A quick and easy red velvet mug cake which is light, moist and fluffy on the inside and actually healthy for you! Ready in around one minute, this is a low calorie snack or healthy dessert which is naturally gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, paleo and refined sugar free- There’s also a tested option for those wanting to bake it!
“I think I’m going to create a red velvet style mug-cake for the blog. What do you think of that?”
“Can you imagine wearing a dress made of red velvet? It would be so uncomfortable.”
“Um…Niki. Cake. What do you think? You reckon it’ll taste good AND look good?”
“Not only would it be uncomfortable, you’d look like one of mum’s Persian carpets!”
“Okay, I’m going to do it. Thanks for your input.”
“Actually, I bet Naomi Campbell could pull it off. That girl could wear a paper bag and make it look like couture.”
Another waste of a perfectly good morning skyping with Niki. Not only was the conversation all over the place (when is it ever not…), she cut me off halfway through to make some toast. She DID come back to continue the conversation, this time lamenting about how mum was annoying for buying a new kind of bread that ‘hit the market.’
It wasn’t new and it didn’t just ‘hit the market’. My mum just switched the whole grain instead of white.
Oh, Niki.
By 2020, she WILL try multigrain.
Anyway, we finally got back to the topic of red velvet cake and concluded with her telling me she didn’t care- She only liked chocolate mud cake, unless it was her (potential) wedding cake we were discussing.
Back to what’s important- Today’s recipe. When it comes to red velvet, there are mixed reviews. Some reckon it’s a chocolate based cake with food coloring. To others, it contains actual beetroot in it. Me? I’m either or, but most likely to be in the team ‘food coloring’. I still recall making these healthy red velvet pancakes and staining my kitchen a hue of purple and pink. This time around, I played around with a few different bits and bobs, mostly because I wanted a tidy kitchen. Enter- Beet powder!
I was given some samples way back in June when I attended the New York Fine Food event. I had forgotten about it until I was unpacking and thought it would be the perfect antidote for this recipe AND for an upcoming one. Let’s just say you only need a TINY amount of beet powder. After some experimenting (and a splatter in the microwave AND oven of an ugly, purple hue), I got all the proportions right to present- A healthy red velvet mug cake!
This healthy red velvet mug cake is light, moist, fluffy and the perfect sweet treat or snack which is actually healthy too! So healthy, you can make two- One for yourself and one for your sweetheart- AKA YOUR STOMACH. This healthy red velvet mug cake is the perfect cure for the ever-present sweet tooth or something to enjoy as a healthy snack or dessert treat! It literally takes around one minute (depending on your microwave) to make in the microwave but for those who don’t use one, there’s a tested oven option too! While it’s naturally gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, my vegan and paleo friends are covered too- I tried it out and made notes of the necessary amendments needed!
HACK! IF the thought of beets made you cray-cray, don’t stress- You’re covered. While I used beet powder as part of the base, you can swap it out for cocoa powder. To get the purple hue, use a red food coloring but just a drop- Seriously.
Make this delicious, healthy red velvet mug cake and then ponder how you’d look wearing something made of red velvet.
ZING.
Healthy Red Velvet Mug Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon almond flour can sub for any flour of choice but will no longer be paleo friendly
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon beet powder optional*
- 1 tablespoon granulated sweetener of choice I used a paleo friendly stevia blend
- 1 large egg white for a vegan version, use 1 flax egg**
- 1/4 cup dairy free milk of choice***
- Drop red food coloring optional
- 1-2 tablespoon dairy free chocolate chips optional
Instructions
For the microwave version
- In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the dairy free milk with the egg white (or flax egg) and whisk lightly. Add the mixture to the dry mixture and mix until just combined.
- Grease a large mug or deep bowl (I used a cereal bowl) generously and pour the batter in it. Stir through chocolate chips and microwave for 50 seconds-2 minutes (Depending on brand and wattage).
For the oven version
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease a large ramekin with oil and set aside.
- Follow directions as above and once ready, bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
** You can use the whole egg but it will be slightly more flat
*** You may need more depending on what flour you use.
Healthy One Minute Carrot Cake (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free)
Healthy Classic Coffee Cake (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free)
Healthy Cookies and Cream Cake (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free)
Have you eaten a red velvet cake before?
Would you ever wear a garment made of red velvet?
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Red velvet is not a big thing in Germany so eating something red velvet is totally fancy to me. Next time I am not treated like the princess I am, I am going to make me this mugcake.
Sorry, three cups of coffee and trashy TV have this effect on me 😉
Hahaha. YES. Although…you may as well just replace the beetroot powder with cocoa powder! 🙂
So, I am NEVER eat red velvet cakes before (poor Russian girl). Really, we don`t cook them in our country. But this look so cute-purple and so easy to make, I definetely should try!
oooo but you guys have amazing beetroot 😀
saw this and realised i had all of the ingredients (minus beet powder, so i did cocoa), so i just made myself a mug. yum!
😀 YAY! So glad you tried it out, Jen!
This only needs cream cheese frosting to be complete. I would wear a dress made of cream cheese frosting. That is probably a thing in some adult toy store in Japan… Niki is my spirit animal.
Haha, probably- I should have looked out for one when I was there!
We don’t do the whole red velvet shenanigans over here but red is – coral aside but I have yet to see any coral cakes 😉 – my favourite colour so I really like the idea. From the first time I saw red velvet something on a blog years ago I thought it was magical. You’re creating magic for all the single ladies, no, princesses out there :).
It’s so good- Well pretty at least!
Beet powder, eh? Nice touch! I love red velvet cake, but there’s something wrong about adding a whole bottle of red food coloring to get that iconic color. Beets to the rescue! (I’m pretty sure I never imagined myself saying that line…)
Right? Hahahaha beet pizza? Beet crust? Beet cookies? BEET CREAM CAKE!
Yeah, beets can be pretty colorful in so many ways. I have stained many a cutting board with those glorious things….right before I blended them and drank them. So much goodness. Great for your liver too. 🙂
My favorite part of red velvet cake is the cream cheese frosting. No surprise there considering my favorite part of any cake is the frosting. Yep, team frosting over here.
Oh my gee my mum drinks beets in her juices…she also puts carrot and other gross stuff.
We should have a frosting party!
I also thought of wedding dresses made of cake–I’d look like a giant wedding cake though! And I used to LOVE red velvet cupcakes from Susiecakes XD now I’m just waaaaaay into chocolate and peanut butter, as well as any seasonal flavors to function!
You guys seriously have seasonal flavors for everything!
Red Velvet is always good, and I like to add some cocoa to the mix. It is nice to see you did not use a bottle of red food coloring. 🙂
YES!! I tend to go a little bit crazy with the cocoa powder too… 😀
Looks so pretty! And delicious! I would use cocoa AND beet powder!
😀 I like your thinking!
I spy a new mug to put cakes in! And I don’t think I’ve ever had red velvet. Does it actually taste different from normal chocolate cake? And if not, what’s the point of making it red? Beets I can get down with, though. They make a lot of appearances around the holidays, and I’m already starting to miss them. Also, I shouldn’t comment when it’s late. I make no sense.
It’s literally chocolate cake stained purple haha!
One of my favorite cakes is red velvet! That and carrot cake…basically, anything that has cream cheese frosting on top. The last red velvet cake I made was Paula Deen’s recipe 😛
Paula Deen is my mother.