Paleo Lemon Beetroot Mug Cake (Single-Serve)

Soft and fluffy paleo cake bursting with my favorite Spring flavors! If you follow along with my daily posts on Instagram, you know that this healthy lemon beetroot snack recipe has been on repeat this year…

A Healthy Mug Cake Recipe!

As a college student, I’m also inherently a microwave pro right?! Microwaves are my go-to method of cooking some days if I’m honest with myself.

Since I’m always on the lookout for a fast and healthy microwave mug cake recipe, I feel like I was constantly browsing Pinterest. Just waiting for a mug cake recipe to pop up that had ingredients that 1.) I had on hand & 2.) wouldn’t throw me into an IBD flare. Most of the recipes I found used ingredients like oat flour and “natural” sweeteners like coconut sugar or maple syrup that are still considered “illegal” on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). While I’ve been able to add a few “illegal” foods back in since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis last year, these just haven’t made the cut.

• Link: “SCD: The What’s & Why’s”
• Link: “How I Started Adding Non-SCD Food Back Into My Diet”

This microwave mug cake is one of my favorite healthy versions of “fast food”, and it’s ready in just 90 seconds to whip up real quick before classes/ meetings/ labs!

Using Grain-free Flours for Recipes:

That’s honestly probably the most frustrating thing about following a paleo-like diet for an autoimmune disease. While whole grain flours, oat flour, and coconut sugar are generally regarded as “healthy” ingredients for most people, they aren’t necessarily for anyone struggling with chronic inflammation.

I’m not going to lie, making a soft and fluffy cake recipe with solely grain-free nut flours is extremely difficult. This lemon beetroot mug cake recipe took a LOT of trial and error. With that said, I can officially say that this is easily one of my favorite single-serve snack recipes! The ratio of almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca flour somehow works perfectly to create the best cakey texture.

Using grain-free flours for recipes is all about blending. I always have different varieties of nut flours on hand to blend in different ratios for different purposes. Some flours- such as almond and coconut flour- are “heavier” while others (tapioca, arrowroot, etc) are “lighter”.

• Almond flour & coconut flour blend: the KEY for making paleo cookies, brownies, and blondies. Anything that is OK to be on the denser side. I usually use a 3:1 of almond flour to coconut flour in these types of recipes.

• Almond flour, tapioca flour, & coconut flour blend: For any type of bread, muffin, pastry, or cake recipe I typically use this flour trio! Tapioca flour adds a lighter, airy, chewy texture to baked treats. However, I’ve found that adding too much often makes recipes too chewy. I typically use a ratio of 3:1:1 for these 3 flours to avoid that, but I’ll often adjust that depending on the textures I want in the final product!

• Cashew flour & coconut flour blend: Cashew flour is like the hidden gem of nut flours. It acts a lot like almond flour in recipes, but it offers a unique delicate, slightly sweet buttery flavor that almond flour just can’t bring to the table! Because of this, I mostly use it for no-bake recipes to preserve all of the delicate flavor and aroma compounds. I typically use a 3:1 ratio of cashew flour to coconut flour.

• Walnut flour & coconut flour blend: Walnut flour surprisingly adds a fluffy texture to things like muffins and grain-free breads! It also keeps its unique “walnut flavor” really well so it’s delicious paired with bananas, chocolate, or really anything that goes with walnuts.

A lot of these flours are on my “Pantry Staples” page because they truly have become staples for me now! I actually don’t think I can go a day without using at LEAST one nut flour… LOL.

How to Make a Paleo Mugcake

Step 1: Combine the almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, beetroot powder, baking powder, monk fruit sweetener, and salt in a small microwave-safe dish.

Step 2: Add in the egg, almond milk, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Step 3: Stir until a well-combined, smooth batter forms. Microwave for 90 seconds, a toothpick should come out clean from the center.

A few of my favorite toppings include greek yogurt, warm berries, and raw pumpkin seeds!

My Other Favorite Single-Serve Recipes:

• Air-fried Grain Free Bagel
• Fig and Goat Cheese Quiche
• SCD Almond Butter Waffle
• Paleo Chocolate Cream Pie
• Grain-free Cinnamon Rolls

Print