This rich and decadent chocolate keto cake is shockingly delicious… Every time I serve it, people always ask for the recipe!
The Ultimate Flourless Chocolate Cake
Why should you make this chocolate cake?
Simply put, because it is quite possibly the best chocolate cake you will ever make, even if you aren’t on a keto diet.
The first time I made the recipe was for a friend’s birthday party, where not a single person in attendance aside from the host was on a low carb diet, and yet people went absolutely crazy for this ultra fudgy chocolate cake. In just a single night, I was already asked by three more friends to make cakes for their birthdays too!
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It’s almost too good to believe!
This exceptionally bold chocolate cake recipe—without any flour to get in the way of the soft texture and intense chocolatey flavor—will change everything you thought you knew about chocolate cake. There’s no oil required, and NO coconut flour either!
Also Try These Keto Pancakes
Easy Low Carb Chocolate Cake
The simple keto cake recipe can absolutely hold its own against any cake mix or bakery style chocolate cake.
Super dense and fudgy, it can be naturally gluten free, dairy free, oil free, and vegan… and I’ve served it to enough people by now who aren’t on any kind of special diet that I can confidently say: even if you’re used to traditional sugar-and-flour desserts, you will fall completely in love with this delicious and moist chocolate cake. Just try it and see!
Want a single serving version? Try this Keto Mug Cake Recipe
Keto Frosting Recipes
For the chocolate cake in the photos, I used this Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.
Feel free to use your favorite vanilla or chocolate buttercream frosting, homemade or store-bought.
Or change up the flavor by topping the cake with cream cheese frosting, peanut butter frosting, whipped cream, ice cream, sliced strawberries, or coconut frosting. Just be sure to let the cake cool completely before spreading icing on top.
It’s also really good topped with Coconut Whipped Cream!
Can You Use Regular Sugar?
Yes, if you’re not counting carbs, the cake recipe works just fine with regular granulated sugar as well. I know this because I tested it on myself (the things I have to do for my job…).
Even if you use real sugar, you still only need 2/3 cup total for an entire double layer cake, which is crazy low in comparison to traditional chocolate cake recipes that often have at least double that amount!
For A Vegan Keto Cake
While flourless chocolate cake recipes usually call for eggs, making a vegan version was surprisingly easy. I simply mixed three tbsp Bob’s egg replacer with 150g water (half cup plus two tablespoons), let it sit for a few minutes to thicken, and then used that as my three eggs in the recipe.
If you need six eggs for a double layer cake, just use six tablespoons of the egg replacer mixed with 1 1/4 cup water instead. I haven’t tried making a version using flax egg yet, but be sure to report back if you experiment!
For A Paleo Or Gluten Free Cake
For a paleo cake, sweeten with either the erythritol option listed in the recipe or use 1/2 cup date or coconut sugar instead. The low carb cake recipe is naturally gluten free, no substitutions necessary. It’s made with almond flour, which is simply ground up almond meal. (For a cake that’s made with regular flour, I recommend this Vegan Chocolate Cake.)
(Above – watch the video of how to make the keto cake)
The recipe was adapted from these Keto Muffins
Chocolate Keto Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fine almond flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp dutch cocoa or additional regular
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup water or milk of choice
- 3 eggs (including the vegan option listed earlier in the post)
- 1/3 cup granulated erythritol or regular sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- *For a double layer cake, simply double the recipe and bake in two 8-inch pans. I listed a few keto frosting ideas above in the post. And if you're a visual person, be sure to check out the recipe video above!Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch pan, and line with parchment. Stir all ingredients together very well, then spread into the pan. If needed, use a second sheet of parchment to smooth down. Bake 14 minutes on the center rack (some ovens require more baking time, so continue cooking until firm if needed). Let cool completely before frosting. If you try the recipe, please feel free to leave a comment or rate it below!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Popular Keto Desserts
Or this Keto Chocolate Mousse
Does it matter if I powder the monkfriut blend of sweetener??
I think it would change the texture of the cake, and you’d use a different amount since it’s more concentrated. If you experiment, be sure to report back!
Jason
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’ve saved this for future bakes, which I foresee will happen every week.
I made one batch and divided them in 6 large muffin cups, nuked them in the microwave at level 9 for 30 seconds. Took them out when they were still jiggly in the middle. Rested 5 min and the result was an even crumb that’s moist and so delicious!
I was too impatient to make a frosting, dusted some xylitol on top instead. ?
Those are so cute!
I’m trying this recipe and it is still liquidy at 14mins. I’m currently at 19mins and it still pulls batter out on a toothpick. It’s not the oven temperature because it does fine with other recipes. I’m wondering if egg sizes matter this much? The recipe doesn’t specify what size egg to use and we always default to X-large. I’m no baker, by a long shot, so please, those of you that regularly bake, can you clue me in?
I was able to pull one pan out at 24mins and the other out at 29mins. Now the cakes are stuck in the pans. How do I get them out? I guess I should have floured the pans, but the recipe didn’t call for it. Ugh…this is the reason I don’t bake. 🙁
Yikes, it should definitely not take 29 minutes in a calibrated oven – any recipe (not just this one) with that amount of almond flour should be burnt to a crisp by that point, so my biggest guess: is your oven calibrated? Also, what size pans did you use, and are you in a humid climate or high elevation?
