This easy keto apple cake is going to wow your guests and it's so healthy you could eat it for breakfast. It has a moist, fluffy crumb studded with apple pieces and it's topped with a sugar free cinnamon streusel layer. A keto coffee cake perfect for the colder season.
"A keto cake with real apples!" I hear you screamā¦ yes, indeed!
I've tried all the faux low carb apple cake recipes with zucchini and apple cider vinegar over the years. They are okay, but let's be honest, theyāre no real apple cake.
This gluten free, sugar free apple cake is filled with big bursts of flavourful apple pieces in every bite.
Together with my keto apple cider donuts and these keto apple muffins this cake is my favourite autumn treat.
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Ingredients for sugar free apple cake
Of course, this cake is not free of sugars because there's natural sugar in apples. When I say sugar free apple cake, I'm referring to the fact that there's no added sugars in this cake. I'm using gluten free, low carb flours and an erythritol based low carb sweetener instead, which makes this cake very low sugar and suitable for diabetics.
Let's look at the ingredients:
Apples
I used 400 grams (14 ounces) of dessert apples. It doesn't matter which type you choose - Granny Smith, Braeburn, Golden Delicious - they all work.
Only Bramley apples would require more sweetener as they are more tart. If you want to use Bramley, adjust the recipe accordingly.
I recommend peeling the apples. The hard bits from the skin interfere with the cake texture. Although if you like the idea of a VERY rustic cake texture, by all means, leave the skins on.
Sliced one apple to top the cake with and chop the rest - those pieces get mixed into the batter. The apples are mixed with lemon juice to prevent browning and sweetener.
Cake batter and streusel
This is a super easy, tasty batter! Here's what you need:
- Eggs - Should be large and room temperature
- Butter - Use unsalted. I melt it in the microwave, then cool it a few minutes
- Cream cheese
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Almond flour - I use ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you use super-fine almond flour, I would reduce the amount by 2 tablespoons.
- Coconut flour - Works so well in combination with almond flour. Ideally, always measure your low carb flours with digital scales. It's much more precise than cups.
- Sweetener - my go-to is a granulated erythritol monk fruit sweetener blend. Lakanto or SoNourished are good choices. Both white and golden sweeteners (which are brown sugar replacements) would be good in this cake. You could also use allulose or xylitol. When using xylitol, be aware it's toxic to dogs.
- Baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make a keto apple cake
Prepare apples
Slice one apple and dice the rest.
Place them in a mixing bow. Squeeze over a little lemon juice to prevent browning and drain any excess to prevent sogginess. Stir in the sweetener and let the mix sit for 30 minutes to macerate.
Cake batter
In a large bowl using an electric mixer or in a food processor, beat the room temperature eggs until pale, fluffy and double in size. This takes about 2 minutes.
Add the sweetener, butter, cream cheese, almond milk and vanilla extract. Continue beating for another 1 minute.
Mix the almond flour, Ā¼ cup coconut flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Then add to the wet ingredients and blend until you have a smooth batter.
Crumble
Mix all ingredients in a separate bowl using a fork and set aside.
Assembly
Separate the apple slices from the diced apple. Mix the chopped apples through the cake batter and fill the prepared springform cake pan (don't forget to line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the sides first!).
Arrange the apple slices on top in a single layer. Top off with the streusel mix.
Bake in the preheated oven on the middle shelf for 60-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out free of dough.
Let the apple coffee cake cool completely before releasing and removing the springform. Grain free baked goods are very fragile when hot and firm up as they cool.
Recipe tips and substitutions
Don't let it burn: Almond flour cakes brown quicker than cakes made with wheat. Check the cake after 35-40 minutes oven time. If the top of the cake has browned sufficiently, loosely cover it with a piece of aluminium foil to prevent burning.
No coconut flour - To make this keto apple cake without coconut flour, replace it with 3 times the amount of almond flour.
