This keto carrot cake recipe is so quick and easy to make! It is soft, delightfully moist and will fill your kitchen with the gorgeous aroma of warm spices. Top this carb carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and enjoy a delicious sugar free dessert that's ready in only 10 minutes!
I love carrot cake. And I love my microwave. It has made my life SO MUCH EASIER. Heating stuff? Check. Defrosting stuff? Check. Mug cakes? Check, check, check!!
I did consider making a full-size sugar free carrot cake. But let's face it. Most of the time it's just a couple of people in the house, right? And what happens when you have a whole cake and only two people in the house?
Well, you eat the whole cake!
It might take a few days, but eventually, it'll be gone. And then you wish you had made this carrot mug cake for 2 instead.
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Why This Recipe Works
It is easy and quick. The great thing about this keto carrot cake is that you can tuck in ten minutes after thinking "Hey, I fancy a carrot cake!" Also, you don't need any fancy equipment. A bowl and a fork will do just fine.
Authentic flavor and texture. This cake tastes just like a classic carrot cake. It is rich and buttery, with lovely fall flavors.
Keto, gluten free and sugar free. One portion of cake contains only 6.4g net carbs.
Microwave or oven. If you don't have a microwave, make this cake in the oven or air fryer instead.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need for a super healthy microwave low carb carrot cake:
- Carrot - finely grated. I used a box grater
- Egg
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Almond flour - either super fine almond flour or ground almonds
- Walnuts
- Powdered Sweetener - I used powdered erythritol, but any powdered sweetener works, from monk fruit sweetener to xylitol, allulose or Swerve
- Spices - cinnamon and pumpkin spice mix
- Baking powder
- Cream cheese (for the frosting)
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
STEP 1
Mix your dry ingredients - almond flour, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, baking powder, powdered sweetener and crushed walnut pieces.
The walnut pieces are optional, but work perfectly taste-wise. You could sub with hazelnuts. If you have time, dry-roast them in a pan until gently browned. This increases the flavour.
STEP 2
Add the wet ingredients - grated carrot, melted butter and heavy cream.
STEP 3
Stir with a fork until combined. Your batter should be sticky but soft just like in the image above.
STEP 4
Now you have 2 options. Either fill the carrot cake batter into two well-greased ramekins or microwaveable containers (you could even use cups - this is a mug cake, after all). Or use a larger pyrex bowl and make one larger carrot cake for sharing. I microwaved at 800W for 5 minutes.
STEP 5
Wait until the cake is slightly cooled, then turn upside down onto a plate and top with delicious cream cheese frosting. Alternatively, enjoy straight out of the ramekin or mug!
Cooking Methods
Microwave method: I recommend that you microwave the cake at 700-800W. This gives the carrot plenty of time to go nice and soft.
I have also found that if you microwave on high, the cake rises very quickly and might spill over the top of your ramekin. Trust me, you don't want to clean up that mess.
Oven method: If you do not have a microwave, bake the cake at 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit for around 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Check with a skewer for doneness.
Air Fryer: Bake at 160C or 320F for 15 minutes.
Top Tips
#1 Measure with digital scales. It's always best if you can weigh your ingredients using a digital scale. You don't have to spend $$$ on one. Mine was cheap and still works perfectly several years on.
#2 If you use measuring cups, make sure you slightly pack the grated carrots.
#3 Use a cup or ramekin that is large enough. The narrower the vessel, the more the cake will rise. Don't fill the batter right to the top or it will overflow while cooking.
#4 Follow the recommendation of cooking at a lower power level!
Egg Free Carrot Mug Cake
You can make this carrot cake without egg. I discovered this by accident when I forgot to add the egg to one of my trial runs. If you choose to omit the egg, add an additional tablespoon of heavy cream to achieve a soft consistency.
The cake won't rise as much without an egg, and I don't recommend turning it out onto a plate (this would only work if the cake is fully cooled, but no guarantees there). But if you're happy to enjoy it straight from the ramekin, give it a go - I thought it tasted great.
In the image below you can see the "egg" version on the left and the cake without egg on the right. In case you're wondering about the colour of the left cake, the egg I used had a VERY orange yolk. I might also have had a heavy hand on the cinnamon for the right cake.
Recipe FAQs
I used powdered erythritol to sweeten my keto carrot cake. There are also many blends out there. Stevia or monk fruit blends are especially popular.
Xylitol or allulose will also work, just make sure you powder it first for a smoother result, especially for the cream cheese frosting.
