Healthy and keto peanut butter mug cake is made with no flour – just peanut butter, egg, baking soda and stevia. It’s healthy enough to serve for breakfast!
It took me several tries until I perfected this keto peanut butter mug cake. I had to make several attempts until I reached perfection – a tasty, gooey and moist cake with just the right amount of sweetness.
Why I use stevia in this peanut butter mug cake
I knew that I wanted this cake to be keto and low carb. I also knew that I wanted to use stevia glycerite as a sweetener. One of us can’t really handle sugar alcohols, so Swerve is out of the question.
I believe that stevia is quite safe and is likely the healthiest no-sugar sweetener (although some say that more research regarding its safety is needed.) Although many people object to its taste, the glycerite formulation greatly minimizes the bitter aftertaste.
This cake contains no flour
It was important to me to make peanut butter mug cake that contains no flour. This is actually easy, since nut butters and eggs combine into wonderful baked goods. As in the case of these delicious (but not keto) paleo chocolate muffins.
Results will vary depending on the exact ingredients you use
Based on my attempts, I have a few pointers for you before you try this recipe. The gist of it is that because it relies on peanut butter and on microwave baking, the results of this recipe will greatly vary, depending on what peanut butter you use and on your own microwave.
So as much as I’d like for this peanut butter mug cake recipe to be completely foolproof, I don’t think this is going to happen.
You see, when I tried to make it for the first time, I tried a recipe that I found after a simple Google search.
The cake in the picture looked amazing – so puffy and fluffy! And the recipe had just three ingredients – peanut butter, egg, and sugar. I was excited! But my own cake was disastrous – dry and gummy and yucky.
I noticed that the blogger who posted that recipe received a few comments complaining about the texture of the cake. Yet I do not doubt for a second that in her kitchen, for her, the cake turned out amazing.
It’s just that there are so many variables when making peanut butter mug cake.
The peanut butter you use makes a difference
The most important is the peanut butter you use. I used Trader Joe’s creamy salted peanut butter. This is natural peanut butter that contains just peanuts and salt.
After you stir it well, it tends to be quite runny, until you get to the bottom where there’s some drier residue (despite your best efforts at mixing it well).
So the top portion of this peanut butter will yield a more moist cake than the bottom portion. And it will also be easier to mix with the egg. And if you use a no-stir peanut butter, your results might be completely different.
The best advice I can give you is to go by how the mixture looks and feels in your kitchen, with your peanut butter. Even with the Trader Joe’s peanut butter, I have found that the mixture feels too sticky to me.
So I add a tablespoon of water and then it’s perfect. With another brand of peanut butter, you might need to add a little more water, or none.
I show you in the video below how the mixture looks right before I microwave it. You can see that it’s very smooth, shiny, and not too thick. I hope this helps.
The size of the egg makes a difference too
Another variable is the egg you use. I used a large egg, but it was on the smaller side. Have you noticed how in a carton of large free range eggs there are pretty big variations in size? Some eggs are much smaller than others. So I picked an egg that I would still classify as large, but it was one of the smaller ones in the carton.
You will probably need to add some water
As I said, I add at least one tablespoon of water to the mixture, because otherwise, the mixture feels too thick and sticky. I usually start mixing the peanut butter and egg. I quickly get frustrated at how sticky and impossible the whole thing is.
Then I add water, which makes the task significantly easier and creates a much smoother batter. I would say, however, that if your batter feels nice and smooth and not very sticky and thick, it’s possible that you don’t need to add water.
Should you add salt to this peanut butter mug cake?
I don’t add salt to the batter, because my peanut butter is already salted. If your peanut butter contains just peanuts and nothing else, not even salt, add a pinch of salt to the batter.
How long to microwave the cake?
This is another big variable. How powerful is your microwave? As a general rule, it’s always best to err on the side of microwaving less. You can always add microwave time to a cake that’s too moist, but once a cake is super dry, then it’s ruined.
I always start with 30 seconds, then check the cake, then usually add 10 more seconds. By then, the edges are puffed and the center is still gooey – and that’s exactly how I like this peanut butter mug cake.
Mix the batter well!
The only challenging part about making this peanut butter mug cake is that you need to mix the peanut butter and egg really well until the mixture is completely smooth and uniform.
This is not an easy task. If you feel that it’s nearly impossible, or if after mixing your batter seems very thick and sticky, I suggest adding a tablespoon of water to the mixture. This makes mixing much easier.
What dish to use when making peanut butter mug cake?
This seems to be more flexible. I have made this cake in several dishes. A small and tall 10-oz mug, a wide 15-oz mug, and a 3.5-inch-wide ramekin (as shown in the video and in the photos).
They all worked, and there wasn’t much of a difference. Except that with the ramekin, I was worried there for a moment that the batter might overflow! But it didn’t.
But wait, is peanut butter healthy?
It’s true that peanuts can be contaminated with a very harmful toxin called aflatoxin. However, Aflatoxin levels in American peanuts are monitored by the USDA. In addition, research shows that processing peanuts into peanut butter reduces aflatoxin concentration by 89%. Whether to eat peanut butter or not is ultimately your decision, of course.
Isn’t that a lot of calories for a single-serve cake?
Yes and no. At 470 calories, this is not a low-calorie cake, by any means. I agree that it’s a bit too much for dessert (unless you share it).
But I actually have this peanut butter mug cake as my breakfast. After all, it’s basically just peanut butter and an egg – and for me, a 500-calorie breakfast is perfect. It is also very satiating, does not raise my blood sugar, and keeps me full for many hours.
Peanut Butter Mug Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter (only ground peanuts and salt)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals 2 tablespoons sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a medium mug or a large ramekin, mix the peanut butter with the egg until completely incorporated. Check especially on the bottom to make sure there is no peanut butter residue.
- If the batter seems very thick, sticky and stubborn, add a tablespoon of water and keep mixing until completely smooth.
- Mix in the stevia, then the baking soda. Mix well.
- Microwave the peanut butter mug cake for 30 seconds. Check it – if it looks very wet, add 10 more seconds. I usually stop at this point – the edges are puffed and done but the center is still gooey. That’s how I like it!
- Enjoy the cake as is, or top it with a dollop of stevia-sweetened whipped cream for a truly rich experience.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., has been following a healthy real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She has taken 
