Sounds too good to be true right? Wrong! This rich, fudgy, and decadent Paleo Double Chocolate Pumpkin Mug Cake is made from whole food ingredients like pumpkin puree and cacao that will leave your sweet tooth more than satisfied. Plus its hidden nutritious ingredients make it secretly healthy!
Why is this paleo double chocolate mug cake so good?
Remember those Easy Bake Ovens that cooked mini baked goods with a light bulb? This Paleo Double Chocolate Mug Cake is like that. Only instead of a light bulb we let the oven or air fryer do the heavy lifting. And instead of a powdered mix this cake is made from wholesome nutritious ingredients like pumpkin, almond butter, and cacao, and dark chocolate chips. It’s rich, satisfying, and deceivingly healthy. Child approved too! And best of all it’s single servings, because a whole-cake version of this might be too tempting to resist.
Health benefits of pumpkin in paleo double chocolate mug cake:
The bright orange fall vegetable that we all know and love is packed with nutrients like fiber and beta-carotene, which is a precursor for Vitamin A, which is important for eye sight, immunity, and reproductive health. Cacao, not Hershey’s milk chocolate, is full of cancer-fighting antioxidants that keep your cells healthy. Plus there is no added sugar to this Paleo Double Chocolate Mug Cake!
What type of protein powder do I use?
This is up to personal taste. I like Vital Proteins Chocolate Collagen but there are many delicious vegan options out there. Note you can sub extra cacao or cocoa powder if you don’t have any protein powder, but you may need to add additional sweetener such as 2 tsp of coconut sugar or maple syrup to make up for the lack of sweetness from the protein powder.
Can you reheat the mug cake?
It is possible but I would not recommend reheating the mug cake. It’s best served fresh straight from the oven. Plus I can almost guarantee you there won’t be any leftovers. 🙂
What can I sub for pumpkin puree?
This recipe calls for canned pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling, which usually contains tons of added fat and sugar. Canned pumpkin puree is usually found year round, but some great alternatives for this recipe include extra mashed banana, sweet potato puree, applesauce (won’t be as cake-like), or butternut squash puree.
Paleo Double Chocolate Pumpkin Mug Cake (GF, Vegan, Flourless, Refined Sugar Free)
Equipment
- 1 oven or air fryer
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 TBSP cacao or cocoa powder
- 2 TBSP chocolate protein powder*
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- 1 pinch salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 TBSP mashed banana**
- 1 TBSP almond or other nut butter (sub seed butter for nut free recipe)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Non-optional toppings
- chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven or air fryer or oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix together wet ingredients
- Add dry ingredients and stir until well combined
- Pour mixture into a greased ramekin or small Pyrex cooking dish
- Air fry for 10-12 minutes or bake in oven for 15-18 minutes
- After removing from air fryer/oven immediately press as many chocolate chips as you like into the top of the cake. Watch them melt into decadent pools of goodness
