Easy and delicious, this low carb chocolate hazelnut mug cake is sure to satisfy all your cravings!
Sometimes a girl just wants cake. Wait, let me rephrase that. Sometimes a girl just needs cake. Sweet, warm chocolatey cake, the ultimate in comfort foods. Bonus points if it’s actually quite healthy but doesn’t taste even remotely like it. Extra bonus points if it takes all of, say, 15 minutes to make. No, I didn’t say 15 minutes to cook, I said 15 minutes to make. As in, from start to finish. As in, from the moment you get out your ingredients to the moment you put that first bite in your mouth. That’s the kind of cake I want in my life. N0, wait, let me rephrase that. That’s the kind of cake I need in my life.
I’ve seen recipes for mug cake many, many times. I don’t know why on earth I never tried it before. But I was inspired when assigned to A Little Nosh for this months’ Secret Recipe Club. Her Chocolate Mug Cake for Two seemed like just the thing I wanted to make. But obviously not with flour and sugar. It didn’t take a whole lot of thinking to make it over into a low carb, gluten free version, however. Mug cake is pretty much ideal for this kind of overhaul. It doesn’t have to come out of the mug, so there are no worries about it holding together. It doesn’t really even need to look very pretty, because all you can see is the very top and you can always plop some whipped cream on it to jazz it up a bit. And it comes out of the microwave so warm and, if you undercook it a bit, nice and gooey.
A Little Nosh is a wonderful blog and there are lots of healthy, creative recipes to browse. Amy is a working mom living in the DC suburbs with a tiny kitchen. I give her a big thumbs up for working in such a small space…I’ve been there and I know it’s not easy! So please be sure to head on over to her blog and check out her collection of recipes!
Sweet, warm chocolatey cake, the ultimate in comfort foods!
- 2/3 cup hazelnuts toasted (and skinned, if you want)
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp granular Swerve sweetener
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tbsp hazelnut oil or melted butter or coconut oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp hazelnut or vanilla extract
- Grind hazelnuts in food processor until they resemble coarse meal. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Whisk in cocoa powder, Swerve, baking powder and salt.
Stir in cream, oil, egg, and hazelnut extract until batter is well-combined.
- Divide between 2 mugs and microwave each for about 1 minute. Remove and let cool a minute or two, then dig in!
Serves 2. Each serving has a total of 10.5g of carbs and 6 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 4.5 g.
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Brian @ A Thought For Food says
July 9, 2012 at 11:59 amOh hazelnuts… so under appreciated. I love what you’ve done here. Looks marvelous!
Amy @ A Little Nosh says
July 9, 2012 at 12:00 pmSo glad you were able to adapt it to meet your needs. Yours looks much prettier than mine did!
Eric says
July 9, 2012 at 12:10 pmThese look great. Any idea what the 2/3 cup of hazelnuts would weigh? I have a bag of ground hazelnut meal from Bob’s Red Mill that I need to use up, and this looks like just the ticket.
Also, I recently used Swerve for the first time making a Chocolate mousse cake for a July 4th bash. OMG! I have finally found a low carb sweetener that I can use, and it sort of feels like I got my life back. Thanks for recommending it.
Carolyn says
July 9, 2012 at 12:51 pmI actually just weighed out 2/3 cup of hazelnuts and it comes to about 2.7 or 2.8 ounces. Does that help you?
Eric says
July 11, 2012 at 7:54 pmYes, that’s great. Thanks. Can’t wait to try these, but I need to get cream. Sigh!
Love your recipes, and envy you the knowledge of how the low carb products will react in a recipe. I’ve only been doing this for 6 months, so still trying to figure it all out. Still miss my sourdough bread, though.
Nicole @ The Daily Dish says
July 9, 2012 at 12:31 pmThis looks so scrumptious. I love mug cakes, but this one is so much better than the simple one we make! Great recipe!
[email protected] says
July 9, 2012 at 1:11 pmSometimes? I need cake ALL the time 😉
Wanda / MaidOfSteel says
July 9, 2012 at 1:45 pmI really like your approach on nutrition, seem to be very level-headed. And I’m definitely going to try this amazing recipe out buuut… I have a little problem. I cut out any dairy off my diet – do you have any suggestion what migth work well instead of the heavy cream?
Carolyn says
July 9, 2012 at 2:01 pmSure! You could really use almost any liquid here. Almond milk would work just fine.
Naomi Most says
August 9, 2012 at 12:34 amI’d suggest coconut milk from a can, actually. Just made it myself, worked great!
