This vegan gluten free mug cake is the perfect chocolatey dessert for two! It’s ready in (literally) 2 minutes and has a rich chocolate flavor. Plus, it’s gluten free, secretly healthy, paleo friendly and tastes like a brownie!
I’ll admit, I was always skeptical of mug cakes. Which was unfair of me because I had never even tried one, but I just didn’t think it would be possible to get a delicious cake, in a mug, in a microwave.
I thought wrong! This vegan mug cake went through quite a few trials because it’s also gluten free AND paleo friendly, but I am so happy with how it turned out!
It uses a base of almond and oat flour, is sweetened with coconut sugar and *literally* takes two minutes to make. It’s rich, chocolatey, and actually has the most amazing cakey texture, all in a mug!
It’s the perfect dessert for yourself or to share with a friend, and is perfect with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream or coconut whipped cream on top.
Key ingredients
Flour. We’re using a mix of almond flour and oat flour to give a fluffy and cake like texture while keeping it completely gluten free!
Cocoa. Cocoa also adds to the structure of this vegan gluten free mug cake and of course gives a rich chocolate flavor.
Milk. I used almond milk, but any kind of non-dairy milk will work.
Applesauce/oil. I like using a mix because the applesauce naturally sweetens and adds moisture, but the oil gives a classic cake texture.
Sugar. You can use any kind of granulated sugar you like. Coconut is a great option for refined sugar free!
How to make a vegan gluten free mug cake
In a microwave safe mug (mine was about 13 ounces), whisk together all of the dry ingredients, but only 1 tbsp of chocolate chips.
Add in the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth (these mini whisks are perfect for this recipe!). The batter should be pretty thick. Top with the rest of the chocolate chips and wipe down the edges of the mug if desired.
Add to the microwave on high heat for 75-120 seconds. Mine was perfect at 90 seconds, but all microwaves are different.
Because this cooks so quickly, even just 5 seconds can make a big difference (good or bad) so start low and add more in small increments as needed.
If you want a more gooey center, keep it on the low end, but if you want a well done standard cakey center, at least 90-100 seconds is ideal.
Remove from the microwave and let sit for about 5 minutes. Avoid diving in right away! It really needs to sit for a few minutes to settle for the best texture.
I like to top it off with more chocolate chips as it’s cooling, they’ll start to melt right into the top and be perfectly melted by the time you eat!
Top with ice cream or whipped cream or enjoy as is!
Mug cakes are really designed for one person, but I really think it’s the perfect dessert for two. But I definitely won’t judge if you keep it all to yourself!
Make it paleo!
This recipe uses mostly almond flour, but does include two tablespoons of oat flour to really help support the structure and give it a nice cakey texture while keeping it gluten free.
However, if you want to make this vegan mug cake paleo/grain free, you can swap the oat flour for almond flour if you like! The texture will be slightly different, but all in all it will turn out very similarly!
You can swap the almond flour for 1/4 cup additional oat flour (so use 6 tablespoons of oat flour total) if you need a non-paleo but nut free version
How to store
Yes, and I’m weird so I actually like this cake leftover! It does dry slightly as it sits in the fridge, and is definitely designed to be eaten right away. However, if you have leftover, you can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
I actually like to eat it cold from the fridge since the texture firms up a bit, but you can warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds if you like.
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Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Dry:
- ¼ cup + 1 tbsp blanched almond flour
- 2 tbsp fine oat flour
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt (about 1/8 tsp)
- 2 tbsp chocolate chips
Wet:
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk I used almond
- 1 tbsp oil I used melted coconut oil
- 1 tbsp apple sauce
- 3 tbsp brown or coconut sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a microwave safe mug (mine was about 12 ounces), whisk together all of the dry ingredients, but only 1 tbsp of chocolate chips.
- Add in the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth (these mini whisks are perfect!). The batter should be pretty thick.
- Top with the rest of the chocolate chips and wipe down the edges of the mug if desired.
- Add to the microwave on high heat for 90-120 seconds. Mine was perfect at 100 seconds, but all microwaves are different. Because this cooks so quickly, even just 5 seconds can make a big difference (good or bad) so start with 90 and add more in small increments as needed.
- If you want a more gooey center, keep it on the low end, but if you want a well done standard cakey center, at least 100 seconds is ideal. It should just look done on top and not at all wet when it's done.
- Remove from the microwave and let sit for about 5 minutes. Avoid diving in right away! It really needs to sit for a few minutes to settle.
- Top with ice cream or whipped cream or enjoy as is!
Sandy says
This is delicious. I used chocolate soy milk. Next time I’ll use less brown sugar but definitely a keeper.
Foram says
Hi, I can’t wait to try this recipe. What is a good replacement for tapioca starch and apple sauce? I’m not vegan, so can o put egg instead? Also can I make oat flour by grinding the old fashioned oats?
Thank you!
Claire Cary says
Yes, you can grind up oats until a fine flour forms. For the tapioca, you can use arrowroot starch or cornstarch. For the apple sauce, I suggest using oil instead! I tested this recipe with egg and to be honest it didn’t turn out great, so I would stick with those subs!
Gabby says
So easy and so delicious!! My kids loved it.
Morgan says
SO delicious! I cut it in half and topped with some ice cream and it was the best single serving dessert!
Claire Cary says
perfect! it’s my favorite recipe when I need a little something sweet!
Stephen Williams says
Hello Claire,
I tried your recipe and I loved it. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us. As a vegan, I’ve always wanted to prepare a cake for my own and your recipe has helped me greatly with that.
Michell says
Tastes great even the next day