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Cupcake for One (It’s healthy!)

Above, a single lady with Reeses Pieces Chocolate Frosting.

Single Lady Cupcake

(makes a single serving cupcake)

  • 3 tbsp flour (30g) (See directions for flour notes)
  • heaping 1/16th tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp applesauce, oil, pre-melted margarine (such as Earth Balance or Smart Balance Light), or a combination
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp liquid (milk of choice or water)
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • Sweetener (I hate giving specific amounts, since tastebuds are so different. For normal tastebuds, 1 to 1 and 1/2 tbsp of sugar, or 1 to 1 1/2 packets of stevia should be about right. If you use liquid sweetener, cut back a tiny bit on the other liquid.)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 330 degrees. Mix the ingredients and pour into an oiled (or sprayed) muffin pan. Smooth top of batter. Cook for 12-15ish minutes. Alternatively, you can cook in the microwave, in a greased mug or ramekin. (Microwave times will vary, depending on the flour you use and the strength of your microwave.

Notes on flour: If you use whole-wheat pastry or spelt flour for cupcakes, you’ll get a denser (more muffin-like) cake. Still delicious! White flour and Bob’s gluten-free also work. I wouldn’t recommend plain whole-wheat flour. (Also, be warned if you’ve never done fat-free baking: subbing all the oil in a recipe for applesauce will give you a gummier result. Once again, still delicious, but much denser than your traditional cupcake with oil.)

Nutrition Info:

  • Calories: 110
  • Fat: 0.5 g
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 23 g
  • Fiber: 4 g
  • ww points (new system): 3

(Add 100 calories if you use the tbsp of oil as opposed to the applesauce version.)

Above, with cinnamon and my Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting.

So basically, the cupcake became a Cinnamon Roll Cupcake. I have many more ideas for future cupcakes. It’s really fun dealing with one at a time. They’re so quick to make that you can measure ingredients in separate bowls and add different mix-ins to each bowl. One chocolate-chip cupcake, one pumpkin, one carrot cake… you get the idea.

Published on October 26, 2010

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Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC's 5 O'clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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215 Comments

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  1. Hela says

    yummi!!
    i love running or any other workout to distract myself from negative thoughts. cooking or baking helsp too, but i always feel as if i am putting some of my negative thought INTO the food i am preparing, so i rather get rid of them and THEN cook or bake 🙂

    • Valerie says

      Have you ever seen the movie “Like Water for Chocolate”? Or I think there’s a Spanish translation… I haven’t seen it in a long time, but I think the concept is that whatever the girl is feeling ends up in her food. So if she’s feeling bitter, her food tastes bitter!

  2. Sagojyou says

    Yum! Looks really good! And very cute! 😉 The frosting looks yu-mmy!
    I draw/listen to music/be on the internet/read to distract me from negative thoughts.
    Cupcake flavors I dream of? I don’t “dream” it, but I can give you ideas! Coconut, avocado, cotton candy, candy cane (oh that’d be so cool!), gingerbread man-flavor, orange, apple, grapes, and cheese(?!)! 😀 Pizza would be wee-ird!! XP

  3. Leslie says

    Wow, Katie, that cupcake looks so good! As do the pretty, heart decorated ones. You’re so talented! And I’ll definitely be making this recipe, as extra cupcakes around me are a dangerous thing ;).

  4. Inspired says

    I love the idea of a single cupcake! Why did I not think of that? Truly, I am going into my kitchen as soon as I finish writing this to try out your recipe! It looks so easy :).

    As for your question, I like Hela’s thought, above mine.

  5. Jennifer - jcd says

    Oooh, single serve cupcakes are a perfect idea! Gone are the days of baking the full dozen and wondering what to do with the leftovers. Sure you can freeze them, but this recipe makes fresh cupcakes every time! Mmmm…. You’re genius, Katie!

    The best distraction I use is cooking or baking. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go out for a run or walk. Watching a silly movie is usually my last resort.

    Personalised cupcake flavours?? I like carrot cupcakes and lime cupcakes, both with coconut icing.

  6. Valerie says

    I’m going to have to change your recipe to “cupcakes for three” or we’ll have a big fight in my household ;). But I love the idea of personalized cupcakes. This is going to make me VERY popular with my kiddos, because they NEVER EVER agree on what they want! Thanks Katie! 🙂

  7. Caitlin says

    I have really bad anxiety, but the more I socialize, the less I notice it. Talking to friends, going to parties, spending time with family, even writing, all help me feel calmer. For me, it’s not as much about distraction as it is connecting with others.

    I love the single serving cupcake! It can be difficult to down 12 or 24 cupcakes all by myself.

  8. whatenergycreates says

    To distract my angry/sad/stressed self, I usually read vegan/feminist blogs, because they make me happy. Especially positive blogs, like yours or OhSheGlows.

    As for my cupcake dreams, that Cookie Dough one sounds heavenly. I’d also love an Oreo cupcake or Pumpkin/Cream Cheese cupcake.

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Aww wow, thank you so much for your SUPER-kind words. Your comment really made me smile… and crave oreo cupcakes!
      I had an amazing oreo cupcake from a vegan bakery in Austin, once (called Dhaba Joy). They had vegan soft-serve too! Unfortunately, I think they went out of business :(.

