Moist Keto Mug Cake Recipe (Low Carb)
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this Keto Chocolate Mug Cake! It’s moist, full of rich chocolate flavor, and ready in two minutes in the microwave! This is one of my go-to low carb desserts because you only need a few simple ingredients, it’s quick and easy to make, and it’s delicious!
The best part? There are ZERO net carbs in this recipe!
Low Carb Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe
I’ve always had a sweet tooth, and my weakness is chocolate!
Over the summer we whipped up these Keto No Bake Cookies and they were sooo amazing! We’ve made quite a few batches since then, and a lot of readers have let me know that they are a staple in their home too.
As much as I LOVE those cookies, every now and then I crave a piece of chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake is my favorite dessert in the whole world! It’s what I request for every birthday and it was my number one pregnancy craving with my youngest daughter. (I think I ate a piece of cake every single day during the last two weeks of my pregnancy!)
Even now that I’m living a more low carb lifestyle, I still HAVE to have chocolate cake in my life. Seriously, what is the point if you don’t treat yourself every now and then?
On my new Keto website I shared a Keto Lemon Mug Cake and it got me thinking…why not try it with chocolate?!
You guys…
Wow!!
My first attempt at making a low carb chocolate mug cake turned out amazing!! Even my husband was impressed (and he is actually the chef in our family, not me!)
See how moist it looks?! YUM!!
More Recipe Inspiration: Check out our collection of 65+ Healthy Snack Ideas too!
What is the Keto Diet?
At its core, the Keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat eating plan. With this type of diet, your body will enter a state known as “ketosis,” where it burns fat for energy instead of the carbohydrates that it would normally use.
Related: How many carbs can you eat on keto?
Following a ketogenic diet can also help shed excess water weight, curb cravings (since fat tends to keep you feeling full longer), and lead to substantial weight loss. To see those benefits, you’d need to faithfully follow the plan, as eating carbs can kick you right back out of ketosis.
However, making keto desserts like this mug cake helps to take care of my cravings for sweets without eating real sugar.
Plus, this recipe is so easy that you have a rich, homemade dessert ready in way less time than it takes to go buy something at the store or bakery!
Want to learn more about the Keto Diet?
For your convenience, I’ve included shop-able ad links to resources used to make this recipe and about the Keto lifestyle. Disclosure policy available here.
Chocolate Keto Mug Cake Ingredients
Since this recipe includes a few specialized ingredients, I’ve provided shop-able ad links to some of the products on Amazon.
You should also be able to find all or most of these items in a regular grocery store, but feel free to click on the links to see the brands we used if you’re unfamiliar with any of them.
- Butter — Provides the fats that our bodies use for energy on the keto diet. Make sure to use unsalted butter!
- Coconut oil — More good fats, plus the brain boosting benefits of coconut oil! It also adds a little depth of flavor to our cake.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder — For that rich chocolate flavor, without the sugar and carbs like a traditional cake batter mix.
- Almond flour or almond meal — Finely sifted, blanched almond flour will make the lightest cake. However, a coarser grind or almond meal will still work great!
- Granulated Erythritol (Swerve) or monk fruit sweetener — You can use either sweetener above, but I love monk fruit because it doesn’t have an aftertaste or unpleasant digestive side effects like some other sugar substitutes. I highly recommend Lakanto brand monk fruit sweeteners and if you shop through my link and use code “SOCCERMOM” you can save 15% every time you purchase!
- Egg — This makes our mug cake rise like a real cake!
Kitchen supplies used:
- Mug — Be sure it’s microwave safe!
- Small whisk — To blend the ingredients quickly and completely. These little whisks come in handy for so many things in the kitchen, we’re always using ours!
How to Make a Keto Mug Cake
First, melt the butter and coconut together in your mug.
Melting the coconut oil and butter first allows you to better mix the dry ingredients to make a quick batter. Otherwise they won’t incorporate well and the cake may not turn out as expected.
Stir butter and oil until there are no solid lumps.
Add dry ingredients and an egg and whisk to combine. Place mug in the microwave and cook for 90 seconds.
TIP: For an even fluffier cake, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder. This is totally optional, and the mug cake pictured here did not have baking powder used.
When microwaving your mug cake, keep an eye on it in case it starts to overflow. If this happens, simply pause cooking for a few seconds to let the cake settle, then continue cooking again.
Be sure to handle with care, as the mug may become hot while cooking.
Can You Have Coconut Flour on the Keto Diet?
One of the most common reader questions I get about our keto mug cake recipes is if there is a substitute for almond flour, such as coconut flour.
Coconut flour is perfect for those on the keto diet, as it actually contains fewer carbs, more fat (aka fuel), and is higher in fiber than almond flour.