Jason
Hi, Jason!
I couldn’t tell you about the calibration of my oven…it was here when I bought this house 10yrs ago. What I can tell you is that the oven temps seem to work fine for everything else I’ve cooked in there, including boxed cakes, etc. That’s why I’m leaning less towards the oven and more towards too much liquid in the recipe, hence the eggs, since the recipe didn’t specify size. I used 8″ round pans and we are near sea level…San Antonio TX.
I’ve made this 3 times! I love the flavor of it.
First time I made it with organic eggs and it’s turned out beautifully.
Second time I made it with Bobs egg replacer as shown in the package and they got flat after pulling them out of the oven.
Third time I used more water with the egg replacer like Katie mentioned and cooked them 5 mins longer and the sank even more after pulling them out.
Should they cook longer? The vegan options for me has not worked buuuu!
Also I just noticed in the video she used the egg replacer but doesn’t add the milk. It that correct?
Hi, all the water/milk was already added to the egg replacer powder in the video, which is why it looks like a paste. In trying to troubleshoot for you… are you at a high elevation or in a super moist climate? I’m not sure why yours would be flatter or sink in otherwise, since Katie didn’t encounter that issue when using the Bob’s egg. But if nothing else, at least the egg version worked for you! If you want to experiment with a different type of egg replacer (such as Ener-G egg replacer), maybe that would give different results too?
Jason
I have tried so many cake, brownie, cup cake recipes. Most fall apart, either to dry or just cant get it together. This was the BESTever. I had to cook it a little longer (10 minutes) could be my oven??? Perfect texture and moistness. I made a cream cheese whip cream espresso frosting. Thank you for this recipe!!!
Made this for my boyfriends birthday and he loved it. I used whipped cream in the middle and on top with cocoa powder & Xylitol, then added some 90% chocolate shavings. I wasn’t expecting the texture of the cake to be so good. I also had to use 1/3 the quantity of bicarbonate soda rather than baking powder because I didn’t have any.
I just wanted to find out if the cups are American cup size? Which is equivalent to 236.6ml. I saw a post about cup to gram conversion so I will use that as my reference for now but for future reference I would like to know.
This was absolutely delicious! I doubled the recipe for 2 layers. I used 1/3 cup water + 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, used large eggs and all Dutch cocoa powder. I hade to bake it for 21 minutes. See the toothpick test. I also made the Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. I used 2 cups powdered Swerve. I didn’t have enough Dutch cocoa powder so I used what I had plus 2oz. Lily’s Chocolate chip melted in 2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream, added 2 Tablespoons more to frosting to make it more pipe-able. Even the non-keto people raved about it! Thank you for sharing your delicious recipes!!!
Wow that looks like it came from a bakery!
This is a great recipe. I made it tonight and instead of making the icing I sifted Swerve powdered sugar on top and cut in the shape of brownies. Thank you so much for this. I’m doing Keto and have been struggling to find a chocolate cake recipe with a texture and taste that I liked. This does it for me. I will be adding a scoop of Rebel ice cream on the side!
I tried this recipe this weekend and it made 11 cupcakes for me! I was so pleased with the outcome. Thank you for sharing. Will plan to make these again.
I just made this, in muffin form. Since I didnt use a frosting, I could really taste the salt. I used powdered monk fruit, and it could have been a little sweeter. Since I omitted the frosting to keep the carbs as low as possible, in the future I will leave out the salt, and either use a different sweetener or increase just a little. All in all, it’s a great recipe. Texture is perfect, moist and not crumbly.
As anyone tried this with oat flour? I dont really like almond flour. Would it be a 1:1 su stitution?
I’d suggest making this one instead if you want to use regular flour instead of almond. I haven’t tried it with oat flour though: https://lett-trim.today/2017/07/24/vegan-chocolate-cake-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I know this is 3 years old, but hoping you see this and can tell me if you tried making it with oat flour and how it turned out?
I made this cake and it came out pretty good. I used xylitol instead because I can’t stand the spicy after taste of erythitol. After 14 min my cake was still pretty wet. I baked it for 20 min and the consistency was good. Not dry at all. The recipe was simple and i love that no fat was needed.
Can I double the Recipe and make it in a 9 x 12 pan?
Looks gorgeous and yummy!
You can! Might just need to bake a little longer, so keep an eye on it 🙂
I just fixed this cake and the frosting is good but the cake falls apart and the texture is “grainy”. Not moist. I used super fine almond flower. Any ideas on what may have happened?
Hi, what other specific ingredients did you use? Thanks!
Hi Jason, Was granular Swerve OK to use? It wasn’t expired but I also didn’t store it in the fridge after opening,,,:/ maybe my sugar was bad?
Granular swerve works well here! 🙂
What other ingredients did you use?
OMG!! I just realized what I thought was Cocoa Powder is actually CACAO Powder. Could that have made it grainy?
I don’t know about grainy… I know cacao powder is supposedly more bitter than cocoa, but other than that I’m not sure!
Swerve (granular)