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!
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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!
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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.
Skye
Hi Katrin, I'm really keen to give this cake a try. I plan to make it for my sister who loves chocolate but has trouble with dairy, gluten and sugar. I was wondering if you could suggest a couple of substitutes for the butter that you think would still work in the recipe? Thanks
Katrin
Normally, coconut oil is a good replacement for butter. Maybe you could use a mix of coconut oil and a little coconut cream.
Skye
Thanks for your quick reply. I'll let you know how I go. Can't wait to make it
Daisy
I just tried to bake this cake. Added a dash of orange extract and used 1 cup of stevia instead (not sure if this is correct or whether it is going to be too sweet, as didn’t taste it!)
I have taken about 40-45mins to bake and mixture was bubbling on the edges. There seems to be oil on the edges durinv bubbling.When I move the pan, the mixture seems wobbly but when i feel the top it is firm, so I have removed it from the oven to cool. Hope it goes well. Smells fantastic though.
Katrin
As long as your top is baked, the cake should be fine!Just make sure you wait with the cutting until it has cool down
Greta
I love the recipe, I reproduced it twice, the first time I used erythrithol and it was amazing, however the second time I run out of it and used another anonymous sweetener that gave the cake a terrible chemical taste, as if I put too much, despite the amount was the same I had used previously.
Any suggestions on how to save the cake? Like to reduce the taste of sweetener... I really don't want to throw it away, but it's literally hard to swallow.
Katrin
Hi, maybe the new sweetener has a 2:1 sweetness ratio compared to sugar? I’ve done that before using a granulated stevia sweetener which was twice as sweet as sugar and totally ruined a cake. Then there are brands which have, like you say, a very fake, chemical taste. Not sure if you can save a cake like that... unless you use it as sprinkles over another (better tasting) cake 🙂
Ann
I can’t find unsweetened chocolate, can I use cocoa powder instead
Katrin
You could, but not the same amount. You'd have to experiment a bit - it would be definitely less. Chocolate is cacao butter (=fat) and cocoa, so you'd use less fat. You may also want to increase the butter content. I think it's probably easier to use a 90% dark chocolate with this recipe it you can't find unsweetened. Otherwise, I have a recipe for chocolate cupcakes on the blog that uses cocoa powder. You can make that as a cake, too.
Ann
Thanks for the helpful info. I found some in Sainsbury’s their own make which says ‘no added sugar’ contains Naturally occurring sugar. I am on a Keto diet, so I hope it is Keto friendly! It says carbs 34.3, sugars1.2g per 100g
I’m going to give it a go, just hope it doesn’t use up too many of my daily carbs!!
Katrin
I like to use the Lindt chocolate. It's available at sainsburys and they have a 85% and a 90% cocoa solids variety. The 90% Lindt is very low in sugars, too. It only has 14 carbs per 100g, of which are 7 grams sugar.
Anne Hughes
For Ann - Sainsbury's sell their own 85% taste the difference chocolate and you get 125g with 5 individual bars inside. As do Aldi. Both are quite nice. The Sainsbury's one values are (per 100g) 16.8g carb/10.4g sugar compared to Lindt 14g carb/7g sugar. I think the Aldi one is pretty similar, certainly not enough difference to matter in a recipe. Whilst I prefer Lindt - who wouldn't! - I'd rather save a bit of money for recipes and use Lindt to make chocolates. I will say my very sweet toothed diabetic hubby will eat both 85% bars without added sweetener but not the Lindt which means I can chop them up and add to keto pancakes or keto muffins and he's well happy. A lot of products that claim no added sugar can be much higher in sugars than those with a little added in. Some sugar alcohols that are used in products aimed at diabetics cause similar sugar spikes than actual sugar or glucose, as will natural fruit sugars etc. I also buy Callebaut cocoa mass buttons but it needs added cocoa butter really as it is very thick when melted. I buy those because I like eating them from the bag as they are and they last me a very long time, but I don't have a sweet tooth! Those are super low in carbs/sugar.
Katrin - your recipes are awesome. I keep meaning to leave reviews on them all. Everything I've tried we have loved, my husband thinks you are a genius! My latest was the Naan recipe which I braved finally because I'm coming to like coconut and getting braver with the flour. I added garlic powder, small amount of cumin seeds and more black onion seeds (simply because I love them) because I knew I'd need extra help with the coconut flour! I split it into 8 and used a tortilla press to make mini naans. My oven isn't brill so took bit longer to cook but well worth it, they were amazing. I froze half and took them out yesterday to roll out for wraps with Moroccan shredded beef. The dough handles amazingly well after freezing and I cooked them in a schoville never stick pan. They make incredible wraps too and I'll be using this recipe for my wraps in future! I've copied this so I can leave a review on the naans whilst I'm here.
Katrin
Ann, I think it's safe to say that you've just made my day! I"m so happy you like the website and the recipe. And thank you for trying them all out yourself. 🙂
Hannah Buell
Can I substitute the almond flour for coconut flour?
Katrin
You could, but make sure to use only half the amount as coconut flour absorbs more liquid
Nathan Kiely
Mines cooking for 30 minutes so far - still a little wobbly in the middle. I’m Cooking for another 10 minutes to see how we go. The mix was perfect and dusty when I put it in the tin. Everything crossed. The batter tasted phenomenal!
Katrin
Let me know how it turned out and if you can give it five stars after all 😉
Alison
Great recipe! I used powdered stevia instead of the powdered erythritol (only needed just under one teaspoon) and it worked fine, no issue with consistency etc.
Delicious, easy to make. Will definitely make again!
Katrin
Thanks for your comment and letting us know your recipe tweak!
Sofie
Hi, I followed the recipe to the mark, but after over 30 minutes in the oven at 175°C, it's not even close to finished. The sides are sort of boiling, I don't understand what went wrong, please help.
Katrin
Hi Sofie, this is curious. Did you use all the ingredients mentioned in the recipe? Is it firm to the touch on top? If not, I'd leave it in a bit longer. But don't turn up the temperature further (unless your oven is known to be temperamental) - almond flour goods burn easily.
Ana
Hi. I have just finished making the cake. I let it stay in the oven after 30 minutes though I turned off the oven already as the middle didn't feel quite firm enough. I have left it sitting on the bench for about 30-45 minutes. It's still warm when I decided to release from the pan and I saw the cake separate!!! I freaked out and immediately put the *lock* of the pan back. I do hope when it cools down completely it comes out as a whole circle cake as I made it for hubby's 35th tomorrow! I will come back to report later.
Katrin
Yes, definitely wait until the cake is completely cold. To be sure, put in the fridge. Then you should have no problem with releasing it from the cake tin
Amy
Currently cutting out all sugars and artificial sweetners and have limited ingrediants in my cupboard. Would stevia be a okay substitute for erytrithol?
Thanks!
Katrin
Yes, you could definitely give it a go with stevia 🙂 Do check when using granulated stevia that it is a 1:1 replacement for sugar. Some brands are twice as sweet as sugar.
Abbey White
I am in the process of making this.
My mixture is very airy and not fudgy like the video.
Can I add anything to improve the thickness?
Katrin
Hi Abbey, sorry I'm seeing this so late. How did the cake turn out for you?