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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Let’s Celebrate

Four weeks of Paleo-ish, lots of Shredding; 7 pounds lost, muscle gained. (Not bad considering I had a few bad days in there.)

And, as everyone knows, chocolate cake is the only way to celebrate.

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Hot, gooey, dense, sweet, rich chocolate cake.

How about hot chocolate cake with about the same number of carbs as a (much smaller) Yoplait yogurt? BUT, it is sweetened with honey, has 13 grams of protein, and has NO GRAINS (or dairy).

How about hot chocolate cake that bakes in 60 seconds?

Yeah, that’s what I said. No way is this going to taste like real chocolate cake.

I’m eating my words. And a mug of chocolate cake more often than I’d like to admit.

It’s incredible. Not only the taste, but the way it satisfies. It is so filling. I don’t fill up easily, especially when it comes to desserts. But by the last bite of this mug cake I think to myself, That was just right; one more bite would be too much. I’m guessing many of you would find this portion too much for just one person.

But it is so much better than a whole pan of brownies or a batch of cookies endlessly calling my name.

I say, eat a bowl of veggies for a mid-morning snack and then have chocolate cake for lunch. {grin}

I found the original recipe at Paleo Angel. You can thank me later. Are you ready to bake cake? Go grab a big mug (at least 16 oz.).

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Dump the ingredients right in your mug.

2 Tablespoons almond butter
1 1/2 Tablespoons honey (1Tbsp wasn’t quite sweet enough for me.)
1-2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (I just heap a Tablespoon as heaping as it gets.)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 egg

(Chopped nuts—optional)

(I have also added cinnamon and cardamom with great success, but I just tried almond extract instead and it was divine.)

Mix well with a fork. Your batter should look like brownie batter.

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Stick your mug in the microwave for 60 seconds. Part of the cake will still be very moist, like a chocolate lava cake. But don’t over-bake it, or parts of it will be too dry.

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I find that the hardest part is letting it cool long enough so that it doesn’t burn my tongue. Well, that and fighting off children who crowd around hoping for a bite…

Enjoy!!

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If pumpkin is more your style, try this pumpkin mug from my friend Cori at Wonder in the Woods.

25 comments:

Ariana Sullivan said...

Darn, I'm out of eggs. I seriously got up out of my chair (during the only five minutes of quiet I've had in a million years) to give up my internet browsing time to make this. haha

And then I remembered I don't have eggs. :(

I'm so trying this as soon as I go to the store, though. I super need a mini portioned chocolate cake that's not as unhealthy as regular cake. I can't live without chocolate, I try and then I end up eating it every day for like two weeks straight. haha

I'm super impressed with your self control on the paleo diet. I don't know how you do it while dealing with the stress of raising kids. I turn to chocolate way too much when having a stressful day with Payson and Ember.

Mandi @ Life Your Way said...

Have you come across any tips for making this in the oven? We are microwave-less, which doesn't bother me for the most part, but I'm feeling very sad about it now that I've seen that picture!

Sarah said...

I'm not 100% today so can I ask a dumb question? Almond butter as in similar to peanut butter? If so I'm in business & can try this today.

Heidi said...

Ariana~ Some days are definitely better than others. I just try to remind myself that I feel so. much. better. when I'm eating properly, and can deal with the stress of parenting these little people. I have more energy and my moods are much more stable. That said...some days I just crash and burn. :-P It really does help to have treats I CAN eat, like this chocolate cake and flavored soda water instead of my Dr. Pepper. They help me get through some days. :)

Mandi~ I would think you could bake it in the oven, but I don't know how. Maybe put it in a ramekin or some small oven-proof dish at 350 degrees and see how long it takes to bake? Not quite the instant gratification, but that could be a good thing. :)

Sarah~ Yes, almond butter is similar to peanut butter, but I think it has a more mild taste, especially in this cake. But if you like the taste of peanut butter and chocolate together, I'd say give it a try!! Peanut butter is not allowed on a paleo diet (because it is a legume), so that is why the recipe calls for almond butter.

Sarah said...

Thanks Heidi!

I have almond butter on hand. I can no longer stomach peanut butter too much and switched a while back. Trying to get the kids to switch too, they are holding out. I have everything to try this. I'm not trying to do the peleo at present. I am trying to eat organic, whole, real foods as much as & when I can. A slow shift you might say. Looking and adding better foods every chance I can, but not beating myself up when life calls for something else or I failed to plan properly.

