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Need a personal sized cake for someone special that takes minutes to make? Try this low carb and gluten free birthday mug cake. It bakes in only 2 minutes.
Today is the income tax due date in the US, but it’s also a special day for me. I’m another year older and celebrating with a low carb and gluten free birthday mug cake that took two minutes to bake in the microwave.
I admit that this cake baking thing in the microwave didn’t really appeal to me at first, but after seeing a lovely Valentine’s Day mug cake at SugarFreeMom.com, I was sold on the idea. So, I want to thank my fellow low carb blogger Brenda for turning me around.
I didn’t want to spend a lot of time baking a cake for my birthday and I especially didn’t want to have leftovers that I’d be eating after. I’m the only one in the family who follows a low carb diet so this personal sized birthday mug cake was perfect for me. It makes 4 cute sized slices!
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I had planned to dress up the cake a little more with decorative frosting, but the batch of frosting I made was just enough to frost the cake without any left to decorate. Had I planned things better, I would have made a double batch of frosting so I could do the traditional birthday cake frills. Oh well. Maybe next year.
Mug cakes are typically baked in a cup and left in there. Since I wanted this to be a miniature double layer frosted birthday cake, I used a 2-cup round Pyrex storage container for each cake layer.
A regular ramekin is another great dish for baking these cake layers. If you have a wide mug, that would probably work as well. You just want to make sure whatever you use is microwaveable.
I’m not a fan of plastics or using them in the microwave so I don’t recommend baking these cake layers in plastic dishes. My Pyrex container was pretty hot taking it out of the microwave so use caution in removing the hot cakes. I used pot holders.
This is a yellow gluten free cake that bakes up nicely in the microwave. I suppose the cakes could also be cooked in an oven if you don’t mind waiting a little longer for them to be done.
The frosting I used was the recipe from my gluten free coconut cupcakes. The amounts given in that recipe were just enough to frost this two layer mug cake.
If you prefer chocolate frosting, there’s a great recipe listed on my chocolate frosted zucchini brownies. This is the perfect cake to bake up when you are craving something sweet but don’t want a lot of servings.
It could also be a fun activity to do with the kids. The size kind of reminds me of the cakes from the Easy Bake Oven that I used to make with my older daughter. Of course, this is a much healthier cake than the mixes we used back then.
Birthday Mug Cake in Minutes
Ingredients
Each Cake Layer:
- 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- dash salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon almond milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoons Natvia
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional:
- Low Carb Frosting I used Buttercream Frosting
Instructions
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Mix together almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Set aside.
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Melt coconut oil in small round microwavable cup that will be used to bake cake. You can use a ramkin or 2-cup Pyrex storage container.
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With fork, stir almond milk, egg, sweetener and vanilla extract into melted coconut oil.
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Beat dry ingredients into liquid ingredients with fork until well combined.
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Microwave from 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until cake is no longer wet. It took 2 minutes to bake in my 900 watt microwave.
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Remove cake layer from pan and cool on rack.
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Repeat steps for each cake layer.
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Frost with icing if desired.
Recipe Notes
Chocolate Frosting can be used.
Each cake layer is two servings. So, four servings all together.
Nutrition per serving (half cake layer): 132 calories, 11.1g fat, 182mg sodium, 6.2g carbs, 2.1g fiber, 2.3g erythritol, 1.8g net carbs, 5.2g protein
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Hi! I'm Lisa, a part-time blogger, full-time engineer, and mother of three. I've been low carbing since 2001 and love to try new recipes. This blog started in 2010 as a way to save and share my recipes with others. 
sheri says
I made a few adjustments to this recipe and put it into my waffle iron. I added some peanut butter, skipped the vanilla. I didn’t have almond flour, so just used the coconut flour. It cooked in about 2 minutes and got crispy on the outside. I think it would have been better if I used more stevia (I just used one packet) or if I had put something on top of it like agave, etc. But it turned out surprisingly well for an experiment.
Karen says
I’m confused about the servings. At the bottom you wrote, “each cake layer is 2 servings”. Isn’t each layer one serving so that the total cake is 2 servings?
Lisa says
I got four servings from this cake. The data is for 1/4 of the cake. If you’d rather eat a half cake serving, you’d need to double the numbers.
sharon says
before my low carb life i enjoyed spice cake with peanut butter frosting. soo good. would love to see a makeover for that here.
Lisa says
I like that idea! Sounds yummy. I need to work on it!
Nicole Foster says
Yum! I didn’t make the frosting because I have a ton of local strawberries and wanted strawberry shortcake. This recipe was perfect for that. I loved the texture – it reminded me of spongecake. And it wasn’t super sweet which was perfect for the strawberries and whipped cream. My only problem is this is so easy and fast that I’m going to want this every night! Lol
I am loving your recipes. Thank you!
Lisa says
Strawberry shortcake is such a great idea!
Evelyn says
Thanks for a small serving recipe. I live alone. So many recipes serve 6 or even more. Not so good when you are on your own. I realize that people with families need recipes but I really appreciate a recipe that serves just one sometimes.
Lisa says
The rest of my family aren’t as strict on carbs so I’m always looking for sweet recipes that don’t make a lot. It keeps me from overeating low carb treats.
Alicia says
Oh how cute!!! Love little mini desserts. I will try this next time I have a cake attack.
Patty says
Holy Tomatoes…I’m gonna need to add some flavor to this. I’m not use to this kind of stuff, so I will work at making it more flavorful. Nice texture though.
Lisa says
You could add extract flavoring or use flavored stevia drops for some of the sweetener.
Bethany says
Made this the other night (well just the cake part) It was really good. I was looking for a non-chocolate non-snickerdoodle mug cake and this was great. I used creme and a bit of water instead of almond milk and butter instead of coconut oil. It was delish! I squeezed a bit of lemon juice in which added a yummy zing. Definitely will make again!
Lisa says
Thanks for the giving it a try and letting us know that your adjustments came well too!
Shannon @ Dinner from the Heart says
I love this!! I sometimes have a craving for cake or something like cake. This would be perfect! Happy Birthday! Today is also my son’s birthday. 🙂
Lisa says
Happy Birthday to your son! I’ll be making more of these cute little cakes. Much better than making a full size one.
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago says
I like the idea of a mini cake instead of a cupcake – sounds perfect for two people.
Lisa says
This cake is pretty filling. I ate the whole thing in four sittings.
Christie says
What a fabulous way to enjoy some birthday cake without eating an entire big cake.
Lisa says
Yes! I made a full size low carb cake for my daughter early in the month and ended up eating more than half the cake. That’s why I opted for this mini cake.