Chocolate Peppermint Mug Cake

Indulge in a rich and cozy almost-instant treat with this easy chocolate peppermint mug cake recipe. Gluten-free, naturally sweetened, and perfect for satisfying your holiday sweet tooth!

SPONSORED BY NATURAL DELIGHTS

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I am a strong believer that in the midst of cookie baking and cookie swaps and cookie houses, sometimes you just need a CAKE BREAK that’s ready in no time and doesn’t even require preheating the oven. This is that easy little chocolate escape recipe, but it still feels and tastes like a festive treat. The recipe as written makes two mug cakes, so it’s perfect to make for you and your person cuddled up on the couch in front of a holiday film. Or perhaps for you and an old friend to catch up over when you travel back home. Or you could make for your little ones and let them add the candy cane topping or sprinkles themselves. It’s the non-cookie Christmas recipe you need in your life.

How To Make Chocolate Peppermint Mug Cakes

This is not the sort of mug cake that you mix up right in the mug, but before you lament having to use a single mixing bowl I promise it’s for good reason. Despite all the chocolate decadence you see in these photos, this cake is relatively healthy and made without any refined sugar thanks to Natural Delights Medjool Dates. Natural sweetness, 10g of fiber per cake, and a richer chocolatey flavor? It’s a worthwhile tradeoff! But because of the nature of dates, a little bit of blending is required. First let’s break down the rest of the ingredient list…

Vegan Gluten-Free Mug Cake Ingredients

• Medjool dates. I only ever use the best Medjool dates from Natural Delights because they have the most flavor and are always so moist you never have to worry about soaking or any of that nonsense. I used their whole variety for this recipe, just make sure you pit them before blending, or buy their already pitted dates to make this recipe even easier.
• Almond milk. Or whatever type of milk you prefer, any will work.
• Avocado oil. I do not recommend coconut oil for this recipe, it will seize up and make the blending a lot harder. Any neutral flavored oil will work, I like avocado.
• Vanilla and peppermint extract. Or 5ish drops of pure peppermint essential oil if that’s more your vibe.
• Gluten-free flour. Or regular all-purpose flour if you aren’t gluten-free.
• Cocoa powder. I used equal parts flour and cocoa powder for the dry ingredients so these cakes are very CHOCOLATEY!
• Baking powder and salt. For rise and flavor balance.
• Chocolate chips. I like to add a small handful on top before baking. Totally optional.
• Coconut whipped cream (or store-bought whipped coconut topping) and crushed candy canes for topping, or whatever festive extras you want to add!

Microwave or Oven Option for Baking

Anytime I post a mug cake recipe, I always get lots of questions about how to bake in the oven instead of microwave. I’m a big fan of cake in 2 minutes, so I will always be microwaving my mug cakes. But I did test the oven version a couple of times for you on this recipe to make sure I got the time and temperature just right so it comes out just as good as the microwave version.

For the microwave version: I recommend using a large coffee mug to make sure your batter doesn’t overflow in the microwave, and filling the mug halfway max. A deep bowl would work too, either way make sure you grease the insides with nonstick spray. Two minutes on high worked perfectly every time in my microwave, but every microwave is slightly different.

For the oven version: I still recommend using a large mug, but the risk of overflow is much lower since the rise is much slower. You could also bake in small ramekins, just divide into 4 instead of two. Grease the baking vessel, fill 1/2 to 3/4 of the way, and then place the mugs on a baking sheet for easier in/out of the oven. Bake in an oven preheated to 325°F for 23-25 minutes, then toothpick test just to make sure the middle is done.

Can I Make Just One Mug Cake?

The reason this recipe makes 2 mug cakes instead of one is because a) it’s the holidays, the season of sharing and b) it’s really tricky to blend a small amount of dates/milk/oil unless you have a smoothie or small cup attachment for your blender. If you do, great feel free to half all the ingredients and just make one. But if not, I recommend baking both and then just covering and saving one in the fridge for later if you don’t care to share right now. It’s really yummy and fudgy cold, or you can reheat for 30 seconds or so in the microwave. Bake once, enjoy twice!

More Microwave Treats You’ll Love

• Vegan Gluten-Free Monkey Bread Mug Cakes
• Chocolate Chip Mug Cookies
• Single-Serve Blueberry Brownie
• Apple Cinnamon Monkey Bread Mug Cake

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