Birthday Mug Cake

Low Carb Birthday Cake Recipe

Whether you want to stay keto on your birthday and just want to a make a small cake or you need to make a friend or family member a keto birthday cake, this cake recipe will make the happiest of birthdays. No need to go off your way of eating when you are celebrating. You can still enjoy yummy desserts and a low carb cake on your special day. And with this cake recipe, we add everything into a small mug or ramekin and bake it in the microwave, so your cake is finished in minutes. (This is also an ideal recipe if you forgot someone’s birthday and need to quickly make them a special cake that looks like you spent hours making.) For this mug cake, we use a combination of almond flour and coconut flour to yield a texture and flavor similar to all-purpose flour. For the secret ingredient that will really turn this cake into a celebration, we add vanilla cupcake flavor drops from One-on-One Flavors. You can get 10% off your order with my affiliate code Ketofocus-10. But don’t worry, you can always substitute with vanilla extract.

Top this spongy almond flour based vanilla cake with a creamy sugar free frosting. The keto buttercream recipe is light, fluffy and pairs nicely with our birthday cake. Don’t forget the sprinkles and candles! You’ll be singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in no time with this keto birthday cake recipe.

What is a Mug Cake?

A mug cake is a single serve cake that is made in a mug. Technically all the ingredients are mixed in a mug and then it’s baked in the microwave for simplicity. It’s the ideal cake you are really craving cake and just want a slice without having to make an entire keto birthday cake.

In this birthday mug cake recipe, I like to mix the cake batter in a small bowl then transfer to an 8 oz ramekin just for presentation. I prefer to remove this vanilla cake from the ramekin and place on a plate. This makes it look like an actual small cake or large cupcake when you add your frosting.

Creamy Keto Buttercream Frosting

No cake is complete without frosting and this recipe for keto buttercream frosting is the creamiest. You only need a few ingredients – butter, powdered sweetener (I use a erythritol blend sweetener), heavy cream and vanilla.  The amount of heavy cream you use will depend on the consistency that you like your frosting to be. For a thicker, denser frosting, use 2 tablespoons. For a lighter frosting, add up to 4 tablespoons.

Are you more of a chocolate lover? Try my keto chocolate buttercream frosting instead. This recipe makes a whole batch ideal for a large cake, but you can decrease the recipe by 1/2 or a 1/4 for your keto mug cake.

Oven Instructions

No everyone owns a microwave or likes to use them, that’s why I include oven instructions if you want to bake your keto birthday cake in the oven instead of the microwave. Simply preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 5-10 minutes or until cake is set. I recommend baking your cake in a ramekin over a mug as it will bake evenly compared to a mug.

Cooking your keto birthday cake in the oven will obviously take longer compared to the microwave, but the results are the same.

Substitutions

Here are some ideas for substitutions if you don’t have ingredients on hand to make this keto birthday cake:

• Almond Flour: If you are allergic to nuts or don’t want to use almond flour, you can substitute with sunflower seed flour. It measures cup for cup with almond flour and is nut free.
• Coconut Flour: Don’t worry, this cake will taste like coconut since there are only 2 teaspoons in the entire recipe. But if you wish not to use coconut flour, you can add in 2 more tablespoons of almond flour.
• Heavy Cream: You can use a nut milk, like almond milk, coconut milk or macadamia nut milk, instead of heavy cream
• Butter: Looking to make a dairy free keto cake, substitute coconut oil for the butter.
• Buttercream Frosting: If you don’t like vanilla buttercream frosting, you can substitute with chocolate buttercream or a white chocolate cream cheese frosting or even whipped cream.

Other Keto Mug Cake Recipes

• Keto Chocolate Cake
• Red Velvet Mug Cake
• Keto Pumpkin Mug Cake
• Blueberry Shortcake in a Mug

Here are some options for other easy keto cake recipes, whether you are craving chocolate cake or a shortcake, I have a bunch of different cake recipes for you.