Carrot Cake in a Mug

This carrot cake in a mug is the best way to make a single serve carrot cake. This cake is delicious, served with a quickly made cream cheese frosting, and ready in less than 3 minutes.

Microwave Carrot Cake in a Cup

I have always been interested in the idea of making a small mug cake in the microwave. They look so cute and cozy. Imagine coming home after a long day and relaxing on the couch with a freshly made warm mug cake. It almost sounds too good to be true. I thought to myself “does that really work?” “what would the texture be like?”. Many people enjoy mug cakes, so I decided to give it a try with my favorite type of cake in the world – a carrot cake!

I don’t know exactly when I became a carrot cake person. Years ago, I remember seeing my grandpa eat a carrot cake, and said “why would anyone put carrot in a cake?”. I was very basic about dessert for the majority of my childhood and also did not like vegetables, so the idea of carrot in a cake was not appealing. But, as I got older, I understood the deliciousness of a spiced cake, especially one made with cream cheese frosting.

Each season has a spiced cake that incorporates the flavors of the season. During the spring, you can make Carrot Cake. In the summer, there is Zucchini Cake. In the fall, we have Pumpkin Cake, and in the winter, there is Gingerbread Cake. All of these are spiced cakes made with warm flavored spices. And they all taste incredible with cream cheese frosting. I have included my recipe below for a very quick and easy cream cheese frosting.

Carrot Mug Cake with no Egg

Can you believe that this carrot cake in a mug is prepped in less than ten minutes? Also, you don’t even need an egg to make it? It is a dream cake, truly. All of the ingredients are extremely common and you likely already have them in your house. For this cake I used butter, milk, vanilla extract, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, carrots, and pecans. For the cream cheese frosting I used powdered sugar, cream cheese, and milk.

I add the wet ingredients to my mug first, then my dry ingredients. I mix it all up, then pop it in the microwave, and cook it for a little less than 90 seconds. While the cake is in the microwave, I combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk in a bowl. It is best to use room temperature or pre-softened cream cheese. This will make your frosting come together super fast.

Also, as much as I love to cook, I don’t really love spending a lot of time making dessert. So, this recipe, as well as my Puff Pastry Apple Tart are two desserts that taste super delicious, but don’t take a lot of time to come together.

How Long to Cook a Mug Cake?

This cake takes about 90 seconds to cook in the microwave. I start watching it around the 1 minute mark and stop the microwave somewhere around 1 minute and 20 seconds. Then, I slather on some homemade cream cheese frosting, a few extra shredded carrots and some crushed pecans.

This cake is also a great starter cake for kids to learn how to make. Since you don’t have to worry about using an oven, they just have to be old enough to mix and they will be so excited to see their creation come together so fast.

INGREDIENTS  

Carrot Cake

• 1.5 tbsp salted butter melted
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp shredded carrots fincely shredded
• 1 tbsp pecans crushed

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 tbsp cream cheese softened at room temperature
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• 2 tsp milk

INSTRUCTIONS 

• In a large mug, melt the butter by microwaving it for about 10 seconds. Then add the brown sugar, vanilla extract, and milk and mix well.
• Add the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well
• Add most of the carrots and pecans, keeping some aside to use as a topping. Mix well.
• Place the mug in the microwave and cook it for 80 – 90 seconds. Remove it from the microwave and let it cool slightly.
• Mix the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and milk together to create a cream cheese frosting. Once the cake has slighty cooled, add your frosting on top of the cake, followed by some shredded carrots and pecans.