  9. Lisa says

    Yum! Oh my gosh this looks heavenly, especially with the cheesecake mousse, which I’ve made before on your carrot cake cupcakes. I think, in fact, I’ll make a carrot cake single lady cupcake because it’s been a while since I’ve had that addictive cheesecake mousse :).
    I love the name too. So cute! You’re adorable, Katie. I love checking your blog every day. It really is a bright spot in this world of pessimism. 🙂

  10. couchpotatoathlete says

    When I start thinking of negative thoughts I do my best to immediately counter them with positive ones — or I distract myself. I do something that I’m “good” at to make myself feel better: silly things like folding the laundry or doing the dishes. I can look at something I accomplished just then and it makes me feel a bit better 🙂

    Definitely make the pumpkin choco chip muffin!!! Do it!

  11. Gloria says

    Oh you are truly amazing, Katie! I’m a single baker as well, and I always say my kitchen owns my heart 😉 We’re awesome!! Can’t wait to make this for dessert.

  12. Anonymous says

    Cute! I like the appliques too. I am wondering though, why YOU wouldn’t put just a smidge of oil in them? Polyunsat are great! Just curious…..I notice lots of your recipes don’t include fats. They are so essential 🙂

    • Melissa says

      Really? I feel like most things she makes include nuts or nut butters! Lots of healthy fats. I actually have to lighten up her recipes since I’m not natural blessed with thinness. Heh.

      I think the icing on this bad boy totally = healthy fats. 😉
      Maybe Katie is like a lot of us and doesn’t favor using oils – preferring to get fats from whole food sources? I’m just guessing here. Don’t quote me.

  13. thedelicateplace says

    hey no i’m a biologist 😉 but maybe i can forgive you since you have that fab cupcake! i wonder if coconut flour would work as i’m gluten free. hmmmm of to experiment. i think i’d make a carrot cake one with fresh shredded and carrot and ginger mmm

  14. Little Bookworm says

    The cupcake recipe sounds amazing, such a clever idea as well! Definitely bookmarked it to make soon. I like your idea of a chocolate chip cookie dough cupcake. 🙂

  15. spoonfulofsugarfree says

    Oooo cinnamon rolls!!! I made a cupcake business once…I named it Cutie Cakes by Alex. They were actually vegan cupcakes, too!! I never tried one, though, because they all had sugar in them!!! I was told they were extremely yummy, though 😉

  16. Cindy says

    i get plagued with negative thoughts…from time to time and I have found a good hearty RUN just turns my brain off (the need for oxygen is more important than the need to beat myself up over whatever I am stewing over at the time)

    ahhhhh

    calm.

    just getting off my pity party!

    those cupcakes would do it!

    I’m a huge lemon poppyseed girl myself! OH OH but recently I had a S’MORE cupcake from a local bakery…that was INSANELY good

  17. candicemccoy says

    Brilliant! I am mildly obsessed with cupcakes right now. I’m definitely going to have to try this little recipe:)

    I usually just try to get busy doing something or go for a short walk outside if possible!

  18. Frances says

    Generally, when I’m feeling awful, I get on my bike and pedal until I’m exhausted…that makes me feel like I’ve worked the bad thoughts out on the road, and by the time I’m home, I’ve accomplished some mileage and made myself too tired to worry anymore.

    I don’t like cupcakes! How weird is that? But traditional cake-y things were never interesting to me. Still, I DO like some muffins, and this seems more like that sort of thing. My favorite muffin ever is a sweet potato-almond muffin from a local cafe… YUM. Dreaming up my own? I’d make pumpkin, with a toasted pecan frosting on top.

  19. Jennifer says

    Seriously, Katie, you just made my day! I live by myself and so often I want to bake some kind of desert but who wants an entire pan of cupcakes. Well, I would want them, but whether I should eat them is another story. So, thanks!

  20. Maria says

    My cupcake of flavour would have to be something with sweet and salty. Maybe chocolate and peanut butter? Or something more wild like toffee and marmite (its good) haha. Your personalised one look so cute! Defo gunna try this xxx

  21. Amy says

    I distract myself from negative thoughts by doing things I enjoy and doing things that I am good at. I like to work out, go on walks, talk to friends, clean and/or organize my room (occasionally this does not make me happy), read food blogs, etc… Those are just a few…

    My personalized cupcake flavor would be chocolate hazelnut. I love that combo!

    Also I am very sympathetic to your boy situation because mine is also currently null.

  22. Shelby says

    LOVE this!!!! A single lady cupcake is something I’ve been searching for forever, because sometimes I just don’t want 6-12 in the house.

    Perfection!

  23. Fi says

    I find blogging, or surfing the net or music really good for staying away from negative thoughts 🙂
    I am really loving the idea of a baileys cupcake or bannoffee cupcake!! ive tried a guiness one before and it was deeelish!! 🙂
    xx

  24. kathleen says

    i love your blog although, every time i see “baby making” my mind goes right to actual, you know, baby making. perhaps this is because i am pregnant or maybe my mind is always in the gutter…

    what about something like key-lime pie cupcakes?

