This tender and fluffy keto chocolate cake is made with almond flour and frosted with a rich chocolate frosting.
This keto chocolate cake was inspired by my favorite childhood dessert - chocolate sheet cake with frosting. Making it is easy! It's a simple one-layer cake you mix in one bowl and bake in a square baking dish. If you don't use frosting, it's completely appropriate as a snack or breakfast cake. With frosting, it's rich and indulgent - the perfect chocolatey keto dessert.
Ingredients
The complete list of ingredients and exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Sweetener: I use stevia glycerite. You can use a granulated sweetener instead.
- Almond flour: I use blanched, finely ground almond flour.
- Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed). Its natural acidity helps activate the baking soda, ensuring the cake is fluffy.
- Baking soda: You can use 2 teaspoons of baking powder (gluten-free if needed) instead of ½ teaspoon of baking soda.
- For the frosting: Unsalted butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and stevia.
Variations
- Serve the cake without frosting, dusted with powdered sweetener. It's delicious, and when not frosted, it can serve as a breakfast or snack cake.
- Use lighter frosting - this chocolate whipped cream is really good! But use this wetter frosting immediately before serving the cake to prevent the cake from becoming soggy.
- Add ⅓ cup of chocolate chips or chopped unsalted nuts to the batter.
- Drizzle the cake with warmed peanut butter - this is my husband's favorite version!
- Immediately after frosting the cake, scatter unsweetened coconut flakes on the frosting.
- Replace the vanilla extract with coconut, almond, or orange extract.
Instructions
The detailed instructions for making this cake are listed in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:
Mix the frosting and set it aside. To make the cake, whisk the eggs, melted butter, stevia, and vanilla. Gradually add almond flour and cocoa powder and whisk them in. Then, mix in the salt and baking soda.
Transfer the batter to a well-buttered 8-inch glass baking dish. Bake the cake for about 18 minutes in a 325°F oven. Cool the cake completely, then frost it.
Cut the cake into nine squares and serve.
Featured Comment
Oh my goodness, this is the most delicious chocolate cake I’ve ever had ❤️❤️❤️. You would never in a million years know it was made with almond flour and a sugar substitute. It is moist, chocolatey, and delicious. I’ve been searching for a cake to make for my birthday because I always make myself a copy of a cake that we sell here at a restaurant in Maine called a Whoopie pie cake. It’s a three-layer chocolate cake with a homemade buttercream frosting, and I made a sugar-free version last year, but it was not good. This tastes EXACTLY like it. I will be following all your recipes. THANK YOU! 5 stars 100% - Danielle Freeman Read more comments
Recipe Tips
- This cake relies on baking soda as a leavening agent, and the baking soda requires an acidic ingredient in the batter to activate. So make sure you use natural, non-alkalized cocoa powder, not Dutched-processed cocoa powder treated with an alkalizing agent.
- If you replace the baking soda with baking powder, using Dutch-processed cocoa powder is fine.
- Be generous when greasing the pan to make sure the cake releases easily.
- If you opt for a granulated sweetener instead of stevia, use a powdered sweetener in the frosting to prevent a grainy mouthfeel. See the photo below - this is what the frosting should look like - smooth and creamy:
Recipe FAQs
Unfortunately, you can't. Coconut flour is highly absorbent, and you would need to adjust this recipe quite a bit to use it instead of almond flour. I have a wonderful recipe for keto chocolate cupcakes made with coconut flour.
For a fluffy and tender cake, use superfine almond flour. I don't recommend using a coarse almond meal.
In the cake batter, you can replace the stevia with any granulated sweetener to equal ⅔ cup of sugar. If the batter is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of water. In the frosting, you can replace the stevia with any powdered sweetener to equal ½ cup of powdered sugar.
Yes. You can use two teaspoons of baking powder (fresh and unexpired, gluten-free if needed). The advantage is that you can use Dutch-processed cocoa powder in the batter if you opt for baking powder since baking powder doesn't need acidity to get activated.
Yes. You can slice the completely cooled cake and store the slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. You can also freeze unfrosted cake slices. Remember to remove the leftovers from the fridge about an hour before enjoying them. Chocolate always tastes better at room temperature, and the same is true for frosting.
Serving Suggestions
- This cake is perfect with coffee or a tall glass of cold almond milk. In the summer, I serve it with iced coffee or iced tea.
