Published: Jul 4, 2018 · Modified: Jan 9, 2023 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Single-Serve Microwave Carrot Cake Recipe

This single-serve carrot cake made in the microwave is the perfect solution to those late-night sweet tooth cravings. This quick and easy one-minute carrot mug cake has all the flavors of the traditional carrot cake without the work.

There is no compromise on the flavors and this carrot mug cake has the perfect cream cheese frosting to give it the traditional taste. We could make it as simple as we want or make it fancy by making it a double-layer cake.

Carrot cake two layered with frosting and carrot grating as garnish

Desserts are my weakness and as much as I try to make them less often, that is one thing I can't stay away from. When choosing my Blogging Marathon themes for July, my husband requested I choose more savory themes and stay away from sweet ones.

I was quite late to register for the month due to our travel and vacations and turned out that I did not have many options left to choose from. When I saw the theme for Single serve desserts was still open, it was too good for me to pass. My first recipe under the Single serve dessert theme is this quick and easy to make Single Serve Microwave Carrot Mug Cake.

We all love carrot cake and I make it quite often as cupcakes for my boy's school snack or when having company over. Loaded with juicy carrots, pineapples, and crunchy nuts, it is a joy to bake it.

The best part about the carrot cake for me is, I have a jackpot recipe from my husband's colleague and it is one of the best-tasting carrot cakes I have eaten.

Single carrot cake serving with frosting and grated carrots on top

I stuck to the same line when making this quick and easy version of Single Serve Carrot Cake. I used almost the same spices and made a few changes to make it work in the microwave. The end result for perfect spongy cake with beautiful crumbs and all it took was about a minute to bake.

I used small clear ramekins to bake the Microwave Carrot Cake. Initially, I was planning to make it in a mug but then thought what is carrot cake without frosting?

Then there was a change of plan to bake the Single Serve Microwave Carrot Cake in small clear glass ramekins. This was the perfect size to slice in between and smear with some quick cream cheese frosting.

The quantity I made was supposed to be for 2 carrot mug cakes but turned out that I was able to make 4 with the smaller bowls that I chose. So, we each had a piece of our own to enjoy.

Ingredients Needed

For the cake

All Purpose flour - ½ cup
Cinnamon - 1 tsp
Allspice - a big pinch
Ground cloves - a big pinch
Baking soda - ¼ tsp
Baking powder - ½ tsp
Flax meal - 2 tsp
Carrot - ½ cup (finely grated)
Brown sugar - 4 TBSP
Milk - 4 TBSP
Sour Cream - 1 TBSP
Butter - 1 tablespoon (melted)
Vanilla extract - ½ tsp

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese - 3 TBSP
Butter - ½ tsp
Vanilla - ½ tsp
Powdered sugar - ¾ cup

Step by step process

In a bowl, combine all the wet ingredients along with the grated carrots. Make sure that you grate the carrots really fine as we are going to use the microwave to bake them quickly. Large chunks of carrot might taste very raw.

In another bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Mix them to combine using a wire whisk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently to combine. Do not over mix as the cake will turn out hard.

Mixing the ingredients for the carrot cake in a bowl

Grease a couple of ramekins well with butter. Add the prepared batter to the bowl. Make sure that you fill it less than halfway through as it will rise during cooking in the microwave. My ramekins were quite small and it was scary to watch them when cooking as I was constantly worried that they would spill out.

Microwave for a minute at 50% Power. The batter did rise quite a bit, so make sure that you are cooking it at low power. After a minute, cook it further for about 15 more seconds at full power to complete the baking.

Remove the ramekins from the microwave and set it to cool. Remember that the bowls will be quite hot to handle. So remove it carefully.

placing the carrot cake batter in a small clear ramekin and baking it

Once they cool down, run a knife along the edges of the bowl and remove the cake. Slice the cake in between and spread the cream cheese frosting in between the layers. Spread some frosting on the top as well and serve.

How to make cream cheese frosting

Soften cream cheese in the microwave and whisk it well. Add the vanilla and the butter and combine.

Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix well to combine.

The frosting is ready to use now.

Expert Tips

Make sure to grate the carrots finely. Since we bake the cake in the microwave and in a short time, big chunks do not cook well.
Use a ramekin or a mug tall enough for the cake to rise. The cake does rise almost twice the initial size.
I like to bake them in smaller ramekins rather than in the mug, but it will work in a mug as well.
If using cream cheese frosting, I would suggest baking these quick carrot cakes in small ramekins, so we can take them out easily to frost.
Grease the ramekins well if planning to take them out and frost them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use the same recipe for making a full cake?

I will stick to the specific recipe of carrot cake to bake a traditional cake in the oven. This recipe works for the microwave.

Can I bake this carrot cake recipe in a pan in the microwave?

Yes, instead of baking the cake in ramekins, bake it in a shallow pan. The timing might vary and would need more time when baking in a pan.

Can I make this carrot cake without frosting?

Yes, you can make this carrot mug cake without frosting. Increase the sugar slightly if not using frosting.

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