This 4-ingredient* protein mug cake is amazing! (*This recipe is awesome as written, but see below for my recommended modifications.) Cocoa powder, protein powder, pumpkin puree, and sweetener of choice. It sounds weird, but you don't taste the pumpkin once it's cooked. You can even make it vegan if you use vegan protein powder.

https://masonfit.com/one-minute-protein-brownie/

There are a lot of low-carb mug cake recipes out there, but this is the best one I've seen because it's so easy, low in calories, and doesn't require any weird, expensive, hard-to-find ingredients (unless you count protein powder, but I'm guessing most bariatric patients have a tub or four of protein powder in the house). It's amazingly cake-like for something that contains no flour. I normally eat it directly out of the bowl/mug, but I wanted to get a picture that shows the texture (unfortunately, I'm a terrible photographer, so you might just have to trust me).

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I find it a bit dry (which could be because I use whey protein isolate instead of the recommended whey/casein), so I always top it with sugar-free syrup or melted sugar-free Jello (plus a dusting of powdered Swerve), flavored Greek yogurt, or -- my favorite -- raspberry or strawberry puree (sometimes I mix about half a tablespoon of raspberry puree into the batter, which adds a little moisture).

.

Although this recipe is great without any modifications, I couldn't help myself from tweaking it. I like to add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla. I also like to substitute half of the pumpkin puree with liquid egg substitute (like Eggbeaters), which provides even more protein. But that makes it more than 4 ingredients, so if you want to keep it simple, you can stick with the original recipe.

• 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (or any flavor you like)
• Optional - calorie-free sweetener to taste (about 1 tbsp sugar equivalent)
• Optional - pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp liquid egg substitute (Eggbeaters or equivalent)
• Optional - 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients in a mug or small bowl. Stir in wet ingredients to make a smooth batter. Microwave for 1 to 1.5 minutes (it might take some trial and error depending on your microwave; 1 minute 20 seconds is perfect for me).

.

Seriously, this is SO GOOD! If you try it, let me know how it goes!

Edited April 26, 20215 yr by BigSue
Fixed spacing

Thanks for this. I'm going to give this a try. I have cravings for something sweet and occasionally wind up taking a bite or a small piece of something my significant other is eating. I will have to get some pumpkin puree as it is not a normal staple in my cupboard. I wonder how long it lasts once its opened. I will have to google.

23 minutes ago, 1000islandgirl said:

Thanks for this. I'm going to give this a try. I have cravings for something sweet and occasionally wind up taking a bite or a small piece of something my significant other is eating. I will have to get some pumpkin puree as it is not a normal staple in my cupboard. I wonder how long it lasts once its opened. I will have to google.

According to the original recipe, you can use mashed banana or applesauce instead of pumpkin, but I've never tried those, so I don't know how they compare.

I've kept pumpkin puree in the fridge for several weeks after opening. It doesn't last that long now that I make this mug cake all the time, though!

Thanks so much for this! I was worried I wouldn't be able to find something to fulfill my chocolate cravings! This sounds amazing!

2 hours ago, BigSue said:

According to the original recipe, you can use mashed banana or applesauce instead of pumpkin, but I've never tried those, so I don't know how they compare.

I've kept pumpkin puree in the fridge for several weeks after opening. It doesn't last that long now that I make this Mug Cake all the time, though!

I make these occasionally, I use Greek yogurt for moisture - that works as well.

3 hours ago, 1000islandgirl said:

Thanks for this. I'm going to give this a try. I have cravings for something sweet and occasionally wind up taking a bite or a small piece of something my significant other is eating. I will have to get some pumpkin puree as it is not a normal staple in my cupboard. I wonder how long it lasts once its opened. I will have to google.

once I open a can of pumpkin puree, I use it pretty quickly. I'll make pumpkin protein shakes, pumpkin protein muffins, and pumpkin yogurt out of it. It really doesn't have any taste (unless you add spices, of course), so it's great for adding moisture (and fiber) to things..

I am trying this tonight!!!!

Thanks for this. I'm going to give this a try. I have cravings for something sweet and occasionally wind up taking a bite or a small piece of something my significant other is eating. I will have to get some pumpkin puree as it is not a normal staple in my cupboard. I wonder how long it lasts once its opened. I will have to google.

You can freeze pumpkin puree also, so it will last longer..

I will have to buy more pumpkin puree to make this! I use pumpkin puree in curries a lot but I don't have any in the house right now.