  25. Emily says

    Your cupcakes look delicious! You are so talented, Katie.
    I’m sorry that things w/ sports store hottie didn’t work out as planned. It’s always hard and disappointing when things like that happen, but you have a great attitude, and I think some other guy will come to sweep you off your feet in no time. 🙂

  26. Mary @ Bites and Bliss says

    Sorry Sports Store Hottie didn’t work out, but it was for good reasons. At least he wasnt a total jerk or anything like that 😛

    I love that these cupcakes are for a single serving! That way there’s no dealing with leftovers when you just want one.

  27. Aly says

    MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm. 🙂 Although, I’m taken as of now, I still just want to make this cupcake. He’s not a vegan, so he probably won’t want much to do with it. I should also share this with my parents. My mom is getting into the whole vegan thing, which is such a blessing, and she’s starting to understand why I do it. 🙂 (She even tried some of my food!! Although it was just a cookie… SHE LOVED IT!)
    But, thankies for this wonderful cupcake recipe! I’m soo excited to make it, and not have to share any bit of it. ;D
    Lots of love,
    Aly

  28. Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga) says

    the cupcake looks good but the truth is that i only really eat cupcakes so that i can eat FROSTING!!! 🙂

    The frosting is where it’s AT for me! yours looks….like a pile of sweet amazing-ness! Oh how i want that right now!

    Neg thoughts…well, I am so busy that I just become busy with one of my other 98798 responsibilities and “busy myself” to the point that I don’t/can’t/try not to think about whatever is plaguing me. Hang in there hon 🙂

  29. Bianca- Vegan Crunk says

    Baking is also how I deal with negative business. As long as I’m in the kitchen, my thoughts are happy. If I’m licking the bowl, I’m even happier. Love the idea of a single cupcake!

  30. unbelloaperitivo says

    Yumm! Delicious…I love the idea of making a whole bunch of cupcakes of different flavors. Sometimes I think my tastebuds have ADD, so a bunch of flavors would definitely be right up my ally!

    For a flavor suggestion, how about a spiced pear cupcake with caramel frosting?

  31. littlemisspotato says

    Aw, don’t get down! Some really great creations can come out from moving on! You’re like Taylor Swift writing songs about boys…except you create delicious treats. 😉
    But I hear ya. Keep your chin up!

    That frosting looks so amazing. It is always my favorite part of cupcakes.

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      LOL oh my goodness! Funniest comment ever. I’m like the Taylor Swift of the blogging world… or maybe that’s just wishful thinking, because I think she’s awesome (even though Country music isn’t my favorite genre). She’s just so fun and outspoken :).

  32. dancinghopinglivingdreaming says

    awww your cupcake looks so sad with no frosting 🙁
    but it looks absolutely amazing decorated! mmm it’s making me hungry haha.

    hmm way of distracting myself from negative thoughts? i like to write in my journal, or blog. If it’s out of my head, onto paper (or computer haha), then usually I can move on with my day. I like ot bake too though… that’s always relaxing and distracting. And yummy! Long walks on the beach, if I’m at home, are absolutely amazing as well 🙂

    and personalized cupcake flavour? Peanut butter banana chocolate chip. Pumpkin. Pumpkin Ginger. Carrot ginger. zucchini chocolate. honey and tofutti. dark dark dark dark chocolate. oooh there are so many i’d like! :p

  33. Toast and Tofu says

    Katie! Ive never commented before but I LOVE your blog. I just wanted to say (sorry this is unrelated to your post) but I have oats in the fridge for tomorrow morning that Im using your voluminous oatmeal trick on! I was so skeptical because after microwaving it was still all water but its already sucked it all up! Im so excited for breakfast now. I make oatmeal everyday. I have a million flavour combinations and a whole box in my cupboard dedicated to oatmeal toppings and mix ins. =]

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Aww! LOL I was just thinking the other day, “I should do a Voluminous Oat tutorial, because I bet people see the oats all watery and just throw them out, never believing they’ll absorb so much water.”
      Thanks for the sweet comment… and I hope you enjoy the heck out of your oatmeal ;). Hehe your oatmeal box sounds awesomelicious!

  34. Albizia says

    As a biologist I must disagree with you on how boring Biology textbooks are. Although sometimes they really are utterly boring 😀 . But I get what you mean because my love life is the same, i.e. missing. I usually use music, movies and long walks for distraction form any kind of negative thoughts but I think baking is a good idea too.

    My dream cupcake would be with banana, coffee and caramel. And maybe an almond on top 🙂 .

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Hehe oh ok, I’m sure there are good bio books out there… I probably am not giving them a fair shot because the ones I remember were generic, public-school textbooks trying to put a ton of info into a little book and drum it into the minds of kids who couldn’t have cared less. Plus, my 10th-grade bio textbook was growing mold. I’m serious! I moved schools, mid-year, and that was the one they gave me! 😕

  35. Moni'sMeals says

    I love it! A single cupcake…brilliant (portion control-solved!)
    Looks lovely. A flavor I dream of is white chocolate carmel…never had one like that.

    Not a big fan of negative thoughts AT ALL (who is) but Yoga,Baking, working with my amazing clients, and my passions and friends/family all are a great distraction for me and most importantly…our doggies! 🙂

  36. Cynthia K says

    I’m pretty sure you’re the only person I’ve ever seen use the phrase “heaping 1/16th tsp salt”. That totally cracked me up.

    I’m more of a muffin girl myself, but I’ve finally figured out that when I get that craving (often!) I can just make up a batch and grab out 3 or 4 for me and The Man, and send the rest of them with my daughter to her sitter, where she and her friends demolish them at breakfast.

