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This 5 ingredient keto chocolate cake is the easiest fudgy sugar free cake ever! It is incredibly moist, rich and packed with chocolate flavor. Even better, it has only 2.5 net carbs per slice.
Do you want to see everyone at your table sink into silence, occasionally interrupted by a contented sigh? Serve this low carb chocolate cake and watch the magic happen.
I love all the recipes I post on this site, but this recipe is special. That's because it's more than just a chocolate cake. It's a crazy good, wonderfully rich Keto chocolate cake.
This Keto cake does nothing by halves. It contains as much chocolate as it can possibly handle, a generous amount of grass-fed butter and it is just on the right side of sweet. Basically, it is a Keto dream dessert.
It will satisfy the cravings of any chocolate lover, low carb or not. And it also makes a great gluten-free birthday cake!
Jump to:
- Low Carb Cake Essentials
- Ingredients
- Instructions
- Recipe Variations
- Toppings
- Recipe FAQs
- Storage
- More Keto Chocolate Desserts
- Recipe
Low Carb Cake Essentials
There are 2 ingredients that increase carbs and sugar in a traditional cake: the wheat flour and, of course, the sugar.
What To Use Instead Of Flour
As grains are a no-no on a Keto diet (as well as on a sugar free or low carb diet), most Keto cake recipes use either almond flour or coconut flour or both.
This cake uses only a very small amount of almond flour, which makes it super fudgy, almost like a brownie.
What To Use Instead Of Sugar
I am also using a sugar substitute in place of sugar.
For this cake, I've chosen an erythritol stevia blend. Erythritol is a polyol and cannot be absorbed by our body. Therefore, it is essentially zero carb and does not raise blood sugars.
You can replace the erythritol in this cake and in all keto cake recipes with xylitol, monk fruit sweetener, allulose or with blends such as Swerve. If you're using xylitol, keep it away from dogs. It's highly toxic to them!
Ingredients
It's hard to believe, but you only need 5 ingredients to make this cake:
- Unsweetened chocolate
- Eggs
- Powdered Sweetener
- Almond Flour
- Butter
...and a pinch of salt.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Why Quality Ingredients Matter
With such few ingredients, they MUST be the best possible quality, especially the chocolate.
There is a range of artisan chocolate makers which produce unsweetened chocolate. The brand I used, Montezuma's, is available at Sainsbury's, in organic shops or online. In the US you can go for a quality brand like Ghirardelli.
I don't recommend choosing unsweetened Baker's chocolate for this cake. It has the tendency to seize when you melt it and simply does not taste as creamy and mellow as quality chocolate.
Instructions
This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Let me show you how to make a keto chocolate cake in a few simple steps.
STEP 1
Whisk the eggs with a hand mixer in a large mixing bowl until they have doubled in size and are frothy and pale.
STEP 2
Add the sweetenerand whisk again until well-combined.
STEP 3
Melt butter and chocolate and stir until combined. You can do this in a microwave or on the stove - slowly and gently. Slowly add the melted chocolate mixture to the bowl...
STEP 4
... and fold it in with a spatula or spoon.
STEP 5
Continue stirring until the mixture is fully combined - gooey, creamy goodness!
STEP 6
Lastly, add the almond flour and stir until it is evenly distributed.
STEP 7
Line the bottom of a springform (I used a 20cm / 8-inch pan) and with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter or oil. Pour in the batter. Bake the cake in the preheated oven until the top of the cake is firm to the touch.
Let the cake cool completely before cutting.
Expert Tips
This is what you need to know to make the recipe perfectly.
Tip #1: Room temperature eggs. Take them out 30 minutes before starting on the cake. Or, warm them up in a bowl with hot water.
Keeping the eggs at room temperature prevents the mix from splitting and becoming lumpy once you add the warm chocolate and butter.
Tip #2: Sweetener must be powdered. You don't want any crunchy bits in your gooey, moist chocolate cake!
Blend granulated sweetener it in a food processor or with the attachment of a stick blender to turn it into a powder.
Taste the cake batter and add more sweetener if necessary. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so you may prefer it a little sweeter than I do.
Tip #3: Melt chocolate slowly. This prevents it from splitting and seizing.
Microwave option: When you melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave, do so in 30 second bursts. Mine was mostly melted after 90 seconds in total.
I then left the bowl on the kitchen counter and stirred it from time to time. This caused the rest of the chocolate to melt slowly.
Water bath option: Place the bowl with your chocolate and butter in a heat proof bowl over a pot with boiling water.
Once the chocolate is half-melted, remove the bowl and let it fully melt by stirring occasionally.
Recipe Variations
SPICE IT UP: To give your keto cake a festive vibe, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspooncinnamon plus cardamom, nutmeg and a pinch of cloves.
For an extra kick, try adding a pinch of chilli! Or grate the zest of 1 orange into the batter.
MAKE IT NUTTY: Add nuts for a bit or crunch - walnuts or pecans would work well.
FLUFFY TEXTURE: This cake is supposed to be fudgy. For a slightly fluffier texture, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder or ½ teaspoon of baking soda.
DAIRY-FREE: Replace the butter with coconut oil.
