Easy + healthy banana bread mug cake recipe

Fan of mug cakes, but craving a more healthy afternoon snack? This recipe for a healthy banana bread mug cake is the one you’re looking for! You can make this recipe in the oven and in the microwave.

Healthy mug cake

I used my favorite banana bread recipe and made that into a mug cake recipe. My banana bread is made without sugar, oil or butter and is a pretty healthy (and delicious!) snack. Perfect for a healthy mug cake and an easy and quick alternative to a slice of banana bread.

I like eating it for breakfast, but I made it the other night as a late-night dessert with a scoop of ice cream and that’s probably going to happen more often as I enjoyed that dessert a lot.

​Use a microwave-safe mug, those are often also oven safe. But make sure to check that before baking. I like to use a coffee mug or other large mug. You want to make sure there is plenty of room for the mug cake as it rises in the oven.

The recipe calls for two bananas to make 2 mug cakes. But if you only have 1 overripe banana, just halve all the ingredients for 1 mug cake. You will also need to use halve an egg. The other half could be used with some extra eggs for an omelet or something.

Mug cake ingredients

You just need a few simple ingredients to make this delicious banana mug cake. I like to put them together in a small bowl and stir the ingredients with a spatula before putting the batter in the mug.

• Bananas. The most important ingredient. Make sure they are very ripe before you start. I prefer overripe bananas for baking.
• Egg. I like to make mug cakes without an egg (like this chocolate mug cake), but this banana bread mug cake turns out best if you do use an egg. Because I think 1 egg is too much for just 1 mug cake, I developed a recipe for 2 mug cakes.
• Vanilla extract. My bottle of homemade vanilla extract is used for every baking recipe I make. It just adds that amazing vanilla flavor. The recipe calls for 0.5 tsp vanilla, but I often just add a whole teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Almond flour.​ I love using almond flour in banana bread, It makes the bread moist and had a delicious flavor.
• Whole wheat flour.​ I chose whole wheat because it’s a bit healthier than all purpose flour. But if you don’t have whole wheat flour in stock, all purpose flour is just fine.
• Baking powder.​ Just a little bit is needed for this recipe. But don’t leave it our, because it makes sure the result is light and fluffy.

And that’s all you need to make your own little banana cake! As you can see, I don’t use sugar, the banana add enough sweetness. But if you’re a sweet tooth, you could add some brown sugar or maple syrup to the batter.

To make the batter, you start with the banana, egg and vanilla extract. After those wet ingredients are combined, you can add all the dry ingredients at once. Just mix it up until incorporated and your cake batter is done.

Microwave or oven?

At first, I wanted to develop a recipe for a mug cake you could make in the oven as that was something I got asked for a lot. But I decided to try and make this recipe for the microwave as well.

​I’m happy to say this recipe can be made in the microwave and in the oven, I’ll share the directions for both options.

Microwave banana mug cake

If you have a microwave on hand, this is the quickest way to make your mug cake. I baked it for 140 seconds (2 minutes and 20 seconds) at 800 watts. The cooking time may vary due to the strength of your microwave.

Oven banana mug cake

Bake the mug cakes for 20-25 minutes at 180 °C/350 °F. Don’t bake them too long, as you want a moist cake and baking it too long may result in a dry banana cake.

Here you can see my mug cake, made in the microwave:

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A post shared by Laura Kieft | In Laura’s Bakery (@inlaurasbakery)