Keto mug cake is perfect when you need a delicious dessert in a flash. There’s nothing easier or more comforting than this easy sugar-free snickerdoodle cake. Only 5 minutes, start to finish!
Mug cakes were an absolute revelation for me when I first started food blogging. Wait…what? You mean you can make cake in 5 minutes flat? And you can just do one or two servings? You can have cake any old time?
I could hardly fathom it. In my experience, baking a cake took quite a bit of time and effort. So when I tried making my first keto mug cake, I was totally floored
Done right, it’s just as airy and delicious as cake baked in the oven. And since this Snickerdoodle Mug Cake has long been one of my most popular recipes, I think I’ve done it right!
If you love cookies make sure sure to also check out my Keto Snickerdoodles.
Why you will love this recipe
If you’re a dessert lover who’s short on time, keto mug cake is the way to go. And there are so many great ways to make it, with just about any flavor you want.
You can make keto chocolate mug cakes, peanut butter mug cakes, and even blueberry lemon. I also have a wonderful recipe for a gooey keto mug brownie. The possibilities are endless.
They take a handful of basic ingredients that you likely already have in your keto pantry. You only need a little flour, some sweetener, eggs, oil, and liquid to make them.
They are also easily adapted for any dietary restrictions, such as nut-free or dairy-free. So everyone can enjoy these quick and easy cakes.
Reader testimonials
Outstanding! Just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy that cake craving!The only difference is I used golden monkfruit instead of Swerve granular.I will definitely be making this again, thank you! — Kathy
Best keto mug cake recipe I have ever tried! And I have tried many. I only made one serving and used the whole egg instead of trying to split it. Haha. Was out of cream so I put water in its place. Was still delicious! I am sure it would even be better if I could have followed it to a t. — Sarab
Ingredients you need
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- Almond flour: To make it nut free, swap out almond flour with sunflower seed flour.
- Coconut flour: This helps the consistency of the cake and also reduced the carb count.
- Sweetener: Use your favorite granular sweetener. This recipe works with Swerve, BochaSweet or allulose.
- Ground cinnamon: You can’t have snickerdoodles without plenty of cinnamon!
- Cream of tartar and baking soda: Snickerdoodle cookies are made with baking soda and cream of tartar. They give the cookies a unique tangy flavor, so that’s what I used in this keto mug cake as well. If you don’t have these ingredients, you can use ½ teaspoon of baking powder.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, butter, cream, vanilla extract, and salt.
Step by step directions
1. Cinnamon “sugar”: Make this first so that you can sprinkle it into the middle of the batter as well as on the top. In a small bowl, whisk together sweetener and cinnamon for the topping. Set aside.
2. Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
3. Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the egg, butter, whipping cream, and vanilla extract. If your batter is overly thick, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time. It should be just barely pourable.
4. Assemble the mug cake: Divide half the batter between two coffee mugs or ramekins. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon mixture. Divide the remaining batter between mugs and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon mixture.
5. Cook: Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes, until puffed and just barely cooked through. Remove and let cool 5 minutes.
Expert Tips and FAQ
Mug size: When baked in the microwave, these snickerdoodle keto mug cakes rise very rapidly. Make sure your mugs or ramekins are large enough to accommodate this. You want them to be at least 3/4 cup capacity and you don’t want to fill them more than two-thirds full.
Oven-baking: You can also make them in an oven or toaster oven too, but they will take longer. Bake it at 325ºF for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Dairy-Free Option: Use coconut oil or avocado oil in place of the butter, and coconut milk in place of the heavy cream.
Nut-Free Option: Use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour. But remember to add a little lemon juice (1 tablespoon) to offset the funny green reaction.
This keto mug cake recipe has 7.4g of carbohydrate and 3.7g of dietary fiber. Thus it has 3.7g of NET CARBS per serving.
Because they cook so quickly, it’s easy to overcook mug cakes. I like to take mine out when the center still looks a little wet, to ensure that it’s not dried out. For these keto mug cakes, 90 seconds on high works well.
Yes, you can make these cakes in advance. Cover them tightly and store at room temperature for 1 day. You can also store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, place it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds until just warm.
Serving suggestions:
- I eat keto mug cake right out of the mug, but you can also flip them out onto a dish. Make sure you grease the ramekin or mug very well if you plan on doing this.
- Take your cakes to the next level with a little whipped cream or keto ice cream.
- The Mini Snickerdoodle Cookies from High Key looks so adorable on top.
- If you really want to gild the lily, try drizzling it with some of my keto caramel sauce!
Keto Mug Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cinnamon Filling/Topping:
- 2 tsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Mug Cakes:
- 5 tbsp almond flour
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- Pinch salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp melted butter, (try avocado oil for dairy-free)
- 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Water to thin batter, if necessary
Instructions
Filling/Topping:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetener and cinnamon. Set aside.
