Need a sweet hit and need it now? Make yourself and a friend or loved one a microwave banana mug cake with a saucy white chocolate surprise inside! Ready in only 5 minutes, and it just happens to be gluten free.
When you need a little treat, and you need it now, there’s nothing that hits the spot better than a mug cake.
This 2-minute peanut butter mug cake (that happens to be pretty healthy) is already quite popular around here. So I thought it was time to add another quick and easy mug cake – this time a version of a banana bread mug cake!
What’s so great about it
- Got 5 minutes and a microwave? You need just a few minutes to make the batter right in the mug and around 2 minutes to cook in the microwave.
- It’s dessert for two! Grab two spoons and dive in. Alternatively, eat half and save the rest for later.
- It tastes like a slightly nuttier version of a classic banana bread. But a classic banana cake takes around an hour to make…
- It’s made with almond flour, making it gluten free.
- It tastes very yummy eaten on its own straight out of the mug (while curled up on the sofa with a good movie, of course). The melted white chocolate tastes almost like a sweet, creamy sauce. Add a scoop of ice cream and you’ll be in quick and easy banana bread heaven!
- It’s pretty healthy, really. Apart from a little bit of brown sugar and white chocolate, it’s made with pretty good stuff!
What you need
You’re only 1 small banana and 6 pantry ingredients away from a very yummy (almost instant) microwave banana cake for two!
You need just half a small banana, as well as:
- a small egg
- a bit of brown sugar
- almond butter (peanut butter works too, of course)
- almond flour mixed with a tiny bit of baking soda
No oil or butter is necessary as there’s enough fat in the almond butter already.
How to make it
The great thing about this mug cake is that you mix up the ingredients directly in the mug.
Step 1: Grab a mug – the largest one you have. Or a very small baking dish – let’s say 5 to 6 square inches.
Step 2: Mash up half a banana with a fork. Make it a small one, and the riper the better.
Step 3: Whisk in a small egg, followed by sugar, almond butter, milk, and almond flour mixed with a little baking soda.
Step 4: Stir in a handful or two of white chocolate chips. I like to be quite generous with myself and save a few to sprinkle on the top!
Step 5: Microwave for 2 minutes. Let cool a little and enjoy!
Pro tip 1: It’s fun to watch the mug cake rise up outside of the mug at an alarming rate! Don’t panic! It actually doesn’t usually overflow, but put a small plate under the mug just in case.
Pro tip 2: The cake is VERY hot when it comes out of the microwave. I’ve burnt my tongue a couple of times! I know it’s hard, but wait a few minutes before you tuck in.
FAQs
Yes, absolutely! Brown sugar gives the cake a slight caramel-y taste, but ordinary sugar is fine.
Yes again. With the addition of the white chocolate 1.5 tablespoons is about right for me, but make it 2 tablespoons if you have a sweeter tooth.
The cake will taste almost the same if you use a different nut butter such as peanut butter. If you like, you can even make a nut free mug cake by replacing the 2 tablespoons of almond butter with 2 tablespoons of oil.
If you like you can replace the almond flour with plain flour – gluten free or ordinary. Other types of flour should work too. You can even use coconut flour, but use 1.5 tablespoons only.
Yes, they’re virtually interchangeable. The only difference is that almond flour is a bit finer. In theory this makes it a better substitute for regular flour, but almond meal works in this recipe too.
Yes, you can! Try a 5 inch by 5 inch baking dish or similar.
How to serve it
You might think this is a silly question. It’s a microwave mug cake, right? Don’t you just make it in a sweet snack attack emergency? Then you grab a spoon and eat it all to yourself on the couch.
You can do that if you like. The melted white chocolate makes it almost like a self-saucing pudding!
But this banana mug cake is a bit of a monster. Feel free to grab 2 spoons, add a scoop of ice cream and share with a loved one. If you prefer, empty the cake out onto two plates. It won’t be the prettiest dessert you’ve ever seen, but hey, it’s a dessert emergency. Do you care? 😉
I’ve also been known to put plastic wrap over the top of the mug and save half until the next day. It still tastes pretty good!
More ridiculously quick and easy desserts
- 5-minute chocolate banana ice cream (healthy nice cream!)
- 6-ingredient gooey Swedish chocolate cake (you’ve got to try this!)
- Easy magic lemon pudding (the most controversial recipe on my blog!)
