A soft and fluffy single serving carrot cake in a mug is the perfect easy dessert for Easter, or for any other day of the year too!

Why you’ll love this carrot mug cake recipe

• It tastes like restaurant style carrot cake packed with sweet carrots and cinnamon, in the convenient form of a portion controlled mug cake.
• Whip up the entire cake in under five minutes, with no oven required.
• Dairy free, egg free, high protein, high in vitamin A, and just 120 calories.
• Enjoy as a quick and healthy snack, or add frosting and toppings and serve for a decadent after dinner treat. A single serving carrot cake recipe that’s made in the oven or microwave and is secretly good for you? It doesn’t get much better than that!

Also try this reader favorite Chocolate Mug Cake

Step by step recipe video

Carrot cake in a mug ingredients

Flour – You need a fourth cup of flour. I like whole grain spelt flour because it adds nutrition and gives you a lighter texture than whole wheat flour.

Oat flour, cup-for-cup gluten free flour, or white all purpose flour work as well. Almond flour does technically work, but the cake will crumble so it is best to eat this low carb version straight from the mug.

Carrots – It sounds funny, but the easiest option is to buy carrot puree in the baby food aisle of your local grocery store. Alternatively, you can puree canned carrots or steam and then puree peeled fresh carrots in a food processor.

Sweetener – Choose any granulated sugar or granulated sugar free substitute. I like to use minimally processed or unrefined sugar, such as turbinado. White sugar, coconut sugar, or xylitol are also good options. Substituting pure maple syrup or honey will yield a somewhat gummy texture, so keep that in mind if you wish to use a liquid sweetener.

Milk of choice – Use any milk in your refrigerator, including plant based varieties like almond milk or coconut milk. You will also need a tablespoon of oil (coconut oil or vegetable oil), almond butter, or an additional tablespoon of milk for a low fat mug cake.

Vanilla – Look for pure vanilla extract instead of imitation, because it gives you the most natural vanilla flavor. If using vanilla flavored milk, you may omit the vanilla extract.

Spices and dry ingredients – The recipe also calls for half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a fourth teaspoon of baking powder to help with rising, and an eighth teaspoon each of salt and baking soda. Feel free to throw in a small pinch of ground nutmeg or ginger if desired.

How to make the cake

1. Begin by greasing a small mug or two small ramekins well. Set aside.
2. If you want to bake the mug cake in an oven instead of a microwave, preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit or 176° Celsius.
3. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, sugar or sweetener, and salt directly into the mug. Stir very well. (If using ramekins instead of a mug, simply combine all ingredients in a cereal sized bowl, then smooth the batter into the prepared dishes.)
4. Now stir in the milk, optional oil or almond butter, vanilla extract, and pureed carrots until just evenly mixed.
5. Microwave on high power until soft and fluffy. Time will vary by wattage of your machine, and mine takes around two minutes total. Alternatively, bake in an oven safe dish for fifteen minutes or until fully cooked in the center.
6. Enjoy straight from the mug. Or let the carrot mug cake cool before going around the sides with a knife to pop the cake out onto a plate.
7. If you want to make a cute double layer cake, carefully slice through the middle and frost each layer. Garnish with shredded carrot, diced pecans or walnuts, and raisins as you wish.

Frosting the mini carrot cake

The recipe tastes amazing topped with Coconut Butter or Coconut Whipped Cream.

Or I like to make a basic cream cheese frosting recipe by whipping 2 ounces cream cheese with 1 ounce butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar or monk fruit, 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and a few drops milk of choice if needed. (Use plant based cream cheese and butter for a vegan cream cheese frosting.)

This is simply a small batch of the frosting I use on my Carrot Cake Bars.

Carrot cake and frosting are meant for each other. But it need not be cream cheese! You can use almond butter, cashew butter, vanilla yogurt, or a dusting of powdered sugar if preferred.

More easy mug desserts

Brownie in a Mug

Lemon Mug Cake

Keto Mug Cake

Vanilla Mug Cake

Chocolate Baked Oats

Pumpkin Mug Cake

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