A soft, fluffy, delicious, and single serving carrot cake in a mug recipe. It’s the perfect easy dessert for Easter, or for any other day too!
Raise your hand if you like carrot cake.
Jump up and down if you’d like a single-serving carrot cake in a mug that takes less than 5 minutes to make and is so healthy you can eat the entire recipe in one sitting.
Yes, you really can.
Of course you’ll want frosting.
I used the frosting written out in my recipe for Keto Carrot Cake.
Carrot cake and frosting are meant for each other.
Alternatively, you can use vanilla frosting, Coconut Whipped Cream, almond butter, Vegan Cream Cheese, or whatever your carrot-loving heart desires.
It should be no surprise to you that my own carrot-loving heart often desires coconut butter. Slice the cake – or cakes – in half and slather on the frosting.
Oh, um, and you can stop jumping up and down now.
People at work will start to think you’re crazy…
A single serving carrot cake recipe that can be made in your oven or microwave and is secretly good for you. It can’t get much better than that!
Also try this chocolate Brownie in a Mug
Carrot Cake In A Mug
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup spelt, white, or gf all purpose flour (or here's a Keto Mug Cake)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp each: baking soda and salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar (unrefined or xylitol if desired)
- pinch uncut stevia, or 1 additional tbsp sugar
- 1/3 cup canned carrots, drained (or steamed carrots, peeled)
- 1 tbsp milk of choice
- 1 tbsp oil or almond butter, or additional milk of choice
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Carrot Mug Cake Recipe: In a small bowl, mix dry ingredients (not carrots). If you have a blender or Magic Bullet, mix all wet ingredients and blend. (For those without a blender, simply fork-mash the carrots very well before combining with the other wet ingredients.) Then mix dry into wet, and stir. Pour into greased ramekins or a little dish or mug. (I used two 1/2-cup ramekins.) If using the microwave, cook for 1 minute 20 seconds (or more or less, depending on the strength of your microwave). Or you can cook this in the oven at 350F for around 15 minutes. Let cool before trying to pop out. Serves 1-2. Frosting recommendations are listed above in this post.View Nutrition Facts
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
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Reader Favorite Recipes:
Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says
i love carrot cake, but the frosting on it is what totally makes it for me!! your single lady recipes are awesome – love them!
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says
Haha I saw the title of this post and literally said out loud: “God bless you.” I am excited to try this one!!!
Stephanie @ Legally Blinde says
I’m so excited for this recipe! I gave up chocolate for Lent and the other night I was really in the mood for a mug cake, but all of the recipes I had for mug cakes were made with chocolate! This sounds amazing. Can’t wait to try it out!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated says
I LOVE carrot cake … mostly because I love the cream cheese frosting. 😉 I love these mini cakes for one. Having too much cake around the house is always so tempting! 🙂
Lisa K @ NutriNosh says
Carrot cake is my FAVORITE cake!
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles says
LOVE carrot cake! This will be a MUST TRY ASAP recipe!
Samantha says
I actually only started loving carrot cake as a vegan. Generally I enjoy the ones I make.
Yesterday I made the peanut butter frosting for the first time and still have some leftovers on hand so I have options! I never would have thought about peanut butter frosting on a carrot cake but I can totally see that working.
It is SO cute. I love the layered look.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Well, we always used to do raw carrot sticks dipped in pb… so why not? 😉
RC @ Just Add Cayenne says
I agree, pb + carrots = something good! I love dipping carrots in pb…….could make that my meal sometimes…
Michaela says
I ADORE carrot cake!!! Love, love, love it! (but only if there are no raisins involved!)
Samantha says
I am TOTALLY with you on the raisins.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Give me all your raisins!!
Yellow Haired Girl says
I love carrot cake – but almost never think to make/eat it. This looks so delicious!
Leah says
Looks good, I did want to let you know the WW points are not accurate (old points looked at calories, fat, fiber only…new points plus looks at total carbs, fiber, protein, fat and to my knowledge they haven’t released the formula–so you have to use a WW calculator to get the points plus value, whereas the old way you could quickly calculate it yourself). WW it’s probably 2 points plus for 1 serving and 4 points plus for 2 servings…
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Oh no 🙁
I was so proud of myself lol (Sad?)
I googled “how to calculate weight watchers points for a recipe” and found the formula you mentioned–the old one. I’ll go edit my post now… thanks for letting me know!
Lisa K @ NutriNosh says
It’s 2.
>.>
*runs away*
Renee V. says
2’s better than 5 or 6 or 7 which what one usually runs at per slice
Phyllis says
Thanks for mentioning WW points. I would love to make some of these, but have no idea how to figure the points. I know Katie doesn’t include ingredient percentages to calculate. Is there a way that you do it?
Phyllis says
Thanks, I just saw on the Pumpkin Cupcake recipe that there is a nutritional value. Will all of your recipes have this in the future?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
They all have had it listed since at least the beginning of this year 🙂
lauren kelly says
You just made my day! Looks amazing!! 🙂
Anonymous says
What would happen if I grated raw carrot really finely and used that instead? I had no idea you could even get canned carrots! 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I think you need the pureed carrots for extra moistness. But as stated in the recipe, you can use fresh (peeled) carrots– just steam them very well first.
Laura says
I just made this with raw carrots and it turned out fine. I grated them on the finest side of my box grater (skipped the blending step) and added a little extra soy milk. I also added raisins (my favorite part of carrot cake) and frosting (tofutti cream cheese plus powdered sugar) and made a delicious dessert.
kris says
I used a microplane and grated 1/2 carrot and it was fantastic!
these are delicious! I added 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, used a heaping tablespoon of sugar and 3 tablespoons of milk and they were perfect.. thank you!!
FATTOPOTAMUS says
Yum! Does the nutritional info include the frosting? I <3 your blog.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
No, as there is no specific amount of frosting listed (and you can frost with whatever recipe you wish).
Barb says
wow, I wish you had posted this yesterday! I just made a full carrot cake because I’ve been craving it for Easter. And now I have a whole lot of carrot cake to eat – your single servings would have been helpful! I’ll have to save this for my next carrot cake craving!
Is there any way to make carrot cake chocolate??
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I was thinking about it! I’ve never heard of it, but why not? I’m going to try with cocoa powder!! And maybe some chocolate chips…
Nathalie says
I’ve done it. I just added a buttload of cocoa to a regular carrot cake recipe. It ended up tasting like a fusion of chocolate cake, ginger bread and carrot cake. It was awesome. Try it sometime =D
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Good to know! I definitely will try it!
Helen says
Yes, your WW points are inaccurate, unless you are referring to the old system and not Points Plus. On the current system, based on your nutrition facts, the points are 2 for one cake and 4 for the entire recipe.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thanks for letting me know, Helen! According to another commenter, I WAS using the old system: I googled “how to calculate weight watchers points for a recipe” and found the formula with calories, fiber, and fat. I’m going to edit my post… but can you tell me how you calculate points based on the new system? I don’t know anything about Weight Watchers!
Helen says
You can only calculate it with their proprietary calculator, unfortunately. With the old system you could make a really good guess but not so much anymore. It still uses fat/protein/carbs/fiber but you just plug those values in their calculator. You’d either need to pick up a calculater (like $6) or have a member calculate the values for you.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Oh ok thanks! I might have to get a calculator… I don’t understand what Weight Watcher points mean (or how many you’re supposed to have in a day), but a lot of people ask for that info to be included. I think spending $6 is perfectly acceptable if it’ll help people! 🙂
Connie says
Thank you, Katie … having the WW+ points would be extremely helpful!
Sarah Peterson says
They have a sale on the site right now! They’re normally $12, but they’re on sale for $6 right now. 🙂 Here’s the link:
http://store.weightwatchers.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_10151_10051_11960_-1_12106_12106_12106_ProductDisplayErrorView
The downside of the calculator is that you’d have to know the carb, fat, fiber, and protein content of your recipes. So, you’d probably have to use a free service online somewhere to calculate the full nutrition info first.
If you can’t view that, let me know… I’m a subscriber, and I LOVE your blog, so I’d totally send you one. 🙂 Also, just for a snapshot of WW–the points you can have in a day are based on your height, age, and gender. So, it’s different for everybody. For example, I’m a 23 year old female who is 5’4″. I get 26 points per day. Points are calculated by carb, fat, fiber, and protein content. Everybody also gets 30-40 extra points per week that they can use whenever, and earn extra points for activity. 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Aw Sarah, thank you so much!
Someone actually left a link with a new formula in a comment below, so I’m going to try that out first.
Thanks for explaining it to me as well… I always thought everyone got the same amount of points. (See? I told you I had absolutely no clue how it works ;).)
Claire @ Live and Love to Eat says
This looks divine! I love carrot cake overnight oats or breakfast cookies. 🙂
Tricia says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for the Weight Watchers points plus info!!!
