Intensely chocolatey, extra fluffy and ultra moist! This (90 second!) paleo and keto mug cake is bound to become your favorite lazy low carb treat!
(90 Second!) Chocolate Mug Cake
Ultra Speedy, Easy (‘N Chocolatey!)
This keto chocolate mug cake is dedicated to the lazy baker in all of us! But keep in mind that lazy in no way means ‘less discerning’, as this little guy right here might even rival our famous chocolate cake.
That’s right! It seems that microwaving keto batters makes them extra (extra!) fluffy. So your mug cake should nearly double in size (albeit collapse a tad… you know, per keto standards).
Still, it’s nothing less than a beautifully moist chocolate cake through and through. Add in some chocolate chunks, serve up with vanilla ice cream (or whipped cream!), or how about a salted caramel drizzle?(!!). Or, simply delicious as is!
The Method
Mix, microwave… that’s it! Just be sure to leave ample space for rising (3-4 fingers).
The Sweetener
You’ve got plenty of options for this keto mug cake. Think xylitol and allulose (no aftertaste), Lakanto (barely any aftertaste… if at all?), and Swerve (some slight cooling sensation).
Fun fact: it might also be my taste buds here, but I’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners (such as Pyure) don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the aftertaste is accentuated. So I cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia-based sweeteners with chocolate!
Oh, and if just paleo or gluten free (or not restricted by sugars), simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
The Flours
You’ll need some super fine almond flour, golden flaxseed meal (or psyllium husk powder), coconut flour and a touch of xanthan gum.
Just keep in mind that for best texture and rise, you’ll always want to regrind your flaxseed meal in a dry blender or bullet.
The Chocolate
You’ll want to use a Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa here. As there’s baking powder involved, using cacao won’t give the same results (at all!).
In terms of brands, my favorite will forever be Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world. But as long as it reads ‘cocoa’ you’ll be fine!
(90 Second!) Chocolate Keto Mug Cake
Ingredients
For the keto mug cake
- 2 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter coconut oil or ghee
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2-3 tablespoons xylitol erythritol or allulose (I use 2 TBSP)*
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 1 tablespoon golden flaxseed meal or psyllium husk, finely ground
- 2 teaspoons coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch kosher salt
Serving suggestions
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium (microwave safe!) bowl. Whisk in cocoa and sweetener to taste, and mix until well combined. If using erythritol, your batter will likely be very thick.
- Whisk in the egg and mix until smooth (if using xylitol and allulose) or until thoroughly combined (with granular erythritol, which doesn't dissolve as readily). Mix in the rest of the ingredients and spoon the (very thick!) batter into a mug.
- Place a paper towel into the microwave and set the mug on top (to catch any overflowing batter). Cook on high for 70-90 seconds (time can vary a lot in microwaves, but to give you an idea I do 80 on 1000 watts!). Allow to cool for a couple minutes and enjoy!
Tried First time last night, definitely hit my chocolate craving 👌🏽In your comments at the start you mentioned to use a little xanthum gum but it wasn’t in the recipe, was this a mistake or should we add it in and if so how much?
I don’t have a microwave.., is it possible to bake in a baking pan in the oven..?
Thank-You..! : }
Loved this recipe! Good chocolate flavor!
Excellent! Made as written. Took me 10 minutes to make from start to finish. Tastes rich and delicious. Cooked for 90 seconds and served with a Luxardo cherry on top with a little cherry sauce. My daughter was in chocolate heaven.
OH YUMMMMMMMMY!!!! My fiance wanted something to snack on tonight so I made this quick and easy mug cake, topped with some sugar free chocolate chips and a little fresh whipped cream – absolutely AMAZING!!! It has a nice rich deep chocolate flavor and is very fluffy and moist. This will not disappoint anyone looking for a wonderfully easy chocolate cake that has AMAZING flavor. Thank you = )
I’ve made this many times. It’s one of my favourite recipes! In my attempt to conserve eggs during this lockdown, I tried this with a chia egg. An absolute visual fail! But it still smelled great and as it cooled started to look better. So I popped it in the freezer and it came out as the most amazing fudge bar (with a nice little crunch from the seeds). I cut it into four pieces. Topped the first one with keto buttercream frosting and the next day tried it with fresh whipped cream. Didn’t hit the cake spot but definitely hit the chocolate spot! So…still a great recipe, even when you fail 🙂
This was so good ! Perfect for when I’m craving your chocolate cupcakes, but too lazy to make them. Thank you!
Way more than 5 stars! I truly could not taste a difference from a regular version, and I bake cakes from scratch. Could not believe how easy this was- I used an oversized mug and just put the ingredients in there and whisked. No mess, and didn’t need a paper towel either. 70 seconds in my microwave (1100 watts). Used 1 1/2 TB Lankanto, 1 1/2 TB Valrhona, and upped the almond flour to sub for the flaxseed. Added a tiny piece of Lily’s. Thank you so much!! Will be making this often!
Usually mug cakes aren’t worth it, but this was good. I poked holes in it like tres leches and poured heavy cream on top. Also added a splash of vanilla to the batter.
Hi Paula
I looooove your blog and recipes! You are such an inspiration!
REcently I discovered that I am allergic to almonds….really sad. I love them. But what would you recommend for a substitute?
Sunflower seed flour is a straight sub Annika 😉 xo!
I loved that it was so easy and chocolatey. Can I omit the coconut flour and use more almond flour? I dont love the taste of coconut.
I have probably made 100 mug cakes over the past couple of years. Oh my goodness. This one is the best by far. I split the recipe 3 ways and served it with a dollop of whipped cream. Perfection.
Wonderful to hear Paulette!!!
Reading all the comments, I really want to try this! Why is cacao not recommended? That is all I use for chocolate and I don’t want to buy the other. There is such a difference in different brands of almond flour. I find baking with it does not always turn out as you would expect…maybe the reason some say it is dry, especially if the flour isn’t super fine. Big differences!
Using cup measurements are fraught with failures when cooking…especially with almond meal, using weights is best way for success. Scales, orUS scale, the only way to go.
can you freshly grind regular flax seed? Thanks
Yes
I have found that coconut flour dries any recipe I put it in, so I always use less, or do a small increase in other fluid or fat
Can this be baked in regular oven? Sounds divine but can’t use our microwave.
This is heavenly. I love it so much that I almost make it every single night. I serve it with cream and sugar free caramel sauce. I use: 3 TBS of xylitol, 2 TBS of Dutch cocoa (as the description says this is important – it doesn’t taste so great with cacao), psyllium husk, and I also add 1 tsp of vanilla extract. I also only microwave it for 32 sec as I like it gooey and my microwave is 1200 watts. It’s definitely important to adjust cooking time according to the wattage of your microwave.
Absolutely delicious! I’m a baker and this could easily pass for regular chocolate cake. I used gelatin in place of flaxseed. Try it, you’ll love it.
THIS WAS AWESOME! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don’t use SALTED butter! Yes it was salty but Soooooo good!
Also, I didn’t user psyllium bc I didn’t have any and I used granulated Allulose.
I actually put salt flakes on top of mine, love the sweet and salty together!
This is amazing! Kids think they’re having a “real” chocolate lava cake for breakfast haha! But now they’re making it with me every time and learning about healthy ingredients and amazing flavors and textures they produce. And I prefer it with psyllium husk too 🙂
We tried a couple of your recipes and they’re all great Paola – thank you!
I have a problem with any sub sugars except Monk fruit, however, I understand it doesn’t bake well as to not enough volume. Is there anything I can add in any baking recipes that will help make the difference in the outcome?
Note: I just do the low carb thing
I use monkfruit and its fantastic