Polyphenol Boosting Olive Oil Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake

For Chris’s birthday, we made a flourless olive oil chocolate cake that I adapted from a Diana Henry recipe, but we used erythritol because Chris really wanted to make something with a granulated sweetener and we couldn’t get hold of allulose whilst travelling.

Anyway, I posted the cake on my stories and I had so many people asking for the recipe, but I didn’t want to share it because I don’t typically love erythritol as a sweetener as it can bother SIBO symptoms and isn’t always well tolerated in people with IBS.

So, I’ve been working on a similar recipe ever since. I wanted to make a mug cake version because I know many endo peeps have trouble with energy and standing for long periods of time, so I wanted something quick and easy.

I have to admit, I haven’t mastered a flourless choc mug cake just yet, despite having tested about 15 times! This one contains a small amount of oat flour and it really makes a huge difference to the sponge, so I do recommend you keep that in and just hold out for the flourless version which I’ll one day manage.

The cake is light and airy at first bite, and then it begins to melt in your mouth a bit like a chocolate fudge cake or brownie! Best of both worlds in my opinion!

This recipe is:

A super rich source of gut loving polyphenols from the olive oil, the cacao and the carob. Polyphenols are types of antioxidants found in certain plant foods that not only have a profound effect on reducing inflammation levels and improving overall health, but they are also a favourite food for our gut microbiome.

Because people with endo tend to have microbiome dysbiosis, with lower levels of some beneficial bacteria and higher levels of pathogenic (bad) bacteria, feeding our gut bugs is essential to reestablishing balance.

But this isn’t where the magic of polyphenols end. Polyphenols actually can help inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria through various mechanisms, and olive oil, carob and cacao have all exhibited antimicrobial effects against the pathogens we see that are elevated in endo, such as e.coli. No - a chocolate mug cake won’t wipe these guys out completely, but it’s the food that you eat which can dramatically help you modulate your gut bacteria.

Rich in prebiotic fibre from the almonds, cacao, oat flour and carob. These ingredients provide a mix of soluble and insoluble fibre which help feed good gut bacteria, including beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre, which is great for boosting levels of propionate. Propionate is a short chain fatty acid that has significant blood sugar balancing and anti-inflammatory effects on the body and is often low in people with endo.

A great source of probiotics from the yoghurt. Probiotic foods contain live good bacteria, which help to replenish our gut microbiomes with healthy bacteria. As microbiome alterations may play a role in endo development and probiotic research is showing beneficial effects in endo, increasing good bacteria intake may be helpful.

Is low glycemic and has a low glycemic load to prevent blood sugar spikes. According to AI, this recipe has a glycemic index of and a glycemic load of (calculated with AI assistance). The glycemic index and glycemic load can help give us an idea of how much a meal/food will affect blood sugar levels. The higher the rating, the more a food will raise blood sugar. Despite being sweet and high in naturally occurring sugar, carob, thanks to its fibre and polyphenol content, has a low glycemic index and has even been shown to have a lower GI than multiple types of sweeteners (and has also been shown to have better nutritional benefits too)! To learn more about the many benefits of carob and how it affects blood sugar, check out this recipe where I break down all the info.

I’ve also added yoghurt to the recipe, as pairing carbohydrate foods with fats and protein, can help slow down digestion, lessening the spike. Additionally, yoghurt was shown to reduce insulin and glucose levels in research.

Is a good source of protein to help stabilise blood sugar and keep hormones healthy. Protein helps to slow down the release of glucose to the blood stream because it takes longer to digest than carbs, so eating together helps to slow down digestion and therefore releases glucose more gradually. Protein also helps to keep us fuller and more satisfied, so this keeps us from being so much at the mercy of sugar cravings.

This cake alone provides 6.2g and that’s without the yoghurt, which if dairy based, can add around 10g.

Keeping blood sugar levels stable helps to prevent oxidative stress, which leads to more inflammation in the body and that may trigger further pain and symptoms.

Additionally, constant blood sugar swings can take their toll on hormones, leading to issues like elevated androgens (think testosterone), which can affect ovulation and cycle length. Blood sugar swings may also cause oestrogen excess or dominance and low progesterone if ovulation is interrupted or stopped entirely.

Is low-ish fodmap to prevent endo belly flares. FODMAPs are types of fermentable carbohydrates which ferment rapidly in the gut, creating gas and possibly triggering IBS symptoms in people with IBS, SIBO and gut problems. To help reduce endo belly flare ups from this delicious mug cake, I’ve kept every ingredient, other than the carob extract, low FODMAP. The carob extract is the sweetener in this recipe, and also is one of the key contributors to the mineral and polyphenol content, and helps to keep it low glycemic, so I’ve kept it in - but if you want to remove it, I have added some notes below.

A significant source of period/hormone supportive minerals magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium and even iron thanks to carob, almonds, cacao and oats.

In fact, the magnesium content of this mug cake contributes a whopping 36% of your daily magnesium needs (based on UK RDA of 270mg per day). This cake even contributes 15% iron, 13% calcium, 19% zinc and 12% potassium. Of course, mineral content can vary based on the brands/sources/quality, but this is a rough estimate which was calculated with AI.

Calcium and magnesium are both shown to aid with preventing PMS and period pain, whilst potassium can help ease water retention (which many experience in the luteal phase).