Phoebe says
This looks amazing!! I think I’ll make it for my weekend brunch – with greek yogurt frosting! :p
The layering is brilliant. How did you do that? 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Cut each cake lengthwise with a sharp knife. Then frost the middles and then stick the top back on :).
Shelley says
mmm that looks scrumptious
Danielle says
LOVE carrot cake! My birthday is this week, and when I was a kid, I requested a carrot cake for about 3 years in a row. My mom made the BEST cream cheese frosting. I didn’t even know the stuff came in a can until junior high. Although your version of the frosting sounds pretty delectable, too…
Breenah says
This is awesome because I love carrot cake, but my husband hates it. Now I can have it without wasting a bunch!
Alex@Spoonful of Sugar Free says
I used to not like carrot cake, but I like it a bit more now…..I never eat it, though! I would much rather have chocolate 😀
Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Pepper says
This looks amazing! I am so going to make this!! Yum!
Sarah the official CCK drooler-we pick Rick says
So…. i raised my hand. And i also jumped up and down. Until you said to stop so i did. You see, I take things literally. So you, YES YOU, made a fool of me. In front of my WHOLE class. And they are all laughing at me. Thanks, Katie.
Did i mention I’m home schooled?- so my WHOLE class is my sister ( who has no class :D)
All for the love of carrot cake. And I’m adding chocolate. Sue me 🙂
p.s.- I (ok my sis) FINALLY got around to making your cookie pie. Um, what kind of idiot am I for not making it sooner? My dad LOVED it which says a lot. When he found it was healthy, yeesh, that was all he needed. Now we make it for dessert on our Friday movie/pizza nights. We also brought it to a friend’s house and it got a huge thumps up! May i also add it is great in a parfait for breakfast?! Thanks for a yummy tradition!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Aw Sarah, I am so glad… especially about the fact that you didn’t look like a fool in front of 20-30 people. I would’ve felt so guilty 😉 ;).
Kit-Kat says
Yay for homeschoolers 🙂
Kristen says
I think this is one of the most fabulous things I’ve ever seen!! I LOVE carrot cake!!
Jamie @ Don't Forget the Cinnamon says
I love that it’s layered!
Annie says
I will need to make this today.
Emphasis on NEED.
Thank you for sharing!
JEnny says
I looove carrotcake with creamcheasse frostting
Janae Wise says
I too am also a fan of the single serving desserts–that way I can’t over do it.
I’m a huge fan of carrot cake. Isa M. (the Post Punk lady) has an awesome macadamia, coconut one in her PPK cookbook that is my absolute fave.
I will most definitely have to try this one out–too easy not to 🙂
Janae Wise says
And, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but I have to compliment you Katie on your amazing food photos. I’ve been following your blog for awhile (back when it chocolate covered vegan, which btw, my HUSBAND thinks your new name CCK, is brilliant!) and I’ve noticed how you’ve really developed some skills. Your pictures are beautiful to look at, I really appreciate that. You go girl.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Wow, thank you! And an even bigger thank you for following me that long! My blog was all over the place when I first started, with links going everywhere… I don’t even know if I would’ve had the patience to follow me back then ;).
Jen says
I am SO happy to have found your blog!! Love Love LOVE…everything I have whipped up! Can’t wait to try the carrot cake tonight! You rock!!
sally @ sallys baking addiction says
i love your single lady recipes, Katie. They are SO easy and perfect if you don’t need too many leftovers. i adore carrot cake, so this is on my to-bake list. 🙂
Dana says
I am confused, you say use “egg” and then in parens have flax and chia seeds. Does that mean to use chia seeds instead of egg? or in addition to?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be confusing! In my idea of a perfect world, everyone would have ener-g egg replacer, because it is economical and awesome ;). That works really well in this recipe. But I know most people don’t have it or want to buy it, and so I tried to give options. The flax or chia options are IN PLACE OF a real egg, not in addition to one.
Once again, sorry to be confusing. I wasn’t sure the best way to word it.
Sharon Devi says
Sorry. I know this is an older post. I had the same question mark on the “1/2 egg” bit. You also mentioned (above) that the flax or chia options are “in place of a real egg”. So, which half? The white or the yolk? Thanks in advance.
shannonmarie (rawdorable) says
My kids and I are big carrot fans. Love the cute cake pics <3
Bjork says
Looooove when you make those single serving recipes.
Carrot cake is my favorite cake! I think you read my mind 😉
Emily @ Glitz Glam Granola says
Yay for this single lady recipe! I have made almost all of your other ones and it always feels like such a treat to have a mini-cake for dessert! I like carrot cake as long as it doesn’t have fruit in it so this looks perfect to me! Can’t wait to make it– and top it with that frosting… yum!
Elizabeth says
carrot cake is my favorite cake! So excited to make this!
Elizabeth says
how much stevia is in one packet?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
The packets aren’t pure stevia, so it’s hard to say. If you’re using pure stevia, substitute however much you’d use for 1 tablespoon of sugar.
luv2run says
i love carrots! haven’t had carrot cake in a looooong time though. Thanks for posting this katie 🙂
Kelly says
I am new to your site and I LOVE it! I’m not sure what you mean by “1/2 egg of choice”. I keep milled flax seed in the house so what would the equivalent be? Thanks!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be confusing! In my idea of a perfect world, everyone would have ener-g egg replacer, because it is economical and awesome :). That works really well in this recipe. But I know most people don’t have it or want to buy it, and so I tried to give options.
I don’t personally have experience working with flax or chia eggs, but if you google how to make them, just use HALF the amount it says to use for one egg.
Once again, sorry to be confusing!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
From another commenter:
A ‘standard’ flax egg replacement is 1T ground flax to 3T water. Mix and let sit for a bit before using.
Sarah says
Wow, I didn’t know you could do that! Thanks for the info! 🙂
michelle says
Katie: I know I’ve mentioned the flax seed combo nut make sure its warm water 🙂
I know some people actually use boiling but I’ve never done that and its worked just fine
Anna @ The Guiltless Life says
I LOVE carrot cake and I love the idea of putting icing in the middle too like a proper sandwich cake! These nutritional stats are INSANE!
Sara Dane says
I LOVE carrot cake, especially with chocolate or carob chips!
Thank you for all the fabulous Single Lady Recipes – they are my fav because of the portion control…even though I’m not a “single lady”!
karin says
Portion control…? What do you mean? Do you think that thIS recipe is perfect to all people? No matter what size they are?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Karin, I’m not sure what you’re asking in your question, but mug cakes (or single-serving microwave cakes) are quite common. Many people–of all sizes–like them because they’re fast, economical, and lest wasteful if you don’t want to be left with a big cake.
Natasha says
this looks so delicious and easy! I’m definitely making this sometime this week 🙂
Kristin says
I don’t understand the problem about making too much cake? Do you really need a recipe for one person only?? Can’t you just make half or fourth the recipe ? Or WHAT…?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
See my answer to your question when you asked it above.
Kristin says
It was infact not me asking the other question, that was my sister, we are using trhe same pc.
Alanna says
That doesn’t really change the answer… if you aren’t interested in single-serving recipes, why bother reading through one (and then commenting on it)? Clearly there are many people here who appreciate them. It’s nice to be able to make only one portion when you live alone, or perhaps are the only one in the household who enjoys a certain type of food, or merely don’t want the temptation of an entire (or even a half) cake around the house. In addition, the ability to quickly prepare mug cakes using a microwave rather than turning on the entire oven, waiting for it to preheat, etc etc is a draw for many of us. Not sure why you feel the need to ridicule that idea; just move on and look for other recipes to your liking.
Anna Banana says
This recipe looks stellar so it’s definitely getting bookmarked for later. I also came here because my local whole foods co-op said that April 3 is National Chocolate Mousse Day. I’ll be making your recipe for that this afternoon.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Wow, I had no idea! Darn it, I’m out of coconut milk too.
But I do have tofu… might have to make a chocolate mousse pie ;).
Sami B. says
This just made my DAY!!! I actually was happy dancing at work, so people probably think I’m crazy. Thank you so much for the Weight Watcher’s points. As a dairy-free girl who is on Weight Watchers, this is such a huge help. YAY CARROT CAKE!
Jamie @ Thrifty Veggie Mama says
Very pretty. I’ve never been a real big fan of carrot cake but you might change my mind!
Mandolin says
So if I were to use Chia or Flax instead of egg, how much would I use?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be confusing! In my idea of a perfect world, everyone would have ener-g egg replacer, because it is economical and awesome . That works really well in this recipe. But I know most people don’t have it or want to buy it, and so I tried to give options.
I don’t personally have experience working with flax or chia eggs, but if you google how to make them, just use HALF the amount it says to use for one egg. Once again, sorry to be confusing!
Helen says
A ‘standard’ flax egg replacement is 1T ground flax to 3T water. Mix and let sit for a bit before using. I make muffins subbing out eggs this way and they are just fine. I do this because my son is allergic to egg whites.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thank you, Helen! You are awesome!
Kammie @ Sensual Appeal says
70 calories? am i dreaming?
