This looks like real chocolate cake doesn’t it? It tastes like it too. I was floored when my friend Monir Hodges showed up at our house with this cake. Who knew that you could make a moist, sublime, low carb, gluten free chocolate cake with almond and coconut flour?
It goes like this: we had gotten on the low carb bandwagon with our friends the Hodges and it had been about a month. We all have a pretty big sweet tooth and we were missing desserts. Monir is an inventive, passionate, and gifted baker and so she researched low carb cakes and came up with this recipe. I am eternally grateful and am including it here with her permission. Without a genuinely delicious dessert option, I doubt that I would have been able to stick to a low carb diet.
This is a simple one-bowl cake. Almond and coconut flour are gluten-free and are not finicky like wheat flour. Everything can just be mixed together with no worry about over mixing and making the batter tough. The only intense part of this cake is paying attention to when to take it out of the oven. It does not taste good overbaked. If you’re going to make a mistake (I speak from experience here) – slightly underbaked is better than overbaked. I’m including detailed instructions on how to judge the doneness so your effort is successful the first time around!
- For the cake:
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup xylitol, erythritol, or coconut sugar
- 1 cup whole milk or coconut milk for dairy free
- 3 cups almond flour (also called almond meal), my favorite is Honeyville (see notes)
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 7 Tb. good quality cocoa powder, my favorite is Valrhona
- 8 Tb. (4 oz.) unsalted butter melted or melted ghee or coconut oil for dairy free (I like ghee better)
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- For the Frosting:
- Use your favorite frosting or make whipped cream or coconut whipped cream (see note)
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 1/4 cup xylitol, erythritol, or coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350.°
- Line the bottom of 2 round 8" x 2"cake pans with parchment paper. The easiest way to do this is to trace around the bottom of a cake pan with a pencil on a sheet of parchment paper large enough for 2 cake pan bottoms. Fold the paper in half so that when you cut out 1 circle, you're actually cutting out 2. Grease sides of pan and top of parchment paper with butter or coconut oil spray.
- May also be made as sheet cake: grease a 9"x13" baking pan.
- Dough may be mixed with a spoon, with a hand-held mixer, or a standing mixer.
- Beat eggs, in a bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients. Add xylitol and milk and combine. Add all of the other ingredients and combine well.
- Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for about 25-32 minutes. Cook until cake is just set. Do not overbake. Slightly underbaking is better than overbaking.
- Oven temperatures and cooking times vary. The best way to test for doneness is by lightly touching the center of the cake. The cake should feel just set.
- The first time you do this you want to get a feel for what is jiggly and what is set. The description makes it sound more complicated than it is...but I think it will be helpful.
- Look at the cake after about 20 minutes, when it is clearly not yet done and the center is jiggly. Check again after 3-5 minutes and you'll notice that the center is getting more set. When the center has just completely set touch it lightly. If it feels really soft let it cook a little more. Check every few minutes, touching gently in the center, and remove from the oven when set but still a little soft. Notice how long this took. The next time you'll know exactly for how long to bake the cakes. Also you get the feel of it after the first time so it isn't so nerve-wracking. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Whipped Cream:
- Combine cream, sweetener, and vanilla in bowl. Using a hand-held mixer or standing mixer, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Start at medium speed so cream doesn't splatter. As cream firms, increase speed to high.
- Assemble Cake:
- Gently invert 1 layer onto serving plate and remove parchment paper. Top with about 1/3 of the whipped cream. Place 2nd layer on top. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining whipped cream.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Tastes great with strawberries or raspberries.
- Notes:
- • I've changed the recipe to all almond meal instead of a mix of almond meal and coconut flour. I like it better. The liquid has been reduced to 1 cup since almond meal is less absorbent than coconut flour. For those of you attached to the previous recipe here it is: 2 cups almond meal, 3/4 cups coconut flour, 1 1/4 cups milk or coconut milk
- • If using coconut whipped cream, frost the center and the top only. Coconut whipped cream isn't firm enough to work well on the sides of the cake.
