Healthy Single-Serving Lemon Poppy Seed Mug Cake

Yields: 1 mug cake

This tender mug cake is perfect for any lemon lover—or when you’re craving something sweet and don’t want any tempting leftovers around! It’s perfectly sweet and tender, and it’s bursting with bright sunshiny flavor.

3 tbsp (23g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
¼ tsp poppy seeds
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 lemon extract
⅜ tsp vanilla crème stevia, or adjusted to taste

Lightly coat a 1-cup ramekin with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, stir together the butter, Greek yogurt, and milk.* Stir in the lemon extract and vanilla crème stevia. Gradually mix in the flour mixture, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until just incorporated.
Spread the batter into the prepared ramekin. 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.

Notes: For the gluten-free flour, use the following blend: 2 tbsp (15g) millet flour, ½ tbsp (4g) tapioca flour, ½ tbsp (3g) brown rice flour, and 1/16 tsp xanthan gum. I cannot guarantee that other gluten-free flours will work, but most store-bought gluten-free flour blends should work, if they’re measured like this. Do not substitute coconut flour.

Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.

It’s very important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale (← that’s the one I own and love!). Too much will make the mug cake dry. If your batter is too dry, add additional milk ½ teaspoon at a time until the batter resembles the texture of thick muffin batter.

Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

I highly recommend using the vanilla crème stevia! It’s one of my favorite sweeteners, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too. (I always buy it online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found!) Other sweeteners may be substituted in place of the 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 2-3 tablespoons of granulated sugar.

To give this mug cake a more yellow color, add in a teensy tiny pinch of ground turmeric! (That’s what I did for these photos!) You can’t taste it at all!

If the Greek yogurt and milk are cold, they will immediately re-solidify the melted butter or coconut oil. 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 10-12 minutes to start.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar, higher protein}

Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2017/06/01/healthy-single-serving-lemon-poppy-seed-mug-cake/