- No bowl chocolate pecan bars (magic bars!)
- 5-minute chocolate pots (only 4 ingredients!)
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Gluten free mug cake for two (with banana, almond and white chocolate!)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- ½ small banana (ripe is best)
- 1 small egg
- 1½ tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 2 tablespoons milk (any kind including non dairy)
- ⅓ cup almond flour (or almond meal/ground almonds)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ tablespoons white chocolate chips (or to taste!)
Instructions
- Mash the banana in a very large mug or small baking dish with a fork. Whisk in the egg.
- Stir in the sugar, almond butter, and milk.
- Stir in the almond flour/meal, the baking soda, and most of the chocolate chips. Sprinkle the remainder of the chocolate chips on the top.
- Microwave on full power for 2 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy either plain or with a scoop of ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: I first published this recipe in 2014 as an individual banana and peanut butter pudding. I updated it in February 2021 as a gluten free banana mug cake however as I felt that the original recipe was a bit hit and miss (sometimes it worked and other times it was a disaster!). If you happen to have been a fan of that original recipe, however, I have a fairly similar one on the blog which I call a peanut butter healthy mug cake. There’s no banana, but strangely it tastes pretty similar to the original recipe I published here!
Tash says
Oh my gosh, this looks YUMMY! Pinning! Hahaha I looveeee hearing about peoples’ weird food loves! Just quickly; I totally understand the greek yogurt + toast thing! I work in a restaurant that serves brunch, so naturally our staff food involves lots of eggs, yogurt, porridge..etc. I am the only one who ever tries this combo – I don’t see what’s weird? It’s like pancakes and yogurt but without the oil, which is surely less weird?! And I’m totally defending your old flat mate…In England baked beans are a HUGE deal. Pasta and baked beans is one of my fav meals hehe! My bro’s throw it together with Ramen all of the time too 😉 Another amazing thing is mayonnaise with fries and ketchup with mac and cheese! Or eggs with brown sauce and fried toast…Talk about delicious dinner hacks 😀
All of the best things start out weird! The guy who invented cheese fries + cheesy nachos for example are just lucky that everyone happens to love cheese, right?!
Great post!
Helen says
Hahahaha … you’ve just cheered me up on a slightly stressful evening, Tash! OK, so I think I have to admit that I might have been wrong about my husband’s Greek yoghurt and banana and my flatmate’s ramen and beans. I don’t fancy it myself, but I accept that it might taste OK if I gave it a chance. I have to agree wholeheartedly though that mayo with fries and ketchup with mac and cheese is good. In fact, I dumped a big squirt of ketchup on the leftover pasta bake I had for lunch today, which is a similar idea. 🙂
Great comment – thanks!!
Judit |Glamorous Bite says
For the longest time I resisted peanut butter and banana together until had the pleasure to taste a pb + banana bread. Your banana, peanut butter sounds just as flavorful of a combo nothing bizarre at all. Mr.Scrummy’s breakfast ideas on the other hand are extremely inventive and well there are many who would find it even tempting… I guess 🙂
Helen says
Hi Judit! I only tried this combo of flavours recently, too, but now I’m hooked! I just loved that this little pudding satisfies a sweet craving almost instantly … but without being too unhealthy.
Tandy | Lavender and Lime says
It’s eggs for breakfast for me, and this pudding for lunch for sure!
Helen says
lol … happy to have inspired you, Tandy!
Shashi @ runninsrilankan says
Ok .so…your croissant and egg and your hubs’ toast and greek yogurt/nana combos – both sound great to me!! And bananas and pb are a winning combo – this pudding is making my stomach rumble!
True story – my roommates and I in college would have Ramen noodle cooking contests – and try to doctor up ramen noodles in the most creative way!!
Helen says
Ha … lol! My friend who ate the ramen and beans would have loved you!!
Ashley says
haha my husband constantly tells me that my smoothie creations are weird. Whatevs .. I think they are delicious! And 5 minutes to this goodness? Sign me up!
Helen says
Now, smoothies is something I’ve never got into, but I think I need to change that. Just think of all the weirdness possibilities!
Nora @ Savory Nothings says
I guess we’re all guilty of weird food pairings sometimes 😀 this looks absolutely wonderful and not weird at all though!
Helen says
Hi, Nora … nice to ‘meet’ you! Phew, so glad I’m not the only one. 😉
Thanks for liking this and not thinking it’s weird … lol!