Pinned this!
Kristy says
There is something so uniquely “spring-like” about carrot cake, and I have been craving it like crazy lately! This is perfect so I don’t go making (and eating) a whole cake. Thank you, Katie!
Guest says
Oh sweet bunny rabbits, carrot cake is my favorite!
I was just wondering about the nutritional information, though. I know you said that it’s based off of half the cake, but that still doesn’t seem right to me. This part here, “…for 140 calories, 1 gram fat” when the ingredients list 1 tablespoon of oil.1 tbsp of olive oil has 120 calories and 14 grams of fat. I’m guessing that those stats are for a cake with no oil and just more milk? Thanks!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
From what I’ve seen in cookbooks, it’s standard practice when calculating nutritional info to use the lower of the two items if two are given (such as with the oil and milk).
Sorry to be confusing!
Guest says
Nah, it’s not a problem, don’t worry about it, I had a feeling that was it, but I just wanted to double check anyway! Thank you!
Anna Banana says
That looks mighty tasty! I also thought you might be interested to know that (according to my local whole foods co-op) April 3rd is National Chocolate Mousse Day. They have some vegan/gf mousse, but I’m betting it’s not as good as your recipe… which I am making this afternoon.
Sarah says
Ooo I need to celebrate!
Brittany @Little b's healthy habits says
WOW! This looks awesome… sounds like the perfect recipe for an Easter treat!
Sarai says
Hey Katie!! I love this recipe, but I was wondering if your calorie count was off? Or if you were not counting the oil and sugar? I mean just half the flour would be 55 calories so…. Sorry 🙁 I do not mean to be a bother, just a little curious.
Helen says
Now I’m curious too where/how the nutrition is calculated. I just threw the recipe into my WW recipe calculator (only the ingredients that affect points, so sugar, egg, flour, oil, milk) and it comes up with 9 points for the whole recipe, or 5 pts if you eat half. So the nutrition seems to be way off, unfortunately.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Nope, the nutrition is not off. As is standard practice for nutrition facts, when two items are listed in an ingredient list, the lower of the two is used for calculations :).
(So milk, not oil)
MaryAnne says
Katie, WOW!!! Just wow!!!!! A friend recommended that I make your deep dish chocolate chip cookie pie, which I did last night (amazing!) and after staying up WAY past my bedtime reading your delicious recipes one after another, I didn’t think it could get any more awesome. But then it did, with this carrot cake!!! My husband is a huge carrot cake fan, so he’ll love it for sure, and I justlearned about the wide world of egg substitutes from the comment section here. From a fellow Texan (now on the East Coast), I send you a BIG THANK YOU!!!!!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Wow, thank you so much for such a sweet comment!
As for the egg thing, I recommend the ener-g stuff to people who aren’t even vegan, because it’s just so gosh-darn simple. It yields a ton of servings, keeps for years, and you don’t have to worry about running out of eggs ;). I really should try chia “eggs” one of these days, though.
Aja says
Why am I away from a kitchen right now?? I need to make this! Carrot cake is the bomb!
Jessie P says
Oh my gosh. I’m making this for my snack this afternoon. I’m pairing it with my first batch of your peanut butter eggs…and for breakfast I made some of your blueberry pancakes. I’m just dousing my day in chocolate the Katie way!!!
Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes says
What a delicious cake! I love how easy it is. The perfect Easter treat! I love carrot cake too, especially the frosting. 🙂
Karen V. says
Katie!!!!
This is my new favorite recipe of yours! As soon as I saw it, I CURSED myself for not having canned carrots in the house so I could make it right that very moment. But then I realized I did have fresh ones, and so I boiled them and made that cake right away. I LOVED it!
My hubby loved it too, which is shocking to me! I can’t believe I got a vegetable into him, and he actually liked it! Your blog has changed our lives. THANK YOU!
And now I know what I’ll be having for breakfast every single day for the rest of the year and beyond ;).
Faith @ For the Health of It says
I never knew I was a carrot cake fan until one day out of the blue I got a craving for carrot cake muffins, looked up a recipe and devoured half the batch in one day!
Samantha says
This made me laugh.
Carrot cake sort of hit me the same way…and yes, I have had those days in which 1/2 or more of a batch of something is suddenly gone. 🙂 (Zucchini bread being one of those somethings…on that subject, I think when I make this carrot cake I will add walnuts!)
Amber with Slim Pickin's Kitchen says
OH.MY.YUM!!!! The picture is super cute too! Can’t wait to try them!
Marci says
You are truly a genious Katie! Carrot cake is my favourite by far but I thought I would miss the icing. Am going to make this and top with melted coconut butter. Thank you!
Miranda @ Miranda's Munchies says
This is my dream come true!!!! I have been craving carrot cake for weeks and now I can finally give in!!! Thank you so much Katie, you’re awesome 🙂
Liz @ IHeartVegetables says
Hey Katie! Not sure if someone else already called it out, but I calculated the nutritional stats based on the new WW points system. It would be 2 points for half the recipe (4 points for both cakes) which is still really awesome!!! 🙂
Andrea says
This was REALLY good! I love the single servings because I always eat more than I should with goodies:) I used coconut oil and added walnuts on the top. Super good Katie. Thanks again!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I’m so glad you tried it! I love the idea to add walnuts… next time, I’m trying that for sure :).
Jody says
You can get the Points Plus formula (effective Nov 2010) on wikipedia …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weight_Watchers#Formulas
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Thank you so much for posting this! Now I don’t need to find a calculator :).
Tamara says
Hey Katie,
So first of all, I’ve been a reader of your blog for a long time, and I’m always impressed by the creativity and imagination you put in your recipes (and the beautiful photos as well!) However, I’ve always been bothered by one thing: the calorie counts for your recipes are NEVER, ever even close to what I, or online calorie calculators, estimate them to be. Your counts are almost always lower by at least 50%. For example, for this given recipe – even eyeballing it, there is NO way the entire thing comes out to be 140 calories and .5g of fat. The 1 tbsp of oil is already, on its own, around 120 calories or so. Another 110-120 calories for the 1/4 cup flour… When I plugged this recipe into an online recipe calculator (caloriecount.com), I got 271 calories for it (and that’s using xylitol, not brown sugar).
Now don’t get me wrong – I personally am not on a diet and don’t care enough to count calories for myself – I find that exercise and fresh fruits/veggies do a much better job of keeping me healthy. However, you always state that you post calorie counts for the many readers who DO care about them, and you also say you often try to keep recipes healthy for that same reason. Given this, I’m very confused by why/how you keep quoting such drastically lower calorie counts for many of your recipes. How do you calculate them?? If you’re counting 1 tbsp more milk rather than 1tbsp oil for this particular recipe, for example, shouldn’t you state that when you post the nutrition facts/calorie info for the recipe?
I hope you don’t take this post as a personal attack, because it’s not meant to be one – I would just like to hear your explanation for this discrepancy I’ve noticed. Thanks, and hope you have a great day!
Sarah says
Tamara, her calorie counts are correct. I always double check calories counts because I’m ocd like that. I’m copying CCK’s comments to another reader:
“From what I’ve seen in cookbooks, it’s standard practice when calculating nutritional info to use the lower of the two items if two are given (such as with the oil and milk).”
I don’t think she needs to specifically say it. If oil is 100 calories by itself, it’s obvious without saying that the other option was used.
Donna says
I’m certain Katie would not take offense with your comments/queries…but you truly should read through the previous readers’ comments before risking repetition….Katie has already responded, not once, but twice to your question regarding the lower calorie counts..her stats reflect using more “milk” rather than the oil. Hope this clarifies the numbers for you.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hi Tamara,
The other two girls pretty much summed it up. 🙂
MaryAnne says
I’m sure people have already said this, but there needs to be a “Like” function/button on WordPress, à la Facebook. I want to “like” these replies, and yours!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Haha I’m just waiting for a “love” button on facebook.
Meg @ Maknwaves says
This is going to make a perfect Easter treat! I am loving making your recipes and then watching my non-vegan family members reactions when they find out they are Vegan!
Maddy says
Yum! I’m usually not a fan of fat free desserts so I would probably use some coconut oil! Did you use oil/if not did it still taste good without any?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I tested it both ways. And normally, I am the BIGGEST hater of fat-free baked goods… but I was surprised to find that I thought this one was good either way!
However, my favorite way to eat it is topped with coconut butter… so much for fat-free ;).
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
This is such a yummy idea!!
Lisa @bitesforbabies says
Have you been reading my mind?!!! I’ve been on a carrot cake kick llately…this looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it!
Vegan Mandi says
Sometimes It’s like you read my mind. I was lucky enough to find an exceptional vegan carrot cake cupcake at a little local bakery the other day-but they don’t carry it all the time. I’ve been craving another since I had it. This recipe should do the trick! Thank you!
Moni Meals says
Not normally a huge carrot cake fan BUT after seeing this…YES, YES, and YES!! Super great Katie!