The reason we use almond flour for our low carb mug cake recipe is because it is easier to use than coconut flour and milder in flavor.
However, if you don’t like almond flour or have allergies, you can absolutely use coconut flour. Because coconut flour is much more absorbent, you’ll only need to use 1/3 the amount of coconut flour as the amount of almond flour listed in the recipe. Keep the liquid ingredients the same.
Is Baking Cocoa Keto-Friendly?
Another question I receive periodically is whether to buy baking cocoa or hot cocoa mix. This is an important distinction, because most hot cocoa mixes contain added sugars and are a no-no for keto.
Baking cocoa is located in the baking aisle — be sure to stick to the unsweetened variety!
Can You Have Whipped Cream on the Keto Diet?
Good news here! If you love a dollop of whipped cream on your chocolate cake, you can enjoy this treat on the keto diet.
However, many pre-made whipped creams contain added sugar, so your best bet is to make your own.
To make homemade whipped cream is actually fairly easy. Simply add heavy cream and your favorite keto sweetener to a chilled metal mixing bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form.
Another delicious topping idea is a spoonful of natural peanut butter or sugar free ice cream!
Be sure to try our chocolate peanut butter keto mug cake too!
More of our favorite keto chocolate recipes:
- Keto Whipped Hot Chocolate
- Chocolate Keto Cookies
- Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Keto Chocolate Fudge
- Chocolate Keto Mousse
- Keto Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Keto Chocolate Mug Cake Recipe (Printable Copy)
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Keto Chocolate Mug Cake (ZERO Net Carbs!)
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 Tablespoons almond flour
- 2 teaspoons erythritol or 3 tsp for a sweeter cake
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Add butter and coconut oil to a microwave-safe mug.
- Heat on high for 20-30 seconds until almost melted. Stir until there are no solid lumps.
- Add dry ingredients and egg and whisk until everything is well incorporated. It's ok if the batter looks slightly grainy.
- Return mug to microwave and cook for 90 seconds.
- Allow to cool and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Keto Recipes
Click here to see all of our favorite easy keto recipes! There are enough meal ideas to last an entire month or more – from breakfast, to dinner, to dessert!
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Hi Stacey
How can this be zero net carbs?
And it’s written in lots of places on the page.
6g Carbs – 2g Fibre = 4 net carbs
Please clarify.
Thanks
Hi Jodi – Another factor when calculating net carbs is subtracting sugar alcohols (if there are any). In this case I factored in the sweetener that I used, which has about 4g of sugar alcohol per serving. Your carb count may vary if you use a different sweetener, but they are pretty low either way! Hope this helps!
Thanks for the explanation Stacey.
You said: you subtract sugar alcohols because they don’t impact blood sugar.
So 3.8 – 4 sugar alcohols = 0
Sorry, I’m not doing keto. So is it the same situation if I’m doing low carb (20 net carbs per day)?
I just started out, so I’m still learning and I calculated the net carbs like this:
2 Tablespoons butter 0
1 Tablespoon coconut oil 0
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1
3 Tablespoons almond flour 1.8
2 teaspoons erythritol or 1 Tablespn sucralose -4 or 1
1 egg 1
So that means 4.8 net carbs if I don’t use erythritol.
Please let me know if I’m calculating this properly?
A big thank you and I love your recipes.
It sounds like you have that correct — if you’re not using sugar alcohol I believe it is about 4g net carbs. Glad you’re loving the recipes! I also have a keto website: how2doketo.com 🙂
The texture was great but when I think cake, I think sweet. This was just bland. There are a number of possible reasons but it really just comes down to user error or the recipe doesn’t call for enough sweetener. I like the texture so I’d try it again but make a point to make sure it’s sweeter but still…
I really wanted to like this, it smelled so good, but it tasted like an overdone chocolate scrambled egg. I followed the recipe to the T, except adding a few SF chocolate chips. I may try again and either add baking powder and/or cook it less time.
Hi Mac, thanks for your feedback! I will readily admit that this won’t taste like a full-sugar mug cake you’d buy at the store. That sweet taste is hard to replicate without real sugar or sugar alcohols (most of which I avoid, except for erythritol, due to stomach effects). When I was on strict keto, I found that reducing sugar in my recipes was helpful because it helps to get rid of sugar cravings over time. My recipes likely reflect that.
Liked the flavor but the texture was a mess- part runny, part moist, part overcooked. Cooked it as directed at 90 seconds. Is that what all microwaved cakes are like? Would smaller cooking intervals and maybe stirring make it turn out better?
You’re definitely supposed to stir before cooking. Could also be the microwave…some cook more evenly than others.
This was absolutely delicious! I substituted coconut oil instead of the butter. 10/10!
Awesome! I’m so glad you loved this recipe too and thank you for the tip about coconut oil!