A few months ago, I was out with some preschool moms, and we managed to stay out until midnight. I came home, woke my guy, and practically did a happy dance at the foot of the bed – so proud was I for staying out so late. In his sleepy haze, he didn’t really appreciate the high-five requests.

Yeah … I still high-five.

The truth is, more often than not, my guy and I are in bed by 8:30 p.m. I mean, we really have transformed into morning people (parenthood helped), so I try to justify our elderly bedtime. I mean, I do generally wake between 4 – 5 a.m. and work for a couple of hours. The house is so quiet! I do my best work then! On the flip side, by 6 p.m., my brain has officially shut down.

So, as you can imagine, a wild night packed full of green beers and Irish jigs and rad t-shirts is not exactly on our agenda for Saint Patrick’s Day. Preschool crafts, yes. Maybe some green mac and cheese. And I can even manage this mug cake after 6 in the evening, because it’s darn near the easiest thing to make, ever. (Well, aside from this one, which is even easier.) Plus, chocolate.

Mug cakes are both dangerous and awesome. They’re so easy to make – cake in an instant! So it’s kind of hazardous thing to have in your cooking arsenal. But they’re also great for eating sweets in moderation. This Vegan Double Chocolate Mint Mug Cake is an indulgence, yes. But when that single serving is gone, it’s gone. No tempting half-rounds of cake beckoning me from the kitchen. That’s the awesome part – at least, when I’m counting calories (which I perpetually am).

This mug cake is uber-chocolatey with both actual chocolate melted in plus cocoa powder to boot. Hence the “double!” It’s moist with a nice crumb, and absolutely otherworldly with a dollop of vanilla-touched coconut whipped cream. I mean, otherworldly for a mug cake.

Would a non-lame person ever describe a mug cake as “otherworldly?” Yeah … don’t answer that.

More Vegan Cake Recipes

• Looking for a full-size chocolate cake recipe? This dairy-free and vegan chocolate cake is a keeper recipe around here.
• Who doesn’t love a good flag cake?! American flag sheet cake is vegan and the frosting can be adapted to be vegan also.
• This vegan pineapple upside down cake is so moist and decadent!

Print

Vegan Double Chocolate Mint Mug Cake

This uber-chocolatey mug cake just happens to be vegan, but everyone is sure to appreciate this decadent little indulgence.

Author Kare

Ingredients

• 1 1-ounce square bittersweet or dark chocolate, broken into pieces, or 2 tablespoons semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (I’ve been using Ghiradelli 60% baking chocolate as that’s what I have on hand)
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil can substitute vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder optional
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract optional
• 1/16 teaspoon or about 6 drops peppermint extract

Optional toppings:

• Coconut whipped cream or, for a non-vegan version, dairy whipped cream
• Mini chocolate chips
• Fresh mint

Instructions

• Place the chocolate and the coconut oil into a microwave-proof mug. Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds and stir. If the chocolate is not yet melted, microwave again at 50% power in 15-second increments, stirring each time, until the chocolate is melted. It usually takes me about one minute total.
• Add the remaining ingredients except optional toppings. Stir with a fork until combined.
• Microwave on high until risen and just until dry to the touch, 1-2 minutes (in my microwave it takes 1 minute 15 seconds).
• Add toppings if you like and serve.

The post Double Chocolate Mint Mug Cake appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

Why is it that Christmas trees always look way, WAY bigger once you get them in your house? More than ever before, our eyes were bigger than our living room this year. We ended up with a giant of a tree I still gape at it whenever I pass by.

This year is the first year we’ve had to use an actual ladder to dress our tree, just like in the movies, teetering dangerously on the top step – you know, the one you’re not supposed to use – risking life and limb. Literally life and limb, because I nearly took down both myself and the tree. BUT we made it happen. And now we’ve got a mammoth tree lording over our living room, with one bottom branch so heavy with toddler-hung ornaments that it’s touching the ground.

And all is right with the world.

Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year, and one of the reasons is the excuse to brew up fancy “lattes” and pile copious amounts of whipped cream on top.

These Slow Cooker Peppermint Vanilla Lattes are just plain necessary on Christmas morning. Plus, once you pour all of the ingredients in, they’re fuss-free. The Crock Pot keeps the coffee nice and warm so refills are quick and easy – and you can get back to what matters.

(more…)

The post Slow Cooker Peppermint Vanilla Lattes appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.

Okay, more. Maybe a lot more. I’m slightly recovered from my three-a-day habit (I live in Seattle! There were three within close walking distance from my office and I needed the caffeine!), though I must admit the addiction has seen a bit of a resurgence since I’ve recently discovered that, indeed, it is difficult to get much sleep when you have a baby, even when the baby is nearly a year old. This discovery goes hand in hand with how I’ve really discovered the true beauty of the Starbucks drive-thru for new moms … so convenient when you’ve got a sleeping baby strapped in the back (oh now she sleeps).

(more…)

The post Slow Cooker Peppermint Mochas appeared first on Kitchen Treaty.