Gluten Free Banana Mug Cake (Nuts & Chocolate Chips Optional)

I believe I have found the secret to making gluten free mug cakes (cakes cooked in the microwave in a mug)! Mug cakes, even when made with gluten can be gummy, or worse, overcooked and dry. However, this recipe turned out perfectly as you can see in the photo. Using two key ingredients and adjusting the cooking method creates a texture just like your favorite baked banana bread. A must make!

Successful Changes in This Recipe

Bananas vs Egg:

Eggs make microwaved mug cakes taste horrible. While bananas are a perfect substitute for egg, they alone are not the solution, but they help.

Sugar:

Using dark brown sugar, or at least light/golden brown sugar in mug cakes is important. You see, in a normal baked cake, you cream the butter and sugar together to create a light cake. In the case of a mug cake, you need to use a mini whisk or fork to beat by hand for a few minutes. Beating breaks down the sugar. Of course, you also need liquid/water to break down the sugar. So, be sure to use butter or margarine, or another liquid; even vanilla extract helps. Meanwhile, because brown sugar is actually white sugar mixed with molasses, it contains finer granules of sugar which require less beating. The more molasses added to the sugar, as in dark brown sugar, the smaller the granules.

About Oat Flour and Its Substitute

I like to use oat flour because it is the gluten free flour that has the highest amount of protein other than nut meal/flour. However, some people with Celiac Disease cannot tolerate even gluten free oats. So, I have provided a good substitute. As you can see, you need to add additional butter or fat when using sorghum flour as a substitute for oat flour.

Flour

I had a suspicion that using a gluten free flour blend that contained starch such as potato starch, cornstarch, or tapioca was adding to the gumminess, as they do create that texture. So, I left them out.

Gum

Of course, gum creates a really gummy texture. Leaving both the above starches and the gum out of this recipe was very successful! Bananas, as well as eggs, are a bit of a gum replacement anyway. That combined with the microwave method, Voila! Success. However, there is one more key component.

Temperature:

When I created my first mug cake, I didn’t like that it had a gummy texture. However, I tried cooking it at Power 5 instead of high (10) and it didn’t work well either. So, this time, I thought I’d try 8. It worked perfectly with these ingredients.

I can’t wait to experiment with more mug cakes soon! Stay tuned in!

Weight Watchers Points: 15 (Share it instead of eating the whole thing.)