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My Keto Mug Cake Is Your Instant Chocolate Fix
What do you do when you’re low carb, but need a dessert, like right now? I make this keto mug cake! Here’s why you should, too:
- It’s a rich, moist chocolate cake – Need I say more? It’s so rich and chocolaty that you’d never guess it came out of a mug! But if you’re ever in the mood for a different flavor, try my vanilla mug cake, protein mug cake, or angel food mug cake from my Easy Keto Cookbook!
- Takes all of 2 minutes – Just stir, zap, and done.
- Portion control – I developed my keto mug cake recipe to make a single serving, so you can eat the whole thing.
- Low carb, gluten-free, no sugar – It’s hard to believe this big, satisfying treat has just 4 grams of net carbs and no sugar. It’s easy to make dairy-free, too.
This keto chocolate mug cake is definitely “dessert craving” territory, but with its clean ingredients and pretty good macros, I’ve even had it for breakfast on busy mornings. Whatever your reason for a chocolate fix, make it with me!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my keto mug cake recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Unsweetened Baking Chocolate – This makes the mug cake extra moist compared to cocoa powder. Just be sure it’s 100% unsweetened baker’s chocolate — not the sweetened kind.
- Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour – This is the main flour I use in almost all my keto baking, and for good reason — it has a super fine texture that gives baked goods a light, delicate crumb. I don’t recommend using almond meal (too gritty) or coconut flour (too dry). You can substitute sunflower seed flour if you need a nut-free alternative.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – I originally made this recipe with erythritol, but once I switched to this allulose blend, my keto mug cake turned out 100X more moist. Most other sugar substitutes (including most brands of monk fruit and stevia) actually contain erythritol, and so they’ll dry out the cake. Besti also shines in full-size cakes — try it in my keto chocolate cake, sugar free dessert, or keto birthday cake!
- Egg – Feel free to swap in a flax egg or your favorite egg substitute if needed.
- Salted Butter – Or you can use unsalted with a pinch of salt. If you’re dairy-sensitive, coconut oil or ghee work great.
- Baking Powder & Vanilla Extract
Unlike many other chocolate mug cake recipes, this one has no milk. Don’t worry — it’s not dry at all! The butter and chocolate keep it ultra moist. In fact, it’s probably the moistest keto mug cake I’ve ever had.
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How To Make This Keto Mug Cake
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Melt the butter and chocolate. You can do this in the same mug or ramekin you’ll use for the cake. Fewer dishes = always a win.
- Mix up the batter. Stir in the almond flour, Besti, baking powder, egg, and vanilla. A spoon or fork works just fine — no need to get fancy.
- Microwave the keto mug cake. I’ve got topping ideas in my tips below!
My Recipe Tips
- Mix really well. I usually just stir everything right in the mug to keep it simple, but if you want to be extra thorough, you can whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl first, then add them in.
- Make sure your ramekin or mug has plenty of space. This keto mug cake rises quite a lot, so you’ll want about double the space. I usually go with either a 12-ounce mug, a large 12-oz ramekin, or two smaller 6-oz ramekins.
- The flour and sweetener make a big difference in moisture. I can’t emphasize this enough! The combination of Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour and Besti sweetener gets you moist cake. I get dry results with other brands.
- Be careful not to overcook. This cake should turn out moist and almost fudgy. You can check that an inserted toothpick to come out clean, but sometimes I even stop cooking a bit early when a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it, similar to a keto brownie. Just don’t let it dry out!
- Want to bake it instead? Just melt the butter and chocolate (I use a double boiler), mix in the rest of the ingredients, pour into ramekins, and bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
- Take it to the next level with toppings. My favorite combination is keto whipped cream and either melted sugar-free chocolate chips or sugar free chocolate syrup (pictured here). This keto mug cake is also amazing with a scoop of keto ice cream, a drizzle of peanut butter or sugar-free caramel sauce, a sprinkle of chopped nuts, a swipe of sugar-free chocolate frosting, or simply fresh berries.
Keto Mug Cake
By
Make my keto mug cake recipe in 2 minutes — just 6 ingredients + 4g net carbs! It’s a rich, moist, sweet, and instant chocolate craving fix.
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
Microwave Instructions
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Melt the butter and chocolate together in a mug or large 12 oz (355 mL) ramekin in the microwave (about 45-60 seconds, stirring halfway through). Be careful not to burn it. Make sure the ramekin is at least double the volume of the ingredients, because the mug cake will rise.
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Add the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, egg, and vanilla (if using). Stir everything well until completely mixed together.
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Microwave for 50-75 seconds, until just firm. (Don't overcook, or it will be dry.)
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Serve with whipped cream (or coconut whipped cream for paleo), and/or drizzle with more melted chocolate stirred with sweetener.
Oven Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
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Melt the butter and chocolate together in a double boiler on the stove. Be careful not to burn it. Remove from heat.
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Add the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, egg, and vanilla (if using). Stir everything well until completely mixed together.
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Transfer the batter to a large 12 oz (355 mL) oven-safe ramekin (or two smaller 6 oz (178 mL) ones). Make sure the ramekins are at least double the volume of the ingredients, because the cake will rise. Bake for about 15 minutes, until just firm.
