This almond chocolate mug cake is so easy to make and is gluten free, grain free and dairy free. A healthier chocolate cake that goes from zero to completely done in around five minutes? Microwave friendly, it doesn’t get much quicker than this. Yes please!
Published November 2017 | Updated September 2022
This is the speedy, no fuss cake that you need RIGHT NOW. A single serve chocolate delight. I hate to use this descriptive word but these healthy chocolate mug cakes are moist and just the right amount of fluffy and crumbly.
For those concerned about allergens, these cakes are gluten free, dairy free and soy free.
What you will love about this healthy chocolate mug cake
- Microwaveable. Yep, you cook this cake in the microwave, and it’s done in 90 seconds. 90 SECONDS! Seriously; this almond chocolate mug cake is the quickest, easiest little chocolate cake I have ever made.
- Allergy friendly. The base recipe for this mug cake is gluten free, dairy free and soy free. It is made with almond flour. The recipe is suitable for coeliacs. If you’re adding something like chocolate chips, just make sure any such additional ingredients are also gluten, dairy and soy free.
- Healthier dessert option. Fellow chocolate cake lovers, while I am all for the real thing and having indulgent chocolate cakes too, it’s nice to have this single-serve healthier option sometimes. It is lower in sugar, higher in fibre and uses much healthier fats than your typical chocolate cake.
Ingredients to make Chocolate Mug Cake
All that’s required to get yourself an almond chocolate mug cake are 7 key ingredients (plus a dash of vanilla if you have it), a fork and a good mug.
For this recipe you will need:
- Almond meal – also known as ground almonds or sometimes called almond flour. You can either use natural almond meal (where the almonds still have their skin on) or you can use blanched almond meal (skins removed)
- Cacao powder – you can also use cocoa powder, both will work in this recipe
- Baking powder – please make sure to choose a gluten free baking powder if you need to keep this allergen free
- Salt
- Egg
- Maple syrup or honey
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Vanilla extract – optional but lovely, how good does vanilla smell when you’re cooking!
If you like making them more pretty, you can make them in a bowl and then pour into microwave-safe ramekins, like I did for the photos. I think they look awesome! Sprinkle over some toppings and I think they can pass for decadent chocolate cakes that you spent an age slaving over.
Can I make a mug cake recipe egg-free (vegan)?
Yes, as this recipe only uses one egg, you could substitute a ‘flax egg’ or try using half of a large banana, mashed thoroughly. The cake may not rise as well using the egg-free options but it should still cook well.
A ‘flax egg’ is one tablespoon of flaxmeal (ground flaxseed) whisked with three tablespoons of water. Whisk and allow to sit for 15 minutes until an ‘eggy’ gel forms.
Can I make this mug cake recipe nut-free?
I’m sorry, I haven’t made this recipe without almond meal as it is one of the core ingredients. You could try to use plain flour but you will likely need to add more moisture to the base recipe. It’s probably easier to find an alternate recipe.
What’s on the top of the cakes in your photos?
Greek yoghurt, flaked almonds and dried rose petals. Just a bit fancy, of course you don’t need to do this every time! p.s. you can use coconut yoghurt instead for a dairy free option.
If you make this cake take a snap and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!
Need more speedy no-fuss treats:
Healthy Almond Chocolate Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp almond meal a.k.a. ground almonds or almond flour
- 1 and 1/2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1/4 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
- 1 small pinch salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract – OPTIONAL but lovely for flavour
Instructions
- To start – you can make this cake in the mug you’ll cook it in, or you can make it in a small bowl and then pour it into a mug or ramekin to cook it.
- Place the dry ingredients (almond meal, cacao, baking powder) into a small bowl/mug. Stir a little to combine.
- Add the egg, maple syrup, olive oil and vanilla to the mixture. Whisk with a fork until you have a smooth cake batter.
- Pour batter into the mug or ramekin you’re going to cook it in (if it’s not in there already). Make sure the mug/ramekin isn’t filled to the brim – you’ll need at least 2cm left at the top so it doesn’t spill over.