- • Cooking times vary. I've noticed that when I put in the melted butter or ghee and it's still a little warm, the cooking time is less. So make sure to check because this cake is not nearly as good overbaked (I speak from experience!)
I used this recipe last night and it is the BEST cake I’ve ever made from scratch. I added cocoa to my whipping cream to make it chocolate. Love it!
Looks amazing
Hi I am so excited to try this now (from South Africa). Quick question:Why does it call for 8 eggs? That’s the most I’ve ever used in a recipe, can I cut down?
Thanks
Bianca
Hi Bianca,
I don’t know the science behind it but somehow using lots of eggs compensates for no wheat flour or gluten. The recipe works with 8 eggs…I’ve made it many times. It might work with 6 if you want to try that. Can’t guarantee it though. One change I’ve made recently which I prefer (it happened by accident because I ran out of coconut flour and didn’t feel like going back to the store to get it) – I use all almond flour instead of some coconut. If you want to try that, omit the coconut flour and use 3 cups of almond flour and reduce the milk to 1 cup.
Hope you enjoy it!
The eggs are protein, and that’s why they work. Because what’s works in wheat flour is gluten – a type of protein. But gluten is not digest able by the human body. The protein in eggs is. So what you are doing by using eggs instead of wheat flour is replacing one type of protein chain with another
Hi Lisa,
This cake looks wonderful, and I regularly use xylitol in baking, but I find using it in icing difficult as I find the “chewing-gum-like-fresh-mint-taste” in the mouth afterwards is too strong unless it is baked. Do you taste it much in this icing? Will I still get that aftertaste? I wish I could get used to it, but I just find it too strange…
Hi Claire,
Sorry for the late reply, I was away.
I know what you mean about the cold strange taste. However it doesn’t bother me in this icing recipe (not to say that you will definitely like it).
I tried to make this awesome looking cake but for some reason, cake texture was very thick from the get go and when it was done baking it felt very dry. I make sure not to over bake it.
I did followed the recipe word by word. Any suggestions what could have gone wrong ?
I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I’ve made this by the recipe dozens of times so that is very puzzling. Are you SURE you added the correct amount of milk and that you didn’t mix up the quantities for the almond and coconut flours? Coconut flour sucks up moisture like crazy so too much of that would mess things up. Also, when measuring the flour did you scoop and level or were the measuring cups a little bit heaping?
That’s all I can think of.
We don’t have heavy cream in South Africa so I tried Double thick cream which was too stiff. I added about 200ml full cream plain yoghurt and about 30ml xylitol syrup as well as the xylitol granules to the cream and it spread beautifully and tasted delicious!
Hi Venetia,
Thank you for letting me know. I’m sure your suggestions will be helpful to lots of people! I’m really glad it worked out for you.
Can I use buttermilk instead of almond milk or regular milk?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not. It should be fine.
My husband is on the low carb Atkins. Does anyone know how many carbs in one slice. Also any dairy free suggestion for icing. Also could I use a bundt pan to bake this cake? Is there an adjustment on time cooking in a bundt. Appreciate any assistance.
I’m sorry I don’t know the carbs in a slice. But I can answer your other questions.
I wouldn’t cook this in a bundt pan. You’d be risking it breaking apart when you take it out of the pan. While I haven’t actually tried it, my instincts tell me that this cake isn’t sturdy enough for a bundt pan. Also, bundt pan cakes need to cool in the pan and I’d be concerned that the moisture generated would sog up the cake. Almond meal is more prone to sogginess than wheat flour.
I haven’t find a really good dairy-free icing other than coconut whipped cream. I’m continuing my search and will post one as soon as I figure something out. In the meantime, I make the coconut whipped cream that’s on my site a day before and keep it in the fridge so that it firms up. The stiffness varies with the coconut milk. If I’m lucky, it’s stiff enough to use as frosting for the top of the cake. If not, I put a layer in the middle so that it looks pretty and serve the cake with a scoop of whipped cream on top.
