The Think Green Link-up {Last Day}: Strawberry Lemonade Mug Cake (Soy, Nut, Fish, Milk and Egg-Free, Can Be Wheat-Free and Diabetic Friendly)

In honor of St. Patrick's Day and the first day of spring, I decided to do a link-up that covered all things green, whether it be green living, spring, St. Patrick's day, allergy help or anything else in some way related to the season/theme (see details below).  Today is the last day to link-up, and then tomorrow I will share some of my favorites.  There are no limits to how many posts you can link-up (links to other link-ups and give aways welcome, but please keep the content kid/family friendly, thank you), so feel free to link up as many posts as you like!  And please don't forget to either grab a badge for your blog/blog page or link back to Natural and Free in some way so that others know where to join in all the fun!  I encourage you to check out some or all of the other posts that are linked up as well.  You never know what amazing things you will find until you look. :)

Before I share my yummy, spring-themed recipe with you (and I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to share more with you, but time has not been on my side and I've been dealing with a migraine off and on for going on 3 days now), I wanted to say thank you to all of you who have linked up!  If I have not yet been by to see what you've linked up, I will be shortly.  You all are amazing. :)  I couldn't do this without you!

Now onto the recipe I know you're just dying to get your hands on...

 Strawberry Lemonade Mug Cake!

I wanted to share something that had some spring-like, fresh flavors, was simple and delicious and allergy-friendly.  I couldn't think of a better recipe than a lemon-flavored mug cake.  That it happens to have a sweet, strawberry center is an added bonus.  This recipe is original to me, soy (if you use all soy-free ingredients), nut, egg, fish and milk-free, and can be wheat-free and diabetic friendly (see variations). 

The lemon "cake" is delightfully tart and the strawberry jam gives a nice, sweet contrast to that.  A winning combo in my book. :)  It reminds me a lot of strawberry lemonade, so that's why I named it Strawberry Lemonade Mug Cake.  It is a delightful, bright, refreshing treat for one.  I hope you enjoy it!



Strawberry Lemonade Mug Cake

2 Tablespoons soy-free, all purpose flour (white whole wheat would work, too)

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon olive or canola oil

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 to 2 Tablespoons soy-free strawberry jam, preserves or jelly

1. In a mug, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt with a fork until well combined.
     
2. Add oil and lemon juice and mix until there are no lumps remaining in your batter. (Note: It is crucial that there be no clumps! Unlike oven baking that leads to clumps baking out and leaving your cake more light or airy, clumps in microwaved cake leads to bitter bites of nastiness. Do not do!)
      
3. Dollop 1 to 2 Tablespoons of strawberry jam, preserves or jelly on top of the cake mixture, pushing the filling down into the mixture slightly if needed.  (Note: The amount of jam, preserves or jelly you use is up to you, but know that the more jam you use, the more gooey the center will be.  If you like less gooey, use the lesser amount, and you can even use less than 1 Tablespoon if you wish, though leaving it out completely will change the texture and consistency of the end result.  It should still taste good, but it will definitely be drier.)
    
4. Microwave the mixture in your microwave on HIGH for 1 minute and enjoy.

Serves 1.

Variations (Please make sure any substitutions fit your individual dietary needs.):

• Wheat-Free: Substitute gluten-free baking mix or gluten-free flour for the regular flour, though you may need to cut back the oil by as much as half.  Note that the cake will turn out a little more the texture of corn bread as well.
• Other Flavored Molten Centers: You can substitute any flavor jam, preserves or jelly for the strawberry jam, preserves or jelly.  You can even sub chocolate chips, lemon filling or anything else that you think would taste good with lemon.  You can leave out the filling all together, but this will result in a drier cake.
• Other Flavors of Cake:  If you don't really like lemon, you can substitute lime juice, grapefruit, pineapple, orange juice or any other juice that you like (it does not have to be a citrus juice).  You can leave out the center or change it up with a flavor that is more suited to your juice choice (i.e. orange marmalade with orange juice or raspberry jam with cranberry juice).
• Diabetic Friendly: Sub any approved for baking sugar substitute for the sugar, and a sugar-free/no sugar added jam for the jam, preserves or jelly or leave the jam, preserves or jelly out completely. If you use a liquid sugar or sugar substitute (i.e. honey, Agave, liquid Stevia), I would mix it in when you do the lemon juice and oil. I am not sure how that would effect the taste and texture of the cake, but you are more than welcome to try it and see how it turns out. :)
• Enjoy experimenting with flavors. As I mentioned before, you can use any number of fillings if you want a molten center. You can even mix a few, if you wish, like chocolate chips and jam, 2 flavors of jam, 2 flavors of juice, etc. Just keep the amount of molten center items down to around 2 Tablespoons and your amount of juice to 2 Tablespoons so your cake isn't too mushy.  You can even sprinkle the top with sugar before you microwave it for a little bit of extra sweetness if you'd like. 

 Nothing says spring like lemon-flavored goodies! :)

~*~*~*~
What's your favorite spring dish?

What's your favorite dessert?

~*~*~*~

Now It's Your Turn!

~*~*~*~

Grab A Badge!

<a href="http://naturalandfree.com/ "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6fmRyhoR8xwzBrsOkdnqn_Q4BkxaiQRC2c_0fiqHdgRtmwHePm8DRw11uT8PPQ_dIKW6ppa1JrESk2C1YEpuKMLpw7TC1gMfiEAnYJt5eK9VBOLYQrnkuzT1YSd8lhGFbWJbEg2eBo0c6/s800/think%2520green%2520linkup.jpg" /></a>

(This recipe was originally posted on Natural and Free.)