- Place mug/ramekin in microwave. Cook for 60 seconds – it will puff up a lot while cooking and then settle. Check on the cake. It will probably still be a little undercooked. Cook for a further 15-30 seconds until done to your liking (microwave ovens can vary a lot).
- Serve immediately while it’s nice a warm. Add toppings if you like!
Notes
Nutrition
Love this mug cake, I’ve made it so many times now. We’re trying to eat healthy while still enjoying things we like (such as an after dinner sweet treat) and this recipe is perfect for that.
Great – just half the cocoa amount, and it is much less dry and much better 🙂
This confirmed for me that I don’t like mug cakes with egg; they’re just too….cakey. I appreciated that this was a healthier alternative, but it was wasn’t sweet enough or moist enough. : (
Thanks for your feedback Melinda. If you wanted it to be a bit sweeter and avoid the egg, you could try replacing the egg with mashed banana 🙂
The fact that it took 5 minutes! Its not perfect, you can add chocolate chips to make it sweeter. But it took my craving away. I think it was pretty good. Just needs chocolate chips.
Definitely worth adding chocolate chips I agree!
Name of the Baker that created this recipe . Would like to get recipe book if there is one. Thanks
I don’t appreciate the audio that starts to play if I move to a different tab. Not nice.
Delicious! Am definitely going to try this.
This cake is delicious! Thank you for your recipe 👏🏼 I’ve made it a couple of times now.. tonight I added some frozen raspberries and cooked it for 2 minutes. Was delicious! I always tried it with frozen blueberries.. also quite yum 😋
Thank you so much Linda! YUM, raspberries at the best addition – how good it chocolate and raspberry together!
Excellent recipe. Total keeper. I made exactly as given, as am new to mug cakes. I sprinkled some choc chips on top after it was done. I microwaved for 60 seconds and then, as suggested, another 15 as it looked a bit undone on top. Perfectly fluffy, just the right amount of sweet. It’s good enough to be served as a dessert to guests, with some icecream. Thank you!
I am ALWAYS disappointed by mugcakes and have tried so many. Still, I was craving chocolate cake tonight haha and so I stumbled upon this recipe. Ah-mazing!! Both my husband and I devoured ours with cream and wanted more! Definitely going on rotation in our house 😊 I added slightly less maple syrup and oil so it only required the 60seconds and was perfect consistency! I also used chia eggs as we are out of eggs. Absolutely delicious, thank you!
Hi Becca, I’m sorry that I missed your comment earlier this year and just wanted to say thank you 🙂 I’m always so happy to hear that my recipes are being enjoyed!
I’ve just made this little beauty of a dessert, sooooo good! I cooked it for 1.30 as I like the mug cake a tad dryer than they often are. It’s delicious! I would consider substituting olive oil for coconut oil next time as it’s a great combo with chocolate. Thanks for this great recipe!
Thanks so much for leaving this lovely comment Anabelle. Yes I love chocolate and olive oil together I have a brownie recipe on the blog like that! I’ll have to try it in this mug cake, too 🙂
This is my first time trying a chocolate mug cake (I usually use matcha powder instead of cocoa powder) and I love it. I followed the recipe faithfully except that I used coconut oil instead of olive oil, and just a smidge less maple syrup. It turned out great and I can eat this cake knowing that it’s actually good for me. Thank you for sharing!
Can you do this in an airfryer? I have a full size cake recipe with mostly same ingredients. Dates instead of honey and coconut oil instead of olive oil. Would love to do small ones instead of a big ink.
Hi,
Can I know how long should I cook in the oven, please?
Hi Grace, I’m not sure as I haven’t done it myself, but I can’t see it taking much longer than about 10 minutes. The shape of the container you use will affect cooking time – if it’s a wide container and the mixture spreads out more, it will cook more quickly. 🙂
Yummy. I needed a touch more sweetness for personal taste. Texture was soft and moist. Best mug cake ever.
Cooked for 1 min 20 sec in my microwave.
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this feedback Emma! 🙂
I am so excited to try this recipe. I really love that it is a much healthier alternative compared to other cakes. I am wondering if I could make this into a celebratory cake, though? I would love to make a cake for my friend’s birthday. How would you change the serving size in order to make it into a cake? Thank you so much in advance!