  37. Jessica says

    I need to make a gingerbread cupcake stat! Hmm…maybe even pumpkin gingerbread?! 🙂 I’m also pretty intrigued by the cotton candy version mentioned before, lol.

  38. Danielle says

    I love the idea of the single serving cupcake(: Sometimes, regular cupcakes are just too small! I just bought a bigger cupcake pan, so I should make this(: Thanks for the recipe!

  39. Meg L. says

    I was wandering through HEAB’s blog, and found her lonely-muffin post, which directed me here!

    I tried this with olive oil and a tiny bit of cut up lemon rind (a la lemon-olive oil cake), and it was exactly what I needed! I made it in the microwave.

    Most olive oil cakes use at least a cup of oil, and not only is my olive oil a bit on the pricey side, but also an entire cake is wayyy too much. This was much faster than making a whole cake, a lot cleaner, and overall superior.

    I’ll make real cakes when I’m having a party, the rest of the time I’m going to stick to this.

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      Oh wow, thank you so much for sharing your awesome idea! I’ve actually never had olive oil cake, but I’ve heard of it and wondered if I should try it. Now, after reading your simple recipe for one, I’m going to have to make it!! 🙂

  40. Mia says

    So I eat about two of these yummy things a day. It would probably make more sense to just make a whole batch, but I like them fresh out of the oven! I usually make mine into single-whole-wheat-blueberry-muffins. They’re great! =)

    • Chocolate-Covered Katie says

      I’ve not tried it, but I do know that you’re not supposed to sub ALL coconut flour for a recipe. Maybe try it with 1/4 coconut flour and the rest something like spelt or regular wheat flour. And let me know how your experiments turn out, because I just bought coconut flour for the first time! 🙂

      • Lindsey in CO says

        I subbed 1/2 oat flour and it came out perfectly! I also ran 30g Fiber One Original cereal through my little grinder and used that to make a bran muffin and it worked very well, too. I added raisins and some brown sugar to that one – it was dense but delish. Not sure if this helps you, but thought it was appropriate to the non-wheat flour question 🙂

          • Lindsey in CO says

            I bet it would have a nice texture if you left a few of the flakes whole and sprinkled them on the top before baking. Like a yummy little crunchy topping!

  41. Lindsey in CO says

    Today my daughter Annika and I made our second “batch” of single lady cupcakes. We found out in December that Annika is allergic to milk and eggs, so this recipe is an absolute God send!! Today’s flavors are: chocolate chips + peanut butter, “red velvet” (just added a little red food coloring and some vanilla extract), banana + pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon + maple flavoring, oatmeal + strawberry preserves and oatmeal + chocolate chips. They are all fabulous!! Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe 🙂

      • Lindsey in CO says

        It was really a “Pinkalicious” cupcake. Have you seen that book? Flip through it next time you are at Target – very cute. Anyway – when you have a 5 year old daughter, all things pink automatically get the seal of approval. I even got her to eat cauliflower soup once – because I used a purple cauliflower which came out pink once it was simmered and pureed!

  42. Jen says

    Just tried the lemon today! What a brilliant idea. I didn’t have a muffin tin so I just put it in a metal 1/2 cup measuring cup and it worked quite well. I say some recipes for different single lady icings! I really need to replicate buttercream icing somehow. Let me know if you have any ideas 🙂

  43. Jennie says

    I had been meaning to try a single-lady cupcake for a while. I made one today (microwave version), and it turned out awesome! I scared my husband when I shrieked as I pulled the cupcake from the microwave (I put the batter in a paper baking cup and placed it inside of a ceramic mug). I was just so excited that I had ‘baked’ a cupcake in the microwave!

  44. Andrea says

    I tried them today (just the “normal” flavour) but instead of the 1 T of oil or whatever I used 1 T of agave nectar! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_nectar) I didn’t use any additional sweetener as it was sweet enough. Turned out fantastic! Thank god I made two 😉

    Not sure if agave nectar is part of a vegan diet so not sure if you can use it or you can get it over there (because I am in Germany) but if so, you should give it a try! 🙂

  45. Rosalind says

    I made a few of these today and they were great! I made one following this recipe exactly, with almond milk, melted smart balance and a tablespoon of sugar, and that one was definitely my friend and I’s favorite! We also made one with a teaspoon of cocoa powder, which was pretty good, and one with a little molasses, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of oats. That one had a much more muffiny, dense texture, and was less sweet. These are so great! Thank you so much CCK! I think the next time I make one I’ll sprinkle it with cinnamon and brown sugar on the top, so good and it makes your kitchen smell amazing! 🙂

  46. Laura says

    Just made this for the first time… full disclosure: I doubled the recipe to make two. 🙂 I just pictured them being too delicious to eat only one – and I was right! Except it’s surprising how filling these are for so few calories!

  47. Laurel says

    I love you Katie! I’m forever trying to quarter recipes and I almost never get the results I want. This is SO Very Perfect. Thank you.

  48. Ana says

    Katie this cupcake is delicious!!! I just made 2 for me and my son and we both loved it! I made them plain with coconut oil and 1/2 spelt flour and 1/2 oat flour. Added chocolate chips and they were p-e-r-f-e-c-t. Will be making these many times around here! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
    Ana

  49. A Fine Balance says

    You are so creative! I love just making one! I am putting this on my post fitness competition treat list. I want to be able to enjoy sweets but not to the point where I make myself sick!

