This Vegan Gluten-Free Mug Cake recipe is a delicious single-serve chocolate cake baked in your microwave in 90 seconds to fix your sweet tooth. Plus, this is a vegan oil-free mug cake, perfect if you are looking for oil-free baking recipes.
If you love mug cake recipes, you’re in the right place. I love making them all the time as a quick snack, and I’ve created many recipes over the years, like my Vegan Pumpkin Mug Cake, Oatmeal Mug Cake, or Chocolate Mug Cake. This new recipe is vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free.
Most vegan mug cake recipes won’t come out well if all-purpose flour is swapped for all-purpose gluten-free flour. This simply doesn’t work and makes mug cakes ultra-dense and thick. So to make a gluten-free mug cake, you need a specific gluten-free chocolate mug cake recipe.
While the whole recipe is just below, don’t miss all my tips further down, including ingredient swaps, my cooking tips, and step-by-step shots!
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Vegan Gluten Free Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Almond Flour
- 2 tablespoons All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- 2 tablespoons Crystal Sweetener of Choice - note 2
- 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 4 tablespoons Almond Milk
Optional
- 1 tablespoon Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, add all the dry ingredients: almond flour, gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, and baking powder.
- Use a fork or small whisk to evenly combine and break any lumps of flour/cocoa powder.
- Add all the wet ingredients: vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and milk.
- Stir with a spoon until it forms a slightly thick cake batter. Fold in chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.
- Transfer to a tall 12-ounce coffee mug and microwave at 900W for 90 seconds or less if your microwave power is higher. If unsure, start with 60 seconds. If the top of the cake is still raw and uncooked, keep microwaving until the cake rises above the mug for at least 10 seconds, and gets dry in the center.
Serving
- Serve plain or with more chocolate chips or a dollop of coconut yogurt and sprinkles.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
Ingredients and Substitutions
The best ingredients to make a really tasty fluffy and moist chocolate gluten-free mug cake are:
- Almond Flour – You can use ultra-fine almond flour or almond meal.
- All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour – Any blend that is listed as a 1:1 ratio swap to regular wheat flour works.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – I like to use sugar-free cocoa powder or cacao powder to make it easier to balance the sweetness.
- Granulated Sweetener – You can use sugar, coconut sugar, or natural sugar-free crystal sweeteners like erythritol or allulose. This saves you 92 kcal for a mug cake and cuts the sugar to 2 grams per serving, so it’s my go-to option.
- Baking Powder – to give this mug cake a more airy texture.
- Almond Milk or any plant-based milk you love.
- Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar – this enhances the texture of the crumb.
How To Make Vegan Gluten-Free Mug Cake
The best way to make a moist, fluffy, spongy gluten-free chocolate cake without eggs is to use a combination of gluten-free flour.
In fact, using only an all-purpose gluten-free blend always makes vegan cakes dense and gummy.
- First, select a small shallow bowl. I don’t like to work in the mug directly. It’s messy. Add the dry ingredients: almond flour, all-purpose gluten-free flour, baking powder, sweetener, and unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Use a fork or small whisk to combine all ingredients together nicely and break any lumps of dry powder.
- Now add all the wet ingredients: almond milk, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar.
- Use a spoon to combine all the ingredients together and create a slightly thick chocolate cake batter.
- Fold in chocolate chips if you like and stir to combine.
- Pour the mug cake batter into a tall 12-ounce coffee mug. The size of the mug matters. If too low, the cake will overflow. If too high, the cake will trap more moisture and may need more time to bake through or might get dense.
- Place the mug in the center of the microwave and microwave at 900W for 90 seconds. You know the mug cake is ready when it raises above the coffee mug for at least 10 seconds, and the top center is dry to the touch, not wet. If you don’t know the power of your microwave, always start with less microwaving time to avoid drying out the mug cake.
- Start with 60 seconds, have a look at the top of the cake and if uncooked, wet, or soft, return to the microwave in 10-second bursts.
Serving
This vegan, gluten-free mug cake is delicious plain or even better with some of the below toppings:
- Dollop coconut yogurt or soy yogurt
- Sprinkles
- Protein frosting
- Peanut butter or almond butter
- Unsweetened whipped cream
- A scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream
- More chocolate chips on top
- Unsweetened desiccated coconut
Flavor Options
Of course, you can use this recipe to create different gluten-free chocolate mug cake flavors by stirring in the batter:
- 1-2 teaspoons of peanut butter or Biscoff spread
- 1 gluten-free Oreo crumbled into pieces
- 1 tablespoon of chopped almonds or walnuts
- 1 tablespoon of raspberries fresh or frozen
- 1 tablespoon of unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon of dairy-free white chocolate chips
Allergy Swaps
If you are allergic to some ingredients, you can try the following substitutions:
- Nut-Free – You can replace the almond flour with gluten-free oat flour. Check how to make homemade oat flour. Or sesame flour or sunflower seed flour works as well in the same ratio. Keep in mind that these last two flour have a slightly bitter flavor. Also, swap almond milk for soy milk or coconut milk, or any non-dairy nut-free milk.
- Cocoa-Free – I tried 1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut flour and increased the milk to 5 tablespoons, instead of cocoa powder. It makes a denser cake but still tasty gluten-free vegan vanilla mug cake.
- Sugar-Free – This recipe works very well with natural sugar-free sweeteners like erythritol or allulose. It cuts the sugar to 2 grams per serving and the total calories per serving to 210 kcal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are my answers to your most frequent questions about this vegan, gluten-free mug cake recipe.
Yes, you can, but the texture will be very different, less airy, and less fluffy. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Use a tall ramekin, grease its bottom and side, then add the cake batter into the ramekin. Bake until the cake raises and a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. It takes 15 to 20 minutes to bake mug cake in the oven.
No, mug cakes must be eaten within 10 minutes, or they start to get dense and packed.
I suggest trying chickpea flour or buckwheat flour but start with 1 1/2 tablespoons because they are much more liquid-absorbent. Also, be aware that besan flour or chickpea flour adds a lightly bitter flavor to baked goods.
More Mug Cake Recipes
Find below some more mug cake recipes for you to try.
More Gluten-Free Recipes
I love vegan, gluten-free baked goods, and here are some more recipes to inspire you.
I’m excited to try BUT HATE microwaves. What do you think, 10 minutes at 350°?
I have oven instructions in the text above! It’s about 15-20 minutes in the oven at 350.
This mug cake is a lifesaver for my sweet tooth! So quick and easy to whip up when I need a chocolate fix. Thanks!
Finally found a vegan mug cake recipe that actually tastes good! This is my new go-to for after-dinner treats.
This recipe is a game-changer for my college dorm life! No oven needed and super satisfying. Perfect for late-night study sessions.
Wow! So impressed with this recipe. Easy to follow and tastes amazing! My kids even loved it. Thanks for sharing!
OMG! Made this last night with almond butter and it was incredible! Definitely recommend for a healthier twist.
Been meaning to try this recipe for ages and finally did! Didn’t have any almond milk so used oat milk instead and it worked perfectly. Will defo make again!