Delicious. I have tried adding choc chips and peanut butter chips and bother were great. Thank you.
Yum! I love this with chocolate chips too 🙂
I’ve made this several times and it is very satisfying! I like to add Enjoy LIfe or Lily’s chocolate chips, but adding cho chips can make it soggy on the bottom. FYI. Still yummy!
Thanks for the feedback Gabriella! Yes I guess the added moisture from the choc chips might put off the ratio of wet to dry a bit. It’s so nice with extra chocolate though isn’t it 🙂
Thanks great recipe. Worked a treat
Aw very glad to hear it! 🙂
Just wondering if this would work in the oven too?
Yes you can bake this as well 🙂
Fab recipe. So quick to make. I used agave nectar plus a tsp of Splenda as I like sweet. I added half a tsp of coffee and 2tsp of chopped hazelnuts and my son loved it too
Plus a quarter tsp of xanthan gum
Hi Dionne, thank you for your tips for altering the mug cake! The addition of coffee sounds so delish I will have to try it 🙂
Amazing recipe! Are you able to tell me the macros for one of these?
Thanks!
Hi Milly, I’m sorry I don’t have the calculations for that, however you can drop the recipe into an analyser online like happyforks.com and it should give you an estimation 🙂
So delicious!! Definitely my new go-to!
Yay so happy to read this! Thank you so much Gigi 🙂
Made these tonight as I wanted to make a mug cake but a healthier version for my two toddlers – these were divine and so quick! They loved them too – thank you
Thank you so much for your positive feedback Rachael! I really appreciate you taking the time to write to me especially with two toddlers, my hands are full with two babies at the moment myself! 🙂
Love this! First time I did it, they were a little dry. I just made one leaving out cacao powder and instead of honey putting 2T elder flower cordial in. It turned out perfect, fluffy, moist and delicious – so a variation of you don’t want chocolate. Vanilla coconut based ice cream goes great!
Oh gosh vanilla and elderflower sounds absolutely amazing together! Great idea. If it seems to dry with the cacao, adding some mashed banana makes it into a more moist choc banana cake too! Thanks Diana 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Moist, not too sweet and so quick and easy. I will make this again and again! Thanks
Thank you so much for this positive feedback Rachel! Appreciate you taking the time to let me know 🙂
This cake is too good n very much healthy. Its so instant can’t believe it.
My kid loved it.
Had a question what would be the measurement if I subsitute honey with sugar powder
Hi Hema, I’m not quite sure what the conversion would be as I haven’t tried it. I wouldn’t recommend switching a liquid sweetener for a powdered one as the consistency of the cake will be different, though. The honey adds moisture 🙂
I really want to try this -it looks amazing. As i am watching my carbs i was wondering what the carb count is in it??? Thanks in advance.
Hi Marie, Thank you for your message 🙂 I’m sorry but I do not count carbohydrates on my recipes. You can place the recipe into an online analyser like Happy Forks (which I think is at happyforks.com/analyzer) and it will tell you the approximate carbohydrate count for this recipe. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much! This recipe is amazing, perfect amount of sweetness and turned out really moist. I added a small handful of choc chips too.
Oh this would be SO yum with chocolate chips in there! I am going to try it that way myself 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving me a comment, I really appreciate it!
Honestly the best cake I’ve ever had! Never had anything gluten/grain/dairy free so I wasn’t sure what to expect but oh wow I’ve been going on about this recipe to the coeliac and lactose intolerant members of my family as well as friends because I know they will love and appreciate it as much as I did!!! 😊
Hi Hannah, thank you so very much for this lovely feedback! Honestly, it was just so nice to read and put a huge smile on my face. I love this little mug cake, it has cured me of many cake cravings 🙂
hello there 🙂
love this recipe !
what is the white liquid inside ? looks like yogurt ?
Hi Orianna, yes that’s just yoghurt which I put on top after I made the cake 🙂 Thank you for your lovely message!
I made these for my little brother’s birthday and my whole family loved them!! I might’ve found my holy grail cake recipe.
I am so happy to read this Kayla! Thank you so much for your feedback 🙂
This looks quick and yummy! What size ramekins did you use?
