You’re less than ten minutes away from a scrumptious, grain-free matcha mug cake! It’s paleo friendly, dairy free, and sweetened with honey or maple syrup.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I made you a matcha mug cake. It’s not at all Irish, but at least it’s green!
I was excited to make something green for St. Patty’s Day, but I don’t like to use artificial coloring in my food. Since I had my heart set on making a dessert, using spinach or kale as coloring agents didn’t seem very appealing. Matcha was the perfect solution.
If you haven’t discovered matcha yet, I highly recommend it! It’s just very finely ground green tea leaves, so it has a bit of caffeine and all the great antioxidants contained in green tea. The flavor is hard to describe, but it’s exotic and a bit earthy. Matcha is delicious on its own in desserts, but also pairs well with chocolate. I’ve made this matcha mug cake with and without chocolate chips and still can’t decide which one I prefer.
I’m late to the mug-cake party, but now that I’ve started I can’t be stopped. Less than ten minutes to a warm, freshly “baked” cake with a moist, tender crumb? Sign me up . . . over and over again. I made two or three of these on Saturday and two more on Sunday to perfect the recipe and try out all the variations. Then I woke up this morning with a bad case of the Mondays, and decided to make myself one for breakfast.
Someone hide the mugs–I think I’m addicted.
Matcha Mug Cake
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
You're less than ten minutes away from a scrumptious, grain-free matcha mug cake! It's paleo friendly, dairy free, and sweetened with honey or maple syrup.
Author: Becky Winkler
Recipe type: Gluten free, Grain free, Paleo, Dessert, Cake
Serves: 1 serving
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon butter, ghee, or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon matcha
-  2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk of choice (dairy, almond, coconut, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup lightly packed almond flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda*
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar*
- 1 heaping tablespoon chocolate chips (optional)
- Fresh strawberries, for serving
Instructions
- Put the butter, ghee, or coconut oil in a large microwave safe mug. Microwave for 10-20 seconds, or just until the butter is melted. Stir in the matcha. Add the honey, milk, and vanilla and beat thoroughly with a fork. Crack the egg into the mug and beat again. Beat in the almond flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. It's okay if there are a few small lumps. If you are using chocolate chips, stir them in.
- Microwave for about 2 minutes, or until the cake is set and pulling away from the sides of the mug, but still a little jiggly. Don't worry if the top is not completely dry.
- Let cool for at least five minutes. Enjoy the cake directly from the mug, or loosen with a small spoon and unmold onto a plate. Top with a fresh strawberry if desired and serve warm.
Notes
*To measure ⅛ of a teaspoon, I just use my ¼ teaspoon measure and fill it about halfway.
If you don't like matcha or don't have any on hand, try a double chocolate mug cake! Omit the matcha and add 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder when you add the almond flour. Also, make sure to use the chocolate chips. This mug cake may need an extra 10-20 seconds to cook.
If you want to make more than one mug cake, microwave them one at a time.
If you don't like matcha or don't have any on hand, try a double chocolate mug cake! Omit the matcha and add 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder when you add the almond flour. Also, make sure to use the chocolate chips. This mug cake may need an extra 10-20 seconds to cook.
If you want to make more than one mug cake, microwave them one at a time.
Used in this recipe:
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Kaitlyn Craig says
June 6, 2017 at 1:47 amIf you don’t have almond flour will all purpose be okay? (I also have flax seed meal?)
Also what kind of milk did YOU personally use, I’m all about consistency 😉
Thanks so much!
PS sorry I didn’t rate it, I haven’t tried it yet, but will rate after I make it
Becky says
June 6, 2017 at 8:19 amHi Kaitlyn! I haven’t tried this with AP flour or flax seed meal so I’m not sure if it would work well, but the best substitute for almond flour would be another nut flour. Also, if you have almonds you can make almond flour by grinding them finely in a food processor.
I use either unsweetened almond milk or whole dairy milk for this recipe.
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Anonymous says
July 15, 2015 at 11:47 pmWhen I found this recipe, I had everything on hand but the cream of tartar. I made it anyway without. And it turned out spectacular! The texture was amazing and the flavor was delicious!! Nothing was missed with the lack of ingredient 😉 Thanks for this post!
Rebecca Winkler says
September 7, 2015 at 4:52 pmYay! So glad you liked it. Good to hear it works without the cream of tartar, too. Thanks for commenting!!
Kari Guastella says
March 25, 2015 at 7:33 pmLooks very yummy and I love the healthy side of Matcha being it in it!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Rebecca Winkler says
March 25, 2015 at 9:05 pmThank you, Kari!
Rebecca Chung says
March 21, 2015 at 7:55 pmThat looks ah-mazing ❤
munchies&musings
Rebecca Winkler says
March 21, 2015 at 9:11 pmThanks, Rebecca!
June Burns says
March 21, 2015 at 3:41 pmWhat a cute little cake! I'll have to try this sometime soon, it looks amazing 🙂
Rebecca Winkler says
March 21, 2015 at 6:41 pmThank you, June! I noticed you have a whole mug cake series on your blog–I'll have to try some of those flavors, too.
Anonymous says
March 20, 2015 at 1:50 amI made this tonight and it was fantastic! Thank you so much for the fun recipe!
Rebecca Winkler says
March 20, 2015 at 2:55 pmOh, great! I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
March 18, 2015 at 2:26 pmMug cakes are the best! I love that you paired chocolate with matcha – yum!!
Rebecca Winkler says
March 19, 2015 at 1:46 pmThank you, Faith! I agree–matcha and chocolate are a great match.
Janie Penn says
March 18, 2015 at 2:46 amI love the photos … can't wait to try this!
Rebecca Winkler says
March 18, 2015 at 1:54 pmThank you! I think you'll love it!