My biggest downfall is sweets I love them & esp. chocolate. My problem in the past was I would go all day no sweets, no chocolate then around 8 or 9 at night I would be ready to raid the pantry & eat too much too late. So my new plan is that I can have something sweet (for now I'm not limiting myself to what so much, but need to find better alternatives). I must eat it around 4-5pm if I'm going to have something- then I'm not craving & eating something bad right before bed or feeling deprived. I can remind myself that I did have something sweet, it has helped. I'm eating less junk.

I had seen this somewhere a while back - so thanks for "finding" it for me.

Congratulations & continued good luck to you!

Tsh said...

This looks amazing! And, well, I need to go to the grocery store later. So I'll add almond butter to the list. :)

Sara said...

Do you think sunflower or peanut butter would be ok subs for almond butter? I want to make this tonight and im out of almond butter :(

The Hayes Zoo said...

YUM! Going to try this for dessert tonight! We're micro-less as well, so I'll let you know what works! (Or doesn't - which will be accompanied by tears....)

And I'm *STILL* waiting on that book from the library!!!

Skeller said...

Ooooh, I'm so pinning this ... some nights just scream chocolate cake for dinner. then again, some mornings just scream chocolate cake for breakfast ... ;-)

Heidi said...

Sara~ I would think that other nut butters should work as well.

Faith~ Do let me know how the oven worked for you!

Skeller~ Totally a breakfast food.

Janna said...

A friend of mine just sent me the link to your blog this week because it is my first year homeschooling my two children, and she thought your blog would encourage me. What my friend doesn't know is that I have been converting to a paleo/primal lifestyle for the past few months, and what really encouraged me was this delicious "approved" treat! I've already made it twice... oops! Thanks for sharing... it is the ideal treat!

Anne said...

This is a fantastic recipe! I found it last week and made it immediately. I am back on your site today because I decided to make it again tonight. Thanks for sharing.

Nancy said...

Wow, just tried this and it tastes great-- thanks!!

Jennifer Pepito said...

Thanks for posting. My daughter is doing Paleo for gut healing and I would love to have something fun to offer her.

Anonymous said...

This was so good! It is the best paleo dessert I have made yet, especially on the first attempt.
I baked mine in the oven in a 5 inch round pyrex at 350 degrees for about 20 min. It was a little over done, I should have pulled it when it was still more like batter in the middle and moist crumbs on the toothpick towards the outside. I will make it so many more times!

Laura Christine said...

Mmm. I'm eating this now. I only had about a tsp of almond butter, so I used peanut butter for the rest. I also added some unsweetened shredded coconut. So good! Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you for this recipe! I'm eating it now for breakfast to celebrate a 1.4lb weight loss this am...SO good!

Anonymous said...

Hi! i'm vegan so I don't eat eggs. Is there a way to make this without the egg? Thank you :)

Mary said...

Thank you so much for this recipe. I love it and it helps you stay on track. Decadent and delicious!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful, thank you for this recipe and my son thanks you too! Very tasty we added a few frozen raspberries to the cup before we baked it, very nice. :)

fenanda said...

I made it a couple of times already as it is healthy, easy and addictive! Tried without the eggs, works great...it becomes like a mousse, but tastes good. Tried sliced almonds, chia seeds, cinnamon and even a bit of shred dark (75%) chocolate. So good! Oh, and I divide the recipe in 2 small cups and microwave about 35 secs at the most. GREAT results! Thanks for the recipe!!!

Becca L said...

This looked so good but unfortunately I didn't have the best results. I tried this twice in a row no luck . First, around 45 seconds, it puffs up so much that on the first time it kind of exploded all over the outside of the mug and ran down onto the microwave. Second attempt- paused it at about 45 seconds as soon as I saw it puff above the rim of the mug (and I used a large mug), poked a hole in it (the inside was still super gooey and not hot), and put it back in the microwave for 15 more seconds. When I took it out and let it cool, it looked right, but the whole thing tasted overcooked and it was very dry- I felt like I was chewing on a sponge. I'm sure I followed the amount of ingredients precisely- anyone have suggestions as to what I should do differently?

Addi deFaria said...

oh my gosh! this was so fluffy and delish! I used almond extract instead of vanilla. I tasted the batter while mixing and i was thinking "oh this is gonna be good" and I WAS SO RIGHT! its so fluffy!!!!

Shanley said...

Can you please past the nutririon information with this recipe? Thanks!

Shanley said...

Can you please past the nutririon information with this recipe? Thanks!