On our first night in Grand Rapids for our blogging #FreshCoastRetreat last month, Stephanie from the city’s travel bureau arranged for us to dine at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant, The Kitchen, an upscale establishment that offered a wide variety of globally-inspired dishes. She somehow must have known that I’m one of the most indecisive people in the world because she organized for the chefs to serve us a 15-course meal.
Yes, a full 15 courses… We sampled over a third of the restaurant’s entire menu!
As soon as we sat down, our sweet server Sarah (she actually runs a food blog of her own!) brought out an artisan cheese board with salami, prosciutto, fancy mustards, and truffle honey. After bringing a round of drink orders, she set down potato leek soup, followed by a Chinese-inspired salad and a trio of tuna tartare, crab cakes, and fancy croistini.
We lost count of the courses after that as we tasted fresh house-made ravioli, succulent steak bites, two different pizzas, steamed salmon, braised short ribs, and more. Although fully intending to pace ourselves to save room for a taste of each dish, we failed miserably, reaching for bite after bite because of the food’s amazing rich flavor, so we felt our waistlines growing tight well before Sarah brought out dessert. Oops!
But then came the chocolate crème brûlées with fresh berries and sugar cookies, apple tarts with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel drizzle, and chocolate soufflés with salted caramel ice cream… And you know how big my sweet tooth is! Even with our full bellies, our spoons continued to find their way towards those dessert platters as we lingered, slowing savoring the last few minutes of the evening.
Since we ate similarly at a few other restaurants during the retreat, sharing a variety of appetizers and desserts in addition to our entrées and eating a little more than we realized each time, I actually came home craving time at the gym—and lots of light, healthy salads! But my huge sweet tooth refused to give up dessert, so I made this Skinny Single-Serving Chocolate Chip Mug Cake as a compromise. Full of melty chocolate, perfectly portioned (so no overeating!), and just 127 calories!
Perfection in a mug. ♥
To make this mug cake healthier, you’ll start with white whole wheat flour. White whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from heartier red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, but it still has the same health benefits as regular whole wheat flour.
Note: Whole wheat pastry flour would be a perfect substitute!
Traditional mug cake recipes call for 2+ tablespoons of butter and an egg to provide a tender texture (my waistline is cringing at the thought of all of those calories!), but this healthy one is the exact opposite! It contains no eggs and a mere ¼ teaspoon of butter (or coconut oil!). Yes, that’s it!
Instead the tender texture comes from one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking: Greek yogurt. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you already know how much I love it! Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your mug cake a protein boost too. (Over 5g!)
Rather than a few tablespoons of granulated sugar, you’ll sweeten this mug cake with a combination of stevia powder and vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. This is the stevia powder that I buy, and this is the vanilla crème stevia. You can find both at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. (And you’ll use them in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
And of course, the most important part… At least for a chocoholic like me. (It’s why I wrote my Healthier Chocolate Treats cookbook!) You’ll mix mini chocolate chips into the batter, then press a few into the top just before microwaving. These are my favorite—just look at how well they melt!
Now for my secret trick to perfectly tender mug cakes… You’ll microwave the cake on 30% power for a longer period of time. Traditional recipes call for microwaving on high (aka normal) power for 1 minute, but this can make the mug cake turn out tough or gummy. By reducing the power level and cooking it for longer, it better simulates baking in a traditional oven, so the texture turns out nice and tender.
Time to eat! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees that I’ll see the notification from you! ?) I’d love to see your mug cake and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Skinny Single-Serving Chocolate Chip Mug Cake | | Print |
- 3 tbsp (23g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ⅜ tsp stevia powder
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- 1/16 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp (15g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ tbsp (23mL) nonfat milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 18 drops vanilla crème stevia, or to taste
- 1 tsp miniature chocolate chips
- Lightly coat a 1-cup ramekin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, powdered stevia, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the butter, Greek yogurt, and milk.* Stir in the vanilla and vanilla crème stevia. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until just incorporated. Fold in ¾ teaspoon of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared ramekin, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips on top. Microwave on 30% POWER for 2 minutes 40 seconds (2:40). Let the mug cake cool for at least 2 minutes to allow the center to finish cooking through before enjoying.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
You’ll use two types of stevia because too much of either type results in a very bitter aftertaste to the mug cake. Other sweeteners may be substituted in place of both the powdered stevia and vanilla crème stevia, but you may need to adjust the amount of flour or milk depending on the type of sweetener that you use. You’ll need the equivalent of 2 ½ tablespoons of granulated sugar.
If the yogurt and milk are cold, they will immediately re-solidify the melted butter. If this happens, microwave on HIGH for 6-8 seconds or until the butter re-melts; then proceed with the rest of the instructions.
It’s VERY important to microwave the mug cake on 30% power. This is set differently depending on the brand of microwave that you own. If microwaved on HIGH (full power) for a shorter time, the cake will be gummy, and the top may be overdone while the insides stay raw.