Dairy free - For a dairy free keto apple cake, replace the butter with coconut oil and the cream cheese with coconut cream.
Nut free - Try a blend of sesame flour and sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour.
Using different fruits - This cake would work well with berries, although I would leave the cinnamon out of the cake batter.
Using a different cake pan: You could use a rectangular pan if you prefer and even make a no sugar added cinnamon apple dump cake - where the apple mix is at the bottom, topped by the batter.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, it depends on the amount. Apples contain a fair amount of carbs, that's why you might have heard that "apples are not keto". But
keto is a metabolic state, not a food. And as long as you eat higher carb food in moderation, it can be part of a low carb diet and even a keto diet. This includes apples! I still make my sugar free applesauce every autumn, and we all love these sugar free flapjacks.
This keto apple cake contains 400 grams of dessert apples - about 4 apples. Spread across 12 slices of cake, we're talking Ā¼ apple per portion. This way, you're getting all the apple flavour but at the same time each slice only has 6.5g net carbs.
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.Ā
Serving suggestions
We love serving sugar free apple cake with a simple homemade custard like this one. For a dairy free option, use my keto custard (just keep it on the stove until the mix thickens and coats the back of a spoon - skip the oven part).
Alternatively, serve with a dollop ofĀ keto whipped creamĀ or a scoop of low carb vanilla ice cream.Ā
Related recipes
- Keto Rhubarb Coffee Cake1 Hours 40 Minutes
- Keto Blackberry Cheesecake4 Hours 20 Minutes
- Keto Almond Flour Olive Oil Cake1 Hours
- Sugar Free Carrot Cake1 Hours 5 Minutes
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Recipe
Sugar Free Keto Apple Cake
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
- 400 g / 14 oz apples 4 - 5 apples, 1 sliced, the rest diced
- squeeze of lemon
- Ā¼ cup granulated sweetener 50g, for macerating (soaking)
Cake
- 4 eggs large, room temperature
- Ā½ cup butter 114g, melted, then cooled
- Ā¼ cup cream cheese 60g
- Ā¼ cup almond milk 60 ml
- Ā½ cup granulated sweetener 100g, use up to ā cup if you like a sweeter cake
- 2 cup almond flour 200g
- Ā¼ cup coconut flour 30g
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon or more, to taste
Topping
- Ā¼ cup almond flour 25g
- Ā½ tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 tablespoon granulated sweetener
- Ā½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Prepare apples
- Place the apples in a mixing bowl. Squeeze over a little lemon juice to stop browning. Drain any excess to prevent sogginess. Mix the apples with the sweetener. Let it sit for 30 minutes to macerate. Discard any liquid.
Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350F and line the bottom of a 20 cm / 8 inch round springform with parchment paper. Grease the sides with butter.
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer or in a food processor, beat the room temperature eggs until pale, fluffy and double in size. About 2 minutes.
- Add the sweetener, melted and cooled butter, cream cheese, almond milk and vanilla extract. Continue beating for another 1 minute.
- Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Then add to the wet ingredients and blend until you have a smooth batter.
Crumble
- Mix all ingredients in a separate bowl using a fork.
Assembly
- Separate the apple slices from the diced apple. Mix the chopped apples through the cake batter and fill the springform. Arrange the apple slices on top in a single layer. Top off with the streusel mix.
- Bake in the preheated oven on the middle shelf for 60-65 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out free of dough. Check after 35-40 minutes. If the top of the cake has browned sufficiently, loosely cover it with a piece of aluminium foil to prevent burning.
- Let the cake cool completely before releasing and removing the springform.
Hannah
This was delicious! I substituted homemade Greek yogurt for the cream cheese and I picked it in a 20 cm silicone pan in my halogen air fryer for 60 minutes, and it turned out so super yummy. I didn't bother to remove it from the pan to serve it, but I did sprinkle the top with some powdered erythritol. Just used a fork to lift out pieces and I'm storing the leftovers in the fridge in the original pan just covered with the silicone lid.