NUT-FREE: Use ¼ cup coconut flour in place of the almond flour.
Toppings
I'm a bit of a purist, so I simply dusted my cake with 100% unsweetened cocoa powder.
You could also dust the low carb cake with powdered sweeter. For both options it is important to wait until the cake is fully cooled. Otherwise, anything you dust on top will melt into an unsightly sludge.
If you want to go the whole nine yards, make the cream cheese frosting from my keto cupcakes or make a buttercream frosting.
You could serve this cake with a dollop of sugar free whipped cream or a scoop of sugar free ice cream.
Recipe FAQs
Can I use cocoa powder instead of chocolate?
No. I don't recommend to replace the chocolate with cocoa powder.
Can I make a layer cake with this recipe?
To make a layer cake, either slice the cake in half or split the batter between 2 cake pans. The baking time in 2 pans reduces to about 20 minutes.
Let the layers cool completely, then add the keto chocolate frosting as described below.
Can I add a keto chocolate frosting?
Yes! Here are the steps:
Melt 100g / 3.5 oz unsweetened chocolate and 60g / ¼ cup butter.
Stir in 6 tablespoons heavy cream and ⅓ cup / 50g powdered sweetener.
Wait until the mixture has cooled and thickened, then spread over the cake or slice it horizontally and fill in between the layers.
Which cake pan can I use?
I used a 20 cm / 8-inch springform. With a standard size 25cm / 9-inch springform, your chocolate keto cake will be a little flatter, but it still works fine. Reduce the baking timeby 5 minutes. In a rectangular loaf pan, the oven time increases by around 15 minutes. As a rule of thumb, the top of the cake must be firm, but the inside still a little jiggly.
How can I make a chocolate orange cake?
Add 2 teaspoons of orange extract to the cake batter. I also recommend trying this chocolate orange cake recipe!
Can I use sugar free chocolate?
Of course. You can use either 90% dark chocolate or sugar free chocolate chips instead of the unsweetened chocolate. In this case, reduce the amount of powdered sweetener accordingly.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store this keto cake in the fridge for 5-6 days. Be sure to keep it in an airtight container. Let the cake come to room temperature before serving.
Freezer: This cake freezes well. Freeze it pre-sliced for up to 3 months. Simply defrost it in the fridge for 48 hours or on the counter for 24 hours.
More Keto Chocolate Desserts
Here is a selection of sugar free chocolate desserts that we love to make:
- Fudgy Chocolate Avocado Cake
- Sugar Free Chocolate Birthday Cake
1 Hours
- Keto Chocolate Donuts
23 Minutes
- Keto Chocolate Cheesecake
4 Hours 20 Minutes
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Recipe
Best Ever Keto Chocolate Cake (Sugar Free)
Katrin Nürnberger
from Sugar Free Londoner
The ultimate keto chocolate cake recipe! This decadent, fudgy sugar free cake is really easy to make and requires only 5 ingredients.
4.95 from 184 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Servings 12
Calories 389 kcal
Note: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- 10.5 oz unsweetened chocolate 300g ***see notes
- 10.5 oz butter 300g, unsalted (1 ⅓ cup melted)
- 6 eggs room temperature
- ½ cup almond flour 50g, or ground almonds
- 1 cup powdered sweetener 150g
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Heat the oven to 170 Celsius / 340 Fahrenheit. (If you are baking at high altitude, increase the oven temperature by 10 Celsius / 25 Fahrenheit.)
Melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave (90 seconds - see notes), then stir and wait until dissolved. Alternatively, gently heat in a water bath (a heat proof bowl placed over a pan of boiling water). Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy, then add the sweetener and mix well.
Add the melted chocolate and butter along with the almond flour and stir with a spoon or spatula until just combined.
Line the bottom of a 20 cm / 8 inch springform with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter. Pour in the cake batter and bake for approximately 30 minutes on the middle shelf until the top of the cake is firm to the touch, especially in the middle.
Leave to cool before releasing from the cake tin. Once the the cake is completely cooled, dust with cocoa powder.
Video
Notes
2.5g net carbs per slice. Makes 12 slices.
Wait with dusting the cake until it is completely cooled. If it is still warm, the cocoa powder will melt and become sludgy.
TAKE YOUR TIME when melting the chocolate. If you overheat it, it can separate into cocoa and cocoa butter and become sludgy. If you melt it in the microwave, break it up as much as possible and heat it in 2 x 30 second bursts, followed by 10 second bursts. Take it out before it's fully melted and just stir a few times, letting the rest melt on its own.
***Use GOOD QUALITY butter and chocolate. If your products contain additives such as water or oils, you'll end up with fat separating and pooling on top of your cake.
Optional chocolate frosting: Melt 100g / 3.5 oz unsweetened chocolate and 60g / ¼ cup butter, stir in 6 tablespoon double / heavy cream and ⅓ cup / 50g powdered sweetener. Wait until it has cooled and thickened, then spread over the cake.
Nutrition
Calories: 389kcalTotal Carbohydrates: 3gProtein: 8.1gFat: 37.8gFiber: 0.5gSugar: 0.3g
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