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How I Made This Keto Chocolate Cake So Decadent
I first served this keto chocolate cake for my daughter’s 5th birthday, except I used my keto peanut butter mousse as the frosting. While that tasted great and was a big hit, I re-tested it more recently with keto chocolate frosting, and liked it even more. But honestly, it’s the almond flour chocolate cake itself and not the frosting that makes it such a winner. Here’s why:
- Rich, chocolaty, and super moist – This cake is ultra decadent, moist, and sweet, with a deep chocolate flavor and silky chocolate frosting. I think it’s plenty of cocoa powder combined with Besti and sour cream that makes it so rich. I recommend this one if you’re a big chocolate fan, otherwise it might be too intense and you might prefer my vanilla keto cake instead.
- Easy to make – The batter comes together in one bowl, without any special equipment. You can make the frosting while it bakes, or prep it in advance.
- Low carb and gluten free – It’s hard to believe this is a grain free, sugar free chocolate cake, because it doesn’t taste like it! You’d never guess it has just 4.6 grams net carbs per slice.
If you need a perfect low carb dessert recipe for a birthday or other celebration, this keto chocolate cake is perfect. Grab a bag of Besti and make it with me!
“This really was the best keto chocolate cake (and I have tried a lot!!) It was moist, tender crumb, chocolatey and easier to make than I thought it would be. Making this again for sure!”
-Claire
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my keto chocolate cake recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour – This one is super fine for the best texture. (I use it for keto brownies and almond flour cake, too!) Many other brands are more coarse and can make your cake grainy. I don’t recommend using coconut flour, as it’s too dry. You may be able to use sunflower seed meal as a 1:1 replacement for the almond flour, but the color, texture, and flavor of the cake will be somewhat different.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This is the key to an ultra moist almond flour chocolate cake! For those of you that complained your result was dry, the sweetener was likely the reason. Besti locks in moisture and leaves the cake moist, while other sugar substitutes such as erythritol and most other brands of monk fruit or stevia will leave it dry. If you still want to substitute, use the sweetener conversion calculator to find out the right amount.
- Cocoa Powder – I recommend Dutch processed cocoa powder like this, which is less bitter than other types and has no added sugar.
- Butter – Make sure it’s at room temperature, so that it creams nicely. I used grass-fed salted butter for convenience, but you could also use unsalted and add 3/8 teaspoon of salt to the batter. If you want your keto chocolate cake dairy-free, replace the butter with coconut oil (same amount). For that version, I prefer butter-flavored coconut oil to get that buttery flavor.
- Eggs – If you need an egg-free option, you can try an egg substitute.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk – You can substitute other types of keto milk here if you like.
- Sour Cream – Adds richness and moisture. If you need a dairy free option, replace the sour cream with 3/4 cup full-fat coconut cream + 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar.
- Baking Powder – I like this non-GMO brand. Make sure it’s fresh, and don’t confuse it with baking soda, which is not the same and will leave an aftertaste when combined with these ingredients.
- Vanilla Extract – This one is my favorite.
- Frosting – I like to frost my keto chocolate cake with my sugar-free chocolate frosting, though you could also use keto cream cheese frosting or keto buttercream frosting. With any of these, I highly recommend using Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend, because it dissolves completely and doesn’t leave a gritty texture.
Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowHow To Make Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Cream the butter and Besti. In a large mixing bowl, use a a hand mixer (I have this one and love the built-in storage for the attachments) to beat together the butter and Besti, until fluffy.
- Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then almond milk, sour cream, and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients. Beat in the almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder, until smooth.
- Transfer. Divide the batter among two springform pans or cake pans lined with parchment paper. (I made a 2 layer cake, but you could use 3 pans instead for a 3 layer cake, and just reduce the baking time.)
- Bake. The cake layers are done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in the pans, then run a knife along the edges and flip to release.
- Make the frosting. I recommend my keto chocolate frosting recipe here, but mentioned other options in the ingredients section above.
