Single-Serving Gluten-Free Brownie in A Matter of Minutes
Gluten-free, vegan mug brownie with coconut cream
Do you ever want a sweet treat right now?
Do you ever need to fix a dessert for one person, but don’t want a whole pan of brownies sitting around waiting to be picked at?
If either of these situations occur in your kitchen (and they sure do in mine!), this quick microwave brownie recipe is perfect for you!
My friend introduced me to the idea of a single-serving mug-sized brownie where you mix together a few ingredients, pop it in the microwave for a minute, and have a hot, chocolatey treat.
I wanted to see if I could improve on the recipe by making it a little healthier, while still keeping the feeling of instant indulgence. I switched out all-purpose flour with whole-grain gluten-free oat flour. Instead of vegetable oil, I substituted healthy-fat coconut oil and fat-free applesauce. The result is a better-for-you version of instant gratification. Although I love using coconut oil in baking, that’s not all it’s good for. For information on how my family uses it for eczema, see this post.
You could dress this treat up with a dollop of coconut cream or a bit of dairy-free ice cream or sorbet.
Single-Serving Brownie
Makes 1 brownie
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons maple sugar or 4 tablespoons coconut palm sugar (You could also use evaporated cane juice.)
- 4 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon applesauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- pinch of salt
Preparation:
1. Combine all ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl or mug.
2. Stir to thoroughly mix all ingredients.
3. Microwave on high for one minute.
4. Let cool a little before eating – it will be hot.
Kim Lutz is the author of Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen and Gluten-free Vegan Recipes and the gluten-free, allergen-free, vegan website, welcomingkitchen.com. Kim is the co-author with Megan Hart, MS, RD, LD, of The Everything Organic Cooking for Baby and Toddler Book and The Everything Guide to Cooking for Children with Autism.
Yummy, I love brownies and miss them so…thanks for this recipie I will try it out!
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 1:33 pm
@Chandra, Chandra, it’s so quick you could make it right now! I hope you like it.
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What a great idea! Is there a more mainstream alternative to the sweetener that would work, though? I have organic cane sugar and agave nectar, but none of the ones you mention. Thanks!
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 1:33 pm
@Lisa, Lisa, Cane sugar would work perfectly.
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This is right up my alley! Gonna have to try it out, thanks for posting!!
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 8:27 pm
@Becky, I hope you like it, Becky!
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I am so addicted to my protein microwave cakes. With my crazy schedule these days, finding time to bake is almost impossible! I know a couple of boys in my house that would go nuts over this! Definitely happening here this weekend (especially since I have to work on Saturday and we all know weekends are for treats!)!
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 8:28 pm
@Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen), Oh Sarena, I need to scale back our treats to just weekends! At least this one’s not as sinful as originally designed, and I can whip up individual servings for my boys!
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This looks great! But is there another gf flour that would work in place of the oat flour since I don’t have any. Thanks
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
November 1st, 2012 at 8:29 pm
@Cindy L., I didn’t try it, but I think you could use an all-purpose blend with 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum. You wouldn’t need to much xanthan gum, because it’s a tiny little cake.
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Heather Reply:
November 2nd, 2012 at 9:23 pm
@Cindy L., I bet you could use 2 T. sorghum flour & 2 T. brown rice flour…
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I really love this idea. But I don’t use microwaves. How would you cook something like this in an aeromatic oven?
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
November 2nd, 2012 at 7:43 pm
@Laura Black, I think if I was using a convection oven, I’d try checking it at around 7 minutes and adjusting from there.
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Love this! Can’t wait to try it!
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Oh heaven! A GFV option, Whoohoo!!!!!
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I tried this last night, made two (one for me and one for hubby). We really enjoyed them!! And I LOVE not having leftovers because I know if I did I would eat them all today! Will definitely make this again.
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
November 3rd, 2012 at 9:24 pm
@Jessica, I think that might be the best part (no leftovers!) of this recipe. I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed!
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Can’t wait to try this! Thanks for sharing!
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This looks so good and yammi ! But is there another thing that i can use instead the applesauce . Thanks
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Kim Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 1:27 pm
@Liat, You should be able to use canned pumpkin or pear sauce or even babyfood sweet potatoes or winter squash in place of the applesauce. I hope that helps.
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Thanks from your answer, but in my country you cant buy canned pumpkin or pear sauce only baby food and i don’t think i want to try this, i will try to use some mash fresh fruits (strawberries or other berry) with a little sweetener and i will see how its tasted.
Thanks again to all your work
Liat
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Kim! This is such an AWESOME idea
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Since I didn’t have any other sugar, I used brown sugar but a little bit less. I added dairy free chocolate chips, a little peppermint extract, and a splash of vanilla extract.
I used instead of the apple sauce, 1/3 tablespoon of ground flax and 1 tablespoon of water and put it in the fridge for approx 10 minutes. I then mixed everything together and it turned out greaaaat!
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Sorry I realized I had more to say. I shall sum it up here. What I used was:
3 tablespoons maple sugar or 4 tablespoons coconut palm sugar (You could also use evaporated cane juice.)
4 tablespoons Bob Red Mill’s Gluten free all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon dairy-free margarine
1/3 tablespoon of ground flaxseed and 1 tablespoon of water
2 tablespoons water
pinch of salt
splash of peppermint and vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoon of chocolate chips
The only instruction is to mix the groung flaxseed and 1 tablespoon of water and refridgerate for 10 mins before mixing everything together.
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Kels Reply:
January 26th, 2013 at 2:23 pm
*2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
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What a great idea, I can never stay away from leftovers. Has anyone tried it with stevia? We are refined sugar free and while I do have coconut sugar and know it’s low glycemic, I’d rather use stevia. Would I have to adjust anything else if I substituted stevia? I’m not so great at figuring things like that out.
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Kim @ Welcoming Kitchen Reply:
February 14th, 2013 at 7:16 pm
@Cara, Unfortunately, I haven’t tried it with stevia yet. If I do, I’ll check back in with you here!
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