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Serve with whipped cream (or coconut whipped cream for paleo), and/or drizzle with more melted chocolate stirred with sweetener.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 mug cake (entire recipe)
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you get the best texture, a variation to bake the cake, and prevent overflowing.
- Store or make ahead: This keto mug cake recipe tastes best fresh, but if you want to, you can meal prep or keep leftovers at room temp for a day or in the fridge for 2-3 days. Just cover the mug with plastic wrap. I don’t recommend mixing the batter without cooking, because the baking powder will stop working.
- Reheat: It tastes fine cold, but if you want it warm, a little butter on top helps keep it moist. Just microwave again for 20-30 seconds.
- Freeze: Wrap in plastic wrap, pop in a zip lock bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or on the counter before serving.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Keto Mug Cake
254 Comments
Betsy
0I’m a diabetic who has to watch my saturated fats, so I tweaked this recipe a bit. I used 2T of dark chocolate cocoa powder and substituted avocado oil for the butter. And since there’s no butter, I added a pinch of salt to bring out the flavors. Can I just say I am in LOVE with this cake. It’s going to be my new favorite!
Janet
0FOR REAL!!!! I cant believe how good this was…how fast and so so chocolately without the bitter taste of unsweetened chocolate!!! OH MY!!!!
Stacey
0Love this!! Just made it tonight and it was perfect!! I used Lilly’s semi sweet baking chips since it was what I had and didn’t add any additional sweetener. 60 seconds did it and came out awesome. Thank you!!
Julie
0This was so easy and so amazingly good!! I added a few lily’s white chocolate chips once it was cooked and still hot, they melted on top and just added to this delicious treat. This without a doubt will be my new go to desert. This is a desert that makes you really feel like you’re not missing a thing, because you’re not!
Thank you so much for sharing this chocolaty delight. 🙂
bren037
0I just made this tonight and all I can say is OMG! I did not have any unsweetened baking chocolate so I used unsweetened cocoa powder instead. I added a little coconut oil just to be sure it wouldn’t be too dry and I was not disappointed. So flavorful and perfect. Just the dessert I needed! Once again Maya you have produced a tasty and easy recipe to follow. Thank you.
Anne
0This recipe is just great. It taste like regular cake to me and I don’t feel that I am missing out anything.
Beth Harrison
0This is a very tasty dessert. It is tender, and has just the right amount of chocolate flavor. Low carb ice cream served with enabled my husband, and I to share.
Shannon Green
0This was great! Thanks so much for this recipe. It is a keeper.
RL
0This was delicious! Was craving chocolate and this satisfied it. So quick and easy and I had all ingredients handy!
Lil
0I made this chocolate cake on a ramekin and it was very easy to make and it taste delicious. Very filling ate half with some almond milk, Wow, thank you
Shawnasie
0Absolutely delicious!
I was searching for a dairy free dessert recipe that would up my fat intake for the day and only contain ingredients I had on hand, I am so glad I found this one! I didn’t have any whipped topping to put on top so I just sprinkled a few Lily’s chocolate chips on top. Love it 🙂
Anne
0Hi ❤ New to your site but not to keto. Thanks a lot for your recipes they are wonderful. ❤ Just wondering if there is a way to order the sweeteners you use in your recipes in France because all I can find there is aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin and stevia (but I don’t like stevia’s taste. Also wondering where to find sugarless white choc.) I would love to try your chocolate cake recipe but I don’t find the sweeteners.
Tanya Selth
0Anne, I’m not in France but Australia (and really dislike stevia too). What I use for a natural sweeter without all the carbs of sugar is a product called Xylitol. One can get it in a form which looks exactly like sugar and it’s used in same manner. I personally find it close to taste of it too when added to things (you probably wont notice the difference)
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Anne, I can’t ship Besti to Europe yet, but I am working on it!
M
0Really great recipe! Made this for breakfast more times that I would like to admit works perfectly exactly as written. For an extra treat stick a square of chocolate in the middle of the batter before cooking. So good. Makes me feel like I’m not on a diet!
Carol Scally
0This was lovely…made with Stevia liquid to taste as that is all I had. I cut it in half and served each half with diet jello and 2 tablespoons of Halo ice cream and a dash of cream. Thank you for posting. 🙂
Nancy
0Excellent recipe. Make sure you listen to the directions and don’t overcook this. You will love it!!!
Marisa
0OMG! This is gorgeous; light, fluffy and rich. I used cocoa liquor buttons, and ate it with strawberries and a little cream and its a dream. I will be making this again…
Randi
0Excellent!!! I would love to know how to make this into a regular sized cake?! One of the best Keto desserts we’ve had so far! Great cake texture to boot!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Randi, I am glad you enjoyed this mug cake. If you are looking for a full-sized chocolate cake, I recommend this one: The Best Keto Chocolate Cake.
Randi
0Thanks, it looks delicious and so far we’ve loved all of your recipes so we’ll definitely try this one too!
Karen
0OMG, was sitting here craving something sweet, and came across this recipe. It was AWESOME!!! Also, super quick and easy! I will make this again and again! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Heidi
0This was delicious and my husband was so excited when I surprised him with chocolate cake!
Leie
0This recipe is amazing, pre-keto I had a go to chocolate mug cake recipe that I made a little too often…
This is actually better! I served it up with some whipped cream. The best thing is I only used half for my dessert snack and was completely satisfied, so I’ll have leftovers for tomorrow.