Chocolate Cake for Breakfast?! Low-carb, Easy Variations on the MIM (muffin in a minute/microwave)

 

Hot Chocolate MIM!

It’s been FAR too long (again) since I’ve written, I KNOW! Life is busy, which is a huge part of it… and I’m sure that’s not surprising to anyone 😉 What might be more surprising is that I just haven’t been cooking or baking very much at all! I have been off wheat since March, which is 9 months now, and I have to say that never in my life has my interest in food and appetite been lower! I still enjoy and focus on HEALTHY foods, but the urgency of meals has just sort of faded away… if it wasn’t for feeding a teenager, I doubt I would be in the kitchen at all these days. We eat plenty of salads, grab quick snacks of cheese, nuts or veggies and call it good quite often.

(Now you are wondering, WHO IS THIS WOMAN??)

I want to reassure you though, that I am still as enthusiastic as EVER about being free from wheat and its terrible inflammatory effects, weight issues and health consequences. My husband and I meet new people all the time who are interested in this way of eating (maybe some of our new friends are reading right NOW!), and we are more than happy to fill them in on our transformation! I kind of look at this blog as my pet charity, because it’s not something I do to create an income (unfortunately), but I do it because I am passionate about educating people and providing them with the resources to try this lifestyle on for size and see if it helps them with those stubborn weight issues as well as other chronic long term problems.

Today I am posting a favorite recipe for a MIM… muffin in a minute, or muffin in a microwave. If you google the term, you will likely find all sorts of variations on this theme. I didn’t invent this by any means, and it’s been around for awhile… it is one of the staples around here for hot breakfast, especially for my son, he LOVES these.

The great thing is that this breakfast sticks with him and fills him up because he is getting a whole egg, a handful of almonds and some healthy fat, all in one DELICIOUS piece of cake! WIN/WIN baby!!! Oh, and I have no problem whipping it up at 6:30 am when my eyes are still half-closed, before I’ve even had coffee 😉 Pretty key for a staple weekday breakfast recipe!! 

You can fool around with the recipe and get all sorts of wonderful variety, it really is a very forgiving concoction. This particular version is a result of going back and forth with a friend of mine to tweak a chocolate MIM. I used some flax in mine, and she omitted it… and my son preferred it like this, all almond flour. She wins!

This one happens to be chocolate (oh believe me, it’s YUMMY!) I will give you the recipe that I am using right now, but after I will also give you some suggestions for tweaking this to your liking and mood!

 

HOT CHOCOLATE CAKE (MIM)

• 1 large egg
• 1-2 TB mayonnaise
• 4 TB almond flour
• 2 tsp sweetener (or to taste, I used Truvia)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 TB dark cocoa
• pinch of salt (optional)
• optional add-ins: 1TB dark choc chips, 1TB chopped walnuts or pecans

Mix all ingredients together in a flat-bottomed cereal-sized bowl until well combined. (The ones I use are about 5-5.5″ in diameter) Microwave for 2-2.5 minutes (depending on your microwave.) Remove, loosen the edges with a knife, and flip out onto a plate. (Be sure to scroll down to the bottom, past the pictures, for some alternative ingredients!)

I usually top with a pat of butter and a little Truvia, and presto! You have warm, delicious (low carb) chocolate cake. If we are having this as a desert, I top with a little whipped heavy cream. For us, one is enough to split as a desert serving, but for breakfast my son easily polishes off a whole one.

MIM batter, ready for the microwave.

After nuking for 2.5 minutes.

Flipped onto a plate, with a pat of butter and a little sweetener… YUMMY!

NOW, if you want to change things up, here are some suggestions:

• Use coconut oil in place of mayonnaise. I usually do this for mine.
• Use half almond flour and half ground flax. It will be a bit softer, more like a baked pudding. I prefer golden flax over the brown flax, but you can experiment and use whichever you have or like.
• Add a TB of heavy cream and/or softened cream cheese for a different consistency.
• Omit cocoa and add a few blueberries and a dash of cinnamon, or sliced strawberries.
• Add 1-2TB of pumpkin puree and a tsp of pumpkin pie spice! This is delicious. I’ve done it by omitting the cocoa, and with keeping the cocoa. Both are great. When adding pumpkin, I sometimes have to increase the cook time.
• Add 1/4 mashed banana, a little vanilla and walnuts, omit cocoa or not.
• Omit sweetener and cocoa, sub 1TB of the almond flour for flax or buckwheat flour, add any seasonings of your choice (such as a little garlic powder, salt, pepper, herbs) and once cooled, slice in half and use as sandwich bread.

You can see by now that this is an extremely versatile recipe, and I am sure than you can think of all sorts of ways to make this recipe your own by adding, omitting and tweaking! I hope you enjoy and that this addition to your recipe arsenal makes this way of eating a little easier for you, and gives you some more ideas for breakfast and dessert!