Growing up, my mom loved to bake! My sisters are 10 and 11 years older than me and I can remember when they were teenagers, all their friends would call my mom June Cleaver…like from Leave It to Beaver? It’s an old show, so don’t worry if you don’t get it lol Once my friends starting coming around, they all called her Betty Crocker (Betty, for short). We just ALWAYS had something freshly baked for dessert, whether it was her famous chocolate cake, a cheesecake, German chocolate cake, red velvet cake….it was mostly cake lol She hated making cookies and pies, but she loved herself some cake. So every night, her and I would always have a piece of cake plus a glass of milk (she liked 2 ice cubes in her milk, I liked one).
Don’t get me wrong, she was fantastic at instilling healthy eating habits in me! She packed my lunch every day with a protein, a carb, a fruit, and a vegetable. For dinner, we always had TWO vegetables on the side instead of just one. So overall, I learned really great habits! But my mom always said, she’d rather not be stick thin if that meant she got to enjoy her dessert every night.
Fast forward to adulthood and my metabolism didn’t love the dessert every night. Plus I knew that it wasn’t a habit I should keep forever. It was just more sugar than my body should be having on a daily basis. But GOOD LORD did my brain WANT it every night. It’s so ingrained in me to have dessert at night that it’s been a struggle to make better choices. I’ve tried all the “healthier” options like frozen fruit or chocolate covered bananas…they taste fine, but they just don’t hit the spot like a real dessert. I have gotten to a point now where I don’t feel like I need dessert every single night…which I’m happy with! I’ll often have tea or a piece of dark chocolate. My mom has also done the same thing! She now eats popcorn mixed with kettle corn at night and that’s helped her kick her habit.
But some nights…you just gotta have it. Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of different mug cakes, because it really is the perfect solution! You don’t have to bake a huge cake that you end up eating for days on end…you just get a single serving, satisfy your craving, and move on! There are some phenomenal chocolate mug cake recipes out there and they taste amazing. But they are a pretty big indulgence…many of them have a lot of flour, sugar, oil, etc. I’ve attempted several times to make lighter versions of it based on recipes I’ve found on Pinterest, but they always tasted exactly like that….lightened versions. And idk about you, but those always just end up making me sad and wishing I made the thing that actually tasted good haha Then it REALLY feels like a waste of calories.
Well, a couple weeks ago, one of my friends (Shout out to Liz! Check her out here) introduced me to this recipe and it is INCREDIBLE. Seriously. It’s the healthiest and lightest version of a chocolate mug cake that I’ve ever found, but it seriously tastes like a regular, full calorie mug cake. I can’t believe it!! I’m currently following the Beachbody portion fix meal plan and this fits right in! I’ve had this cake 3 times this week so far and I don’t even feel guilty! And it’s such a satisfying way to end the night. My inner child is so at peace now haha
Another thing I’d like to rave about real quick is how not messy this recipe is!! With other mug cakes I’ve made, I’m always shocked at how many freaking measuring spoons, cups, etc that I end up using. I end up making a huge mess and it really started making me not even wanna do it. A mess should only come with a huge cake haha With this recipe, I legitimately throw it together in less than a minute and the only dirty dishes that come out of it are the mug, a spoon, and 2 measuring spoons.
So here’s what ya need:
What makes it so fudgy is a scoop of chocolate shakeology. If you’re not a Beachbody person and don’t have shakeology on hand, that’s totally fine! You can use whatever chocolate protein powder you usually buy. I would just suggest using one that’s a richer chocolate flavor as opposed to the ones that are lighter.
All you do is dump in a scoop of chocolate shakeology (or a scoop and a half of your favorite chocolate protein powder), one egg, one tsp of coconut oil (or canola oil), 3 tbs of almond milk (or your choice of milk), and a 1/4 tsp vanilla.
*Note! If you do use coconut oil, you need to add that to the bowl first and heat it up for about 20 seconds to turn it into a liquid! Then add all your other ingredients**
Mix it all together until it’s fully blended! Make sure the egg is mixed up really well, otherwise you’ll have strings of scrambled eggs in your cake lol I also add a few chocolate chips to the batter to make it a little richer!
Pop it in the microwave for 90 seconds! Once it’s done, just check it to make sure it’s cooked as much as you’d like. If not, cook it for 10 second intervals until it’s more cakey and less wet.
I then top mine with a teaspoon of peanut butter and dive right in 🙂
Recipe
- 1 scoop of chocolate shakeology or 1.5 scoops of your gluten free chocolate protein powder of choice
- 1 egg (it also works with 1 egg white, if you wanted to leave out the yolk)
- 3 tablespoons of almond milk (or your milk of choice)
- 1 tsp coconut oil (or canola oil)
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbs chocolate chips (optional) *tip* Nestle chocolate chips are gf
- 1 tsp peanut butter for topping (optional)
Instructions
- If using coconut oil, place tsp into a microwave safe bowl and microwave until liquid.
- To that bowl, add in protein powder, egg, milk, and vanilla. If you’re using canola oil, you’d add it in at this point.
- Mix until smooth and fully combined.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips on top (optional)
- Microwave for 90 seconds
- Top with peanut butter (optional) and enjoy!