- Sometimes, I top it with berries. It's especially good with raspberries. The combination of the sweet cake and the tart fruit is amazing.
- If I don't frost the cake, I sometimes have a slice spread with peanut butter or walnut butter for breakfast.
- It makes a good birthday cake if you don't want to bother with making a layered keto birthday cake.
Recipe Card
Keto Chocolate Cake: Easy One-Layer Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter - for pan
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter - melted and slightly cooled; 112 grams
- 2 teaspoons stevia glycerite - equals ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour - blanched finely ground; 112 grams
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder - not Dutch-processed; 40 grams
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Chocolate Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter - softened; 112 grams
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder - 20 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite - equals ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- To make the frosting, place all the frosting ingredients (unsalted butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and stevia glycerite) in a medium bowl and whisk them by hand until smooth. Alternatively, beat them with an electric handheld mixer on low speed until smooth and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease an 8-inch square glass baking dish with butter. Be generous when greasing to ensure the cake releases easily from the pan. You can also line the bottom with a square of parchment paper and then grease the paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, melted butter, stevia, and vanilla extract.
- Gradually whisk in the almond flour and cocoa powder. Whisk in the kosher salt and baking soda. The batter will be quite thick.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for about 1 hour.
- If you wish, frost the cake using an offset spatula. If you don't frost it, I recommend dusting it with a powdered sweetener to make it look pretty.
- Cut the cake into 9 squares and serve.
Notes
- Occasionally, baking soda can cause a reaction in baked goods, resulting in an ammonia smell. If you're concerned about it happening, use 2 teaspoons of fresh baking powder (gluten-free if needed) instead of baking soda.
- The nutrition info includes frosting. Nutrition info for an unfrosted slice: Calories 206, Fat 19g, Saturated Fat 8g, Sodium 166mg, Carbohydrate 5g, Fiber 3g, Sugars 1g, Protein 6g.
- A granulated sweetener in the frosting will feel grainy, so use a powdered sweetener if not using stevia.
- You can slice the completely cooled cake, then store the slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze unfrosted cake slices. Remember to remove the leftovers from the fridge about an hour before enjoying them. Chocolate always tastes better at room temperature, and the same is true for frosting.
Nutrition per Serving
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Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Michael and Ruth says
Thank you for the recipe. May I substitute white flour for the almond flour ?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi,
I don't think so. Some sources say it's a 1:1 substitution, but I find that difficult to believe.
In any case, I only tested this recipe with superfine almond flour.
If you're willing to experiment, please come back and share your results!
Ruth says
Thank you for your reply. I will, probably, try oat flour. I'll let you know.
BobT says
One final comment on this cake which has become my GOTO for a chocolate cake. Still Love it, but One additional minor change made it even better for our tastes. Simply reduced the Cocoa content to 3/8 C and increased the almond flour to 1 1/8 C. Used Allulose/Monk granular and baked @350 for 24 minutes in 8x8 metal pan. Frosted with White Chocolate sugar-free Instant pudding mixed with heavy cream.
While I have always liked chocolate, I have finally learned I don't like it all that much. So a little less cocoa gives us a flavor & texture we enjoy more. Also prefer milk chocolate to semisweet or dark when used. Didn't learn this until 75 years of age and started keto baking. Who knew.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Very interesting, Bob! Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.
Pam says
Is the cook time of 18-20 minutes correct? The first time I made this the cake was not done and I had to cook for additional time.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Pam,
It's correct in my oven, which is calibrated annually. However, home ovens vary, so it's very possible that in some ovens, the baking time is longer. That's why, in addition to the suggested time, I say to bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean. I hope you liked the cake once it was done!
Malti says
I plan to use Erythritol sweetener for this cake. could you tell me what would 2/3 cups be in grams. Also should I be using 2/3 grams of Erythritol to replace the Stevia in the batter?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Malti
I'm not sure if this is product-specific, but I checked the label on this erythritol product, and according to my calculations, 2/3 cup would equal 128 grams.
In terms of how much to use, since erythritol isn't as sweet as sugar, I would use 3/4 cup.
J Fisher says
Just tried this little cake. It is very tasty without frosting even. Quick, easy and for sure I will make it again. Took an extra 8 minutes but could be my oven.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Yay! Glad you liked it!