A Houseful of Love

Are you trying to eat healthy, but don’t want to completely give up desserts? Don’t get me wrong, I love having a bit of fruit after dinner most of the time, but every once in a while, I want to have a little something special without eating junk.

I came up with this recipe when looking for a sweet treat to enjoy with my husband after our anniversary dinner that wouldn’t leave us feeling bloated and sluggish. The inspiration came from this recipe, but I scaled it back to serve two and made microwaveable so it’s ready in under 15 minutes! It’s super easy and only requires an egg, a banana, baking powder, and cocoa powder. I also add just a few extra ingredients (cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt) to make it even more chocolatey because you can never have too much chocolate!

Testing this recipe was an absolute delight. It’s very forgiving, so it can be thrown together even somewhat carelessly after a long day and still turn out wonderfully. It can be made with frozen bananas that have been thawed or fresh bananas. Even if your bananas aren’t ripe yet, no worries – this recipe will still work with a slight modification that I detail below.

Does it taste like bananas or eggs?

I’ve never tasted egg in this recipe, but if I use a very ripe banana or don’t mash it super well, sometimes I get a slight banana flavor. However, I have never found it objectionable (and I’m someone who generally doesn’t like bananas). The cocoa powder, especially when boosted with cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt, gives it a deep dark chocolate flavor that overpowers the banana and egg. If you really want to up the chocolate flavor, add a touch of rum or coffee – this really does take it to the next level, but it isn’t necessary to enjoy it.

If you really don’t like the banana flavor, try using an unripe banana as I detail below!

Can I make this with unripe/green bananas?

Yes! Did you know that you can ripen a banana with an egg yolk? You can read all about the science behind it here, but basically egg yolks have an enzyme called amylase that is also responsible for ripening bananas. For this recipe, separate the yolk from the white and mash it into the banana as best you can. Allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes, then add the egg white back along with the rest of the ingredients.

When I tried this with a very green banana, it wasn’t quite as sweet as when I made it with naturally-ripe bananas, but it was still plenty sweet. And while the mug cake usually doesn’t have much of a banana flavor, when made this way, it also had almost no banana flavor. If you don’t like the taste of bananas, this might be the way you prefer to make it!

But why eat a dessert with no sugar, no flour, and no oil or butter?

First, I wouldn’t believe that this dark chocolate mug cake is missing any of the classic “dessert” ingredients. It’s still sweet, fluffy, and very richly chocolatey. It’s my go-to fix when I’m craving chocolate because it actually satisfies my cravings (unlike many other desserts that just leave me wanting more).

Then there’s the fact that it’s way to easy to eat too many processed carbohydrates these days. White flour and various forms of added sugar are in so many foods (especially desserts), yet they don’t give our bodies any of the nutrients they need. Most desserts simply spike your blood sugar, leaving you feeling tired, sluggish, and craving even more sugar.

This dark chocolate mug cake fixes all that. Since it’s made with whole food ingredients, it’s packed with fiber, protein, and healthy fats, as well as vitamins and minerals. I would definitely consider eggs and a banana a healthy breakfast, so the fact that mixing them together yields a dessert makes this recipe a keeper in my book!

What’s the problem with added sugar?

How much added sugar do you eat in a day? I used to eat a lot, without even realizing it. In fact, you could cut out desserts and still be eating far too much because sugar is added to just about every processed food, even ones that seem healthy. Once I started truly looking at ingredient labels, I was shocked by how often a form of sugar was in the first few ingredients. Many non-dessert recipes also include added sugar, sometimes in significant quantities. It’s hidden in plain sight.

But how much added sugar is okay?

According the old CDC’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans (prior to the new 2025-2030 guidelines), everyone over the age of 2 should limit added sugars intake to less than 10% of their total daily calories (and children under 2 should not have any). These were the guidelines many of us grew up with and followed as adults. At first, 10% doesn’t sound like that much, but that means that for a 2,000 calorie diet, up to 50g (1/4 cup) of added sugar is okay.

A quarter cup of sugar every day seems like an awful lot of something that provides no nutritional benefit (and that’s not even considering the harm caused by sugar consumption)! If that’s 10% of daily calories, then we really have to make sure we make the most of the other 90% in order to avoid nutrient deficiencies.

But did you know that, as of 2025, the average American eats 71g (over 1/3 cup!) of added sugar per day? Yikes! Once I realized this, I started seeing many ultra-processed foods for what they are – desserts. But since everything else is so sweet, our desserts have to be even sweeter!

The Good News about Cutting Sugar

Once you commit to cutting adding sugar out of everything that isn’t a dessert, you can enjoy desserts that are significantly less sweet. That’s why I never add sugar to my non-dessert recipes.

And remember, we’re just talking about added sugar, not naturally occurring sugars in fruits and vegetables. When eating fruits and vegetables in their whole forms (not juiced or otherwise altered), they contain lots of fiber and micronutrients that curb blood sugar spikes and nourish our bodies.

It’s also why I LOVE this dark chocolate mug cake. It feels like a normal dessert, but with no more sugar than simply having a bit of fruit for dessert. Since it’s sweetened naturally with a ripe banana, it still tastes sweet, but not cloyingly so.

If you’re early in your no-added-sugars journey, it may not taste sweet enough to you and that’s okay! It will take time to reduce your sweet tooth, but in time, you will come to love it too.

Ingredients

• 1 banana – This is the sweetener for the mug cake, so a ripe banana will give you more ripeness than an unripe one. It’s also important to have ripe banana to be able to mash it well. If your banana is not ripe, you can mash the banana with the egg yolk (save the egg white to add later) and let it sit for 30 minutes before making the rest of the recipe.
• 1 egg – This gives the mug cake some structure and most of its lift.
• 15g (about 2.5 tbsp) cocoa powder – This gives some structure as well (it acts like the flour in this cake). It also give the cake its dark chocolatey flavor. Feel free to add a bit more or less to suit your taste.
• 1/2 tsp baking powder – This (along with the egg) helps to leaven the cake. Make sure you use baking powder, not baking soda!
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon – This gives a richer, more complex flavor to the cake. If you don’t like it, you can omit it.
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract – Is it a cake without vanilla extract? All joking aside, this also helps to balance out and deepen the flavors in the cake.
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt – As my husband says, salt is flavor!

Directions

Step 1: With a whisk, mash the banana and the egg together in a small mixing bowl and whisk until smooth. Try to get rid of as many lumps as possible! If your banana is not ripe, mash it with just the egg yolk and allow to sit for 30 minutes, then add the egg white and continue with the recipe.

Step 2: Add the cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla extract.

Step 3: Whisk until all ingredients are fully incorporated. The batter should be smooth and pourable.

Step 4: Divide evenly between two 4oz ramekins or mugs. If baking in the oven, be sure to grease them well first).

Step 5: Bake in microwave or oven/toaster oven.

• For microwave: Cook for 1 minute. If center is still not fully set, add 30 seconds at a time until fully cooked. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs (no batter).
• For oven/toaster oven: Preheat to 350°F. Cook for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Step 6: Either allow to cool for a few minutes, or just dive in and enjoy!

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Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 110 kcal
Fat: 4g
Total Carbohydrates: 19g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 5g

The nutrition data provided here is for informational only and is only an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It cannot be verified or guaranteed, and should not be used in the treatment of medical conditions. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice This data should be interpreted and used at your own risk.