- Frost the cake. Place one layer of keto chocolate cake onto a cake stand or platter. Frost the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top and frost the top. Finally, frost the sides. See my tips below for more frosting tips. Feel free to decorate your almond flour chocolate cake with more frosting (not my strong suit!), sugar-free sprinkles, or fresh berries like I did!
My Recipe Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. Cold butter won’t cream properly, and cold eggs will solidify the butter. If I forget to set out the butter, I fill a stainless steel bowl with boiling water. After a few minutes, empty, dry, and place upside down over the butter on a plate to soften fast. If I forget to let the eggs come to room temp, I place them in a bowl of warm water.
- Rotate and swap the locations of the pans halfway through baking. This helps the cake layers bake more evenly, since different sides of most ovens tend to run hotter than others. At least that’s the case with mine!
- Double the frosting amount if you want to decorate the top. For a two-tier keto chocolate cake, I use 3/4 cup of frosting between layers, 1 1/4 cups on top, and 1 1/2 cups for the sides — about 3 1/2 cups total. You’ll need more if you want extra for decorations. I skipped this and topped my cake with berries instead.
- I recommend an icing spatula and cake stand to help apply the frosting more easily. The spatula reduces sticking and I find the shape easier to work with than a regular one. The cake stand helps because I rotate it as I frost.
- I recommend cutting the cake into narrow slices. It’s very rich and decadent, so you need less than you might think to be satisfied.
Keto Chocolate Cake
By
My BEST keto chocolate cake! This almond flour chocolate cake is ultra rich, moist, and chocolaty, but so easy to make in one bowl.
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line the bottom of 2 9" round springform pans with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, beat together the allulose and butter with a hand mixer, until fluffy.
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Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the almond milk, sour cream, and vanilla.
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Beat in the almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder, until the batter is smooth.
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Divide the batter among the prepared pans, and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake the almond flour chocolate cake layers for 25-35 minutes, until the top springs back and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely, then run a knife along the edges and flip to release.
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Make the keto chocolate frosting here. Before you begin, adjust the amount on the recipe card to 28 servings — this will make the 3 1/2 cups you need for this cake.
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Place one layer of keto chocolate cake onto a cake stand or platter. Using an icing spatula, frost the top with 3/4 cup (96g) frosting. Place the second layer on top and frost the top with another 3/4 cup (96g) frosting. Finally, frost the sides with 1 1/2 cups (192g) frosting.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 narrow slice, or 1/24 cake (it’s VERY rich!)
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you get the best texture, make decorating easier, and more.
- Storage: Keep this keto chocolate cake in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. You can serve it cold, but I prefer to let it come to room temperature, as the frosting texture is better that way.
- Freeze: This cake keeps well in the freezer for 3-4 months. You can freeze cake layers separately (wrap well), or freeze the whole frosted cake (freeze solid first, then wrap).
- Thaw: You can do this in the fridge overnight (8+ hours) or at room temp which is a little faster. Leave the plastic on for unfrosted cake, otherwise unwrap if it’s frosted because the wrapping will stick to the frosting once it thaws.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Try More Of My Recipes
© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead.
Keto Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
More Keto Chocolate Cake Recipes
If you like this decadent cake, you’ll probably like some of my other keto chocolate cake recipes:
For other flavors beyond chocolate, try my classic keto cheesecake, French almond flour cake, or Mexican-inspired keto tres leches.
131 Comments
Amy M.
1Super moist and delicious! I have stopped using my own mixture of monkfruit and allulose as a sweetener when the recipe calls for Besti Monkfruit Allulose Blend. I now have it on subscribe and save for any wholesomeyum recipes.
I made these today using my heart silicone pan. I then sliced them in half and filled them with SF Cherry jam and some of the frosting. Yummy Blackforest heart cakes! (see Instagram post)
Deborah
1I made this last night for my husband’s birthday – it was beyond delicious! I was wondering if it could be baked in a bundt pan?
Jass
0Hi would it work with a low carb flour instead of almond?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jass, What kind of flour are you referring to? Almond flour is low carb.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m glad you liked it, Deborah! I haven’t tried making this one in a bundt pan. It would probably work, but not sure what changes might be needed to the cook time, temperature, or total amount of batter. I do have a keto chocolate bundt cake recipe if you want to try one that has been tested already.