Low levels of calcium has been repeatedly associated with increased PMS symptoms and research has shown that treatment with calcium supplements can reduce the syndrome and even period pain (because low levels of calcium can cause more contractions).

Magnesium helps reduce PMS symptoms, supports healthy oestrogen metabolism (clearance) and is a treatment for period pain, because it lowers prostaglandins, the suckers that drive up menstrual pain.

Low levels of zinc have been demonstrated in the research on endometriosis and may be involved in the immune dysfunction that allows endo to grow. Zinc has also been shown to help with period pain and PMS.

Finally, low levels of iron are extremely common full stop, but even more so in people with heavy menstrual bleeding. Iron plays a major role in preventing fatigue, and yet many of the clients who I work with, come to me with significantly low levels due to having SIBO, avoiding red meat, heavy periods or other reasons. Supporting healthy iron absorption and intake is a key part of beating endo fatigue.

Important notes to help you tailor this toast recipe to your own body and needs (and tastebuds!)

Blood sugar issues

Carob is naturally high in sugar, and whilst it should have less of an impact on blood sugar than maple syrup and other sweeteners (see above), everyone’s blood sugar is unique and can respond differently. If you feel like you’re spiking (often a good sign is a crash after eating) or you know you are because you test your blood sugar, I recommend adding extra fibre in the form of chia seeds or flax seeds on top of the yoghurt. Alternatively, you can add them to the recipe at about 5-10 grams. Chia of course adds crunch, so you can try grinding it in a coffee grinder. You’ll probably need more water, but experiment first with the original recipe and if it’s too dry, keep adding 10ml at a time until you get it right. You don’t need both, just one or the other. If you’re concerned about whether flax is ‘bad’ for endo, listen to this and this.

Can’t tolerate carob?

Carob powder is only low FODMAP at 6g servings, after that, it is high in fructans. Because carob syrup is made from concentrated carob pulp and water, it is very likely that it is high in FODMAPS. As I mentioned earlier, all of the other ingredients are well within FODMAP limits, so that should help keeping bloating and IBS issues down, but if your gut is particularly sensitive to fructans, you might find you have some bloating or other gut symptoms like this.

If you know you don’t do well on a lot of fructans, try lowering the amount of carob syrup to 10g and replacing the missing 5g with a little maple syrup if you’re missing the sweetness/moistness. It will affect the sugar content as well as the GI index and load, but with the other ingredients and yoghurt, that shouldn’t make too much of a difference from a blood sugar perspective.

If you can’t tolerate fructans at all, you could swap to maple syrup or if you’re lucky enough to be able to get hold of pure allulose syrup, that’s a good sugar free alternative that doesn’t typically affect the gut. Of course, if you go fully maple syrup, there are less benefits from a polyphenol, mineral and blood sugar perspective, but it’ll still be delicious! The maple syrup is sweeter than carob, so you probably won’t need a much, which should help reduce some of the sugar load.

If you do go fully maple syrup, I recommend keeping the yoghurt in to balance blood sugar, and adding some extra fibre like chia seeds on top, to help slow down the glucose release.

Can’t tolerate cacao?

If like me, you’re sensitive to cacao (I find it too stimulating and it also increases my histamine symptoms when I eat too much of it), you can swap some of it for carob powder, which is typically better tolerated in my experience. If you go full carob, you’ll probably end up with something a bit closer to my sticky toffee pudding recipe.

Bitter tasting?

If your cake has a bitter after taste, it’ll be your olive oil. A mild tasting olive oil that doesn’t pack too much of a punch is best here. However, if all you have is a stronger one, increase the vanilla extract a little (or be sure to add it if you haven’t done so).

If you’d prefer, you can go for coconut oil, but obviously there will be less polyphenol benefits. I also haven’t tried it with coconut oil, so can’t guarantee the outcome!

Why the microwave?

Whilst I am not against baking in the oven (let’s be clear, I love to bake!), we currently only have a stove top and a microwave in our Airbnb, so I am taking advantage of that for these recipes. For one, many people with endo don’t have the energy for long and labour intensive bakes, so microwave mug cakes are a bit more accessible. Two - microwaves produce less AGES due to their lower, moister and shorter cooking times. AGES cause oxidative stress, which raises inflammation and has been linked to endo.

If you want to understand if it’s okay to heat olive oil in the microwave, read this recipe and scroll down to “Is heating olive oil in the microwave inflammatory?”.

Where to get carob extract?

Whilst I never came across carob extract in the shops in the UK, you can actually find it on Amazon, and I suspect you’ll find it in Greek or Turkish delis and shops.

Almond alternatives

If you’re allergic to nuts, ground sunflower seeds (you could do it useful in a coffee/spice grinder) and sun butter would likely work well in this recipe.

Further resources

If you’re struggling with your gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here. I’ve also got endless podcast episodes on gut health and blood sugar.

To understand more about the low FODMAP diet, start here.

Method:

Add all the dry ingredients into your favourite mug and whisk well with a fork. If your oat flour is lumpy, use a tea strainer to sift it.

Add the water, oil and carob syrup and mix well.

Microwave on high for 1.40 minutes, it should come out spongey and when touched, it will gently/slowly bounce back but feel light and soft. Then leave for another 2 minutes to finish cooking.

Serve with full fat yoghurt.