    I am your newest follower! 🙂

  50. PCD says

    I am so happy to discover your single lady desserts! As someone who struggles with compulsive overeating, make a whole batch of cupcakes is a dangerous undertaking. I can’t wait to try this out!

  51. Kristen says

    I just made these with pomegranates added in (and with oat flour, sun crystals as a sweetener, and half coconut oil and half applesauce). They were very good! Thank you very much for the recipe. 🙂

  52. Lisa@organizedchaos says

    Thank you for this recipe! My son is allergic to milk, eggs, and pnuts….and I have often wanted a recipe that made just ONE safe cupcake for him…instead of a whole batch! This is perfect…going to try this tonight! ~Lisa

  53. Ashleigh says

    Do you have a single cupcake pan? Or do you use a regular one? I only have a toaster oven and want to find a single or two cupcake pan. Any ideas?

  54. Karen says

    If you’ve had a few extra thousand hits to your blog in the past three days, that would be because I just discovered it. I can’t stay off it now! I’ve tried the blondies – fooled my kids and laughed SO hard when I told them what was in them (after they were done!). Also tried chocolate chip cookie dough boatmeal and many different varities of single lady muffins/cupcakes. Our favorite has been subbing half of the applesauce for PB and throwing in some choc chips. We are not vegan or runners, but you are certainly inspiring. I’m actually considering exercising! I am thin, but soft (not toned) and I just had my fifth child, so that is incentive enough to start right there!
    Thanks for the inspiration!

  55. Karen says

    If you’ve had a few extra thousand hits to your blog in the past three days, that would be because I just discovered it. I can’t stay off it now! I’ve tried the blondies – fooled my kids and laughed SO hard when I told them what was in them (after they were done!). Also tried chocolate chip cookie dough boatmeal and many different varieties of single lady muffins/cupcakes. Our favorite has been subbing half of the applesauce for PB and throwing in some choc chips. We are not vegan or runners, but you are certainly inspiring. I’m actually considering exercising! I am thin, but soft (not toned) and I just had my fifth child, so that is incentive enough to start right there!
    Thanks for the inspiration!

  56. Edita says

    I just made the microwave version of this with a Hershey’s kiss in the middle and strawberries on top and it was AMAZING! Even without any extra toppings, the cake by itself was surprisingly flavorful for being so low-calorie! Thank you for sharing this recipe! 😀

  57. Shadé says

    Saddened because I couldn’t partake in any of the Xmas dessert festivities, I took it upon myself to whip up a little treat for myself…this was soooo good…I started with the basic recipe and tossed in a few dark chocolate chips and a splash of rum extract…mmmmmm! Thanks again Katie!

  58. Louisa says

    Hi Katie

    nice blog.. just tried to make a single lady cupcake. not sure if i got the quanties right.

    by 1 T you mean 1 tablespoon? And do you know if British and US spoons are the same?

    Looking forward to trying your chickpea blondies!

  59. Ashley says

    I just have to say… I LOVE this recipe!!!! Thank you so much for it! I have made it three times so far, the last two adding in mini chocolate chips and topping in with a homemade chocolatey “topping”. I also added flax seeds my third time. I loooovvvveee this recipe sssssooooooo much!!! Thanks 🙂

  60. Natalie says

    O.M.G.
    You are my hero. Seriously.
    I always have trouble w/ muffins and cupcakes. I wanna have one, but have to make at least 6… so I 5 which I have to either eat or figure out what to do w/. Many times, at least one or two get thrown away. Never more! Yesss. Thanks!

  61. Emily says

    I just made one of these. I used whole wheat flour and splenda. It tasted like pancake batter for some reason. hmm…. maybe I’ll try again some other time.

  62. Sam says

    I just made this, but put in a teaspoon of cinnamon and then sprinkled a tiny bit of cinnamon-sugar on top, instead of frosting. It was heavenly! Thanks for the awesome recipe!

  63. Heather says

    I adapted this recipe last night when I wanted something sweet. I used w.w. pastry flour, sugar-free vanilla flavored syrup (the kind you put in coffee) as my liquid and no additional sweetener. Then I stirred in a TBSP each of white chocolate chips and dried cranberries. Microwaved in a mug for 1 min 15sec. So Yummy!

  64. Elizabeth says

    I was looking for a recipe for muffins and I adapted this one. I doubled the recipe but instead of sweetener, I mixed a tablespoon of brown sugar with cinnamon and then I swirled it into the mix. sooo delicious!

  65. Darby says

    Katie!! I just found your blog and we have like the exact same taste in food!!! For one, I am chocolate obsessed (seriously. can’t. stop. eating. it.!!) and two, I love bananas (banana bread, bananas foster french toast…etc…) I just started my blog…it only has one recipe ahaha but I haven’t had the time to start blogging! I have to say I can relate to the boy situation…or lack thereof right now and the seemingly endless number of jerks I seem to like. However, I think chocolate makes it all better and although I’m vegetarian and not vegan, this definitely seems something I HAVE to try out! could I eat these for breakfast? 😉 hehe

  66. Beth says

    I just tried this for the first time. I used gluten free flour, added a few chocolate chips, and microwaved in a mug. It tuned out delicious! Thank you for this idea, it’s perfect for a quick dessert just for me!

