Keto Chocolate Cake

A wonderfully tender and fluffy keto chocolate cake with a creamy chocolate frosting. Without the frosting, it’s wholesome enough to be served for breakfast!

When I was a kid, my favorite cake was the simplest chocolate sheet cake with chocolate frosting. Preferably with rainbow sprinkles on top. This recipe reminds me of that favorite childhood cake.

Making this keto chocolate cake is very easy. And if you don’t use any frosting, it’s quite appropriate as a snack cake or a breakfast cake. I actually prefer it without the frosting, but since I made it for the blog today, I included the frosting. Nutrition info for the no-frosting cake is provided below in the recipe card’s notes.

The ingredients used in this recipe

Here’s an overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make this tasty keto chocolate cake (the exact measurements are included in the recipe card below):

Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, this one included.

Unsalted butter: Or you can use salted butter and omit the salt. Personally, I’m partial to creamy European butter. But any butter is delicious!

Sweetener: I use stevia glycerite, but you can use your favorite sweetener.

Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract adds great flavor. Try to use it rather than the artificially flavored stuff.

Almond flour: I use blanched finely ground almond flour in this cake. I don’t recommend using a coarse almond meal.

Cocoa powder: Use unsweetened natural cocoa powder. It will help activate the baking soda.

Kosher salt. If using fine salt, halve the amount listed.

Baking soda: If you’d like to try using baking powder (though I haven’t tested it in this recipe), remember that 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

For the Chocolate Frosting: Unsalted butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder, vanilla, and stevia

How to make a keto chocolate cake

It’s truly a very easy recipe. The detailed instructions are listed in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:

1. You Start by whisking together the eggs, melted butter, stevia, and vanilla. I simply use a hand whisk.

2. To the same bowl, gradually add almond flour and cocoa powder and whisk them in. Then mix in the salt and baking soda.

3. Transfer the batter to a well-buttered 8-inch glass baking dish. Bake for about 18 minutes in a 325 degrees F oven. Cool completely, then frost.

Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?

Unfortunately, you can’t. Coconut flour is extremely absorbent and you would need to adjust this recipe quite a bit in order to use it instead of almond flour.

I do have a wonderful recipe for keto chocolate cupcakes that are made with coconut flour.

Can I use almond meal?

As mentioned above, it’s best to use blanched, finely ground almond flour in this recipe if you’d like to ensure that the keto chocolate cake comes out fluffy and tender. I don’t recommend using a coarse almond meal.

I don’t like stevia. Can I use a different sweetener?

You can probably replace the stevia with a granulated sweetener. The amount that I use equals 1/2 cup sweetener. I haven’t tried it, though.

And if you do use a granulated sweetener, check the batter. If it’s too thick, you might want to add 1-2 tablespoons of milk or water.

It’s best to use natural cocoa powder

This keto chocolate cake relies on baking soda as a leavening agent, and the baking soda requires acid in order to activate. So make sure you use natural cocoa powder and not Dutched cocoa powder that was treated with an alkalizing agent.

How to keep leftovers?

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 always take the leftovers out of the fridge about two hours before you plan on enjoying them.

More keto cake recipes

Enjoyed this keto chocolate cake? Another really good recipe that I like to make for special occasions is this recipe for keto birthday cake. You’ll note that the frosting is identical in these two recipes.

And another good recipe is this recipe for keto carrot cake. It’s easy, tasty, and relatively nutritious (at least as far as cakes go).

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Keto Chocolate Cake

A wonderfully moist and fluffy keto chocolate cake is made with almond flour. Without the frosting, it's wholesome enough to be served for breakfast!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Rest time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 35 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake, chocolate, gluten free, keto

Servings: 9 slices

Calories: 326kcal

Author: Vered DeLeeuw

INGREDIENTS

• Butter for pan
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (4 oz)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals 1/2 cup sugar)*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup blanched finely ground almond flour (4 oz)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed) (40g)
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (not fine salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Frosting:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (4 oz)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (20g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals 1/2 cup powdered sugar)**

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square glass baking dish with butter. Be generous when greasing to ensure the cake releases easily from the pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, stevia, and vanilla extract.
• Gradually whisk in the almond flour and cocoa powder.
• Finally, whisk in the kosher salt and the baking soda. The batter will be quite thick.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth the top out with a rubber spatula. Bake until the center is set and a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
• Cool the cake, in the pan, completely, about 1 hour, then frost if you wish.
• To make the frosting, place all the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk by hand. Or beat with an electric handheld mixer on low speed until smooth and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.

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NOTES

Nutrition info for an unfrosted slice: Calories 206, Fat 19g, Saturated Fat 8g, Sodium 166mg, Carbohydrate 5g, Fiber 3g, Sugars 1g, Protein 6g.

*I received a couple of emails from readers saying that the cake wasn’t sweet enough and that they liked it better with 2 teaspoons of stevia glycerite (or 2/3 cup granulated sweetener).

*** A granulated sweetener in the frosting will feel grainy – so please use a powdered sweetener. If using a powdered sweetener in the frosting instead of stevia, it’s possible that you would need to add a bit more heavy cream to get the right consistency.

NUTRITION INFO Most of our recipes are low-carb (or keto) and gluten-free, but some are not. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate and may contain errors, so you should independently verify it. It is calculated using the SparkPeople.com recipe calculator and the carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Please read the disclaimers in our Terms of Use carefully before using any of our recipes.

Nutrition Facts

Keto Chocolate Cake

Amount Per Serving (1 slice)

Calories 326 Calories from Fat 288

% Daily Value*

Fat 32g49%

Saturated Fat 16g100%

Sodium 170mg7%

Carbohydrates 7g2%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 7g14%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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