Claire
1Your title says it all! This really was the best keto chocolate cake (and I have tried a lot!!) It was moist, tender crumb, chocolatey and easier to make than I thought it would be. Making this again for sure!
jlightfritz
1This is my go to chocolate cake recipe! The only change I make – I add espresso powder to enhance the flavor of the chocolate ❤️
Wendy Miller
1I wanted to make a keto birthday cake for my daughter who is diabetic and thought it best to try one out before her birthday, just to make sure it worked out. It was AMAZING! My other daughters said that you couldn’t tell it was keto as it tasted like an excellent non-keto bakery cake. So now it will be a regular item for this chocaholic. Problem is that it tastes so good I still feel guilty eating it! I’l just have to get over that.
Keva Sherman
0This actually came out very nice. The taste came out better I day 2 and 3.
Wholesome Yum D
0So glad you enjoyed it, Keva! I love it when the flavors get even better after a day or two. Thanks for sharing!
Laurie
0Hi! I made your sex in a pan for a dinner party we went to and it was a hit! I am interested in making this chocolate cake for my husband’s birthday where we both need to watch our sugars but I don’t have cake pans. Do I need to get cake pans or is there a different pan I can use to make the two layers? Thank you! Laurie
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m happy you liked the sugar free dessert, Laurie! You could make this keto chocolate cake in a 9×13 pan, then cut in half crosswise and stack the layers for a square-ish cake. The baking time might be a little different. Let me know how it goes if you try this!
Holli
0Maya, if I cut this recipe in half would it make 2–6 inch cakes? I’m a little confused how to make this recipe for 1–6 inch cake or two.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Holli, Yes, that’s exactly right! Half of the recipe will make two 6-inch layers, which you can stack to make one two-layer 6-inch cake. Set the recipe card to 12 servings and divide the batter evenly between two 6-inch pans. For just one single 6-inch layer, you’d need 1/4 of the recipe, but that requires 1 1/2 eggs, so it’s easier to make 2 layers (half the recipe). I haven’t tested this pan size, so start checking around 25 minutes and bake until the top springs back and a toothpick comes out clean. Hope this helps. Please let me know how your cakes turn out!
Nadine
0For the frosting, I added cocoa powder and a little more cream to Maya’s cream cheese frosting recipe. The result was dark chocolate decadence! I made this cake for my father’s birthday, and it was a big hit! Even those who aren’t sugar-free said it was very good. Be careful not to overbake, I used a 9×13 pan and my first attempt was too dry. The second time I baked for less time (about 35 min) and took the cake out of the oven as soon as the toothpick came out mostly clean. I highly recommend this recipe.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much for sharing, Nadine! I’m so glad this keto chocolate cake with a big hit with your family, and happy birthday to your dad!
Sarah
0Has anyone ever made this with regular flour instead of almond flour? Thanks! It looks great but my father likes regular flour.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Sarah, No, I haven’t done that for this recipe. If you need a keto cake, white flour would not be keto friendly.
Sarah
0I made this cake for my brother's birthday. He requested a very chocolatey, low-carb cake. This recipe was nearly perfect. Nice texture and flavor. Next time, though, I would add a little more Besti to the batter and the frosting. Still, it was a nice cake for the occasion.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you for the feedback, Sarah! Yes, feel free to add some extra Besti next time if you prefer it sweeter. Happy birthday to your brother!
Holli
0Hi Maya, is this your favorite chocolate cake recipe? Can I substitute Hershey’s dark cocoa instead of dutch processed cocoa? Will it make much difference? Thank you for your recipes and videos!
Sandi Garfinkel
0I have a question. Can I use olive oil instead of butter?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Sandi, You can try but I don’t recommend it because the texture will be different. Let me kno whow it goes if you decide to go for it!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Holly, Yes, I love this one, as well as my other healthy chocolate cake and flourless chocolate cake. You can substitute dark cocoa, it’ll just taste more intense. Please let me know how it turns out!