    • bob says

      Great to hear that it turned out so well for you! Did you use a pre-made flour mix, or combine some yourself? Just curious to know which ones you used = )

      • Beth says

        I used half garbanzo bean flour and half tapioca flour, which is my usual gluten free flour blend. It works well for cakes. Sometimes I use Bob’s Red Mill chocolate cake mix instead – just add a little oil and water and microwave.

        • bob says

          Thanks for reporting back. It is interesting that you find that you can get away with two flours in single servings – I do too. I can’t use the flours you use though, so I usually use a little sweet rice flour with some almond meal or coconut flour for texture and nutrition.

  67. Avid Admirer says

    I LOVE this recipe! Being a single-lady myself and loving to bake is a really figure-killer until I found this! THANK YOU!

  68. Diane says

    I just found your blog and I love it…one question about this cupcake…can you use Almond Flour?
    Thanks and thanks for posting such great stuff! – Diane

  69. mithamy says

    Ok. made two variations of these tonight, one with oil and one with applesauce. The ones with oil are unbelievable! My kids devoured them! They had such a nice crust on the top! The one with applesauce was good, but much gummier and definitely not as tasty. But, the difference between 3 weight watchers points and 7 points means I’ll keep making the applesauce ones for myself. Maybe I’ll try putting 1 tsp of oil and 2 tsp of applesauce for a 4 pointer!!!

  70. Elissa says

    Hi there, quick question:
    If you are using 1 T coconut oil, how could the finished product be 110 calories? Is it one tsp? One tbl of just the oil is 120 calories, so I am confused here.

  71. CupcakeDiaries says

    OMG – JUST made this! Lavender/Lemon flavored. I used just a tiny bit of oil since it was my first time making it, and sweet cream coffee creamer instead of splenda and milk. This is my new favorite snack. Whipped it up in just a few minutes and cleanup was a breeze. Thank you Chocolate-Covered Katie for inspiring me!

  72. Lori says

    Thank you so much! As a mom of 2 kids with egg allergies you have made attending birthday parties SO much easier. Now I can have delicious single serving cake ready for parties in under 10 minutes with ingredients I always have around the house. There are not words for my appreciation.

  73. Carolina says

    Hi Katie!
    These are so delicious! I somehow choco-fied this recipe today, which made two cupcakes (I also used all whole wheat flour and applesauce and fiber/protien powder) and they were AMAZING! Are you planning on putting a chocolate single-lady cupcake up soon??

  74. Mary says

    Wow this is the best muffin recipe ever!!! Thank you Katie!
    A while ago, I made this recipe as written (with the oil) in the microwave and it was soooooooooooooo good!! Even cooked in the microwave, and it was great!!
    But today, since I am trying to lose weight and increase my fiber intake, I made a couple changes to the recipe:
    3 Tablespoons regular whole wheat flour
    1/4 tsp baking powder
    1/16 teaspoon salt
    1/16 teaspoon cinnamon
    1 1/2 tablespoon flax seed
    1/4 tablespoon fat free greek yogurt
    1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons water
    Stir dry, add wet, and bake at 330 until done.
    All I can say is wow! I’m probably going to be making this muffin for myself everyday. It is actually really really really good! The greek yogurt kept it moist, and I didn’t even miss the sweetner at all!
    The calorie count for this version is 144, with 4.7 g fat, 21.7 g carbs, 3.6 g dietary fiber, and 4.4 g protein!
    The fat, fiber, and protein mostly comes from the flax seeds, but if you would like an even lower calorie muffin, omit the flax, increase the greek yogurt to 1/2 Tablespoon, and omit one of the teaspoons of water.
    But seriously, any way you make this muffin ——so goooooooooooooood!!!

  75. vicki says

    Katie… I am in love and want to make the strawberry cupcake, but I’m feeding a family of four… so I wondered, would it be possible to offer the ingredients lists if perhaps you are feeding more than a single lady?

  76. Ellie says

    I just made one and it’s soo delicious! Made it w/ WW flour and drizzled a touch of honey on top when it came out of the oven! Divine!!

  77. mojo says

    I have a little cup of whipped cream I got from a restaurant the other day and totally forgot about when it came time to eat my cherry cheesecake. Let me tell you….I stumbled upon this blog looking for something to eat with that whipped cream, and you just made my life =) This is so yummy…..I just want to run around in circles in my apartment (too bad it’s only 700 sq ft so my circles would be tiny)!!!! I just doubled this recipe to make one for me and one for my SO and it only filled one of my ramekins…as a side note, something told me it was a good idea to get ramekins on clearance in the middle of the summer, haha…so I baked that one, topped it with chocolate chips and got a…..chocolate chip cookie cupcake!! I then made up a second batch, again doubled, then melted a small amount of the chocolate chips (maybe 1/4 cup) in a double boiler, since we don’t have a microwave, and stirred it into the batter in the ramekin JUST A BIT to get a chocolate and yellow swirled cupcake….topped with MORE chocolate chips!! There is a heaven, and this is what it tastes like. LOL

  78. Kayla says

    Just tried my first vegan muffin using this recipe….it was SO GOOD!! I used spelt flour, coconut oil, and added carob chips and cinnamon. Will be making this….lots of times! Thanks for an easy recipe!