Hi! I am looking at this recipe for my wedding cake as both my fiance and i are post op gastric sleeve and cant eat normal cakes etc. Have you ever frozen this cake? Does it defrost well and sit like a normal cake would? Thanks
Hi Nicole, Well I feel a huge responsibility here to be accurate since this is for your wedding cake! I have made this cake into cupcakes and frozen those. The texture seems fine. However, just to be sure, I think I’d half the recipe and make a text cake and freeze that.
Congratulations!
Thanks, I’ll definitely do a test cake and see how it goes. Fingers crossed it works!
Please let me know.
Thanks
I may want to make this for a birthday party, so guests who can’t have dairy or wheat can have some cake, but one of them is diabetic and has to take insulin with everything they eat. Any idea what the nutrition information would be for this cake? I might be able to figure it out myself, but I don’t want underestimate.
How much in weight (oz/grams) is a “stick of butter” please (UK resident here) Thanks! 😀
Hi Loulou, Good point! I’ve just changed the recipe. It now says the actual amount of butter required. Thanks so much for your question. I’ll remember that not all butter sticks are created equal around the world. By the way, I’ve gotten a lot of traffic in the last day or so on my chocolate cake. I’m wondering why. Curious to know if you found it via some link or article? Thanks
I saw it on Facebook.. sorry I forget what page it was exactly. All I can tell you now (as lost in my feed) is that is will either be some Low Carb page or Paleo.. 😀 & thanks.. I found out via Auntie Google in the end anyway..:D
I hope you dont mind but I shared it in my Low Carb group, well actually saved it in my recipe files as it looks so good for a treat now and again..Thanks! 😀
OK thanks. I’m flattered that you shared it in your low carb group!
Phew.. glad you feel that way..:D thankyou <3
I found it on Pinterest. Can’t wait to try it. Can I use Truvia instead?
Yes, you can use Truvia. I personally really can’t tolerate the taste of stevia. Many people like or don’t mind it though.
This cake is delicious and moist, it totally delivers. And seems to beg for whipped cream “frosting”. After making another sugar dairy and gluten free recipe that was a total flop, it was AWESOME to discover this one. Thank you!!!
Hi Ginger,
You made my day!!! Thanks so much for letting me know.
I made this using coconut milk, ghee, and erythritol, sukrin fiber syrup and some stevia, It is cooling now waiting for the low carb dairy free German chocolate frosting I made. I will post results after we cut it!
Hi Marcia,
Looking forward to hearing the results. I have been making it with coconut milk and ghee lately too and it works out great. I’m going to update the recipe to include the ghee option.
If you’re happy with the frosting and feel like sharing it I’d love to know the recipe!
We loved it!!! I only used 6 TBS of coco pdw though. This cake is the Best! Here is the frosting recipe I used from Vanessa at Healthy Living How To. https://healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2012/11/healthy-baking-german-chocolate-cupcakes.html
Thanks so much for this cake recipe!!
I’m really happy you loved it! I just took a look at the frosting recipe you linked to and it looks great. I’ll definitely be trying it.
My pic is too big, and I don’t know how to resize it on my phone.
Hi there, can you halve the recipe for a smaller cake?
Hi Bianca,
Yes you can. Just use the one cake pan. Or, if you would rather use 2 smaller pans then you’ll need to shorten the cooking time. I don’t know by how much. You’ll just need to keep checking for doneness.
Just made this recipe. I halved it and made 10 cupcakes. This is awesome! I made a sugar free German chocolate topping from another website. OMG! How delicious! Thanks so much for this great recipe.:)
Hi Sherrie, I’m really happy you liked it! Thanks for letting me know.
Hi, you dont specify if you use granulated or confectioners sugar for your whip cream? I am planning on baking this for my 30th bday party this week ? Thank you!
Hi Judith,
I use granulated sugar for the whipped cream because I use coconut sugar and it only comes granulated. However confectioner’s sugar would work well – better probably. Many people prefer confectioners’ sugar because the small amount of cornstarch in it helps prevent the weeping that occurs when whipped cream stands for awhile. If you do use it I think you should taste as you go because the amount may differ.
Okay, thank you! Baking the cake part now as we speak!
