Name: Gluten-Free Spice Mug Cake
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 min
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 large egg; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter; 1 tablespoon milk; whipped cream; vanilla ice cream; cream cheese frosting, recipe below; 2 tablespoons softened cream cheese; 3 tablespoons powdered sugar; 1 teaspoon milk

Single serving microwaved gluten-free spice mug cake. It contains brown sugar and spices. Takes less than five minutes to make!

Someone saw my recipe for gluten-free spice cake on Facebook and said that the cake looked great but (there’s always a but) they didn’t need that much cake.

That gave me an idea: a gluten-free spice mug cake.

As you know, I love gluten-free mug cakes. And while I’ve made a gluten-free vanilla mug cake and a gluten-free chocolate mug cake, it never occurred to me to make a spice version. Until now.

It’s quick. It’s easy. And it’s really good. Perfect for a cold night when all you want to do is curl up with a movie or good book and some cake.

How to Make Gluten-Free Spice Mug Cake: The Ingredients

Gluten-Free Flour. Use a gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum or guar gum. Without a gum, the cake doesn’t rise well.
Egg. For a light and airy cake, an egg is needed. I haven’t tested the recipe with an egg-replacer.
Brown Sugar. Adds a molasses flavor. If you don’t have brown sugar in the house, replace it with an equal amount of granulated sugar.
Spice Blend. Unlike my gluten-free spice cake, we’re using a spice blend for this mug cake to keep things simple.

How to Make Gluten-Free Spice Mug Cake: Keys for Success

Like my other gluten-free mug cakes, this recipe is easy-peasy.

Use a large (but not too large!) mug. You need a mug that can hold about 12 ounces. The cake rises (and then falls a bit) as it bakes. If the mug is too small, the cake can fall out. If you use a really tall mug, think Starbucks grande-size or bigger, it’ll be hard to eat the baked cake.
Stir the dry ingredients together. Before you add the egg, oil, and milk, take a second to whisk the gluten-free flour, brown sugar, spices, and baking powder together with a fork. This ensures that you don’t get clumps of brown sugar or spices in the finished cake.
Expect the cake to rise and fall. It’s totally normal for a gluten-free mug cake to rise during baking (microwaving) and fall a little as it cools. This is simply the egg expanding and contracting.