Name: Black Forest Mug Cake
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 4 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons almond flour; 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 tablespoon cornstarch (helps replace the egg); ½ teaspoon baking powder; Pinch of salt; 1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey); 2 tablespoons milk (dairy or almond milk); ½ teaspoon vanilla extract; 3 tablespoons fresh cherries, pitted and chopped; 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips

Spread the love

This rich chocolate Black Forest mug cake is packed with juicy fresh cherries and melty chocolate chips for an easy single-serving dessert inspired by classic Black Forest cake. It’s moist, fudgy, and only lightly sweetened so the chocolate and cherries really shine.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Black Forest Cake for One

This Black Forest mug cake recipe all started with chocolate whipped cream.

I was grocery shopping with Miss O and without a list, which means more impulse buys and extra groceries (there’s a reason I only do this once in a while!)

Chocolate whipped cream (made with real cream and cocoa powder) made its way into the cart, and I wasn’t mad about it.

In fact, I put it there.

We also got fresh cherries that are perfectly in season right now.

Since I didn’t want us to eat all the chocolate whipped cream squirted right into our mouths, I thought of making a recipe with chocolate and cherries, and that led to this Black Forest cake.

I love using almond flour so I did in this mug cake recipe, making this Black Forest cake gluten-free, high-protein, and flourless.

It’s also eggless, really only because I forgot to get eggs at the store, and we were already home and cozy and I wanted to bake.

Sometimes it’s tricky to make an almond flour cake without eggs, but I got this one down! It’s rich and chocolately, and holds together so well!

But very important note:

You need to include the 1 tablespoon of starch to provide structure for this mug cake in lieu of eggs. If you don’t have a starch, it will be crumbly and won’t hold up well.

Okay, onto some modifications and then the recipe! (Feel free to skip down to the recipe if you just want to get started as is).

Black Forest Mug Cake Tips & Modifications

Here are a few ideas to level up your black forest cake, or ways to modify if you don’t have one of the ingredients on hand:

Add espresso powder

Adding ⅛ teaspoon of espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavor without making the cake taste like coffee.

Use chopped dark chocolate instead of chips

It creates pockets of melted chocolate that feel more luxurious and less sweet.

Finish with Greek yogurt whipped cream

Mix plain Greek yogurt with a little whipped cream for a tangy topping that echoes traditional Black Forest cake while keeping sweetness in check.

Add a tiny splash of cherry juice

One teaspoon of juice from the chopped cherries adds extra fruit flavor if your cherries aren’t very ripe.

Use frozen cherries instead of fresh

If it’s not cherry season, you can use frozen cherries. Just make sure you defrost them, and drain all the liquid, otherwise your black forest mug cake will be too watery and won’t set well.

Sub another starch

If you don’t have cornstarch, or have a corn allergy, feel free to sub with arrowroot powder or tapioca starch. If you don’t have any starch and don’t need this black forest mug cake to be flourless, you can sub 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour for the 1 tablespoon of starch.

Maple syrup substitutions

You can sub honey or agave for the maple syrup. This black forest mug cake is only lightly sweetened, and if you want it even less sweet, you can omit the chocolate chips. The cherries will still provide lots of natural sweetness.

Let’s make this quick and easy black forest cake!!