Who doesn’t love italian cream cake?

The combination of sweet coconut and creamy frosting in a light, fluffy cake is enough to make anyone’s mouth water.

That first bite: like biting into a sweet cloud pulled down from the summer sky.

Okay, maybe that’s taking it to the extreme, but if you can honestly tell me that you can resist fresh baked italian cream cake, I’d be very impressed.

I know I can’t.

Unfortunately, most italian cream cakes are packed with butter, sugar, and shortening. And while this combination may taste good, just remember: a minute on the lips, forever on the hips. If you have good self control and can stop after just one slice, then more power to you! Let them eat cake! On the other hand, if you’re like me and can’t help but reach for a second, and third, and even fourth slice, then this recipe is going to be a life saver.

This is a single serving italian cream cake, meaning there’s no chance you’ll over eat and break your diet. It’s a heck of a lot healthier than your classic, bakery bought italian cream cake. And did I mention you can make it in a mug in your own microwave? So it only takes… wait for it… less than five minutes for you to prepare a delicious, mouth watering, fluffy italian cream cake of your own.

And you can eat it right out of the mug, or if you want to get all fancy, make a mini, little baby cake that you can admire for about 10 seconds before you’re gobbling it up.

Regardless of how you present it, lemme tell you, this thing is g-o-o-d.

Italian Cream Cake… In a Mug

Italian Cream Cake

• 1/4 c almond flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp of baking soda
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs egg whites
• 1 tbs milk of choice (I used almond milk)
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp stevia (or 2 tsp sugar)
• 2 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes (or sweetened)
• 1 tsp chopped walnuts (optional)

Icing

• 1 tsp greek cream cheese (or regular, reduced fat, etc.)
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp water
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tbs coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 1/2 tsp chopped walnuts

Grease a mug or ramekin if desired (skip this step if you’re planning on eating it out of the mug). Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir. Pour into mug and microwave for about 1 minute 15 seconds. Take out and let cool before flipping the mug over onto a small plate, icing, and enjoying. Or simply leave in mug and ice and eat it while it’s still steaming!

For the icing, combine cream cheese, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, coconut oil, and water in a small bowl. If not eating it in the mug, once the cake has cooled, ice as a normal cake. If enjoying the cake straight out of the mug, simply pour icing over the cake. Sprinkle with coconut flakes and chopped walnuts. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (from myfitnesspal.com)

Calories: 253

Fat: 21g

Carbs: 21g

Protein: 6g

(Yields 1-2 servings)

Nutrition information calculated is for two servings and does include the icing. Almost all the fat is healthy fat from the coconut oil (and of course, almond flour), which you don’t have to include if you don’t mind the taste of very low-fat desserts, but I can’t promise the results will be even half as good. If you’re like me and just can’t share this witha friend, double all values of the nutritional information. This may seem like a lot, but a typical slice of italian cream cake has around 700 calories for just one serving! And come on, who stops after just one slice?