A few days after I sent over the footage for this TV episode to my video editor, he sent me an email. He mentioned that while making a mug cake that evening for dessert, he remembered the super easy 3-ingredient chocolate drizzle I included in that episode, so he tried it on his mug cake…
And he called it magical! His kind note made my entire day, so I quickly typed out a response. Inside, I included that I had made a major mug cake break-through of my own when I started microwaving them on 30% power instead, and I shared an explanation of why that made a huge difference, along with my favorite mug cake recipes.
The following weekend, he sent me another email about how he tried my recipe and also made the same mug cake for his significant other and mom. He included a picture along with their reviews…
All three of them proclaimed my recipe as the best mug cake ever! My editor even went on to say it made his own mug cake recipe look like a sad pretender. I felt like I was on cloud nine for days—that’s such high praise!
So in honor of my incredible video editor, I’m sharing my favorite mug cake recipe with you: this Healthy Flourless Chocolate Mug Cake! It’s supremely rich and chocolaty, even with no eggs, butter, refined flour or sugar. And it’s just 108 calories!
True single-serving dessert perfection! 😉
Like I previously mentioned, I make my healthy mug cakes a little differently than most traditional recipes! Since my healthy mug cakes contain a lot less fat than typical recipes, I microwave them on 30% power instead for a longer period of time.
If you microwaved them on high for 1 minute like in traditional recipes, that would result in tough or gummy textures. However, this lower power better simulates baking in a regular oven, so your mug cakes turn out nice and tender instead!
So now with that nerdy microwave science out of the way… Let’s talk about the ingredients you’ll need!
First up is cocoa powder. Use the regular unsweetened kind, like this! Do not substituted Dutched or special dark cocoa powder. In this particular recipe, they actually have a much less prominent chocolaty flavor… Almost a little dull and bland. Regular unsweetened cocoa powder gives your healthy mug cake the most chocolaty and rich flavor!
I struggled with the name of this recipe… Should it be called “flourless” or “practically flourless” instead? That’s because you’ll mix in oat flour next, like this! (Or this for a gluten-free version!) Oat flour is simply finely ground oats so… I’m not sure if it technically counts as flour. I’ll let you decide!
Tip: You can make your own oat flour at home! I show you how here.
This low-calorie chocolate mug cake only requires ¼ teaspoon of coconut oil (or butter, if you prefer!) and no eggs. Instead, it gets the rest of its moist texture from Greek yogurt! I always love baking with Greek yogurt because it adds the same moisture to your batter as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories. And it gives your treats a protein boost, too!
You’ll skip the refined granulated sugar and sweeten your flourless chocolate mug cake with liquid stevia. It’s another one of my favorite ingredients! Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean-eating friendly). It’s also really concentrated—you need less than ½ teaspoon for your healthy chocolate mug cake!
This is the liquid stevia that I use because I love its sweet flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
How decadent does that look?? There’s a reason I make this healthy flourless chocolate mug cake nearly every day! 😉 And with a certain holiday right around the corner… This would definitely make for a super easy (and healthy!) Valentine’s Day dessert!
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 I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your mug cake!
Healthy Flourless Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (15g) oat flour (gluten-free, if necessary, and measured like this)
- 2 tbsp (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured like this)
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
- 1/16 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 1 tbsp (15g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 5 tsp nonfat milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅜ tsp liquid stevia (or adjusted to taste)
- optional: 1 tsp miniature chocolate chips (divided)
Instructions
- Lightly coat a 1-cup ramekin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the butter, Greek yogurt, and milk. (See Notes!) Stir in the vanilla extract and liquid stevia. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until just incorporated. If using, gently fold in ¾ teaspoon of chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared ramekin, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips on top (if using). Microwave on 30% POWER for 2 minutes 40 seconds (2:40). Let the mug cake cool for at least 4 minutes to allow the center to finish cooking through.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Triple Chocolate Mug Cake
♡ Healthy Mocha Chocolate Chip Mug Cake
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Mug Cake
♡ Healthy Snickerdoodle Mug Cake
♡ Healthy Peanut Butter Mug Cake
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Mug Cake
♡ Healthy Vanilla Mug Cake
Hi
Thanks for sharing this healthy recipe. I was searching for a quick oatmeal mug cake and found your recipe and I’ll be making it regularly cause I always have these ingredients on hand. I do not have a percentage power option on my microwave but these instead:
1 Milk/coffee
2 Rice
3 Spaghetti
4 Potato
5 Auto reheat
6 Fish
7 Pizza
8 Popcorn
I turned it without adjusting the heat for 1 minute and as you mentioned it was “gummy, and the top may be overdone while the insides stay raw”. So which option would you recommend for the closest to 30% power to bake this mug cake?
