An incredibly flavorful, moist and fluffy low carb keto pumpkin cake, made with almond flour and sweetened with stevia. Wholesome enough to serve for breakfast!
I based this recipe on an old recipe I used to make – gluten-free pumpkin cake, made with almond flour and sweetened with honey.
That cake was wonderful, but it was not low carb, and my husband and I have become pretty strict about our low carb way of life. This keto pumpkin cake is perfect for us! It’s wonderfully fluffy and very flavorful. (Another good one is this keto pound cake.)
The ingredients you’ll need
You’ll only need a few simple ingredients to make this tasty cake. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here’s an overview of what you’ll need:
Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, this one included.
Canned pumpkin puree: Make sure it’s pure pumpkin puree and not sweetened pumpkin pie filling.
Melted unsalted butter: I love using creamy European butter whenever possible.
Sweetener: I use stevia. You can probably use a granulated sweetener instead, possibly adding a bit of water to the batter.
Vanilla extract.: Try to use the real thing – pure vanilla extract – and not the artificially flavored stuff.
Almond flour: An excellent flour substitute that bakes exceptionally well. I use blanched finely ground flour in this recipe.
Pumpkin pie spice: Make sure it’s fresh! A stale spice can easily ruin a dish.
Salt and 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.
How to make keto pumpkin cake
It’s so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Mix. I simply mix everything by hand in a medium bowl, in the order listed.
Add water. Now add up to 2 tablespoons of water if necessary (especially if you used a granulated sweetener).
Transfer to a greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake for about 30 minutes at 350°F. Let cool before slicing.
The cake batter is thick – that’s okay
I made a few adjustments to the old recipe, and I am very pleased with this keto pumpkin cake. It is rustic, fragrant, and very flavorful.
The batter is very thick! You would think it’s too thick, I almost added a little water to thin it out, but I’m glad I didn’t. The cake comes out wonderfully fluffy and moist, with a beautifully textured top.
However, if you use a granulated sweetener instead of stevia, you might need to add a bit of water. Try 2 tablespoons.
How to top the cake
You can leave the top as is, dust with a little Swerve Confectioners, or top it with cream cheese frosting.
Personally, I don’t bother with frosting because I like to have this keto pumpkin cake for breakfast, and frosting would firmly plant it in the “dessert” category. (The same is true for this wonderfully flavorful keto carrot cake, by the way, although I do frost that cake.)
On Instagram, Kalei Lynn posted these beautiful photos of the cake she had made. She graciously allowed me to post them here. Kalei Lynn says, “The cake turned out perfect! I’m making to take to Thanksgiving!! I topped it with some homemade cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts/pecans.”
Is it tasty?
I have two major tests when making a recipe, especially a sweet one, to determine if it’s truly good. The first: do I want to keep eating this? Is this something that I look forward to eating more of the next day?
A resounding yes on that one! I plan on having a big slice of this keto pumpkin cake tomorrow for breakfast, and I can’t wait!
The second test is the hardest one. Do my kids like this recipe? My kids eat lower carb than most, and mostly paleo. But they don’t eat as low carb as my husband and I, and therefore their palate is different than ours.
For example, while we love extra dark chocolate (Lindt 90% is our favorite), the kids find it too bitter. And unlike me, they’re not accustomed to having stevia as their main sweetener.
Well, the kiddos loved this cake and asked that I include it in their lunch boxes tomorrow. 🙂
So there you have it – a low carb cake that passed the test of high-carb eaters. Now you know it’s good!
Pinterest reviews of this recipe
So far, there’s one review on Pinterest for this recipe, and it’s positive (phew!). Marcie says, “Delicious! Used coconut oil instead of butter, 1/2 cup monk fruit sweetener instead of the liquid sweetener, and a little cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & ginger in addition to the pumpkin spice.”
Measure the almond flour by weight
This is a pretty straightforward recipe. The only tip I have for you is that if at all possible, you should measure the almond flour by weight (8 oz) and not by volume, for the best, most accurate results.
You can double the recipe and use the entire can of pumpkin
I like this keto pumpkin cake so much, that I often double the recipe and make two of them. I keep one in the fridge, slice the second one and freeze the slices in freezer bags.
Doubling the recipe has the added advantage of using up an entire can of pumpkin, instead of just 1 cup.
Since 1 can of pumpkin puree has about 1 3/4 cups of pumpkin (not two cups), I slightly reduce the amount of almond flour I use when doubling this recipe and use just 15 oz instead of 16 oz.
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Keto Pumpkin Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, soft, for the pan
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (240 grams)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1.5 teaspoons stevia glycerite (equals 1/2 cup sugar)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon sea salt)
- 2 cups blanched finely ground almond flour (8 oz)
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pie plate.
- In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the pumpkin puree, butter, stevia, vanilla and kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
- With a rubber spatula, mix in the almond flour until well combined and smooth, then mix in the pumpkin pie spice and the baking soda. Batter will be thick.
- Use a rubber spatula to transfer the batter to the greased pie plate. Smooth the top out.
- Bake the cake until center is fully baked and a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
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NOTES
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.