Also I am using erythritol… it is granulated. Ill see how it works out and let you know…
I made this cake the other night for my birthday. Best. Birthday. Cake. Ever. Seriously rocked. I used coconut sugar and low carb milk. Totally delicious, especially with whipped cream frosting. And it was beautiful on my special cake plate, especially with mixed berries on top. Definitely making it again!
That makes me really happy to hear! Thanks for letting me know.
And Happy Birthday!
You use the terms almond flour and almond meal. I have both and the almond flour is ground finer than the almond meal. Which do you prefer for this recipe?
Hi Jane,
The more finely ground one is the best, so use your almond flour.
Could this cake be baked in a bundt pan?
Hi Sherrie,
I think baking it in a bundt pan would be risky. The cake is best when it’s moist and just set and not at all over cooked. It’s probably a little less sturdy than regular cakes. And even with those, I’ve sometimes had trouble with the cake sticking to the inside of a bundt pan even when it’s well greased and floured. So if you want to be sure it will come out right my vote is “no.”
If you are up for an experiment and do try it…please let me know. I’d love to know if it works or not.
How many carbs is this cake per serving?
Like do you know what it ranges to depending on milk/etc? Im trying to make a birthday cake for my type 1 diabetic girlfriend, and i want one thats super low in carb! 🙂
Try using unsweetened almond milk (check different brands for carb count) or use full cream (less carbs than normal milk) or coconut cream (again less carbs than coconut milk).
You can use Carbmaster milk it onlu has 3 carbs per cup
I’m sorry but I don’t know. There are a bunch of sites that will give you the carbs for each ingredient. You could add them up and then divide by the number of slices. One of these days I’ll get around to doing that. But for now, sorry I can’t be of more help.
No worries, thanks!!!
The whole cake has 6205 calories, 130.7 carbs, 32.26 sugars, and 150 protein. Divide per servings.
Hi lisa! If I use truvia instead of the xylitol, is it still the same amount? One cup? Thanks!
Hi Laurel,
I’m sorry but I don’t actually know what the amount of trivia would be. I think it would be best if you add the trivia a little at a time and taste the batter as you go.
Yes . That should work. It is a mostly erythritol sweetener.
I see no clashes in it and prefer it more over xylitol (much like sorbitol as it may cause abdominal disturbances in sensitive people in excess)
🙂
Hi Laurel,
I agree with Adonis..I think it should work. But to be safe I’d taste the batter as you go, adding less than the full amount.
This looks like a wonderful recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Truvia is twice as sweet as sugar , so I would think you would need to use half as much. I have a great post that explains all the different sweeteners here. https://www.thebestlowcarb.com/recipes/low-carb-sweeteners
Yum! I’m eating mine now and it’s delicious! I appreciate the easy to find ingredients. I really got a craving for chocolate cake today so I looked up several recipes but they all needed ingredients I couldn’t find locally. I didn’t want cake in 3 days when the ingredients arrived! So I found this one and I’m in love. I think the cake really needs the icing. I tried it alone and it was so so but the icing did the trick. Thank you!
Hi Casey,
Very happy that you enjoyed it and thought to let me know!
do you have to put the cake in the frig if you don’t use the frosting? just makes a half recipe. help?. Thank you
I made this yesterday. So yummy!
Has anyone tried this recipe with coconut flour? I know the amount of coconut flour will be less as it is quite dense and absorbitive. I want to experiment but dont want to end up with a brick lol.
If anyone has a good coconut flour cake recipe also thanks
After reading all these reviews, I am going to try baking this cake tomorrow for our 37th wedding anniversary. We’ve only been on the keto diet for a little over a month now so have just begun learning how to bake with coconut and almond flour. Am wondering if anyone has tried using Swerve in this recipe for the sugar substitute. Also, am trying not to use whipping cream too much as I can’t find any without carrageenan in it (not good for leaky gut). Will look for coconut whipped cream.
Hi Sharene,
Swerve can be used in this recipe. Just taste the batter as you add it because it may have a different sweetness level. I’ve tried using coconut whipped cream to frost the cake with no success. The coconut whipped cream is not stiff enough. It’s also very finicky…sometimes it comes out great, sometimes it’s very loose. The problem is not in the technique but in the thickness of the coconut milk.
