Guilt-Free Chocolate Cake for One (Real Food, Gluten-Free, and Ridiculously Easy)

Want a simple and guilt-free way to satisfy a chocolate craving? Look no further than this ultra-easy real food single serving chocolate cake!

Last winter, after a particularly mommy-ish day, I tucked the littles in bed and retreated to the kitchen, craving silence, comfy PJs, and chocolate. But not just any chocolate would do.

I wanted a single serving of the cozy warm chocolate comfort that only a rich piece of cake can give. Chocolate mug cake recipes abound online, but not the kind I was after.

I wanted the yummy comfort of chocolate cake and the ease of a microwaved mug cake. I also wanted to go to bed without the guilt of too much refined flour and sugar.

Cake and guilt tend to be unfortunate partners.

My searches for a real food chocolate cake came up empty, so I set out to make the ideal bedtime chocolate cake: real food, guilt-free, simple, and delicious.

This is it. You can thank me later.

Oh, and for those of you who need to eat gluten-free? I’ve got you covered, because this is totally grain-free and made with coconut flour.

So how easy is it, you ask?

All of the main ingredients are measured out by 1 tablespoon.

Yep, that easy. You can practically make it with your eyes closed, though I don’t exactly recommend it.

With minimal effort, a little mixing, and about ten minutes to bake, you’ll have a guilt-free hunk of chocolate comfort all warm and ready for your indulgence. 

Guilt-Free Chocolate Cake for One

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Ingredients

• 1 T. butter, softened
• 1 T. sour cream
• 1 T. unrefined cane sugar (though really, any sugar will work)
• 1 egg
• small splash vanilla extract
• 1 T. cocoa or cacao powder (minor differences, don’t worry)
• 1 T. coconut flour
• small dash salt (I use Real Salt)
• 1 T. dark chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Butter a 2 cup glass baking dish. I use this Pyrex food storage container that’s also oven safe (love those things!). Preheat a toaster oven to 350.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the butter, sour cream, and sugar with a fork until all combined. Add the egg and vanilla, and stir again.
3. Stir in the cocoa powder, coconut flour, and dash of salt. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Pour into the greased baking dish and bake for about 10-12 minutes. Enjoy your momma medicine!

I’m not sure how well this will work in a microwave. We don’t have one, but I suppose you could try! If you do, be sure to leave a comment and let me know how it worked.

Also, you could bake this in a regular oven. I just suggest a toaster oven because I avoid heating up my big gas oven (which subsequently pumps out all manner of heat into my tiny boxed-in kitchen) if at all possible.

And while I call this a chocolate cake for one, it really does make enough to share with another person. But I can’t find a good reason to not eat it all myself, so that’s what I do.

If it’s been an extra mommy-ish day, you might consider topping this with a rich Homemade Dark Chocolate Sauce and sipping a Real Hot Chocolate while you eat. Not that I’ve done that or anything.

So go ahead momma… enjoy that chocolate comfort once they’re all in bed. It’ll be our little secret!

What’s your favorite guilt-free way to get a chocolate fix?