Hate zesting lemons to get that lovely lemon flavor? Great – me too! This delicious Keto Lemon Mug Cake doesn’t use a single lemon and most certainly will not disappoint!
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Keto Lemon Mug Cake
I went to Natural Groceries to look for caramel extract. I don’t shop there too often, but it was on my way home and I didn’t feel like driving out of my way to Whole Foods. I had keto mug cakes on the brain!
They did not have caramel extract, but they DID have a few fun other flavors. I chose lemon and peppermint and I might even go back for the orange!
I hate zesting lemons, but I wanted to try a lemon dessert and make a low carb mug cake. It is a segway into a more elaborate lemon dessert, but I decided to start small and see if I could get a tasty mug cake recipe with the lemon flavor.
For starters, I had no idea how much to use, so I based it on experience and, well, how strong the smell was! I went with 1/4 teaspoon in the mug cake and 1/8 teaspoon in the drizzle. Turned out perfect.
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How to Make Lemon Mug Cakes
This is such a simple mug cake recipe, you will just all in love! I mean, who doesn’t love a dessert in a mug?
To start with, I learned a long time ago that if you coat your mug cups with melted butter that they will easily flip out of the mug once cooked (if that is a goal).
I just melt butter in a separate bowl, pour it in my mug cups and swish it around until a nice thick layer remains.
And besides, butter always boosts flavor, right? You can choose to make one larger mug cake or 2 smaller ones.
I chose 2 smaller ones so I could split it with my 5-year-old! We could have shared one obviously, but if you have kids, you know they like “their own”.
Mug cakes are so easy to make! You literally just combine all the ingredients into a bowl, mix them up good, then add the batter to your prepared ramekins.
Microwave for about 90 seconds and boom – you are done!
I like to flip them once they come out so that you get a beautiful, even top! I know it is just aesthetics, but I like things to look pretty!
Doesn’t that look pretty, even on its own? Light and fluffy for sure! Not weighted down with flours. Definitely not “eggy”.
Honestly, my plan was to just make the mug cake without anything else. But when I looked at this beauty, it just looked…. naked. Like it needed something else.
So I whipped up a lemon glaze and threw some almonds on top and a beautiful dessert was born!
The Keto Lemon Mug Cake Glaze
You can make the glaze thick or thin! The above picture shows the thick glaze where you just drizzle it on.
For a thicker glaze, you want to use less almond milk. For a thinner glaze, you want to use more.
Notice below the glaze is much thinner and coats the entire cake. It is up to you which one you prefer!
Kitchen Essentials
You don’t need much to make this quick and easy keto lemon mug cake. But you WILL need something to cook it in. I like the small, white ramekins like ramekins on Amazon!
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Sweetener
I chose to use erythritol. But you can certainly use Lakanto Monkfruit as well. I use these pretty much interchangeably.
When I use either of these, however, I always use liquid stevia as both together temper the aftertaste of the other.
Flavor
I chose to use Frontier Co-Op Organic and Non-GMO lemon flavor. You can order it on Amazon or, as I said above, I got it at Natural Grocers.
I imagine Whole Foods or New Seasons would have it as well. It is so much easier than zesting or squeezing a lemon!
How to make powdered erythritol
Don’t waste money buying powdered sweeteners, make your own! Watch this quick 1-minute video to learn how!
Other Fun Desserts You Might Like
No Bake Coconut Cream Pie Cups
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Keto Lemon Mug Cake
Ingredients
Mug Cake
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon erythritol
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract flavor
- 3 drops liquid stevia
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1-2 tablespoons butter, melted
Topping
- 4 tablespoons powdered erythritol
- 1-2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 1/8 teaspoon lemon extract flavor
- sliced almonds (optional)
Instructions
Mug Cake
- Use melted butter to coat mug cups (I used 2 small cups)
- In a small bowl, mix all ingredients well.
- Add to mug cup(s).
- Make sure it doesn't fill much more than 1/2 the cup because it will rise
- Microwave for 90 seconds.
- Remove from microwave and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
- Flip upside down onto plate. It should EASILY come out due to the butter coating.
- Let cool for a few moments.
Topping
- Meanwhile, mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and combine well.
- Topping should be thick but pourable.
- Drizzle just a small amount on the mug cake(s). You may have extra.
- Top with almond slivers (optional)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1 cakeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 195.39Total Fat: 17.88gSaturated Fat: 10.69gSodium: 107.25mgCarbohydrates: 5.19gFiber: 2.69gSugar: 1.1gProtein: 4.52g
Hi,
Thanks for the recipe!! I used swerve instead, however it didn’t really work for the topping! It was so liquidy. I even yrued the blender. I still got the sane result. So what do you think I did wrong?!
Thank you
Luckily that is an easy fix! Just decrease the amount of almond milk. If you find that it is too runny and you already added the almond milk, just increase the amount of swerve! You can play with both until it is the right consistency.
This is one of the best desserts I’ve had since starting this in December! I LOVE lemon flavored anything!! Next time I’m going to lessen the powdered swerve in the glaze tho, but there wasn’t a crumb left!
This is one of my favorite quick and easy desserts too! So glad you enjoyed it!
Is the melted butter added to the batter? 1-2 Tablespoons? How much do I add. This seems way too much just to butter the cups
Nope! Step #1 tells you what to do with the butter! It is for coating the ramekins or mugs so your cake will slide right out!
Love these! I’ve made them several times. Making again tonight but tonight we will put some cooked down blueberries with Sweetener and dollop of fresh whipped cream! Blueberries and lemon go great together. Thanks for sharing!
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I just finished this up, for brunch. It was so quick & easy to make! I’m on keto, but diabetic and only get 1200 kcal/day – so, I just used a little pan spray in place of the butter. Everything worked out perfectly – the taste and texture were superb! It popped out so easy I almost lost it, lol. And my macros/calories were perfect. There’s so little in them that I almost didn’t need to take an insulin shot! I made the 2 muffins as one and had it with my bulletproof coffee. Hubby took a bite and was extremely impressed (he doesn’t impress easily). I’m going to have to make one for him, now. 😀 Thank you!!
Hi I watched the video on how to make the sweetener but could not make out what you used as I find it to expensive to buy.
Hi! The recipe calls for Erythritol. I used Lakanto Monkfruit in the video, because it is a general video simply showing how to make powdered sweetener from granular. Many people use Lakanto monkfruit, erythritol, Swerve, etc… interchangeably (mostly). For most keto dessert recipe, you can use your sweetener of choice.
You should make some to ship and sell.
HA!!! If only I could!
I made this the other day, it is FABULOUS!!