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
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 sweetener and 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 teaspoon cinnamon 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
No. I don't recommend to replace the chocolate with cocoa powder.
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.
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.
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 time by 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.
Add 2 teaspoons of orange extract to the cake batter. I also recommend trying this chocolate orange cake recipe!
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 Cake1 Hours
- Keto Chocolate Donuts23 Minutes
- Keto Chocolate Cheesecake4 Hours 20 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★
Recipe
Best Ever Keto Chocolate Cake (Sugar Free)
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: 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.
Dani
I was adding up the ingredients into my meal planning app and I calculated that using 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sweetener would add up to about 216 carbs and divided by 12 comes out to 18 carbs per slice just for the sweetener? I really want to try this but maybe I’m calculating something wrong?
Katrin
Hi Dani, erythritol does not get absorbed by our bodies, it passes right through. Therefore, I do not count the carbs in erythritol.
Dani
Oh wow I did not know that thank you. That’s really helpful info!
Kylie Roskell
Ohhhh no, mine didn't rise and it's very oily. I used 300g of butter as per recipe
I've put it back in the oven. It's been about 50 mins of cooking time.
I can't see where I went wrong? Oven is usually spot on xx
Katrin
I think you should take it out, so the edges don't burn. I'm not sure what happened - I once had someone with a similar problem and we established that it must have been the chocolate they used that separated as opposed to the butter.
Katrin
Hi Alice, I haven't personally tried the Ghirardelli brand - I use a brand called Montezuma here. It's also unsweetened 100% cocoa, so I assumed it tastes the same. I don't find it bitter, but it is very strong and you would not want to eat more than one square at a time. That's why the recipe uses more sweetener than I normally use in my desserts. In fact, I've had people commenting that they find the recipe too sweet! The bottom line is that we all have a different perception of what's just right. Maybe you could use half Ghirardelli and half Lily's dark chocolate chips next time, which would make it sweeter. Or you try a different brand of unsweetened chocolate, if the Ghirardelli does not agree with you. You could also search for a 90% chocolate - here in the UK we have a brand called Lindt which is excellent and it tastes great on its own. With the 90% chocolate the sugar/carb content is minimal (7g per bar of 100g or 0.7g net carbs per square). I hope this helps 🙂
Kaylene B.
You can get the Montezuma's Chocolate Bars in America on Amazon.com, too.
If your chocolate seizes, make sure NO water is getting in your chocolate either. For instance, if you wash your bowl right before using to make sure it's as clean as possible, it must be completely dry and free of water before you melt chocolate in it, otherwise, your chocolate will seize. Fat and water don't mix!
MArianne
My Chocolate seized when I mixed it with the eggs. INot sure why this happened. Ihave just put it in the oven but I am not sure this is going to work as the butter wa already separating when I put the cake in the oven.
Katrin
What a shame! I think your chocolate must have been too hot, and possibly your eggs were straight from the fridge? I've had chocolate seize on me when I heated it up in the microwave for too long. The safest way to heat chocolate is to do it in a double boiler or water bath. It takes a while, but you won't have that problem. I do hope you'll try the recipe again, it really is so delicious
Burch Carr
I just found you today. I am so glad I did. Your recipes really sound good, even though I have not made any yet, and I love your explanations and comments. I can hardly wait to test some of the dishes. The chocolate cake drew my eye. It will be one of the first, along with your bread recipe. Thanks so much. I will keep you posted on my success.
Burch
Katrin
Let me know how you get on Burch! I'm glad you found my site.
Lauralee
Oh wow! Finally! A chocolate keto Cake that tastes amazing. I followed the recipe exactly and dusted a mixture of cocoa powder and powdered erythritol on the finished cake. Simple and elegant. The next time I plan to add vanilla and cinammon for an interesting variation.
Katrin
I'm so glad you thought it was a success!
Daisyq
I made this for the first time last night. This is going to be my gift to everyone from now on! I adjusted as follows: used the alt as suggested, added 1/2 cup cup of coconut flour. I also added 1 teaspoon of espresso powder, 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika and 1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon KAF meringue powder. I used a hand rotary mixer that was mygrandma’s to whip everything into the frothy liquid. I used very high quality 90% chocolate bars and kerrygold butter, using the double boiler method on low and waited patiently. I used the powdered erythritol as suggested. I only have a 9” pan so that is what I used. I baked as directed BUT I always have a sheet pan in my oven with water in it to create steam. I had to bake four extra minutes. After cooled, I sifted KAF triple cocoa blend along with a little of the powdered sweetener all over the cake. It absolutely melted in my mouth. My husband loves it. I like the slightly crisp texture on the outside and cloud-like texture inside. I’d love to share my photo with you. BTW did I say that I am not a chocolate lover...until now!
Daisyq
Correction...not added 1/2 c coconut flour...I added 2 Tbs coconut flour
Adrian
Hi baked this today for Valentines, turned out pretty good but not as fudgy as expected. I did notice that when I took the cake out of the oven there was a lot of butter floating on the top that did soak back into the cake and also a lot of butter on the baking sheet (the cake tin is new, only the second time used) wondering if I over cooked it or something, cake ended up a little grainy - what do you think? Im not a very experienced baker and I have a tabletop oven which i don’t believe is the temp it says on the dial - if you get what I mean?!?!
Katrin
Hi Adrian, it's possible that your oven temperature was too high - ovens can be temperamental. I think it may be the chocolate that has seized and separated into cacao butter and cocoa, rather than the butter. Make sure you melt the chocolate slowly before incorporating it and, in your case, try setting your oven temperature a bit lower next time.
Adrian
Will do thanks, I did melt the chocolate fairly slowly in a bowl over a hot pan of water.
I had another thought how cool does the chocolate/butter mix need to be before adding to the egg mixture? I believe mine may of been quite hot still - I was getting impatient haha
Katrin
Warm would be best 🙂
Melissa
Would coconut flour be a 1:1 substitute? We are nut free, but can do coconut. I’d love to try this! I just want to make sure I can simply sub the coconut flour for the almond flour.
Katrin
If you use coconut flour instead of almond flour, you have to halve the amount. Coconut flour is more absorbent than almond flour, that's why you need less.