The 3 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the kitchen.....

I received this recipe from my good friend Sheila who lives in Florida and is a fellow Chocoholic. After reading through the recipe, I wondered why hasn't anyone come up with this before?? Turns out, they have. It's all over the internet under a variety of different names. Chocolate Mug Cake, Dangerous Chocolate Mug Cake, etc. In any case, the recipe is so simple I decided to give it a whirl.

4 Tablespoons of Flour (not self-rising)

4 Tablespoons of Sugar

2 Tablespoons Cocoa

1 Egg

3 Tablespoons Milk

3 Tablespoons Oil

3 Tablespoons Chocolate Chips

1 Capful of Vanilla Extract

1 large Coffee Mug

Add the dry ingredients to the mug and mix well. Continue mixing while adding egg, milk and oil. Add the Chocolate Chips and Vanilla Extract. Place the mug in the microwave and cook for approx. 3 minutes on High Power. Now, depending on the size of your mug, the cake may puff up and rise over the top . I used a HUGE mug, so there was no mess to clean up. Remove from microwave and allow to cool a bit before tipping it out onto a plate. (Try and restrain yourself from using a straw)

Please note that I made a slight change to the recipe by using Canola Oil instead of Vegetable Oil, the difference being that Canola Oil is lower in triglycerides and has a lower ratio of saturated to unsaturated fats than Vegetable Oil (C'mon...like it matters right? We're talking about 3 tablespoons of oil and I'm eating a big gooey piece of Chocolate Cake here). I also substituted 3 tablespoons of roughly chopped semi-sweet chocolate for the chocolate chips hoping that bigger pieces will equal bigger flavor........

AND IT DID.

This recipe is perfect for two people............unless of course you are incredibly selfish and are also a member of Chocoholics Anonymous. It occured to me that in addition to serving it plated, you could also eat it right from the mug. Wow! Ingenious, right?? To top it off I added an 1/8 teaspoon of Coconut Extract to about a 1/2 cup of fat-free whipped cream and garnished it with some toasted coconut.

Sounds delicious right? Well, after a hard work-out at the gym today I was feeling guilty, so I attempted to figure out the amount of calories in this sinful treat.

4 Tablespoons Flour = 105 calories
4 Tablespoons Sugar = 96 calories

2 Tablespoons Cocoa = 40 calories
1 Egg = 54 calories
3 Tablespoons Milk (lowfat) = 12 calories

3 Tablespoons Canola Oil = 360 calories (that's right!)

3 Tablespoons Chocolate = 180
Capful or 1/8 Tsp Vanilla Extract = 8 calories

For a Whopping Total of 855 calories

(Wow, could that be right?)

or you could share it with one other person at 428 calories each,

or share with two other people at 285 calories each.

Yikes.

So I started thinking, what if I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the oil, Eggbeaters for the egg and Splenda for the sugar?

3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Applesauce

15 calories vs. 360 for the Oil

1/4 cup EggBeaters

30 calories vs. 54 for the Egg

5 Tablespoons Splenda

0 calories (that's right!) vs. 96 for the Sugar

(I increased it by 1 tablespoon)

Using these ingredients should cut about 441 calories from the entire recipe making this "slenderized version" only 414 calories OR if you are sharing with one other person......207 calories each AND it tastes delicious too! Rich and chocolate-y with half of the calories. In my opinion, there aren't enough chocolate recipes out there that cater to those of us who may be a little "calorically challenged" (although No Pudge Brownies are fabulous!), so this one is definitely a winner with me.

Now after all my substitutions, experimentation and careful calculations, my question to you is just this..... if this entire Mug Cake is now only 414 calories...

.........do you still have to share? :)