Name: Chocolate Peanut Mug Cake
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 Very ripe bananas; 4 tbsp Smooth peanut butter; 1 tbsp Vanilla protein powder; 1/2 tbsp Buckwheat flour; Small handful of chocolate buttons; 1 tbsp Maple syrup; 3 tbsp Raw cacao

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For me a mug cake needs to be quick to make, a fudgey almost molten centre and be rich enough in taste to be satisfying. Well let me tell you, this recipe ticks all of these boxes and more. This Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake that can be ready in as little as 5 minutes, is protein rich whilst also being gluten and refined sugar free.

What you need to make this chocolate peanut butter mug cake

You only need 7 ingredients to make these mug cakes, all of which I am certain you are already going to have in your cupboards (or at least be able to make some subtle swaps if you don’t have them.

Bananas: the riper the better as they add a lovely natural sweetness to the cake. A little low waste hack, I peel and freeze my bananas in halves and then pop them in the microwave to defrost (if I’m short on time) to then use in bakes or baked oats. Which is exactly what I did the day I made these. Typically, I’ll pop them in the microwave on full power for about 20 – 30 seconds until defrosted, but it will vary though depending on your model of microwave.

Peanut Butter: I prefer to use a smooth variety in this recipe, but if you only have crunchy at home, this will work as well. Equally if you have a peanut allergy, swap out for any other nut or seed butter, just try to choose one that doesn’t add palm oil or sugar. You are looking for a variety that is just 100% nuts or seeds. Fortunately these days all UK supermarkets are filled with great options to try. Brands like Manilife, Pip & Nut and Meridian are my go to’s which are all 100% nuts.

Protein Powder: the addition of the protein powder helps to increase the protein content. Here I’ve opted for a vanilla flavoured powder but you could swap for a chocolate or unflavoured protein version. If you aren’t a fan of protein supplements you can also swap out for the same quantity of flour.

Buckwheat Flour: to try and keep this recipe gluten free I’ve used buckwheat flour. However, if you are fine eating gluten feel free to use a standard self-raising flour.

Chocolate Buttons: to keep that intensity of flavour pick a vegan dark chocolate that has a high cocoa %. Whilst this recipe used chocolate buttons you can also use a chocolate bar, just chop up into small pieces. The chocolate buttons in this recipe were 70% cocoa and were a seed to bar variety. Similar to the nut butter, there are some great vegan chocolate options now available in UK supermarkets. Some of my favourites are Islands Chocolate, Seed & Bean, Ombar and Rhythm108.

Maple Syrup: this can also be swapped out for any other liquid sweetener like agave or date syrup. If using maple syrup, whilst expensive try to pick one that is 100% maple. A lot of the cheaper options have carob syrup added to them to make them more cost effective and therefore allowing them to lower the price.

Raw Cacao: whilst cocoa will work in this recipe, raw cacao has so many health benefits, is unrefined and provides such a rich chocolate flavour, it wins everytime for me. Much like the maple syrup, it is more expensive but a little goes a long way.

Cooking advice

The mug cakes pictured were oven baked for 15 minutes at 170^oc. However, it is also possible to microwave them if you are looking for a quick chocolate hit.

If microwaving, place them in a small microwavable ramekin on full power for 90 seconds – 2 minutes. I suggest testing after 90 seconds and doing for the extra 30 seconds if needed.

Toppings

Whilst these mug cakes are perfect on their own, adding extra toppings to them makes them all the more indulgent. A few topping ideas are:

Extra peanut butter drizzled over the top
A scoop of your favourite plant based ice cream
Chocolate sauce
Toasted crushed peanuts