Candace says
You have given me something to look forward to with this one. It looks amazing!
Aly says
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is literally exactly what I needed tonight.
Multi-Testing Mommy says
How do you use 1/2 of an egg???
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
1/2 an egg substitute lol.
So 1/2 tsp ener-g, which is what I used. Or you can look up how to do a flax or chia egg… and then use half the amount it says to use for one egg :).
Patricia says
I love carrot cake, but somehow I always forget that it exists so I hardly ever make it. I will have to try this sometime. I’ve never used canned carrots…..I supposed cooked or shredded carrots would work as well, yes? The frosting you made looks fabulous!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
As it says in the recipe, cooked would be fine. But I don’t think shredded would work because you need the puree for extra moisture. 🙂
Marne says
This looks sooo good (though I will forever be in love with your cookie dough dips!). Thanks too for starting to include Weight Watcher Points Plus values.
Jennifer says
Perfect timing as I was CRAVING a carrot cake the other day but didn’t want a bunch left over! I love your single serving recipes for the occasional indulgence!
Tanjia says
I honestly started drooling when I saw the pictures from today’s post. YUM!
RC @ Just Add Cayenne says
I’m thinking a 5 minute zucchini bread would be a great follow-up post to this. Thanks for the great recipes and blog posts!
Lisa says
Love that idea!
Sue says
Would it be okay to use just one egg instead of the 1/2 “egg” replacement? Thanks! -S.C.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hi Sue,
Unfortunately, I have no cooking experience with real eggs… the last time I used one, I was 13! So I really don’t know.
Nikki says
Katie, I have to agree with Tamara; how could this recipe equal only up to about 140 calories when 1/4 cup of spelt flour (or any other flour) is around 130 calories?
anon says
um, did you not even bother to read the responses to tamara?!
Lisa says
My package of spelt flour says 110 calories for 1/4 cup. I just checked, and Katie’s calculations are correct.
Kara says
Hoomygosh. I need to make this asap! Sounds wonderful 🙂
Pure2raw twins says
YUM! YUM! love carrot cake!!
Suzi says
I’ve been looking at your blog for months now and finally purchased a food processor to be able to make a few of your recipes so last night I made this one and your chocolate chip blondies! I eat clean so I substituted evaporated can juice in your blondies recipe and stevia in the raw for this one. I also couldn’t find a “clean” cream cheese to make the topping so i used Chobani 0 Vanilla Greek yogurt w/ a little pumpkin pie spice. It was perfect- I although i’ll probably just pick up a cheap can of frosting for my boyfriend next time because he wasn’t a fan of the yogurt.
I didn’t have spelt flour so I used 3 Tbls whole wheat pastry flour and 1 tablespoon of soy flour. Tasted great!
Thanks for the amazing ideas, I will be making these both again and those blondies will be my secret healthy desert.
Lisa says
I really need to get a food processor! That recipe has been on my list for way too long now!
Suzi says
I found one at target a Black & Decker for 35 dollars and I used it last night to chop carrots, for this recipe, make the blondies and then made some quick healthy hummus (can of chick peas, lemon juice from a whole lemon. 1 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 tablespoon dill, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and 3oz plain Greek yogurt (chobani 0) it tastes great and 1oz is only 35 calories and 1 gram of fat. I eat it with kashi pita chips. Perfecto!
ATasteOfMadness says
Never made carrot cake before, I never found the time. Now that cannot be an excuse. This looks delicious!
Lisa says
Katie, I just made this and it is incredible!
Thank you so much for sharing your creative genius with us. Your website is by far my favorite, and I tell everyone about it. I’d love to see a CCK cookbook someday!
Ann says
Agree!
Lisa Olson says
Love your blog. Could you substitute baby food carrots in your recipe?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I think so! For best taste, I’d look for ones with only carrots as the ingredient (as opposed to carrots and water). I’m not sure if they make such a thing…?
Mari says
That’s what I use! The little container in the Gerber “1st Foods” line is 2.5 ounces so I just chuck the whole thing in there. The standard size container or jar is about 1/2 cup so you can make 2 cakes (or just add a little salt and pepper to the rest of the jar and eat it!). Canned carrots are usually massively high in sodium unless you pay attention to labels and get the “no salt added” ones which stores don’t always have, while baby food is almost always salt-free.
Leanne @ Healthful Pursuit says
I’m with everyone else, it’s the frosting for sure! This looks SO good, Katie. Way to go!
Ann says
Thank you for a great recipe. This was delicious, and so quick to prepare! I want another one already :).
Love your site!!!
Dee says
Ohhhhh this makes me want to break my diet! It looks and sounds yummy!
http://www.lovelypinkdiva.com
mithamy says
I Love carrot cake and so do my kids! 5 minutes! Awesome! Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! for including weight watchers points! That’s gonna make my life so much easier! I’ve been using your recipes for my weight watchers diet ever since I saw your chocolate pancake recipe on Skinnytaste! Thanks again!!!
LizAshlee says
I am a carrot cake lover, chocolate first of course, but carrot cake is up there too!! 🙂
Michele Sparrow says
I love your recipes! So delightful!! And…you have TWO on foodgawker today: the carrot cake and the bunny! Good for you! 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Aw thanks, Michele!
Toya says
I found your blog from Love from the Oven and when I saw the title I ran, yes ran over to your site. I Lurve me some Carrot Cake and to have a single serving recipe has made my little heart skip a beat. I will be following you from here on out cause you had me at Carrot Cake.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
🙂 🙂
So happy to meet another carrot-cake lover… seriously, I’m a little scared of people who don’t like carrot cake ;).
Lori Z. says
Can’t wait to try this!
I hope yesterdays weather didn’t directly affect you! I saw it on the news and it was awful!! We didn’t even get that much rain in Austin.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
It was really scary. Unfortunately a lot of my friends lost car and/or house windows. I feel really lucky that all I got was a giant mess of leaves in my front yard.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen my poor dog shake so much :(.
Tara says
What a timely recipe. First of all, I was already raising my hand when I clicked on your post (the sun was in my eyes and I raised my hand to block it-haha!) and second, I bought a piece of carrot cake at the natural foods market today and it was S-T-A-L-E. Of course, I don’t have any canned carrots, but this stroke of genius has me very excited because the only reason I haven’t made my own carrot cake is that I detest shredding carrots.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I am right there with you! Actually, I think I hate peeling them the most. Such a hassle for lazy girls like me who want their cake right away! 😉
Tiffaney says
Don’t peel the carrots… The skin is where SO many of the vitamins and minerals are… You just scrub the dirt off. Same with potatoes and other things like that. You want to clean them, but you want the skin on it…
Mashed potatoes, we just do completely wrong in most cases. Most people peel the potatoe, throw the skins away, boil the potatoes, dump the water and eat the inside. If anything, we should be drinking the water (infused with vitamins and minerals) and dumping the inside of the potatoes, lol. 🙂
For boiling carrots, you only want to use a little water so you can use that water in the recipe and keep all the minerals and vitamins.
Farah says
Hey! Every time a dessert craving kicks in, I always make something from your blog. Usually the cookie ball pops (my husband LOVES them too!!). He loves carrot cake, so he will most likely like this recipe.
I think the next thing I’m gonna try is your cake batter donuts with your hot chocolate butter as a frosting!!! YUM
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Aw that really makes me happy… I hope he likes the cake too!
Dave says
Can you recheck the Nutritional Info (particularly the fat grams) on this one? The recipe calls for 1T of “oil of choice” – most oil you would use for a recipe like this (peanut, safflower, …) is ~13g of fat per T, yet your nutritional content has only 0.5g of fat in a half-recipe. Something seems off there….
Love all the creative ideas you publish – great blog!
anonymous says
Dave, read some of the other comments. Her nutritional info is correct, and she’s answered your question about a thousand times already!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hi Dave,
As I told the other reader, the calculations aren’t off: From what I’ve seen in cookbooks, it’s standard practice when calculating nutritional info to use the lower of the two items if two are given (such as with the oil and milk). This cake is perfectly delicious regardless of which option you choose to use.
Sorry for the confusion!
Elizabeth says
This was insanely delicious! I actuallydoubled the recipe, added fresh pineapple chunks and blended with the steamed carrots, added a little applesauce, omitted any artificial sweetener and added raisins. Baked in the oven in aramekins, took more like 25 minutes vs. 10-12. So sweet and moist it probably doesn’t even need the brown sugar. Amazing, thank you Katie!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I love your idea to add the pineapple. I definitely want to try that next time :).
Liz says
This is my first CCK recipe I ever tried, and now I’m hooked! I had my doubts (It’s fat free? Can’t be good!) But oh wow oh wow was I wrong!
If anyone else is reading this and has doubts, DON’T! This recipe rocked my socks off!