Mug Cakes:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
- Add the egg, butter, whipping cream, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. If your batter is overly thick, add water, 1 tsp at a time. It should be just barely pourable.
- Divide half the batter between two coffee mugs or ramekins. Sprinkle with half of the topping mixture. Divide the remaining batter between mugs and sprinkle with the remaining topping mixture.
- Cook on high in microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, until puffed and just barely cooked through.
- Remove and let cool 5 minutes. Serve warm with lightly sweetened whipped cream, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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By far the best mug cake I have made. I have been making them lately and they just haven’t been very good. My daughter loved it as well! I substituted with truvia and it still turned out great! Will definitely be making this again!
I just made this and it’s delicious!!!!!
Excellent recipe, just tried it and it was perfect. I did put the recipe into MyFitnessPal after verifying the ingredient values (user maintained databases are notorious for being wrong). I can up with very different ‘per serving’ values. I was wondering if you meant the values were for the entire recipe.
Nutrition Facts
Servings 2.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 196
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 19 g 29 %
Saturated Fat 58 g 291 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 124 mg 41 %
Sodium 354 mg 15 %
Potassium 73 mg 2 %
Total Carbohydrate 3 g 1 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g 5 %
Sugars 1 g
Protein 5 g 11 %
Vitamin A 100 %
Vitamin C 0 %
Calcium 143 %
Iron 5 %
To be frank, you should not be trusting MyFitnessPal for nutritional information. My numbers are calculated by a paid software program which pulls from the USDA database so they are far more accurate. Let’s take a closer look at your carb count, to show you. It says each serving has only 3g of carbs. This is impossible since almond flour alone has 6g of carbs per 1/4 cup. That means it has 24g per cup. I used 2/3 cup so the total for both servings is 16g and for one serving alone is 8g.
I’ve tried many low carb mug cakes. This one is absolutely my favourite. The only problem is that my 6-yr-old also loves it -good thing there are 2 servings! I did just 2 things differently. I used golden monk fruit erythritol in the cake, normal monk fruit erythritol for the sprinkle…and since the golden has a bit of vanilla/caramel flavour, I used 1/8tsp almond extract since that’s my favourite thing about the snickerdoodle recipe I used to use. It was absolutely delightful. I did one portion in the oven and one in the microwave. The oven version (25 min) had a better texture, but the microwave was also very good!
Very easy and delicious.Seems like the carb count could be higher than stated…but we ate it all…one for each of us! I made it with brown swerve and it was very rich! We could have easily shared one. It would be good for breakfast too.
Definitely need to try this with swerve instead of stevia, it leaves an after taste that I’m not sure about, I had to cook it a bit longer probably because of my microwave settings. It’s good but definitely going to get swerve next time.
Yes, for many people stevia has a bitter aftertaste.
Would it work to just scale up the ingredients and make a full size cake in the oven?
Probably! I can’t really guide you but you may want to look at my Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake which is similar in flavour profile.
Can this be put in the fridge is just me and I don’t plan on eating both. Would it be better to put in the fridge raw or cooked if it’s an option
Cook it first and then refrigerate.
Best mug cake ever — and better than a lot of standard cakes, too! So delicious, and very easy. Thank you.
Just tried this. It was amazingly good for something so simple. Not overly sweet, and really hit the spot after being so restricted on carbs and sweets. My husband and I will definitely be making this again when we need a reward!
Thanks!
This was so delicious! I’ll definitely be making this often.
Another winner! You are my favorite “go-to” source for delicious low-carb recipes. This mug cake was moist and uncommonly yummy. A very satisfying treat ready in a snap! So grateful that you share your culinary talents!
Thanks so much!
Hands down the best mug cake I’ve tried, low carb or not! ❤️ Thank you!
Amazing recipe with just the right amount of sweetness! I didn’t have cream of tartar on hand, so I just used some white vinegar- turned out great!
DELICIOUS with cream cheese!
This recipe is delicious? Anyway I could incorporate protein powder in? Thanks!
Sure, add some if you like.
Thanks for another tasty recipe! We’re having your snickerdoodle mug cake with breakfast for the third day in a row!
I’m not usually one to comment, but I just have to say: This is THE BEST keto mug cake I’ve tasted in my life. I honestly had written them off but was really craving some comfort sweets and a recipe my 5-year-old daughter could help with to bring her mood back up. I am soooo lucky I stumbled across this recipe. I cannot thank you enough! My daughter loves it, too, and I’d be comfortable serving this to company! SO good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So glad to hear it!
Holy cow!
2 months into Keto and this is my first “sweet.”
It was SO delicious and I’m happy that there are two which means that there is another one to eat tomorrow!
Made it exactly as written only mine needed more cooking time. I made some whipped cream and served it on top. It was heavenly comfort in cup.
Can’t beat that snickerdoodle flavor! Love a good single serve dessert when you are craving that something sweet!