Microwave times may vary, depending on the wattage of your microwave oven. I used a 1000-watt microwave.
To bake the mug cake in a regular oven, bake at 350°F until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I haven’t cooked the mug cake this way myself and can’t guarantee how long it will take, but check for doneness after about 12-14 minutes to start.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low sugar, higher protein}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like…
♥ Skinny Single-Serving Chocolate Mug Cake
♥ Skinny Single-Serving Peanut Butter Mug Cake
♥ Skinny Single-Serving Snickerdoodle Mug Cake
♥ Skinny Single-Serving Vanilla Mug Cake
♥ Skinny Single-Serving Blueberry Mug Muffin
Your retreat looks like it was so much fun! This jug can’t looks delicious too. I couldn’t even imagine a 15 course dinner!
Thanks Shannon!
Oh my gosh I just realized how wrong auto correct was!!!
No worries Shannon!! Autocorrect always seems to get things wrong for me. It sometimes even corrects my name from “Amy” to “Any!” ?
how many packets of splenda would i sub for the granulated stevia? 1? i have the liquid vanilla creme stevis, but not granulated. thanks!
I’d recommend starting with 1 packet of Splenda, tasting the batter, and adding a second if you feel the mug cake isn’t quite sweet enough for you. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the mug cake Chrissy!
That dinner sounds amazing! I once had a 5 course dinner, and I was absolutely stuffed. 15 courses is just incredible. The mug cake cooking tip is brilliant. Unfortunately, I don’t really know how to use my microwave, so I might try the oven version instead.
I think 5 courses is absolutely reasonable, especially compared to 15! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of the oven-baked mug cake if you try it Elaine!
How appropriate that you posted this om my birthday, you know me so well Amy! 😉 I’m so glad you had a great time!!!
It was all part of my special birthday plan for you Marina! 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful day celebrating!!
Did this with 2 and 1/2 tbsp of normal nonfat yogurt instead of greek yogurt + milk and used just 2 tsp of honey instead of stevia and cane out great still!!:) Very nice recipe 😉
I’m so glad you enjoyed the mug cake Sam! 🙂
Hi, Amy!! This cake looks sooo delicious, and I want to make it so bad, but I only have the vanilla creme stevia drops. (I bought it to use in your recipes and am LOVING it!) Do I need the powdered stevia or can I just use a few more drops of the liquid kind? Thank you so much! Love love love you and your blog!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes and the vanilla creme stevia! I’m honored that you bought it just to try my recipes! 🙂 My taste testers slightly preferred the version I published here on my blog, but it is possible to make the mug cake with entirely vanilla creme stevia. I’d recommend using about ¼ teaspoon, and you can add more if you’d like it to be sweeter. (The great thing about egg-free batter — you can take as many taste tests as you want! 😉 ) I can’t wait to hear what you think of it Jessica!
Thank you so much, Amy! I can’t wait to try it, and I will let you know how it turns out! I am doing a diet bet thing with friends and relatives. Little do they know I’m not feeling deprived at all – thanks to you! And my birthday is on the 16th and I think I know what one rectangular cookbook-looking package might be… 🙂
Aww you’re such a sweetheart Jessica!! Happy early birthday!! ??? And if that does happen to be a certain cookbook-shaped package… I’d love to hear what you think of any recipes that you try! ? I’m so glad you aren’t feeling deprived on your diet bet — that means a lot to me that my recipes are doing that for you!!
Tried this and loved it!! So moist and perfectly sweet. Totally satisfied my dessert craving! Amy, you are an angel. I added about 1 tsp of honey instead of the powdered stevia. Just perfect!
I’m so glad you loved the mug cake Jessica! You’re so sweet!! ♥
Hi Amy! Still coming back to your website! I google and use pinterest, but your recipes are always the best! And healthiest options!
I just made this mug cookie/cake. It was definitely good re flavor! It came out a bit gummy and sticky though. I microwaved the butter slowly (in the ramekin because I thought any residue would prevent sticking), then warmed the cold milk a few seconds in it as well. Since the ramekin retains heat, it melted most of the Greek yogurt when added. (Probably the issue..?). Then, i added the dry ingredients and baked as per instructions. Any suggestions?
I may just have to keep practicing!.. 😉 Thanks!
That means a lot to me that you’ve been trying so many of my recipes Shawna! You’re such a sweetheart. 🙂 I don’t recommend mixing the ingredients in the same ramekin in which you’re going to microwave the mug cake. Because the batter contains so little fat, it should be mixed together in a separate bowl, then transferred to a new ramekin coated with cooking spray. If your microwave is a different wattage than mine (see the Notes section!) or “bakes” hot (I’ve had microwaves do that before!), then try cooking it at 20% power instead to help improve the texture issues. 🙂
For me, this turned out more like a thick pancake. But with maple syrup on top it was good. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this mug cake Natasha! 🙂