RC @ Just Add Cayenne says
I joined the “made it” club tonight….4 times!! This is good stuff and I didn’t even use frosting
I don’t have kids of my own (yet), but I bet if you made a big batch of batter at a kid’s birthday, you could have each kid spoon some batter in a small mug to “bake” their own cake in the microwave. This would’ve been awesome to have as a kid!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
That is such a ridiculously-cute idea!! Bookmarking! 🙂
Nathalie says
Katie, I love your single serving recipes!
But I notice they often, especially the ones involving pumpkin/applesauce/puree/tofu/etc, don’t RISE for me. They end up like (admittedly delicious) flourless cakes or brownies in consistency. Looking at your pictures, it seems they rise and get “cakey” just fine for you. I dunno what I’m doing wrong T_T I want carrot cake that’s more than half an inch tall so I can slice it and have a middle icing layer.
Anyone have any tips? They’d be greatly appreciated.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hmmm… what flour do you use? Can you give me more specifics… and what specific recipes?
Nathalie says
I tried using a mix of BRM baking mix and soba flour for this carrot cake, and I used about half of a BRM Egg Replacer “egg.” It seems to happen most often in the recipes that utilize a large amount of “wet” ingredients like veggie puree or tofu. There’s a recipe on here somewhere for a vanilla cake that uses tofu, which did the same thing when I tried it. The thing is, they do rise in the oven or microwave, but then they collapse back down, no matter how long I have them in there for =/ I should note it didn’t happen when I tried to make your banana bread recipe. I use a variety of flours in general though, and it changes. Sorry, I know that’s not very helpful for narrowing it down X<
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Unfortunately, I can only vouch for the results of my recipes if you use the flours specified. As you said, different flours can have an ENORMOUS impact on results :(.
Kathleen @ KatsHealthCorner says
Oh gosh, my mom absolutely ADORES carrot cake! THANK YOU! Since she’s diabetic, I think this is a version she actually CAN have! <3 <3 <3
Lexi @ Cura Personalis Foodie says
Carrot cake > chocolate cake for me. I know, heresy! You can have my chocolate 😉
Kelly says
I’ve been reading your site for about a month now, drooling over each and over dish you post…..But I’m not a vegetarian, let alone a vegan, and I was wildly intimidated by attempting to cook with, say, tofu (I didn’t even know where to look in the grocery store). Plus I currently live in rural England (so, not so many health food stores around!) with my extremely picky “It’s not a meal if it doesn’t involve pork and chips (french fries)” partner. But he has a weakness for carrot cake, and when I saw these, I decided to give it a go. Oh my God, what a brilliant decision! I also made the better than cream cheese icing, and the entire thing was AMAZING. He requested it again tonight, even after I told him it was a) healthy, b) vegan, and c) involved tofu! I am so excited to have discovered your sight (and thank you thank you thank you for beginning to post the WW points as well! Huge help); I’m now both an avid reader AND cooker of your posts 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Wow, that really makes me so happy! I think it’s my favorite thing to hear that a meat-lover liked a recipe with tofu. I once got my boyfriend to like tofu by feeding him a slice of my chocolate bar pie… he was SO in shock that he’d actually eaten tofu and thought it was good! It was really funny ;).
gb says
I literally just made this. Delicious! I doubled the recipe, made it with GF flour, pumpkin puree instead of carrots, used 1 egg, and only 1 pack of stevia and it was GREAT. I did have to bake it a little longer, maybe by about 10 minutes, but who cares. Oh, and I topped it with whipped coconut cream. I am a dessert-lover who can’t have gluten, dairy, or sugar so this blog has been a dream come true. So far I’ve tried the frosting shots, deep-dish cinnamon pie, and now this and everything has been fantastic.
Paula says
I don’t have spelt in the house and don’t really want to go out and buy any kind of flour anymore. (Your Deep Dish Cookie pie recipe did that to me).
I do have brown rice flour, and also soy flour (soy flour? I don’t know why either) . Do you think either would be good?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Sorry, I really never know if a recipe substitution will work unless I’ve tried it :-?.
Emily says
I just made this. It is soooooooo good ! For the egg I used an egg white, and 2% milk for the my milk of choice. I also used whole wheat flour, and canned carrots as suggested. 🙂 Thank you so much for this recipe Katie ! I will definitely be making this again when I get a hankering for carrot cake !
Lisa @ Sweet 2 Eat Baking says
Wow, how cool is this? I’m a new visitor, so “Hi”. I came from FoodBuzz. My partner loves carrot cake so I’ll definitely be trying this, and might even get back to you to show how it all went! 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hi back! 🙂 🙂
Sami B. says
I totally tried the pumpkin substitution and have been eating for breakfast for the past two days with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting (vegan). It’s 2 tbs. vegan cream cheese blended with 1 packet Stevia and 1 1/2 tbs. of canned pumpkin. Blend and plop on the cake. OH. MY. GOSH!
Anonymous says
Love your blog and just wanted to share a DELISH addition I made to this today! First I added chopped pecans (because EVERYTHING is better with nuts) ;o), freshly ground red wheat flour, 1/2 the sugar called for, and substituted applesauce for the oil. OK, so those were the cake adaptions . . . now for the frosting . . . 1/4 c. coconut oil, 1/2 banana pureed, sweetener to taste. Stir in some coconut and chopped pecans and oh. my. word. Enjoy! :o) It’s seriously a delicious, HEALTHY alternative to german frosting . . .
Cassandra says
I made this for a calorie conscious friend of mine (and I myself am a Weight Watcher) and we were shocked that there could be so much delicious cakiness to consume for so few calories/points! We loved it! We topped it with a combo of cream cheese, whipped topping, an stevia. Absolutely incredible! I’m making it for breakfast with my coffee next week!
Thank you for all these wonderful recipes! I’ve been following you on Pinterest for awhile and am going to start making more of your recipes now that I have a new kitchen! Thank you!
Luana says
Great recipe! I love carrot cake and I am actually about to go to the supermarket to get the ingredients…
I was just wondering, from the nutritional info I’m not 100% sure, is each cake 70 calories then?
thanks!
Sophie says
Wow! Thanks SO much for all the single serving recipes! I tried this one today and LOVEEEEEED it! I just blogged about it!
http://lacreativitedelafille.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-minute-carrot-cake-for-one.html
Judee @ gluten Free A-Z says
Fabulous! And thank you for the WW points! Thank you Thank you
Sophie says
I made this for breakfast today. It was so so so yummy! I’m planning to make it again really soon. Thanks for the awesome recipe, and feel free to post any more interesting single serving cake recipes (he he)
Connie says
this was fabulous! i just made it in 5 minutes and poured it into my mini mini cupcake tins! they tasted great!!!! thanks so much for the recipe!
Megan says
Okay, let me just tell you that I’m ridiculously obsessed with this…I’ve literally been making the pumpkin version almost every day. I actually have been using old fashioned oats instead of flour, applesauce instead of oil, and only one tablespoon of brown sugar (plus no regular sugar), so it’s been an awesome healthy breakfast/snack/dessert with a nice slab of almond butter in between! The only downside of using oats is it takes a LOT longer to bake, but it’s totally worth it. Thank you for this recipe!!!
Marci says
My meat and potatoes husband loves this cake. Asks for it by name 🙂
Thanks again, Katie!
Kylie says
OHHH A VITA-MIX???? YES YES YES!!
I’ve been following your recipes for quite some time now and have loved every single one of them…I made this single lady carrot cake for my mom on Mother’s day and she LOVED it…wouldn’t stop talking about it 🙂 Thanks for helping me share the love and bring happiness to those are the most important to me 🙂
Unfortunately, I’m one of those that is already a Facebook page liker and I’m already receiving your emails and I don’t have a twitter 🙁 I guess I’m out of luck then…unless you can think of another way for all in the same boat as I to enter 🙂
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Girl, you get entries for all of those!! You can always use past likes or subscriptions for every new giveaway :). Leave comments on the vita post so you’ll be entered for those things! 🙂
Kylie says
YEYYYY! 🙂 Thanks!
Hayley says
I didn’t have the ingredients to make the frosting, but I was still really eager to try this. I made it as cake in a mug in the microwave and it is amazing! Even without the icing, I love it and would definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing.
Allison says
Hi Katie,
I’m pretty psyched to try this–my partner does not like carrot cake, so this way I can have my cake and eat it too! Just out of curiosity, what do you think baby food carrots would do to the texture? Do you think baby food is too runny and wouldn’t hold the batter?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I think I actually mentioned that as an option on my nutritional info link… I thought I’d mentioned it in the actual post, but now I can’t find it!
I haven’t tried it. I don’t see why it wouldn’t work, but if you do try it please report back! 🙂
Lindsey says
Hey Katie!
Love your blog– you are so creative! I am definitely not as talented as you are in the kitchen (or behind the camera!) but I had to try this- carrot cake is my favorite! Until I realized…no carrots in the house! I used 2T coconut flour, 2T oat bran, 3T almond milk, 2T applesauce, 2T egg beaters, almond extract, and no oil- the coconut flour/oat bran soaked up a lot of liquid, so I just made some soft cookies. I promise I will try your way soon! Looking forward to more of your yummy recipes. And thank you so much for the WW info! 🙂
JoAnn says
Hi Katie-just made this twice today!