  79. Laura says

    I replaced one tablespoon of the flour with cocoa powder, added 1/2 tablespoon carob chips, topped with whipped cream (I’m not vegan) and more carob. AH-MAY-ZING! LIKE A TINY CHOCOLATE PARADISE! 😀

  80. Morgan says

    These are my new go to desserts when I’m craving something sweet but don’t want to make enough for 12 people (because I will end up eating all 12 servings! Ha) as a single college student, these cute cupcakes are perfect. Any chance of seeing a red velvet version any time soon?

  81. Jennie says

    I just made this cupcake this morning with gf all purpose flour and honestly, it was the best gf cupcake I ever tasted. I actually made 2 – one to try and one to save for my daughter for later. These single serving cupcakes are going to come in very handy. My daughter has food allergies so everytime there is a bday in her class, I have to bring her a cupcake. It’s nice (and less time consuming) just to make 1 vs. a whole dozen. Thanks for the great recipe! I would love to see a full version on this recipe for a cake though….hopefully you can post one day. Thanks again!

  82. Heidi Mason says

    I love the concept of single serving desserts. Do you also do single servings of meals? (I’m very single, so that’d be nice, instead of frozen dinners vs. eating the same thing every night for a week 😉 )

  83. Emily says

    I absolutely love you blog SO much! The single lady cupcakes were the first things I made from your blog, and I’ve been hooked ever since! Blueberry pie pancakes, frappacino oatmeal, pumpkin pie dip… these have been some of my favorites! I swear, just about every single one of your recipes is bookmarked on my computer– my boyfriend tells me just to bookmark your whole site (which I have…) but I just love each recipe and it’s so hard to not bookmark each one because I want to be sure I can find it again! Thanks so much for all of your experimenting and hard work to help busy vegans make fun, delicious, and still healthy foods! 🙂

  84. laughing tart says

    So I finally tried this recipe and the one-minute chocolate cake for the first time today (after many weeks of reading the blog and drooling). The chocolate didn’t turn out to my taste (a little too bitter for me), but this one… MMMMMMM!!!!! Sooo delicious. I used a mix of oat flour and GF flour, half applesauce and half canola oil, 1 TBSP coconut sugar and a few drops of liquid stevia, and added a few drops of almond extract and it was fantastic!

    I’m so excited to have a go-to recipe when I want a healthy sweet without the overhead of making a dozen or more which never get eaten in my house.

    Thanks for creating this blog CCK, and thanks to all your commenters for their substitutions and ideas!

    oops, almost forgot — made your pb chocolate frosting, too. had to add quite a bit of sugar for my taste, but it was amazingly rich and yummy! I’ll be eating that right off the spoon!!!!

  85. Susanne Arena says

    I don’t know what I did wrong but I used 3 teaspoons of oil and about 3 tablespoons of milk a sachet of natvia sweetener and it was a bit doughy, too much milk perhaps? Still, quite however edible. Cheers

  86. Susanne Arena says

    I had to try this recipe again. I used 1 tablespoon of oil, (stuck the recipe this time but added more baking powder) used olive oil and it gave the cupcake a lovely kind of an earthy flavour. I also microwaved it instead of baking for approx. 1 minute. Beautiful result nice and light and not at all doughy. Made a chocky cupcake too and it was even better. Cheers Katie

  87. Anonymous says

    Hey Katie, I’m thinking of making this for my daughter for her first birthday (I’m going to make a regular white-flour-white-sugar-big-pile-of-unhealthiness cake for the guests), and I’m just sort of toying in my head with any alterations I want to make. She’s eaten very little solids up to this point since we’re doing baby-led solids, and she hasn’t had any grain yet and probably will have her first in her cake. So I’m wondering, what do you think would be the gentlest flour to use on a little digestive system new to grains that would still hold up to the recipe? And do you have any other thoughts/suggestions?

  88. Mel says

    Just made this tonight for the first time; used the Banana Split Butter (?) for the icing. OMG I may have to have one every night. Unbelievably filling for 1 cupcake!

  89. Shadae says

    This tasted so good! Im actually doing this review while im eating it haha, it has a cake texture and is perfect for those certain times of the month when you get cravings(lol). I used almond milk, and vegan butter. Tastes sorta like a sugar cookie cake. 🙂 I would reccomend anyone try this! 🙂

  90. erin says

    I’m making one now, and the batter tasted great, but my cooking time seems to be off. i’ve put it in at 350 for 18 minutes and it’s still gooey when i poke it 🙁

  91. erin says

    it came out perfectly after 18 minutes for me. maybe because i used all applesauce, no oil. but this is portioned perfectly for one cupcake and looks great! can’t wait to taste 🙂

  92. Gabriella says

    Thanks so much for this great recipe, Katie! I can’t tell you how many we’ve made in the past month since I found the recipe… and we call them “KatieCakes” for fun 🙂

    My variation is to double the batter and microwave it in 2 ramekins, then brush/soak each layer with brewed coffee. Frost with a cream cheese-type frosting and sprinkle with cocoa–it’s a tiramisu!

