Keto Chocolate Cake

5 from 70 votes!

My favorite homemade chocolate keto cake! It's the PERFECT foolproof low carb chocolate cake recipe! Moist and deliciously soft with a perfect texture.

Prep Time5

Cook Time30

Total Time35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Low Carb

Diet: Diabetic

Recipe Category: Low Carb

Servings: slices

Calories: 292kcal

Author: Megan Ellam

Equipment

Ingredients

90 g light tasting olive oil
3/4 cup sweetener (160g)
3 cups almond meal (360g)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (50g)
6 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (120g)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 teaspoons baking powder

KETO CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/4 cup powdered sweetener I use Sukrin Melis (40g)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (30g)
4 tablespoons butter (60g) cubed
225 g cream cheese softened, and cubed
1/4 cup thickened or heavy cream (60g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

KETO BLACK FOREST CAKE OPTION

100 g dark chocolate chopped
2.5 cups thickened or heavy cream
100 g fresh cherries see notes, cut in half and pitted
grated dark chocolate to garnish

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

PREHEAT - to 160℃ fan/180°C static/350°F. Line 2 x 20 cm (8-inch) springform pans.
MIX all ingredients in a stand mixer until combined. Divide mixture into prepared pans.
BAKE 30 minutes until the cakes are baked through. Insert a toothpick into centre and if it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. Leave to cool completely cool before frosting and assembling.
MIX buttercream ingredients in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
FROST: Evenly cover the top of one cake with half of the frosting. Top with second cake and spoon the remaining frosting onto the top. Use an angled spatula to smooth over top. Chill for 1-2 hours before slicing the cake.

THERMAL METHOD

PREHEAT oven to 160℃ fan/180°C static/350°F. Line 2 x 20 cm (8-inch) springform pan.
MIX: Place all ingredients into mixer; Mix 1 min/speed 3. Follow from Step 3 above.
FROST: For frosting; mix all ingredients 1 min/speed 5. Scrape down sides of bowl. Repeat until smooth and fluffy. Follow instructions above to frost the cake.

LOW CARB BLACK FOREST CAKE

Place chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Heat HALF A CUP of the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to simmer (do not boil). Pour over the chocolate and leave 3-5 minutes to soften. Stir gently until smooth and combined.
Whip the remaining cream to stiff peaks. Drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of ganache into the whipped cream and loosely fold to make a rippled look. Set aside.
Drizzle or spread the remaining ganache over the top of each cake (see notes). Top with the chocolate cream and place the cherry halves around the edge of one cake reserving a few for the top. Place the second cake on the top and garnish with cherries and grated chocolate. Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

Video

Notes

CHOCOLATE KETO CAKE INGREDIENTS

Choose light tasting olive oil, and do not use extra virgin olive oils as they have a strong flavour. Melted butter or ghee can be used in place of the oil.

Double acting baking powder reacts and creates gas bubbles twice; once when moisture is added, and a second time when it's heated. In comparison to regular baking powder, this gives gluten-free baking a better texture as the ingredients are denser and need a bit more help with rising.

I use blanched almond flour. You can use natural almond flour or almond meal in its place or substitute macadamia flour or cashew meal (higher carb) in place of the almond flour. Coconut flour is not a suitable substitute. Coconut flour sucks up a lot of moisture and more ingredients would need to be added to compensate in this chocolate cake recipe. Use any baking flour suitable for a low carb diet that is also gluten free. Sunflower seed flour is often used in keto friendly cakes, but I have not tested it in this recipe.

Sweetener: I use monk fruit sweetener or erythritol sweetener. I find they give the cake a good texture without having a cooling effect.

It is really important to allow the cake to cool completely before icing it, otherwise, the buttercream will melt. Use sugar free sprinkles for an easy keto birthday cake.

KETO BLACK FOREST CAKE (German dessert Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte)

The chocolate cake comes with the option to make it into a Black Forest Cake. This is a no alcohol black forest cake and also has no morello cherries. You can choose to add both if you like. Please scroll up to the blog post to find more step by step instructions on making it.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
I use an unsweetened cocoa powder or sugar free chocolate like Vitawerx to flavour the buttercream. Check the blog post for more keto buttercream ideas and how to serve it.

LOW CARB CHOCOLATE CAKE IN THERMOMIX

For a keto layer cake like mine pictured, it is safe to double or triple the recipe in both a stand mixer and the Thermomix®. Just make sure to bake each cake separately, not at the same time.

STORAGE AND FREEZING KETO CAKES

You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. It freezes well if kept in an airtight container or ziplock bag. I freeze in individual portions so it is simple to defrost when I would like a piece of cake.

This recipe yields approximately 16-20 servings. The actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

To calculate the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe by 16-20. The result will be the weight of one serving.

Nutritional values shown are guidelines only. They are for 1 serving using the ingredients listed.

All recipes have been tested using all of the cooking methods included by various recipe testers.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, store in an airtight container and freeze.

If you have any queries, or questions or are unsure of substitutions, please scroll up to the blog post for more information.

Nutrition