Gluten free chocolate cake in a mug #secretrecipeclub

This month’s Secret Recipe Club assignment was Judee’s Gluten Free A-Z Blog. I was intrigued with her recipe for Chocolate Cake in a Mug that used gluten free coconut flour, which is high in protein and fiber. However, since she used bananas and sugar – two things I can’t eat due to my food sensitivities – I knew I’d have to make adjustments.

The first time I used a combination of her gluten free recipe and the original recipe that she modified since I don’t have to avoid eggs. Here’s what I came up with:

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake in a Mug (Version 1)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic High Fiber Coconut Flour
• 2 tablespoons Sweet Tree Coconut Palm Sugar OR Stevia Extract in the Raw
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Dagoba Organic Chocolate Unsweetened Drinking Chocolate)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten free, pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut or chocolate chips (I used Scharffen Berger’s 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chunks)

Directions:

1. Add dry ingredients to microwavable mug and  mix well with fork.
2. Add egg and mix well.
3. Pour in coconut milk, oil, and vanilla and chips.
4. Mix well and put mug in microwave for 3 minutes.
5. Remove , allow to cool a little, and tip onto plate .

Baking gluten free at a mile high

I’m going to be honest with you and say that the first three gluten free chocolate cake in a mug cakes I made (I made seven chocolate mug cakes in all) didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped. First, it was challenging to get the cake out of the mugs in one piece even after I released the sides with an offset spatula. The cakes usually split in half (see below).

Second, the cakes were dry, which maybe meant I needed to add more oil or milk or microwave the cake for less time.

Third, the cakes were, as my son put it, “Too chocolaty and not sweet enough,” probably due to using too much dark chocolate and not enough sweetener. (I’ve added more sweetener to the recipe above.)

Fourth, I loved the shredded coconut, but the kids weren’t too crazy about it.

Frankly, since I moved to Colorado over 20 years ago, I’ve been baking challenged. When I use a premade mix from the store, it’s usually fine. But when I bake from scratch, it never turns out as planned. So, maybe it was me and not Judee’s recipe. (After all, it turned out well for her.)

Needless to say I was determined to try a few more versions, this time adding more sweetener, more coconut milk, and trying applesauce instead of banana.

More variations on Gluten Free Chocolate Cake in a Mug

Note: directions for Versions 2 through 5 are the same as in the first version.

Version 2 (My favorite)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic High Fiber Coconut Flour
• 2 tablespoons Sweet Tree Coconut Palm Sugar OR Stevia Extract in the Raw
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Dagoba Organic Chocolate Unsweetened Drinking Chocolate)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3.9 ounces of Mott's Healthy Harvest Sauce Summer Strawberry (one single serving cup)
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten free, pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

Version 3 (My daughter Lucie’s favorite)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic High Fiber Coconut Flour
• 2 tablespoons Stevia Extract in the Raw
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Dagoba Organic Chocolate Unsweetened Drinking Chocolate)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3.9 ounces of Mott's Healthy Harvest Sauce Country Berry (one single serving cup)
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten free, pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

Version 4 (My son Nathan’s favorite and Lucie says it tastes like brownies to her)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic High Fiber Coconut Flour
• 1 tablespoon Stevia Extract in the Raw
• 1 tablespoon Sweet Tree Coconut Palm Sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 + 1 tablespoon cup light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten free, pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

Version 5 (Lucie likes this one, too)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill Organic High Fiber Coconut Flour
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon gluten free, pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate chips

Not quite there yet, but still a delicious gluten free chocolate treat

The kids and I really liked the gluten free chocolate cake in a mug made with the Mott’s applesauce. However, the cake was so moist that it wouldn’t come out of the coffee mug. I’d suggest scooping out half of the cooked cake, putting it in another mug, then adding a scoop of ice cream (or your favorite soy or coconut ice cream if you’re dairy free) or whipped cream to top it off. Note: a half to a third of the mug cake is usually enough for one person.

Also, in versions 2 through 5, I used smaller mugs instead of the large mugs I’ve purchased from Starbucks when I travel. (So far I have Starbuck’s mugs from Minneapolis, Denver, New York, San Diego and Chicago.) I suggest using a large mug if you have it since it seems easier to get the cake out of the larger ones.

Finally, adding more sweetener, whether coconut sugar, agave or stevia powder, adding more coconut milk, and using semi-sweet instead of bittersweet chocolate chips worked much better. The chocolate flavor was less bitter this time around.

All in all, I had almost as fun a time experimenting as my kids did in trying out the various gluten free chocolate cake in a mug treats. If I hadn’t run out of coconut flour and time, I would have made a few more variations and tried to perfect the recipe even more.

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Disclosure: Scharffen Berger and Dagoba provided me with samples of their products to use in my chocolate dessert recipe development.

Posted on June 13, 2011 in Featured,Gluten Free,Recipes and tagged as cakes, Secret Recipe Club