I used 1 teaspoon of sugar cause I don’t have stevia, and added bananas and honey on top to fix it.
Glad I found this website, will try other healthy recipes 🙂
Hi George! I’m so happy to hear you like this recipe so much you’d like to make it regularly, and that you’re looking forward to trying other recipes too! That’s the best kind of compliment! 🙂
Thank you for the information about how you adjusted the recipe. If you plan to use sugar in place of the stevia, you will want to use 2-3 Tablespoons in the mug cake, that will make it a little sweeter. However, if you have honey and are open to using it as a sweetener, you can replace the milk with that to achieve a similar sweetness level as when the mug cake is made with stevia, as written!
I’m also wondering, do you possibly have a button labeled “Power” on your microwave? Do you know the name of the brand + model of your microwave? Most microwaves have the capability to reduce the power, but some make it a little trickier to figure out than others. 😉
Hi Stacey, no I do not have a button labeled “Power” on my microwave. It is CAMPOMATIC KOR22A1 High voltage, with input voltage 1200W and output 700W. It is old and we use it very rarely.
Thank you 🙂
Thanks for sharing this additional information, George! I found a user manual online here for a Campomatic KOR22A1 microwave. Is that the same one that you have? If so, Pages 6 and 7 say to press the “Micro” button to change the power level. Page 7 includes a guide for how many times to press the “Micro” button to achieve each percent power. (It’s really odd that they labeled their power button “Micro” instead. I haven’t ever seen that before!) There isn’t an option for 30%, so I’d recommend going with 20% and cooking the mug cake a bit longer.
So to cook this mug cake on 20% power in your microwave (if I did find the correct user manual!), then you’d press the “Micro” button 5 times, followed by setting the cook time for 2 minutes and 40 seconds. (If your microwave only does intervals of 30 seconds, then go with 2 minutes and 30 seconds instead!) It’s always easier to put the mug cake back in the microwave if it’s underdone, as opposed to trying to salvage a gummy and overdone one, as you’ve already experienced! 😉
Does that make sense?
Yes it is the same one I use. I never used this “Micro” button before and I really appreciate letting me know about the difference it would make and linking it’s online menu.
Microwaved it on 20% power for 2 minutes and 30 seconds first, then another 10 seconds since I noticed the consistency was too gooey. Then remembered that you mentioned it should cool for 4 minutes to finish cooking and firm, but still had the consistency of a lava cake. So I microwaved it for roughly 1 minute longer and the texture was much closer to the one you posted, but it didn’t taste like dark chocolate, it was very sweet. I used a teaspoon of granulated white sugar and about 3 teaspoons of honey instead of stevia and milk. So I will follow the exact recipe next time when I get liquid stevia, and let you know the exact time it took me for proper texture.
I mostly love the addition of yogurt and how it’s sour taste is masked in this mug cake! I thought it was only good for pizza dough… Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
It’s my pleasure, George! I’m happy to help. 🙂
I’m so glad to hear the texture turned out much better this time around! If that granulated sugar and honey combination was too sweet and you’d like to make it again before you get the stevia, I’d recommend using 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of honey, and 1 ½ teaspoons of milk. (If you think that’ll be too sweet as well, then try 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon of honey, and 2 teaspoons of milk!)
I’m thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the yogurt addition! It’s one of my all-time favorite baking ingredients. It works really well in muffins, scones, quick breads, pancakes, waffles, brownies, cakes, cupcakes… And I’ve even used it to make frosting. 😉 If you’d like to experiment with yogurt a bit more, you can use it in all of these other recipes of mine too!