As many of you know I am kind of a heath nut. I am constantly working out, weights, running, etc. Beyond that, I am constantly searching for ways to improve what I eat. Before I eat I try to ask myself “What does my body need?”. Usually, the answer isn’t that triple fudge cake. But I wish it was. I haven’t managed to make that happen but have figured out how to make some yummy chocolate muffins.
I’ll cut to the chase and reveal my magic change. I took a pretty standard Mug Cake recipe and replaced half the flour with protein powder. Oh, and I replace the cane sugar with Stevia. Otherwise, it is about the same as any other mug cake recipe. And they are quite filling. I have had them as a kinda mini lunch.
“But you called it a muffin!“, yep I did. What is the difference between a Costco muffin, or just about any other “muffin” now a days, and a cupcake? One word; frosting. Think about it, that is the only difference. If you bought some CostCo muffins and added frosting you could hand them out at any B-day party and no one would complain. In fact they might complement you on your great “cup cakes”. So since most people do not add frosting to their “Mug Cake” it is actually a “Mug Muffin”.
So without further ado
Here is my basic recipe. You need to use a 16 -20 oz large microwave-safe coffee cup/mug. First mix the dry ingredients; flour, protein powder, milk, cocoa, sweetener, & baking soda together. Make sure it is consistently blended together. Next add fruit and water till it has the consistency of a cake batter, about 3-5 tbs. Getting that cake batter consistency is very important. If it is too thick it will not rise. If it is too watery it will kinda explode, making quite the mess. Then add the remaining optional items as desired. Cook on high in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds. I have tried cooking it for two whole minutes and in my microwave it tends to get dried out. But depending on how powerful your microwave is more or less time may be necessary.
- NOTE: you need to use whey-based protein powder. I have tried with two different plant-based protein powders and it never rises. You just get warm batter.
- I think you could skip the powdered milk, but I think it makes it a bit richer. I am still experimenting with this.
- The sweetener can be whatever you prefer. I use stevia, but sugar or others should work fine. You may want more or less depending on your taste.
- Of course you can add your own special ingredients; fruit, nuts, more chocolate. Just bear in mind it will impact how healthy your muffin is. But what’s life without a little fun?
How healthy is it?
Well, that depends. Option C without any optional items is 219 calories & 24g of protein, so yes very healthy. And quite filling. However, it isn’t as flavorful. Sometimes I
Option C with 1 tbs of chocolate chips & 2 tbs of pumpkin seeds is 462 calories & 34g of protein. So a lot more calories. But to be fair these that is still less than most CostCo muffins. Most of them are 500-800 calories each. And you still have 34g of protein, all you get with the CostCo muffin is sugar.
| Ingredients | Option A | Option B | Option C |
| AP flour | 2 tbs | 3 tbs | 1/4 cup |
| Whey protein powder | 2 tbs | 3tbs | 1/4 cup |
| Powdered milk* | 2 tbs | 0 | skip |
| sweetener** | 2 tbs | 0 | 2 tbs |
| Coco | 2 tbs | 2tbs | 2 tbs |
| Baking Soda | 1/4 tsp | 1/2 tsp | 1/4 tsp |
| Fruit (banana, apple sauce, etc) | 0 | 1/2 cup | 0 |
| Water | 3 tbs | as needed | 1/4 cup |
| Vanila (optional) | 1/4 tsp | skip | |
| Choc. chips (optional?) | 1-2 tbs | 3 tbs | 1 tbs |
| Pumpkin seeds or nuts (optional) | 1-2 tbs | 3 tbs | 2 tbs |
| Your favorite whatever | up to you | up to you |
I have done a number of variation, which seems to be endless. One thing I have learned is that they all seem to come out better with some fruit in them. That might be a very ripe banana, apple sauce or something else. They tend to be moister and a bit sweeter this way. I have used vanilla protein powder and added fruit, that came out really nice. I even tried making a savory muffin with veggies and some spices. That didn’t quite work out as I had hopped so I’m back to the drawing board on that one. As I figure out good variations I will try to share them.
About the pics
I don’t know if you can tell but these are big muffins. About the size of a CostCo muffin. The first two pics are with the muffin cooked in a 20oz mug. The last one is cooked in a 16oz mug.
This was one of my first attempts with a smaller cup. The white and black cup is 20 oz.
