Gluten Free Christmas Cake For One

Having to go gluten free hasn't helped my waistline at all, because most gluten free products are full of either sugar or fat to help them taste better. So recently, I stocked up on coconut and almond flour and leaned more towards the Paleo diet. So far, 23 pounds and counting! I'm trying to do it more as a lifestyle change than a diet, so I can stick to it forever, have the occasional treat and not be constantly craving.
And speaking of craving...I was picking up some nuts at the Bulk Barn yesterday and chatted for a few minutes with a lady buying candied fruit for baking Christmas cakes. I never like Christmas cakes much before I couldn't have them, but watching her scoop her fruit, that's all I could think of! So, of course, I bought a small container of mixed candied fruit, having no idea what I could do with them. And with no intention of making a whole cake of any kind, because I have no willpower and would eat the whole thing in two days.
Yay Google! I found a recipe for a vanilla mug cake on wholesomeyum.com. Luckily, I had everything needed, including stevia for sweetener. My mother would have been proud of me, because usually I substitute something, if not several somethings, when I make a recipe. So I mixed it all together, let it rest for a minute until it thickened a little and then mixed in a scoop of candied fruit. It took all of 1 minute in the microwave. Oh, dear Heaven, it was good! Originally 352 calories, I don't know how many I added with candied fruit, but it was worth every decadent bite.
Here's the ingredients but you should visit https://www.wholesomeyum.com/recipes/vanilla-mug-cake-paleo-low-carb-gluten-free/ for complete instructions. And by the way, I used vanilla.

1 tbsp Coconut oil (measured solid, then melted)

3 tbsp Unsweetened almond milk (or any milk of choice)

1 medium Vanilla bean (seeds scraped) - or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, see notes*

3 tbsp Almond flour

1 tbsp Coconut flour

1 1/2 tbsp Erythritol (or any sweetener of choice)

1/2 tsp Gluten-free baking powder

1 pinch Sea salt

1 large Egg

It Was A Good Idea But...

Three days it took me to finish this thing and the best I can say is that I learned a lot. I tried engraving with ferric nitrate, after finally getting some from Lacy Tools in Vancouver.

Two engraving lessons for me: 1) use a better resist than a permanent marker and 2) leave it in overnight to get a good definition.
I thought copper would be the best background for a gorgeous piece of tiger eye that's been sitting around for a year. Note to self: use silver. I invested in some copper solder but it melts with a silver finish. Put some rusty bolts in the pickle and that gave it a beautiful gold finish which came off when I sanded. Silver is so much easier to work with and even hard silver solder is easier to melt where you want it than the copper paste solder.

And finally: Quit being in such a hurry and measure better!