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Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe

Updated: 6/20/22 2:20 pmPublished: 6/20/22
By Catherine Newman

Makes 2 servings

Total Carbohydrates: 17 grams per serving (Note that 12 of these are from the erythritol, which will not raise your blood sugar)

Hands-On Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 6 minutes

A mug cake is the perfect way to satisfy a little after-dinner craving. It’s quick, easy, and fun to make – and it doesn’t produce an entire cake that will sit around tempting you with its carbohydrate siren song. Plus, this particular mug cake is quite low in carbs to begin with, thanks to the substitution of erythritol and almond flour for the more usual sugar and flour. Two small caveats: 1) There’s a bit of a learning curve with the timing, because it really depends on your microwave – just try to remember for next time what ended up working. 2) Yes, I’m saying this makes 2 servings, and I realize it’s a single cake in a mug. But you can just spoon half of it into a different mug for your cake partner. (Or you can divide the batter and bake it in two mugs or ramekins.)

If you’re looking to:

Lower the fat: Substitute 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons water for the egg.

Lower the salt: Use unsalted butter; omit the salt.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons granulated erythritol, such as Swerve 

1 egg

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons almond flour

Pinch of salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Unsweetened whipped cream (optional)

Instructions

  1. Put the butter and Swerve in a microwave-safe mug and microwave until the butter is just melted, about 15 to 30 seconds, depending on your microwave. 

  2. Stir the butter and Swerve with a fork, then add the egg and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the whipped cream) and mix very well with the fork.

  3. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute and 30 seconds, stopping to check at 30 seconds and then after every 10 seconds until the cake is puffed and just set, but still looks sticky on top. (Undercooking is better than overcooking, in my opinion.)

  4. Top with whipped cream if you like and eat right away.

What do you think?

About the authors

Catherine loves to write about food and feeding people. In addition to her recipe and parenting blog Ben & Birdy (which has about 15,000 weekly readers), she edits the ChopChop... Read the full bio »