Lisa~~ says
July 9, 2012 at 4:22 pmDelicious, low carb & gluten free, I am SO saving this recipe to make very soon. Wonderful SRC choice.
If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check out my SRC entry, it too is chocolate, lower carb and gluten free: Double Chocolate Mousse Cake
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
aarean says
July 9, 2012 at 4:44 pmwow this looks so good and who woulda thought it was gluten free?!?! Lovin’ your site…I actually linked your corn and zucchini salad in my Color Issue post today!!! 🙂
xoxo
Aarean
colorissue.blogspot.com (come on over and follow along!)
Kankana says
July 9, 2012 at 5:43 pmI make this all the time, specially since hubby doesn’t like dark chocolate and I eat only that 😉
[email protected] says
July 9, 2012 at 7:35 pmA chocolate hazelnut cake? That is ridiculously quick and easy to make? A very, very dangerous thing indeed!
Emily @ Life on Food says
July 9, 2012 at 8:10 pmI am sold, like as in right now I am heading to the kitchen to make one for me. Delicious!
Karen says
July 9, 2012 at 9:14 pmHoly cow! Yes, I definitely need this in my like. 15 minutes?? That’s my kind of dessert!
Karen says
July 9, 2012 at 9:16 pmha! I tried to edit before this went through…no luck, and then I got scolded by your blog for posting comments too quickly! lol.
Karen says
July 9, 2012 at 9:15 pmHoly cow! Yes, I definitely need this in my life. 15 minutes?? That’s my kind of dessert!
Alice B. says
July 10, 2012 at 12:06 amThis looks and sounds SOOOO good! Cannot wait to try! I was seeing entries about mug cakes at Pinterest just a couple of days ago. Now there’s one I can make and eat and enjoy, all guilt-free and still feel good afterward!!
Thank you, Carolyn!
Gerry @ Foodness Gracious says
July 10, 2012 at 12:36 amYup, sometimes a dude just want’s cake too 🙂 In 15 minutes, that is awesome!
Great post, take care..
Veronica says
July 10, 2012 at 2:32 amThis looks nice and fudgy, and totally decadent! Hard to believe it’s healthy too! Did you think it was kinda like a brownie b/c that’s what it reminds me of.
Carolyn says
July 10, 2012 at 6:09 amAs long as you undercook it a bit, it is rather brownie like.
In Katrina's Kitchen says
July 10, 2012 at 9:53 amI have yet to make a mug cake. This looks fun and different.
Katie says
July 10, 2012 at 10:23 amI’m going to make this!! It sounds wonderful. I have no microwave — do you know how long it might take in a mug-sized dish in the oven? If not, I’ll wing it. 😀
mfg says
July 10, 2012 at 2:16 pmAny word on the baking time/temp?
Carolyn says
July 10, 2012 at 3:19 pmHmmmm, I am not sure. I’d go 325F and bake for 5 minutes first, then in 2 minute increments after that. You want it to puff up and be firm around the edges, but still kind of undercooked in the middle for that gooeyness. Does that help?
Parsley Sage says
July 10, 2012 at 11:44 amThese are genius! I’ve recently made a new friend and it seems like all we do is eat but she’s gotta do gluten free. This is totally bookmarked for our next brunch 🙂
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
July 10, 2012 at 12:37 pmsounds so good! I am putting this on my list
Kirstin says
July 10, 2012 at 12:39 pmYUM! This sounds amazing! Definitely marking this to try soon
Lynn says
July 10, 2012 at 8:03 pmThis is awesome! 15 minutes for a delicious chocolatey treat sounds just right 🙂
Shumaila says
July 11, 2012 at 3:16 pmI like this low carb gluten free version of the mug cake. Would satisfy my chocolate craving without making me feel that guilty!
ash says
July 12, 2012 at 11:05 amLooks yummy. What a fun blog check out my blog if you get a min and have not already :).
Have a great day
http://thedailysmash101.blogspot.com
Joy says
July 12, 2012 at 11:48 amI love the recipe.
Nilda says
July 12, 2012 at 8:37 pmOk, so I am addicted to your blog and eagerly await your new recipes. I have made this mug cake two days in a row now cause they are just deelish! I was wondering about the carb count however, should’nt it be 4.5 grams per cake?
Carolyn says
July 12, 2012 at 8:38 pmYes, it’s definitely 4.5 g per cake. Did I say differently? Time to go edit myself!