First, as my first gluten/dairy free recipe ever (as a test), and then again for the family because it was good! I actually made it for my nephew and he wouldn’t try it initially because everyone else liked it so much that he was convinced it had to have dairy or gluten in it!
Now then, I have two questions:
How much sweetener do you put in the frosting? i feel like i put way too much!
Also, humor me, i’ve read through the blog and seen your replies, but it didn’t reallly rise like your pictures. I went with the pumpkin and used the ener-g and i was wondering if i was supposed to leave the ener-g dry and not mix w/water (per box directions?) that was really the only variation.
Oh, and finally, i saw the comment above and added choc. chips in to half the recipe and we loved them that way, too!
Love your blog! thanks for sharing your recipes–they all look delicious!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hi JoAnn,
Yes definitely don’t mix with water. I think that could’ve been why it didn’t rise for you; too liquidy/mushy? I always disregard the box directions on that. Sorry for the confusion! 😕
Mary Davis says
My hand is raised. Really really high. However, we are on a biggest loser weight loss challenge at work, and its only week 2 out of 12. I have lost 13 lbs, but have to wait to make these. I did however click on the pinterest options 🙂 And will start baking the last week in September. Soooooo excited to find single serving choices.
Barbara says
Made this little beauty of a cake this AM and munched it down after my one hour spin class. What a yummy treat! Do you think this wonderful confection could use shredded zucchini instead of carrots?
My taste buds thank you for posting a perfectly sized, deliciously moist carrot cake recipe!
Stacey says
I just made this. Only I quadrupled the recipe and made a dozen cupcakes. They came out delicious just like all the recipes of yours I’ve tried. I didn’t have the frosting ingridients so I frosted them with vegan whipped topping. Fantastic, even my picky eater child loved these, and he hates carrots.
Kristen says
Can anyone help? I put in the flour, sugar, milk (NOT oil), carrot, baking powder, vanilla, etc. into myfitnesspal.com and came out with higher calories. I even omitted the egg! I came out with about 200 for the whole recipe instead of 140. Any thoughts??
Thanks!
Liz says
Online calculators such as myfitnesspal are meant as a guideline, not to be taken as accurate. They are often off, and also it will depend greatly on specific ingredients you use, such as type of milk. Don’t take an online calculator to be the final word.
In this case, CCK’s calculations are correct.
Hope that helps!
Kristen says
Thanks for your help! I was assuming online calculators were more accurate than I guess they really are!
Tee Jay says
Actually I use MFP and it is pretty accurate….. but, your comment leads me to think: are you putting each food item in separately into your food log?? If so, that’s why you’re getting a different total. Mixing all the ingredients together and cooking them changes the total value.
Emma and Maddy says
Hey Katie!
We loved the way these little cakes came out! It took us about 20 minutes and we added pecans for extra crunch. Thank you so much we will be using your recipes a lot from now on!
Sarah says
Hey Katie,
Love this recipe! Newly vegan I am looking to find recipes that work for my diet and this one is one of my favorites. I even used applesauce as my egg replacement and it still worked fabulously! Thanks so much!!
Em says
Hi there, apologies as you’ve probably been asked this many times but I am new to your site (and couldn’t see the answer in the many comments above), but do you have conversions for a normal/ larger size cake?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
I’m working on it 🙂
Allison says
i have the same question! I would like to make a larger cake (because this one was so fantastic). any thoughts?
Brenda says
Katie, In reading through the reader comments, I noticed one gals comment about making your Deep Dish Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. So, I quickly went back up to the menu to check it out in the Dessert tab under cookies, but couldn’t find it listed. Could you direct me to it’s location on your site.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/31/deep-dish-cookie-pie/
Amanda says
Just wondering where you buy ener-g egg replacer. I’m in Houston too. This looks delicious!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
natural food section of a reg. grocery store, or whole foods baking aisle.
Amanda says
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it. You’re awesome!
Marie says
Thanks so much for this Katie! I spent the morning preparing carrot cake with orange cream cheese icing for my sisters birthday tonight.. heavenly.(I am gluten free.) I was wondering what I could possibly substitute for myself as I watch everyone eat my masterpiece and you came through with the perfect treat! 🙂 I was a little worried they wouldn’t turn out because the only GF flour I have left right now is Celimix white bread mix, but I used it and they turned out great. I doubled it and made 4 cupcakes, my mother is GF too. I just realized while typing this that I forgot the egg too! 😛 This will definitely be my go-to recipe for dessert from now on, CARROT CAKE IS MY FAVORITE. Thanks again!!! *****
Alethea says
I’m eating this for the 2nd day in a row but I’ve made a bunch of my own substitutions due to my own diet preferences. And I’m eating it as a breakfast muffin so no frosting for me (though that looks fantabulous).
My subs: I used almond flour instead of spelt
I used a whole regular egg
I used maple syrup for sweetener (instead of both listed)
I used pumpkin instead of carrot
I used coconut milk & no oil.
YUM!!! Thanks, as usual, Katie! You’re the best! 🙂
I had to put it in microwave for at least 2 mins
Kararae says
Wow! Was looking through all your yummies for a quick, hassle free, no bake recipe, and this was the winner! Big time. I’m not really a baker, more of a cook, so I rely on wonderful and creative folks like you. As I’m writing this my teenage son devoured his serving about sentence one, lol. I doubled the recipe (teenage son), actually used an egg (cause we have chickens), added the flax cause I do to almost everything baked, and they came out beautifully. We had leftover stir fried carrots from dinner so I threw them in after dicing, grated some nutmeg, added cinnamon and garam masala, since I am apparently out of PP spice! Almond coconut milk and brown sugar, cream cheese frosting, microwaved cake, who knew? I did, but forgot, now my kid’s mind is blown, his tummy is happy and full, as is my dads.
Thank your for your amazing blog and all of the wonderful recipes you have tirelessly compiled for our benefit<3 You now have the majority of my bookmark spaces in desserts, lol. I can't wait to try all of these no bake goodies too, as it's 98` here again today in California…Thank goodness our oven is on the fritz and I found your site!
Blessings and thank you again!
Sarah says
Hi Katie! I just made this for my dad 🙂 He’s gonna love it, thank you SOOO much.
Emily says
Sitting here all the way in Edinburgh Scotland, devouring this wonderful cake 🙂 Thanks for the recipe Katie.
Helena says
This recipe was pretty great!
I added walnuts and used shredded carrots as well
Bri says
Question about the tofu for the cream cheese topping…where do I get that tofu? Can I use a different type if I can’t find that kind.
Also, recipe says you can put mixture in a mug – can mugs go in oven? If so, I totally didn’t know this.
Please reply.
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Mori-Nu has less of an aftertaste some people complain about. But yes, you could try a different brand if need be!
Gretchen O'Barr says
I sure wouldn’t worry about Weight Watchers points. Sorry if that gripes some people. Their whole business has been somewhat of a scam. I believe it was in England where there was even a lawsuit over their claims and they have a lousy record of permanent weight loss. That’s why everyone joins and then rejoins again later. Good hype but there is a lot better research on low carb eating. Best book: Low Carb Living by Johnny Bowden. He compares 14 low carb diets from Adkins, Zone, South Beach, etc. with good and bad points. Excellent info.
Mary says
Hi Katie,
I’ve been curious, can you replace the spelt flour with an almond or coconut flour instead? I’ve been trying to cut back on my starches but I’m in love with your blog and would like to try practically all of your recipes! I know you have a gluten free category but I was curious as to whether or not I could replace the flour in some of your other recipes as well. Thanks!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Sorry, I haven’t tried it.
Dottie O says
Hey Katie,
When we lived in Brazil I fell in LOVE with the carrot cake there. It is denser than in the US… more like a pound cake. And they always top it with…. (wait for it)…. a CHOCOLATE glaze!!! The first time I saw it I was skeptical about carrot cake with anything but cream cheese frosting, but man was I glad I gave it a try. Pure yumminess!!
Isabella says
Hi Katie!
Do you think oat bran in place of the flour would work in this recipe?
xx
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Sorry, haven’t tried so I really can’t say.
Fran says
Hi Katie,
this looks great. I havent yet tried using an egg replacer. With the ener-G one, do you have to mix it up with water before using in your recipes or would I literally just bung the powder into the mix as if it were baking powder?
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Just use as a dry ingredient in this recipe :).
So yes, as if it were baking powder.
Fran says
Thank you, can’t wait to try it!
Hayley says
Yum! I was in desperate need of groceries and had some convenient leftover mashed carrots with cinnamon so this was absolutely perfect! I sweetened it with a tablespoon of maple syrup, used a whole egg and voila, perfect lunch muffins. 🙂
LauraL says
Loveee this recipe! Out of curiosity, did you calculate your nutritional facts based on using oil and brown sugar? I plan on just using more milk and a sugar substitute, so I’m wondering if that would cut down the calories even farther.