  93. Carrie says

    I doubled the recipe and made little fairy buns with cinnamon/xylitol and coconut butter icing – they were so lovely! Thanks, Katie! I’m a huge fan of yours <3

  94. Ja Williams says

    I love your blog & am looking forward
    to the cookbook. I’ve made several of your
    recipes with great success. Tried the single lady cupcake & topped with biscoff spread for frosting. Btw would welcome a large portion version I think these could be the base for my valentine cupcakes. The cake was flavorful and had a good crumb but it took almost 22 mins in the oven @ 350. I also had a similar experience with banana bread muffin. Will try next time with the applesauce instead of earth balance. As I need to lose weight but won’t make it without the occasional sweet treat.

  95. Kate says

    I tried making these twice tonight, and both times they rose A LOT but just wouldn’t cook through. I even tried baking for 30 minutes, and they hardly browned on top…so weird 🙁

  96. Faith says

    I just made these with gluten free flour (Bob’s) and it was a success! I’ve been vegan a while but am new to gluten free and hadn’t tried a vanilla/yellow cake recipe yet. I was really worried that without chocolate, the beany flavor of the Bob’s flour would be detectable but these cupcakes had a very strong vanilla flavor that masked it (for me). I doubled the recipe and made 6 mini cupcakes, and I just realized I didn’t double the sugar (I used about 1.5 tbsp organic cane sugar, which was actually plenty sweet). Only thing I’d like to improve next time is they were a little dry. I did use oil rather than applesauce. Any tips?

  97. Faith says

    I made the gluten free version of these with Bob’s GF flour and was very skeptical as I haven’t yet found a GF cupcake recipe that’s REALLY good, and I couldn’t imagine the bean flavor of the flour being masked in a vanilla cupcake. I WAS WRONG! These are actually quite good! I quadrupled the recipe and made 9 mini cupcakes which ended up way too big – should have aimed for 12 perhaps or just done 4 regular sized cupcakes. I used coconut oil and 6 tbsp of organic sugar (for the 4X recipe, so 1.5tbsp per recipe).

  98. denise says

    still trying to find a way to print these delicious looking recipes. must be missing something, can anybody help!!!!

    • Unofficial CCK Helper says

      To print, highlight just the recipe itself and right-click “Copy.” Then open a new Word document and right-click “Paste.” You can give this file a name, save it in a CCK Recipe folder, and print easily from there.

  99. Faith says

    Do you think I could make a chocolate cupcake by subbing cocoa powder for some of the flour? And if so, how much would you recommend?

  100. Julie says

    Ok this was amazing. I used coconut oil instead of margarine and the reese’s frosting. So easy and so healthy, I feel really good about eating this.

  101. Kathy says

    Hi, I have a couple of questions…did you use a jumbo muffin tin? there isn’t any egg in the recipe? and is the oven temp 330 degrees?

  102. Halsey says

    I made this just last night and it turned out perfectly and was so easy that I thought I was doing it wrong. I decided to use applesauce and although it definitely gave the cupcake a denser and tougher/chewier texture, the result was still fabulous (especially considering that it was so quick to pop in the microwave). Thanks for the great recipe!

  103. Kara says

    This was amazing ! I love mug cakes or single serving sweets but most of the time they only just satisfy my craving because the texture/flavour/size/yumminess is off and it just tastes meh/okay. BUT THIS was wonderful, I followed the recipe, and then baked it in a mug in the oven. It turned out absolutely delicious. I added an oreo in the bottom of the mug and the put chocolate sauce with crushed up oreos on top. Will definitely make this again and maybe switch up the flavours. xx

  104. Bri says

    Made this with 2 TBSP Vega vanilla protein powder and 1 TBSP Coconut flour. Did half apple sauce half coconut oil. Turned out amazingly delicious!!!!!
    I even did it with 1TBSP protein powder, 1TBSP almond meal, 1TBSP coconut flour and still turned out just as great! Such a versatile recipe. Thanks for this!!!

  105. Emily says

    Wow this was great! Perfect size and great flavor. I added a little more liquid since the batter came out a little dry (used granulated sugar) and some chocolate chips,yummy recipe indeed! Will try honey next time,btw if I were to use maple syrup would it be the pure kind?

  106. Andrea E says

    I got home from a class tonight and had a vegan pate sandwich for dinner. I thought this is finally the time to try that microwave mug cake! I messed it up and it’s still delicious! I added a spoon of applesauce AND a spoon of oil. I cut back on the cocoa because I had some chocolate frosting I took out of the freezer. I cooked it for 1 minute at 70% power. Amazing!

  107. Sally says

    Good recipe, I recommend mixing the dry ingredients first (I added a sprinkle of cinnamon for flavor) and then adding the wet ingredients all at once. I tried it twice because the first time I added the ingredients in the order they are listed in the recipe, and it didn’t work quite as well. Baked this in a small mason jar and mailed to my daughter for a little birthday cake, very cute and traveled well. The cake has a very nice taste.

  108. Neharika Jha says

    I just made one, and paired it with lemon curd and and white chocolate chips. I cannot tell you how amazing it turned out!! Best cupcake of my life! Thank you for the recipe!

  109. Taylor says

    My nephew has a ton of allergies and has never been able to enjoy a cupcake before. This recipe made that possible for him, and now he can feel more included in all our family events. Thanks so much. It made me cry grateful tears 🩵.

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