The cake turned out delicious with Swerve. I used the same amount in the cake as the recipe called for. I ended up using whipping creme for the frosting as I couldn’t find coconut creme here (we live in a smallish town) and used only about half of the Swerve as what the recipe called for. The baking time for the cake was 45 minutes; a little longer than what the recipe suggests. Thank you for your instructions. Very helpful.
Happy Anniversary!! I’m so glad it worked out and that you liked it. Thank you for the Swerve information. I’m sure that will help other people. I appreciate the follow up!
I made this for my daughter’s first birthday which was also my mother-in-law’s 70th. My husband said it’s the best cake I have ever made and we appreciated that it was keto friendlyfor us, enjoyable for the MIL and pseudo healthy for the baby who ate it with gusto. I used a cream cheese buttercream with cacao powder frosting to layer and frost and it was just divine. Thank you!
Well you just made my day!!! Thank you so much for letting me know. Happy Holidays to you.
This cake was AMAZING! I made it for my husbands birthday, and it was so close to the real deal that my non-keto guests had no idea! The whole cake was GONE!
Did u figure out the macros?
I have no idea. It was just a treat for us. 🙂
Could I make this ahead of time and freeze like other cakes?
Hi Kate,
Sorry for the late response – I didn’t see your question until just now. Not sure why not. Anyway, if you’re still interested – my best guess is that you can freeze this like other cakes. Not positive though as I’ve never tried it.
can you make cupcakes with this recipe?
Sorry for the delayed reply – somehow I missed your questions. Yes, you can make cupcakes with this recipe. Just be sure to reduce the baking time by a lot (not sure how much). Just watch them like a hawk as they bake.
How many grams of fiber?
I am wanting to make this cake, but I do not have whole milk or coconut milk. Would this work with Almond milk as well? Also, what icing recipe did you use in the picture?
Hi Emily, I have never tried the cake with almond milk but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Almond milk is thinner than those other two so I don’t know how that will affect the end result but my guess is that it will be OK. If you do try it, please let me know how it comes out.
Great- thank you!
Forgot the other part of your question – the icing in the picture is actually whipped cream.
I made this today for my sons birthday using unsweetened vanilla almond milk and it worked perfectly!!
Hi!
Can this be made in a 9×13 pan instead of a layered cake?
Hi Debbie,
I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner. It can be made in a 9×13 pan but you’ll need to adjust the timing and check for doneness frequently because I’m not sure what timing to advise.
Coconut milk sold in dairy section or canned?
So sorry for the delayed reply. For some reason I just saw this comment (and the comments below). Canned coconut milk.
I baked this recipe yesterday to have today and it was superb. Thankyou so much. I made a simpler version of a cream frosting – whipped the cream with 1 tsp coconut sugar and 1 tsp powdered cacao. easy and yummy
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me know. Putting powdered cacao in the whipped cream is a great idea.
This cake drew rave reviews as the base for my fruit -loving grandson ‘s birthday. I made half a batch with coconut sugar and baked it in a spring form pan. After thoroughly cooling and freezing for about 10 minutes I sliced it horizontallly. I lined the spring form sides with fresh strawberry slices and fit half of the cake back in. Then I spread with softened strawberry ice cream and placed the other layer cake on top with additional ice cream. I put it in the freezer for several hours and then topped it with more fresh strawberries and blueberries. Really good!! Thanks for the cake recipe and the inspuration!
recipe!https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9662dff7f4ff7612dc8c1e2e97fa7e8c312bbbbec2ac6e1fc33cee3a3e1d05d3.jpg
Stephanie – what a fabulous idea! Thank you so much for sharing it and for the wonderful photo. I’m going to copy you and make this. I’m sure others will as well. Thanks!!!
Needed a new birthday chocolate cake because the flourless recipes were too bitter for this milk chocolate lover. Very glad I found this one. The flavor and texture are wonderful, even though I did a poor job grinding my own almonds. I used the old version because I have a lot of coconut flour to use up. Quartered the recipe and made 6 cupcakes in the microwave at 60% for 3 minutes. Thank you!