirty one spoon. The chocolate square in the middle will make room for a gooey, chocolate center that erupts once you dig into the cake. Don’t forget a dusting of powdered sugar.

Cinnamon roll

Making cinnamon rolls is a notoriously laborious process. But now you can throw one together the morning-of for a quick, sugar-filled breakfast. While traditional cinnamon rolls make use of yeast to achieve a fluffy texture, Ash Baber replaces it with readily available plain yogurt to keep things soft. To make the cream cheese icing (an essential!), simply portion out some cream cheese and combine it with one tablespoon of granulated sugar. Want more Thrillist? Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.Jessica Sulima is a staff writer on the Food & Drink team at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram. By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.