I am officially in love with a mug cake. Not just any mug cake though, a toffee cake. It is a toffee-lovers dream. I have seen a bazillion mug cakes online and they are all chocolate! I figured, why not create one that is more unique and unlikely a flavor that most have tried. Enter the Vegan Gluten-Free Toffee Mug Cake. 

Thank you to everybody who voted for this Toffee Mug Cake yesterday on this Facebook post! An overwhelming response and this cake was the clear winner by about 20 votes over the blueberry cream cheese....although that cream cheese got a lot of votes too, so it is coming this week as well, no worries!

I have tried a few mug cakes (chocolate) before and in fact, the very first mug cake I ever tried was a few years ago and I mentioned it on this blog post. It was incredible, moist, rich and chocolatey. Then that recipe was nowhere to be found again, so I tried others and they were TERRIBLE. I'm talking, a dry, no-flavored sponge. If  you are going to call a cake "chocolate", then it better taste like chocolate. The last one I tried was so bad, I was scarred for a bit from it, haha.

So, I figured I better come up with my own mug cake, but not do the norm of chocolate, instead I chose toffee! Why a toffee mug cake? Well, because my favorite fudge recipe on my blog and that I've ever tried is my Vegan Toffee Sweet Potato Fudge. It is sooo good and I decided that was it, that would be the flavor I would do. 

But, I didn't do the sweet potato, coconut sugar and coconut milk combo like I did for the fudge, for this cake. I didn't want to take extra time cooking a potato. So, do you know what else lends to a wonderful toffee flavor? Cashew butter. I swapped out the sweet potato for cashew butter and the combo of coconut sugar, cashew butter and coconut milk was just about dangerously dreamy. Cashew butter is extremely creamy and buttery and slightly sweet, so it is the perfect ingredient to enhance that toffee flavor. Toffee is in fact traditionally made with dairy butter, so hello, cashew butter works amazing!! The last time I did a cashew icing was on my Raw Vanilla Pecan Dream Bars, so I knew I could make a toffee frosting out of it.

Let me tell you, you will die over this toffee cake. Not only does the cake scream toffee flavor, but it is also covered in a toffee frosting! Yep. I know. So luxuriously creamy. You only need 8 ingredients (+ salt) for this entire recipe, including the frosting, since the same ingredients are repeated in the frosting. Easy peasy.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of this 5 Minute Toffee Mug Cake! Let me know by dropping me feedback below after you make it and don't forget to star rate it! I’ll be dying to hear. You can also tag me on Instagram @thevegan8 and don’t forget my hashtag in your caption#thevegan8 so it’s saved to my page and I don’t miss it. Enjoy!

Serves 1 cake

5 Minute Toffee Mug Cake (Vegan and Gluten-Free)

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Brandi Doming

You only need 8 ingredients for this entire recipe, including the frosting! You are just minutes away from a delicious toffee cake. The frosting makes this the ultimate dessert, but the cake is plenty delicious on it's own.

2 minPrep Time

3 minCook Time

5 minTotal Time

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cup finely ground almond meal (28 g, I use Trader's Joes because it is super fine, this is how the cake is so moist and kept oil-free)
• 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon oat flour (7 g)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons plant-based milk (I used "lite" coconut milk, you can try cashew or soy milk, creamy is recommended)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 heaping teaspoon cashew butter (you can sub with sunbutter if you like, it will just be slightly less toffee sweet)
• Toffee Frosting:
• 1 1/2 tablespoons1/2 tablespoon coconut sugar (5 g)
• 1/2 tablespoon cashew butter (you can sub with sunbutter if you like, it will just taste less like toffee)
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch salt
• Note: Now, if you have never tried a mug cake before, be prepared the texture is different than traditional cake, since obviously it is cooked in 2 minutes in a microwave, as opposed to 20 in an oven. Mug cakes are more spongy/dense, but they are incredibly delicious if done right and I found I got over the surprising texture by the 2nd bite because it is so good. You can cook them shorter for a more pudding-like texture or a few seconds longer for a drier texture.

Instructions

1. First, decide if you want to use a regular standard size coffee mug or a ramekin. I used a 7 oz ramekin because I wanted it to have the shape of a mini cake (as pictured). You do not need to spray the mug/ramekin, this cake is so moist, it removes easily, should you choose to do so. You just need to loosen around the edges with a knife and then it should come out easily. If baking in the oven, turn to 350 degrees and see below for the cooking time.
2. If using a coffee mug, you will mix all the ingredients in the mug! If using a ramekin, mix everything in a small bowl as follows. Add the almond meal, tapioca starch, oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder and salt and mix really well with a fork.
3. Next, pour the coconut milk over the dry ingredients, then the cashew butter and vanilla. Mix everything well with the fork again until a really smooth cake batter forms. Pour in the ramekin if using and microwave on high (my power level was at 10) for 2 minutes in a ramekin and 2 1/2 minutes in a coffee mug. It cooked faster in the ramekin since it was more shallow than the mug. If you still want yours more cooked, add 15-30 more seconds. 2 1/2 minutes was perfect for the coffee mug for me. Your microwave power level may vary cooking time. To remove, you just need to loosen around the edges with a knife and then it should come out easily.
4. For the oven, you will use 2 muffin liners and fill them each up half way with the batter. Or you can use a 7 oz ramekin. I would suggest spraying it or lining it, so the cake won't stick. Bake for 20 minutes. They should have risen and have a nice golden brown top and very lightly spring back when pressed. Let them cool 10-15 mins, as they will still finish cooking some. To remove, you just need to loosen around the edges with a knife and then it should come out easily.
5. For the frosting, just combine all the ingredients in a small cup (except the vanilla) and mix with a fork until smooth. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. This is how it will thicken up like frosting. Add the vanilla and mix again until smooth, thick and creamy. If you are not using a microwave, then just use half or even less of the milk so it's not too runny, or heat it up over the stove to thicken it. If you want it more like a glaze, add a tiny bit more milk. It will thicken some as it sits. If you want to remove the cake to frost it, slide a knife along the inside edges of the mug and loosen it and flip over to pop out. I made several of these and they all came out really easily. Smooth the frosting on top or drizzle the glaze. Eat immediately. Mug cakes need to be eaten immediately, or they will harden as they sit. As if you needed any convincing anyways.

Notes

Inspired by my 6.6.14

The Vegan 8