The Infamous Muffin-in-a-Minute

For quite some time, I’ve read on the low-carb forums about the “muffin in a minute” or “one minute muffin”. And now, even the Atkins site itself has a page for the muffin in a minute. So despite my hesitation due to the large egg-to-otherstuff ratio (I’m not a fan of egginess), I gave it a whirl.

First off, I don’t have flax meal. But I do have coconut flour. Since the CoCoFlo is really, really thirsty stuff, I’m using less of it than the recipe calls for flax. Quite a bit less — all of the recipes I’ve seen call for 1/4-cup flax meal, and I went with a tablespoon (a quarter of a quarter-cup) coconut flour. Still … it works.

The ingredients I used:

1 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (I usually mix cinnamon and allspice)
1 packet Splenda (or 2 tsp equivalent sweetener)
1 tsp butter
1/2 tsp heavy cream
1/8 tsp vanilla extract (just a splash)
1 large egg

Toss all of the ingredients into the cooking vessel. I’ve tried this in a coffee mug (successfully), but I’m really digging this big 5-inch souffle cup/ramekin I got at Target. Mix everything up until it’s a thick, batter-like consistency. Scrape the sides of your bowl/cup/dish down.

Throw it in the microwave and cook it for approximately one minute. Although for our microwave, I like what we get from 1:15 in there.

And the result is a spongy, cakey, light and fluffy disc of deliciousness. We haven’t had any problems with these guys sticking to the container; just flip over your mug or bowl, and it should pop right out. With sweet flavorings like the cinnamon and Splenda, it’s not eggy! Although I tried a savory variation with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder, and THAT was a little too eggy for me.

To get a cinnamon bun flavor, I let the muffin cool a bit then put a tablespoon or so of spreadable cream cheese on top and sprinkled with an additional packet of Splenda. It hits the sweet spot, and tastes delicous, but there’s nothing naughty about it! And the ingredients are all fresh.

Nutrition facts (cream cheese included):
180 calories / 12 g fat / 9 g carb / 4 g fiber (for 5 g net carbs) / 8 g protein

Let’s compare it to a store-bought microwave cake: the Warm Delights Cinnamon Swirl Cake. That thing has 72 grams of carbohydrate (50 of which are sugar), and a majestic list of industrial processed food ingredients. And over twice the calories as this homemade cakey, muffiny, bready treat.