Hi Hazel, thank you for your lovely comment! I used small ramekins about 300mL to make these 🙂
Made it. Loved it! Thanks for taking the time to share!
Thank you for taking the time to leave me a comment! I really appreciate it 🙂 And I’m glad you liked the cake too, of course!
Hello! Great site, I love it!
Is there anything I can replace with the egg? I do not eat eggs this month!
Thanks!
Hi Marina! Thanks for your message. You could try using a ‘flax egg’, which is 1 tbsp ground flaxseed and 3 tbsp water soaked to form a gel, or alternatively try half a mashed banana. Let me know how you go 🙂
I don’t eat flaxseed as they are highly estrogenic and I have endometriosis. Maybe chia seeds would be ok? I have just read your last recipe, with carrots, parsley, egg and spices. Can I replace there the egg with an avocado, for example, what do you think? Anyway, that recipe is great too!
Hi Marina. I would try a chia egg then for sure! You could also try half a mashed banana, or a few tablespoons of applesauce, as these are other common vegan egg substitutes.
For the carrot fritter recipe, I would probably try a chia egg there as well instead of avocado – I’ve never used that as a substitute for egg and am not sure how that would go, sorry! 🙂
Who doesn’t need a chocolate pick-me-up all to themselves? 🙂 The garnishes are so lovely!
Haha my thoughts exactly! There’s something so great about eating the WHOLE cake… thank you Katie Mae!
Hey I really want to try the recipe and would love to know the amount of calories in it! It’s okay if you don’t know but is there anyway of me finding out
Hi Ruby, I’ve actually just now updated the recipe for you and it should show a calories estimate. I have just installed a nutrition calculator but haven’t had the chance to go back and update all my recipes yet! Kindest, Monique 🙂
Wow! This looks absolutely delicious. Perfect for the holidays!
Thank you so much Carrie! Yep perfect for the holidays or any time you need a choccy fix 🙂
Yummy! I love the sound of this guilt-free cake in just over a minute!
Getting a cake made in no time is THE BEST – I’m so happy to have discovered mug cakes! Thank you Nicole 🙂
This is a PERFECT healthy treat! I love that it’s sweetened with maple syrup.
Thank you Corrine! The maple in it is so good – a lovely caramel sweet flavour, but not too sweet 🙂
This is so pretty! I love all things chocolate, so this cake definitely speaks to me. Yum!
Thank you so much Emily! Can’t go wrong with a little chocolate 🙂
This looks like the perfect quick and easy sweet treat! My kitchen is getting ripped out next week so totally understand where you are coming from – I will be needing quick treats like this, have pinned for later!
Hi Hope! Oh wow, can’t believe you’re about to start the kitchen renovation process too – we are in the thick of it right now! Can’t wait to see our shiny new kitchen at the end of it. Good luck with everything and hope you enjoy this mug cake 🙂
I have client on a pretty strict protocol for gut health, but this is a treat she can have and I know she will appreciate the single serving too! Looks yummy!
This is great to hear Judy! This is a pretty simple, healthy dessert and the single serve is so great for portion control – great for working with clients for sure 🙂
Love this and those pretty garnishes!! Thank you for such a fun treat!
Aw thank you so much Megan! A few pretty garnishes make all the difference to a mug cake!
I need to try this! I actually never made a mug cake before and your photos are making me feel like I’m missing out!!
Yay Jean I hope you do try it! This is my first mug cake too 🙂 Finally motivated to start trying them as we are renovating and I need super easy recipes!
I can not believe I still have never tried a mug cake! I need to get my act together and make this!
Haha Linda I was the same before I made this! I’ve seen them around for ages but just never got around to experimenting!
Ohhh with olive oil? Yes, definitely going to try this!
Yes olive oil! Healthy, easy, accessible and keeps the cake so moist! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
This is so fun, and perfect for those days you need a quick sweet treat! So pretty too!
Thanks Renee! This was my first mug cake and I definitely found it fun, so easy to make!
So simple! Perfect to satisfy a sweet tooth!
Exactly – for that quick must-have-cake fix with a healthier spin on it! 🙂