Carolyn says
July 12, 2012 at 8:40 pmApparently I have trouble doing math. Or rather, I have trouble doing math when I am tired and being heckled by 3 kids 🙂
Magaret says
July 13, 2012 at 10:08 pmNothing better than a little cake when you ‘need’ it!!
Beth M. says
July 14, 2012 at 11:38 pmOh my gosh, this was WONDERFUL!! I had hazelnut meal already on hand, so I guestimated and used just 1/3 cup, and it turned out fine.
I think another time I’d divide into 3 mugs, one serving was more than enough (though I have to admit I did eat the whole thing) – absolutely fabulous, and so easy! Thank you!!
Lesley says
July 20, 2012 at 11:20 amI just found your website…I think you are my new HERO! My low carb lifestyle just got a bit better with great recipes. THANK YOU!!
Carolyn says
July 20, 2012 at 11:55 amYou are very welcome!
Tammy says
July 31, 2012 at 3:42 amYou mentioned using either butter or coconut oil if there was no hazelnut oil. I recently bought a ghee/coconut oil combo. I use it with popcorn all the time and it gives it that perfect movie popcorn flavor. I’m sure that would work beautifully in this recipe too.
Carolyn says
July 31, 2012 at 6:08 amI am sure ghee would be great!
[email protected] says
August 19, 2012 at 9:19 pmGood grief…I made this tonight. So easy, so good, so satisfying…oh, and so BIG! I think next time I will use 4 ramekins rather than just 2 mugs…don’t get me wrong, I ate the entire thing but…could have been satisfied with half! I only had hazelnut meal so I used 1/2 cup and it came out just perfect…I think I will try to find some hazelnut extract for my next go round as well. This will definitely be a keeper recipe!
Kate says
August 27, 2012 at 12:07 amJust made these, and they are AMAZING!! Followed the recipe exactly, except for the sugar. Just used regular raw sugar since I’m out of erythritol. I figured a tbsp of sugar isn’t THAT many carbs. We had them with a little low-carb vanilla ice cream (from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook) and together they made the most satisfying low carb dessert I’ve had. Thank you so much for sharing!
Carolyn says
August 27, 2012 at 6:14 amGlad you liked them!
Alexandra says
October 12, 2012 at 8:09 pmThis works great with 1/2 cup of premade sugarfree Nutella substitute instead of the first 3 ingredients. I’m pretty sure I got the recipe from you. Now I finally have a use for hazelnut spread, other than eating it off a spoon!
Amber says
June 15, 2013 at 1:17 pmI wonder, has anyone made this with other nuts? I don’t have any hazelnuts on hand. Perhaps almonds? Or pecans? Or both? Love the blog!
Carolyn says
June 15, 2013 at 3:32 pmYou could easily make it with any other nut. Pecans would be delicious.
Hope says
July 29, 2013 at 11:40 amI made this Saturday night when my husband and I got home from dinner out. We really wanted a dessert and thought about caving in and ordering one to share, but in the end knew we’d feel “like crap” later if we did. So when we got home I whipped this up (using almond flour instead of hazelnuts and the coconut oil option.) Viola! 3 minutes later were having our cake and eating it too… with a dollop of whipped cream!
Lorraine says
March 28, 2014 at 9:23 pmI was super desperate for a chocolaty dessert tonight but didn’t have time, and was too tired, to make a full recipe. Then I remembered one of your recent posts about mug cakes. Perfect! As described, it took me less than 10 minutes to put together, plus the minute to cook and a couple to cool.
Absolutely delicious!
Jofoto says
February 29, 2016 at 2:41 pmQuite impressed with the fluffiness of it ! Made it with almond flour and came out as well! My husband who is an executive chef said it was very good! Iwipped up some 35 % cream with hazelnut extrac and vanilla extract a bit of 8o% dark choclotat and it was fantastic ! Thanks !
Nena Winand says
January 22, 2018 at 10:44 amWhat is the actual volume of 2/3 cup of hazlenuts after grinding (I buy mine already ground)?
Angie says
February 3, 2018 at 11:39 amI am so happy to have found your website! I have tried lots of low carb desserts with disappointing results. Two days ago I tried your Snickerdoodle mug cake, and it was so good I had to try this chocolate hazelnut one. You have figured out the secrets to satisfying low carb desserts. Your recipes will be my go-tos from now on!
Carolyn says
February 3, 2018 at 2:24 pmThanks, Angie!