Mer says
Just tried this, and i can vouch for it-it was really, really, really good.
Leslie Paquette says
I don’t know why I waited so long to try this! I think it’s my new favorite single serving recipe. Of course I decided to double the recipe so I could have it again tomorrow, lol. So much for single serving 🙂 I’m just curious as to whether you personally consume xylitol? I purchased it and used it in one of your single serving mug recipes and although I didn’t experience side effects that day I had a pretty upset GI tract several days later. Not sure if its related to the xylitol or not but I’m a little scared to try it again! Thanks Katie!!!
Mer says
Leslie-have you tried Tagatose? I used it in this carrot cake (i use it a lot), and it was great 🙂
Anita says
I tripled the size of your recipe and made them in a muffin shape, I had great dessert last night, and a fabulous breakfast this morning. Thank you for the recipe! I have never eaten carrot cake before, such a loss 🙂
Sarah @ bakeonthrough.com says
Hi Katie! Just wanted to let you know that I saw a vegan bakery here in Philadelphia that’s using GARBANZO FLOUR in their carrot cakes and pumpkin donuts. So being curious, I tried it in your single serving carrot cake and subbed the carrots with pumpkin puree (I was too lazy to steam and chop carrots, lol!) and the result is UH-MAZE-ING. Definitely worth trying!
Maria says
Oh my goodness. I’ve been looking both for a healthy dessert source and a single serving dessert source for FOREVER. And they’re both in one place. Hooray! I will be making this immediately…later today. 🙂 Thank you!
Jill says
I had some leftover mashed sweet potato from making my son’s baby food, so I subbed that in for carrot – worked out awesome! Thanks for the recipe!
deanna says
i usually love your single serving recipes, however this time i was just a little disappointed. my cake was very rubbery and chewy when it came out of the microwave and i was surprised because that had never happened before. i will definitely try this recipe again to make sure that it wasn’t my own error that gave it a rubbery texture.
Cindy Karas says
Have you done any experimenting with dehydrating instead of Microwave or oven cooking to preserve the enzymes and nutritional value? I would love to try this method… your recipes always are so yummy!!!!!!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Sorry, I’ve never actually used a dehydrator.
Caron says
Katie, just made and in the process of consuming Carrot Cake for one (used canned pumpkin in place of carrots). Excellent! Topped it with Mimiccreme Healthy Top, a dairy-free soy-free whipping cream product made from almonds and cashews. I don’t even bother to whip it. Just top your favorite cake with a heaping tablespoon (50 calories, 3.5 g fat, and 4 g carbs). What a decadent treat!
Ariffa says
I served mine with maple sweetened coconut cream. REDIC.
Ava says
I made this and loved how easy and yummy it was!!
Carolyn says
Hey there, just wanted to let you know that your nutritionals for this are wayyy off. The spelt flour ALONE has about 120 calories for 1/4 cup, so 70 calories for the whole thing is far too low. FYI, caloriecount generally puts the calorie counts far too low, so I would recommend calculating nutrition info yourself (based on package information) if you want accurate numbers. Love the recipes though!
Chocolate-Covered Katie says
Hi Carolyn,
Please read the entire post. The nutrition information is correct :).
karen says
Thank you for my daily dose of food porn – and for including weight watchers points!
Poppy says
Hi. I’m confused about the nutritional information for this recipe. The flour itself is around 100 calories? Yet the entire recipe is 140 calories? I made a version of this using all stevia and it came in at 291 calories.. Confused…..
Jiil says
Can u give a milk free frosting recipe…I can get around the sugar by using palm sugar and agave and honey..Jill
Melany says
Hey Katie! I just discovered your blog and am so excited to try your recipes! I`ll start from this one and then the 1-minute chocolate cake. But I have a doubt: why do you use spelt flour? I honestly never heard of it before and seems like no one in my country has either (I`m Argentinian and I have been asking in commerces with no success.) I`d rather not use common white flour because I`d like to make it as healthy and light as possible
Pam says
Do you have a recipe for your carrot cake but for a larger group? Perfect for a birthday cake
Kathie says
For a “recipe” for freezing eggs, 2 tblsp. of well blended eggs = 1 egg. So if you’re wanting to use 1/2 egg, you could beat up an egg until it’s well blended and use 1 tblsp. of the mix. I freeze eggs in ice cube trays, putting 2 tblsp. in each cavity, and after they are frozen, I just pop them in a freezer bag. Then I always have eggs on hand to bake with. They can be used in scrambled eggs and omelets, too. 🙂 Whether using them in baking or cooking (as in an omelet), they should always be thawed before adding them to other ingredients. If blending up a dozen eggs, add a pinch of salt to the batch. Be sure to account for that in these “little” recipes. I’m a disabled senior citizen who can’t just easily “run out to the store” if I’m missing an ingredient. This method has come in handy, too, when the eggs are nearing their “Use By” date and I know that I won’t be feeling like doing much cooking or baking before they go bad, or have a planned hospital stay. I guess it turns out most anything can be frozen. Who knew??!!
Delphine says
Katie, I have been following your amazing and creative blog for about two years and I can’t express enough how much of a genius you are. Also, you are so beautiful! Love your creative recipes!
Barb says
Katie – what a great way to eat one bite. I’m going to try it at our next party!!
Erin says
Katie, I have been drooling over your recipes for months, and I finally decided I had to try one! I’m vegan and competing in my first figure competition in six weeks. I haven’t had dessert for almost two months, but I am slowly savoring this little gem of a dessert with a thin spreading of the frosting (I used soy flour for the high protein content with no problems at all!) Thanks for posting so many things that are quick, easy, nutritious and delicious!
P.S. I have my eye on the chocolate cake batter milkshake to celebrate the night the competition is over! 🙂
mary tomerlin says
hi katie! i love your blog and am a huge advocate of what youre doing here. i was wondering if there is a way that you could post the nutritional information with the recipes for those of us who are calorie counting. i know these are going to be better option than the alternative, but im trying to inspire my fellow dieters to choose your recipes and we are all concerned about not knowing the nutritional information. feel free to private message me on facebook if its easier 🙂 i love what youre doing, keep it up!
Alice says
I just made one and the whole house smells delicious…
But I have to wait until dinner time to eat the little carrot cake! 🙁
That’s terrible!
Erin says
Just made this and it was awesome! I had tons of fine carrot shavings from juicing carrots, and found this recipe. I used my stoneware egg cooker and doubled the microwave time. Turned out amazing!
Leah says
I just whipped up one of these guys and it was spot-on! I used 2 Tbsp of egg beaters and coconut milk (no oil). My success with the texture of mug cakes has been a bit spotty, so i opted for the oven. i divided it into 2 ramekins and they tool about 18 minutes, plus 20 minutes of cooling time. It ended up moist and very cake like! I went for some Greek yogurt mixed with vanilla and powdered sugar for frosting. Totally satisfied my cravings! I’ve made 5 CCK recipes in the last week or so, and I must say I’m hooked. Thanks, Katie!
Cassandra says
Would it be possible to do it flourless? Subbing in chickpeas? Have you tried that? I’m really curious if it would work. Please let me know! I’m dying to find a way to do some fast, single-serving desserts without flour!
Allison says
Wow! totally tasty & easy; my picky 7 yr old declared this his favorite dessert : )
I subbed apple sauce for the oil, flax for egg, pumpkin instead of carrot, and I used coconut sugar. It came out the consistency of a mousse or cobbler instead of a cake, but it was amazing. Next time I will add raisins and zap it for maybe 15 seconds longer in the ‘wave. Perfection once again Katie!
Allison says
Cassandra, I just noticed your post & you might want to try flax meal or almond meal instead of traditional flour. I used almond and it came out great but I sub in flax often in many recipes and it usually works well. If you try it let us know!
Savannah says
These cupcakes are amazing! I’ve made them all for my mom and this was definitely her favorite one!
Allison says
Made these at a friend’s house yesterday, and she didn’t have flour. (I know, what?) So we ended up making our own oat flour and using frozen (and then steamed) carrots. SO DELICIOUS. We made several each and ate with vanilla ice cream….it was absolutely fantastic.
Amy says
This was really good! I used the flax, milk and coconut oil, and I used 1/3 cup of fresh grated carrot. Because I used a fresh carrot, I had to add a little more almond milk (maybe another tablespoon or so). I also went with just the 1.5 T brown sugar and then a half a packet of stevia. It was delicious!
Becky F. says
Now you really struck the right “chord.” THANK YOU!!!! I am not a chocolate lover and this IS my favorite.
Sharon says
Hi, Katie.
I am going to make this little carrot, but i have a question. Would coconut oil work? Also, can i cream coconut oil in its solid state just like butter if i’m using it in a recipe that calls for that? I have just purchased coconut oil for the first time ever and have been wondering about that…
Thanks,
Sharon
http://www.thequarterinchshop.etsy.com
Unofficial CCK Helper says
Coconut oil will work. I would melt it completely first.