Yes. Since coconut flour absorbs more liquid than almond flour, you'll need only ⅓ the amount: Use around 30 grams / ¼ cup of coconut flour.
Yes. Readers have tripled and quadrupled the recipe to make a full-sized cake. Bake in the oven for 35-50 minutes depending on size and cake pan (flatter cakes bake faster than taller ones).
Storage
Should you have any leftovers, store the carrot mug cake in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
More Keto Mug Cake Recipes
More Carrot Recipes
- Sugar Free Carrot Cake Muffins40 Minutes
- Sugar Free Carrot Cake1 Hours 5 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Carrot Cake For 2
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- ½ cup / 100g shredded/grated carrot lightly packed
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp / 28g butter, melted
- 1 tbsp / 15 heavy cream
- ¾ cup / 75g almond flour or ground almonds
- 10 g / small handful walnuts, crushed
- 2 tablespoon powdered sweetener
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 tablespoon full fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp powdered sweetener optional
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients - almond flour, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, baking powder, powdered sweetener and crushed walnut pieces - in a small bowl with a fork.Â
- Add the wet ingredients- grated carrot, egg, melted butter, heavy cream. Stir with a fork until a batter forms.
- Fill the carrot cake batter into 2 well-greased ramekins (I used melted butter) or 1 Pyrex glass bowl. Microwave 5 minutes at 800W (or 6 minutes at 700W). See oven instructions in the recipe notes below. Â
- Turn the cake upside down onto a plate and serve with cream cheese frosting (cream cheese mixed with optional powdered sweetener). Decorate with more crushed walnuts and grated carrots. Or eat straight from the ramekin!Â
Mimi
simple and delicious
Je-an
Hi! Was able to do this as well. But i just had a little problem with the frosting. How can I make it thick using cream cheese and equal gold? Thanks 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger
I don't know Equal Gold sweetener, but I assume it's not powdered? I'd blitz some in a food processor or in the attachment of a stick blender to powder it at home. Then you can just stir it into your cream cheese. From my experience, if you blend cream cheese with an electric mixer, it goes very soft very quickly. That's why I just use a fork - unless you have the time to stick it back into the fridge and wait for it to firm up.
Tarisa
Question, was I supposed to use confectioners Erythritol and prebiotic oligosaccharides blend or a regular? (first time buying this) I used confectioners and it was awful. Just curious, was looking so forward to this
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Tarisa, I use either pure powdered erythritol or an erythritol / stevia blend such as by Sukrin or erythritol / monk fruit blend such as by Lakanto. Some people also like Swerve, and xylitol would also work in this recipe (make sure it's from birch). Which brand did you use?
Phyllis J Dable
How to I convert my 1100 watt microwave to this recipe?
Katrin Nürnberger
If you cannot vary the wattage used with your microwave, I'd simply halve the cooking time and see where you're at. If it's not done, add on 15 second bursts.
Phyllis J Dable
That doesn't follow the guideline "slow so the carrot gets soft" so I microwaved it at 80% for 5 minutes and it was great, I had tried in the oven for 15 minutes was still wet and 25 minutes was too dry, but the 80% works! Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Phyllis, I'm glad you found a way that works! Sometimes it's a little trial and error. Thanks for posting your findings, it's always helpful for others. 🙂
Cathy
Yes, thanks. I was wondering the same.
SANDRA RIDLEY
Could not believe how good this was.. Yummy. My husband had the other one and asked me to make some more.. I have tried a few of your recipes and they are fantastic..
Katrin Nürnberger
That's so good to hear! We all need a treat these days .... 😉
Vicky Lewis
My favourite recipe so far. Really good for my cake cravings!
Katrin Nürnberger
Glad it hit the spot 😉
Gretchen
I am dairy free, so since the butter is melted I figure I can use ghee, but what about the heavy cream? Can I just use almond milk? Help, the recipe sounds delicious.
Katrin Nürnberger
Instead of the cream I would use coconut cream. It's closer in terms of fat content to heavy cream
joe
This is probably a dumb question for many of you (but it's from a man whose only use of a microwave is Start and Stop). How do you tell if your setting is 700w or 800w or any other number?.
Katrin Nürnberger
Not at all! You'd have to check the manual of your microwave (if it does not tell you on the display).
Kathy
I divided the batter into two big mug sized ramekins. Couldn't figure out how to adjust the power level on my microwave, so I cooked them both at the same time on high for 2 minutes. Checked the doneness, then cooked for two more minutes. They were perfect, and still moist. I love carrot cake, and I think these just need a little more flavor. Next time, I'm going to experiment with more spices.
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes that's correct!