Wes Ellis./ a personal notebook
Technology. Stories. Side projects.
A few things worth writing down.
SearchSubscribe
← Back to Short-Order Kitchen

Short-Order Kitchen

Single-Serve Lemon Loaf

By Wes Ellis2 min read
A sliced lemon loaf cake on parchment with lemon slices and a whisk.
Recipe card
Servings
1
Prep
5 minutes
Cook
60 to 90 seconds
Method
Microwave
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 7 of the thread Microwave muffins and mug cakes

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • A full tablespoon of lemon zest carries the flavor.
  • 60 to 90 seconds, checking at 60.
  • Taste your protein powder first and sweeten to match.
  • Eat it right away; it doesn't keep well.
THE RECIPE · SINGLE-SERVE LEMON LOAF

Ingredients

You'll need

  • Microwave-safe mug or bowl
  • Zester or fine grater
  • Fork or small whisk

Directions

  1. Grease the mug.
  2. Stir the protein powder, pancake mix, milk, zest and sweetener together until smooth.
  3. Microwave on high, checking at 60 seconds. It's done when a toothpick in the center comes out clean, usually by 90 seconds.
  4. Let it cool slightly and eat it straight from the mug.
Notes This one's best eaten right away; it doesn't reheat well. Roughly 285 calories and 40 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/single-serve-lemon-loaf/

Plain lemon loaf is the one that proves the base batter is actually good. No berries, no frosting, nothing to hide behind. Just a soft little cake that tastes like lemon, done in the time it takes to find a fork.

A tablespoon of zest is not a typo

It looks like a lot of zest for one mug. It isn't. Protein powder has a flavor of its own, and a timid amount of lemon gets completely drowned out. A full tablespoon of fresh zest is what makes it taste like lemon loaf instead of vanilla cake with a rumor of citrus.

Bottled lemon extract isn't the same. The zest has the oils, and the oils are the whole point.

Tip

Grate only the yellow. The white pithThe white, spongy layer between citrus peel and fruit. It's bitter, so stop zesting when you see it.More: Lemon Loaf and Shortcake Protein Shakes underneath is bitter, and a tablespoon of it will make itself known.

Sweeten to your powder

Some protein powders are very sweet, some barely at all. Taste a pinch of yours before you decide on the optional sweetener. If it's already sweet, skip it and let the lemon stay sharp.

Heads up

Lemon loaf goes rubbery faster than the fruit-filled mug cakeA single serving of cake batter cooked right in a mug or bowl in the microwave, usually in a minute or two. It won't brown like an oven cake, but it's done before you could preheat one.More: Protein Blueberry Muffins, Baked or Microwaved because there's nothing wet in it to slow things down. Check at 60 seconds and don't go past 90.

Once you've got this one down, the Raspberry Lemon Mug Loaf adds berries and frosting, and the Lemon Blueberry Mug Muffin goes the blueberry route.

LINKED FROM4 notes

Keep reading