Michelle says
I love your blog and finally got to try some recipes this weekend! I made the carrot cake in cupcake tins because I don’t have ramekins. I’m not sure if I put too little in the cupcake tins but they seem really dense. Does the density depend on the type of flour you use? I used whole wheat flour… They’re delicious tasting just not as fluffy looking as yours!i hope you have some advice!
Lindz says
Read the recipe again. The recipe doesn’t call for whole wheat flour.
Gwen Boone says
This was fantastic! I doubled the recipe and it made one small little mini-loaf bread pan that I baked in the oven. Then I liberally frosted with your healthy cream cheese frosting and no one was the wiser (except me!). Just perfect for a small family dessert without all the leftovers. I have been so happy making the recipes on your site these last few months since I found you. Thank you for sharing!
Michelle says
I made a larger version of this for my dad’s birthday. I just multiplied all the ingredients by 4 and it made about a 6 inch cake. I put a crumb topping on it. My parents really liked it and so did I! Although I would have used less sugar if I was making it for myself. It was a bit too sweet. Thanks CCK!
Kate says
I made this with apples instead and added ginger, cloves & allspice plus raisins. It got rave reviews 🙂
Pernille says
I really can’t get this… How can you get it to so little calories? When I counted, it was in abput 300 calories for the whole recipe, and that’s so much more!
Anyway, it taste super good, eventhough I baked it 15 minutes more:)
But please, why do I get the calories so high?
AJ says
Do you think that using WW pastry flour would also work?
Pixie says
Looks gorgeous! And your timing couldn’t have been more perfect – February 3rd is Carrot Cake day! 😀
alex says
Could you post some of the most popular recipes in larger portions ie for an an entire cake?! It would be really helpful because I end up just making a ton of small batches!
Anne says
I added golden raisins, walnuts, dates, and chocolate chips to this recipe. It was absolutely delicious. I also mixed some Tofutti cream cheese, coconut sugar, almond butter, and almond milk to get frosting.
Emily says
I bet that pureed carrots — like, baby food — would also work! 🙂 Definitely trying this asap!
Kate says
Gorgeous recipes Katie!
I’m a bit concerned about your ‘ microwave ‘ cooking though. Surely that’s NOT a healthy option nowadays …
Blessings
Kate
AdoptiveMom2Seven says
After much research because of my mom telling me that microwaves cause cancer and all types of craziness, I found out that microwaving food isn’t bad for you. Take the time, do your research, there’s no need to be fearful of what you don’t know!
Angel says
If I wanted to use this to make 20 single serving cakes, I suppose I could just double the recipes to 20 times? Correct?
Maria says
Katie,
There are so many recipes I’d love to bake as soon as I read about them but realize that I haven’t all the ingredients on hand. Would you consider creating a “pantry list” of commonly used ingredients. (I was grocery shopping the other day and I recalled a recipe I wanted to try had dates, so I picked up a package of dates just in case I come by the recipe again!). Thanks!
Unofficial CCK Helper says
You can check this out in the Recipe FAQ link at the top of Katie’s blog. Here’s the link:
https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/faq-page/recipe-questions-and-troubleshooting/
Maria says
Thank you.
Kelly Gardner says
This is really good! Just whipped one up – yummo!
Kyra says
Hi
Thanks so much for this! Really wanted to get/make my mum something really nice for Mothers’ Day this year but the problem with cakes is that they’re sometimes really fatty and oily or just not original. Now I can make a little baby cake!! 😮 I’m going to make a love heart stencil and make lots of icing sugar hearts surround the cake on the plate.
Thanks so much again 🙂
Sarah Knott says
When I was little my mother made carrot cake for me each year for my birthday. My birthday wasn’t the same without carrot cake once I started monitoring my sugar intake and not eating “sweets”. This is delicious! I have to double and triple the recipe each time! I grated raw carrots (instead of the cooked canned carrots), added a bit of nutmeg and about 2 tsp. of chopped walnuts, and baked it. The cake was so close to my mom’s that my children were raving over it! Thank you!
Erika Garza says
Katie! I luv your site! Your recipies are brilliant. So, how do i buy your book already!? I dont see an ebook or hardback. Am i missing something here? Let me know when you’ll be publishing these!
Thx
Erika
Unofficial CCK Helper says
Her book is now available! 🙂
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chocolate-covered-katie-katie-higgins/1119439699?ean=9781455599707
kathryn mcmorrow says
Sweet efforts. I’ve never cooked with Stevia. Your frosting looks as light as shaving cream, and the cake firm yet soft. Good idea for carrot cake addicts. I imagine you can multiply precisely as needed, but even amounts work best–make two with one egg!
donna says
these look absolutely delicious. carrot cake is one of my most favorite desserts but rarely make it because I cannot resist it. this looks much better
Louise Johms says
What a lifesaver these recipes are- yet to try but look sensational. Can you send me the coconut butter recipe please – I am diary intolerant too.
Chocolate Covered Katie says
https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/06/30/coconut-butter-and-coconut-oil/
Jessica says
Can I substitute the flour for oat flour or protein powder? Which one is healthier?
Oli says
Once again, you have made my life sweeter!
I’m in the process of dieting and have been going at it since January, and lately my sweet tooth has been driving me insane!!
My friends all ordered carrot cake the other day for lunch, and all I could do was sit there and drool. Today, not being able to take it anymore, I came on here to see if you had any solutions to my problem, and OF COURSE you did!
This recipe took me about ten minutes and not only satiated my belly but pleased my non-dieting hubby. Thank you! I’ll be taking these to school with me from now on for a guilt-free lunch dessert. 😉
Maria says
After this one the whole office team are fans! Thank you and Muchas Gracias!
Crys says
I love this recipe, along with all of your other single serving recipes! I’ve made this so many times, I’ve become obsessed with it (not that that’s a bad thing, or anything). The pumpkin variation is yummy too! The best part of this recipe is that it’s a single serving, meaning: I don’t have to share 😉
Linda Wackenstedt says
Love your recipes
Pamela Porter says
I haven’t had an opportunity to try this & it sounds wonderful. I’m in your corner when it comes to cream cheese frosting; however, in an attempt to save calories during the holidays, I’m going to experiment with butter, coconut, pecans & serve it warm. Wish me luck!
JDignum says
This looks great. All the options are nice, and the substitution for pumpkin is also extremely appealing. I’ll be making this ASAP. Yummmm-o! You have great recipes and ideas. Thank you.
Joy says
Have you ever tried using potato starch in place of flour in any of your recipies? I thought I might try the carrot or zucchini muffins for Passover, but they would have to be made without flour.
Jennifer Clawson says
You never cease to amaze me!! Yummy!!
Rachel says
this was incredibly delicious! satisfied my cravings like crazy!
kaitlyn rucks says
Best carrot cake in a mug ever had and loved the frosting it was so good i will give this 5 stars. 🙂
Johnny says
Great tasting carrot mug cake. I added raisins and chopped walnuts. (the way my mom used to bake them). It was a taste of heaven. I will add this to my list of Favorite Mug Cakes.
Ekaterina says
Recipe is amazing! But I used 1/3 cup of finely grated fresh carrots, one more 1 tbsp of milk and 1 tbsp of orange juice! It was the best carrot cake in my life, better than non-vegan versions. I’ve just started baking vegan goods:)
Ekaterina says
And I used raspberry jam and slightly whipped coconut cream to make it moist.
Regina says
Thank you for posting these delicious, easy recipes. I did the funfetti cake, but used peacans instead of sprinkles, and the carrot cake. Both were excellent. I’m trying the pumpkin cake tonight. The funtetti was quick to put together. The carrot took longer but was worth it. Thanks again
Nettie Moore says
Hi Katie!
Thank you so much for all of your contributions! I appreciate any social shares! Nettie https://parade.com/1021853/nettiemoore/best-mug-cakes-recipes/
Kay says
HO-LY CRAP.
I am mind blown. I don’t usually leave reviews but this was amazing. I used olive oil instead of veg and brown sugar instead of white.
If you’re in need of a quick single serve carrot cake this recipe will not disappoint. Thank you for this Chocolate covered Katie!!
Long haired hippie says
What a treat! Had to tweak for allergies. So here’s my gluten free/Vegan/metric adaptation.
2T. Cornstarch 14g
1T. Sorghum flour 9g
1T. Chickpea flour 5g
Brown sugar 28g
1/2 t. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Baking powder
1/8 t. Baking soda
1/8 t. Salt
75g carrot baby food
1T. Water 15g
1T. Oil 12g
1 t. Vanilla extract
1 T. Raisins
And because carrot cake isn’t carrot cake without pineapple I made an icing with crushed pineapple and powdered sugar.
In my microwave it took 2 minutes. Enjoy!
Btw: Firefox does NOT play nice with your comment box.