Meyer Lemon Mug Cake – Low Carb & Gluten Free
Posted: 03/01/2013
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Perfect for everyone, this low carb and gluten-free Meyer lemon mug cake can be ready to eat in just ten minutes!
I’m bringing you all something a little different today! Carolyn from All Day I Dream About Food is here to share a gluten-free goodie. When I was asking for guest posts, Carolyn asked if I was okay with a low-carb recipe. I said yes! I love providing my readers with new ideas and recipes that they don’t usually see here. So whether you’re looking to change your lifestyle, planning to cook for someone else, or just wanting to try something new, I think this easy Meyer Lemon Mug Cake is the perfect place to start!
Make sure to check out Carolyn’s site, you’ll find great things such as her Homemade Gummy Fruit Snacks, Low Carb Brownie Cheesecake, and Brie, Ham and Green Apple Panini.
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Hello, lovely Rachel Cooks fans. I have to confess, I wonder what you think, coming to Rachel’s blog and seeing a low carb, gluten-free recipe with a few odd-sounding ingredients. I always wonder, when someone asks me to guest post for them, what their readers will think of my recipes. Will they think Rachel is crazy for inviting me? Like, who is this chick and why does she think I want to even look at a low carb, gluten-free dessert recipe? Where are the yummy regular recipes for us normal readers!??!
If you are thinking such a thing, I get it. I swear I do. But give me a few moments of your time, if you don’t mind, and I hope I can convince you that this dessert, along with many of my others, is worth a try.
See, here’s the deal. I like to say that I didn’t choose the low carb lifestyle, it chose me. In the form of pre-diabetes, a somewhat shocking diagnosis for a petite, fit and healthy woman. Whatever, no use crying over the proverbial spilled milk. Although I did for bit. I did cry, because as a die-hard baker, I thought my baking days were over. The more research I did, the more I became convinced that I had to go low carb for my health and I thought that relegated me to bacon and eggs and lots of salad for the rest of my life. I love bacon and eggs and salad, but I also love cake and cookies and muffins and scones, like this lemon mug cake.
I love food in general, and my blog is aptly named All Day I Dream About Food. Because I really do dream about it all day, and sometimes I dream about it at night too. Food rocks. Food makes the world go round. Food is community, heritage, love, family, friends, creativity and history, all bound up together in one little bite. Do I put a lot of expectations on my food? You bet I do!
So you can imagine how crushed I was to discover I had to limit my carb intake, and hence my food options. On the flip side of that, you can imagine how delighted I was to discover that all was not lost, that there were so many wonderful options still available to me, with a little ingenuity. It’s astonishing what you can do with a bag of almond flour, a stick of butter, and a willingness to experiment.
So, for those of you unfamiliar with low carb, gluten-free baking, I thought I’d go easy on you a bit and whip up a very simple recipe that you could easily recreate in your own home in about 10 minutes flat. Mug Cake is delightful in the fact that you throw some ingredients together, pop it in the microwave, and about a minute and half later, you have a tasty treat. And Meyer Lemons give lemon mug cake a light, airy, spring-like feel. It’s not light and airy, though. This mug cake is rich and satisfying and a touch on the decadent side. And shockingly good for you!
And the ingredients aren’t completely foreign, I promise. Almond flour is just finely-ground, blanched almonds (you can usually pick some up at your local grocery store) and erythritol, my favourite sweetener, is sold in most stores as ZSweet or Truvia. And it’s not some man-made chemical, in case you are leery of that. It’s actually a naturally-occurring substance found in fruits and other fermented foods.
I hope I’ve convinced you to give me and my crazy low carb recipes a chance! And many thanks to dear Rachel for having me over to share this Meyer Lemon Mug Cake.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
You’d never guess that this lemon mug cake was low carb and gluten-free! It’s 100% delicious.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons erythritol
- Zest of one Meyer lemon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch salt
- Juice of one Meyer lemon
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Lightly sweetened whipped cream for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk almond flour, erythritol, lemon zest, baking powder and salt.
- Add lemon juice, melted butter and egg, and stir until well combined.
- Divide mixture between two microwave-safe mugs and microwave each separately for 1 minute and 20 seconds.
- Remove and top with whipped cream.
