I’ve been so good with the sugar lately.

As my little tackle with Lyme symptoms flaring has made digesting sugar a bit hard (even small portions induce a bit of shaking), I’ve cut back dramatically on my intake and, therefore, the amount that I’ve been baking. But the other night as I whipped up my little Ramp and Maitake Tartelettes, I was craving something sweet. I don’t really keep sweets on hand, and didn’t want to go full force into a new recipe.

I had a bit of Divine cocoa powder left over from my Divine Gluten-Free Cocoa Brownies and wanted to showcase them in something incredibly quick and easy. A mug cake it would be.

There’s nothing revolutionary about mug cakes, with plenty of gluten-free recipes dotting the web. But I wanted to make one of my own, with one of my favorite flours, coconut oil in place of butter (I’ve been trying to bring more healthy oils into my diet for numerous reasons), and a touch of coconut sugar for a slight sweetness. This literally takes minutes, and is a delicately decadent treat for when you have 12 minutes until your dinner is done.

Millet Mug Chocolate Cake (gluten and dairy free)

I like my treats only slightly sweet, so this is on the not-sweet side. If you’re going all fancy with a little ice cream or bananas, this amount of sugar is plenty. If you’re all purist about it but have a bigger sweet tooth than mine, just add another tablespoon. Mug cakes are pretty forgiving. You could also chop up some dark chocolate and toss it in for a gooey, more brownie-like center.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp millet flour
• 1 Tbsp tapioca or arrowroot starch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp Divine cocoa powder (or another delightful cocoa powder)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp coconut sugar, divided (add a fourth if you want more sweetness)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp almond milk, or milk of choice

In a mug, melt coconut oil for 30 seconds in microwave or until completely melted. Whisk in 2 Tbsp of the coconut sugar. Add the flours, starch, baking powder, cocoa and salt, then top with the egg, vanilla and milk (adding the egg in last prevents the warm oil from coddling it). Whisk to combine.

If your mug is thin-walled (like the one in these images), microwave for 45 seconds. The cake will rise quickly, but settle down delightfully once you pull it out. If your mug is a tad thicker, add time in 15-second increments. If it looks like it’s going to overflow, just stop the microwave for a second, then continue.

Enjoy!