On 4/26/2021 at 9:42 AM, BigSue said:

According to the original recipe, you can use mashed banana or applesauce instead of pumpkin, but I've never tried those, so I don't know how they compare.

I've kept pumpkin puree in the fridge for several weeks after opening. It doesn't last that long now that I make this Mug Cake all the time, though!

I missed this - I was wondering if I could used mashed banana because I have tons of those, and I even have some applesauce. Great!

43 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

I missed this - I was wondering if I could used mashed banana because I have tons of those, and I even have some applesauce. Great!

I'd love to know how it turns out for you! I won't be offended if you don't like it.

1 minute ago, BigSue said:

I'd love to know how it turns out for you! I won't be offended if you don't like it.

I'm so so on the protein pancakes. I like them for the first few bites then I get sick of them. I was actually wondering about adding chocolate to them, so this is like in between. I'll probably try it next time I'm craving chocolate.

So, I made this tonight, but the only "flavored" protein powder I have is SlimFast High Protein vanilla, and I think it wasn't the right thing to use because it turned out really rubbery; not at all like your picture of a fluffy cake. I added a bit of ice cream and it was okay, but I think I prefer just eating a square of dark chocolate. Maybe if I buy some different protein powder I'll try it again.

On 5/3/2021 at 5:36 PM, lizonaplane said:

So, I made this tonight, but the only "flavored" Protein Powder I have is SlimFast High Protein vanilla, and I think it wasn't the right thing to use because it turned out really rubbery; not at all like your picture of a fluffy cake. I added a bit of ice cream and it was okay, but I think I prefer just eating a square of dark chocolate. Maybe if I buy some different protein powder I'll try it again.

Sorry to hear it didn’t turn out well for you... it might be better with different protein powder, or maybe if you use pumpkin purée instead of banana (I’m not sure because I’ve never used banana).

On 4/26/2021 at 2:01 PM, BigSue said:

This 4-ingredient* Protein Mug Cake is amazing! (*This recipe is awesome as written, but see below for my recommended modifications.) Cocoa powder, Protein Powder, pumpkin puree, and sweetener of choice. It sounds weird, but you don't taste the pumpkin once it's cooked. You can even make it vegan if you use vegan protein powder.

https://masonfit.com/one-minute-protein-brownie/

There are a lot of low-carb mug cake recipes out there, but this is the best one I've seen because it's so easy, low in calories, and doesn't require any weird, expensive, hard-to-find ingredients (unless you count protein powder, but I'm guessing most bariatric patients have a tub or four of protein powder in the house). It's amazingly cake-like for something that contains no flour. I normally eat it directly out of the bowl/mug, but I wanted to get a picture that shows the texture (unfortunately, I'm a terrible photographer, so you might just have to trust me).

.

I find it a bit dry (which could be because I use whey protein isolate instead of the recommended whey/casein), so I always top it with sugar-free Syrup or melted sugar-free Jello (plus a dusting of powdered Swerve), flavored Greek yogurt, or -- my favorite -- raspberry or strawberry puree (sometimes I mix about half a tablespoon of raspberry puree into the batter, which adds a little moisture).

.

Although this recipe is great without any modifications, I couldn't help myself from tweaking it. I like to add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla. I also like to substitute half of the pumpkin puree with liquid egg substitute (like Eggbeaters), which provides even more protein. But that makes it more than 4 ingredients, so if you want to keep it simple, you can stick with the original recipe.

• 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder (or any flavor you like)
• Optional - calorie-free sweetener to taste (about 1 tbsp sugar equivalent)
• Optional - pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
• 2 tbsp liquid egg substitute (Eggbeaters or equivalent)
• Optional - 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients in a mug or small bowl. Stir in wet ingredients to make a smooth batter. Microwave for 1 to 1.5 minutes (it might take some trial and error depending on your microwave; 1 minute 20 seconds is perfect for me).

.

Seriously, this is SO GOOD! If you try it, let me know how it goes!

So I tried your recipe today using apple sauce as the wet ingredient. It took a bit of experimenting with the microwave times but wow! It actually had the taste and texture of a brownie - a sort of chocolatey apple brownie! Thank you very much for the recipe - this will become a staple.......

23 minutes ago, Deb9386 said:

So I tried your recipe today using apple sauce as the wet ingredient. It took a bit of experimenting with the microwave times but wow! It actually had the taste and texture of a brownie - a sort of chocolatey apple brownie! Thank you very much for the recipe - this will become a staple.......

Awesome! I'm glad to hear it works with applesauce.