Notes
- Substitute regular lemon, clementine, orange, lime, or other citrus.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1mug, Calories: 483kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 24g, Cholesterol: 126mg, Sodium: 430mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 19g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Brenda says
Wow, wow, wow. Even if you’re not keto, this is a must!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Jaylea Fox says
This is awesome. I had a hankering for something lemony and this was perfect! It was quick and easy to whip up and served with some raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream just made it even that much better! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Tazmin Shariff says
OMG!!! I’ve died and gone to heaven! First time I’ve tried Meyer Lemons. Wow! First time I had lemon cake that’s not sickly sweet. First time I cooked with Erythritol. I’d baked with stevia and didn’t like the flavour. TY! TY! TY! I added a tsp of poppy seeds and just can’t believe I now have such a great bake in 5 min-ish. It took me longer to set the mid-en-place than to make and bake!!
Tazmin Shariff says
Oops! That was ‘mis-en-place’! Autocorrect!
Rachel Gurk says
So so happy you like this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave your thoughts!
Jennifer Wakefield says
Great recipe- worked perfectly for this low carb, gluten free girl. I served it with blackberries and whipped cream. My only complaint we that I wanted even more lemon (I’m a serious lemon-lover). A few days later I added a little lemon oil. Thank you!!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it!
sue says
it would be nice to have nutritional value information for us following a keto diet. I did not copy this recipe,
Rachel Gurk says
I’m adding nutritional info for all recipes going forward but unfortunately I don’t have the time or manpower to go back and add them on over 1000 previous recipes on this free recipe site. I’d suggest using an online tool like MyFitnessPal and calculating them for yourself.
K says
I’ll just use someone elses recipes that takes the time to care about the recipes/macros/people that follow them.
Donna OBrien says
OMG! I have been attempting gluten free mug cakes for two years without success. This one is absolutely delicious and will be my go to treat from now on!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear you like this recipe!
Rian says
I mad this last night for the family. I would taste test the batter before squeezing all the leon juice. We had rather large meyer lemons I think. Mine were a little dense, and much like a lemon bar. Since they were very tart, I did sprinkle some powdered sugar on top. We don’t eat dairy, and I did have time to whip up a dairy free topping. That being said, I would try using monk fruit instead of erythritol for taste, and because sugar alcohols can upset the digestive system for many. Any ideas on making this lighter? I will definitely try another batch!
Andrea says
Made this for a quick breakfast to lure my hubby back into the low carb world. I used a regular lemon I had on hand and added several blueberries to each and made a thin lemon glaze with powdered Swerve & lemon juice…it was amazing! So, I made two more to have on hand with tea tomorrow morning (or later this ).
Vicki says
I accidentally used my 2/3 cup measure for the almond flour instead of the 3/4 cup. The cake was a bit crumbly but other than that it had a beautiful texture and was delicious! Great recipe!
Andrea says
Just tried this for the first time – amazing!! I used a little less Truvia, zest from a whole regular lemon, and juice from a large half of lemon. I topped it with fresh strawberries, grapes, and blueberries mixed with some mint. Delish!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Sharon says
Wow! I have just made and eaten this little cake with my daughter and it was amazing! I didn’t have any almond flour or erythritol, so substituted with a tablespoon or so of coconut flour and a teaspoon of sugar. We topped it off with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream. It was so light and moist, and the lemon flavour of the cake was divine. Thank you!
Reesa K says
I whipped these cakes up, and they are delicious. I ate one with fresh whipped cream with a pinch of Stevia, and it was heaven. Thank you so much for lifting me up out of the doldrums of a low carb diet. Great recipe!
Vara says
How much sugar would you use? I can’t use any kind of sweeteners or substitutes, and I don’t know how erythritol compares to real sugar on sweetness. Can you give me an estimate on how much it would be in sugar?
Thanks!
Rachel Gurk says
Hi Vara,
Great question! For this recipe, you can substitute with a 1 to 1 ratio – so use an equal amount of sugar. Hope you love the mug cake!
Tracey Fish says
This looks so yummy! I want to try it now for dessert but think I will save for breakfast or a snack, mainly because the calorie count is so high! 480 cals just in the almond meal. I know we don’t count calories on THM but that is a little heavy for dessert unless in maintenance. If you ever try this with lighter flours will you please share?! :)
Lori says
I’m so confused about the calorie count. When I put the ingredients in SparkPeople (leaving out the lemon and baking powder, and adding in powdered sugar) I got almost 700 calories. Even if I used a sugar substitute, the calories would still be WAY higher than the other people got. Am I missing something???