Priya
0Hi Maya, could I use heavy cream instead of almond milk? If so, do I need to dilute the heavy cream?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Priya, Yes, you can, and yes, I would recommend diluting it. Make sure the diluted amount you use is the same volume as the almond milk you’re replacing. Please let me know how it turns out!
NancyP
0Our Christmas dinner dessert, this chocolate cake was amazing. I am not a talented baker so this was a revelation! I did not have dutch processed cocoa powder, used unsweetened cocoa powder, and to adjust for this change I added two extra tablespoons of sweetener, 1 tsp of espresso powder, an extra 1/8tsp of salt, and an extra 1/4 tsp of baking soda. Otherwise, no change. I did use a chocolate cream cheese frosting. To lower the net carb I added 1 additional tablespoon of butter, and 1 tablespoon of ground psyllium husk, and replaced the almond milk with heavy cream. The adjustments resulted in about slightly over 1 net carb per 1/12 of the cake (9 inch pans with time adjusted down for larger pans, by 5 minutes.) It worked, … lovely texture, deep but not bitter flavor, … an indulgence without increased carbs, and now my go too chocolate cake. Yesterday I made your Almond Cake for a family birthday, no changes to the recipe on the first run, and it too was delicious and a keeper. May tweak next time to see if I can lower the net carbs. Thank you for your excellent keto collection of reliably wonderful recipes!!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m so glad you liked both the chocolate cake and almond cake, Nancy! Thank you for sharing your variation. Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season, and a happy family birthday celebration!
Michelle
0Works for cupcakes, right? Same temperature and bake time change?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Michelle, You probably could, yes. The baking time would be different, though. You can also just make my sugar free chocolate cupcakes!
Michelle
0They turned out great as cupcakes even without the frosting, very moist. I did not keep tabs on the baking time, just cooked until they firmed up. 👍
Your sugar free cupcakes are nice, thank you.
Bob
0Question but first info. As a new keto baker we have had trouble using chocolate. Recent attempts at frostings (not yours) using both Hershey’s cocoa powder and Ghiradelli’s Dutched turned out very intense and bitter to the point of throwing them away. We’ve found solutions to our frosting issues, but I guess I am a bit gun shy on trying a keto chocolate cake. We have always been happy with regular boxed chocolate cake mixes in the past, but maybe we just don’t like a strong chocolate taste?
My question is: Should I approach this recipe with the thought of reducing the cocoa content by say 25-50% or am I worrying about something that would not apply to a cake mix?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Bob, It’s hard for me to predict your specific preferences, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had a box mix, but I would describe this keto chocolate cake as very chocolaty but not bitter. I definitely wouldn’t decrease the cocoa by so much as 25-50%, but you could try 10-20% if you want a more mild chocolate flavor. (You might need to add a little extra almond flour to keep the right batter consistency.) For most readers it has been the right amount of chocolaty as written. Please let me know how it goes and what you think if you try my recipe!
Janet
0I made this cake for myself for Mother’s Day. While I did like it, I thought it was a little drier than I expected. But I think that is due to the fact that I am new to using almond flour. In the future may add a little water, or unsweetened applesauce to see if that makes it moister.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m glad you liked it, Janet! It doesn’t turn out dry for me. Did you by chance use a different sweetener? Other than that, another possible reason it could be dry is baking it for a bit too long.
Cathy Stevenson
0The recipe indicates that the cake can be stored for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator but is best room temperature. So does the cake have to be refrigerated? And does it only last 3-4 days? Thank you.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Cathy, Yes, the cake can be stored for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, I don’t recommend keeping longer than 4 days.
Lynn
0Hi there, I’m hoping for some help… I’m making this cake today for my husband’s birthday. I used all the ingredients /brands listed and followed all of the directions. Perhaps the eggs weren’t all the way to room temperature but very close. The sweetener is not dissolving so the batter is gritty. I’m hoping to fix this before I put it in the oven. Or is the batter supposed to be that way? I’m using a KitchenAid stand mixer and it’s been going for maybe 8 to 10 minutes. Any suggestions?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Lynn, This is normal just like real sugar, the sweetener won’t fully dissolved until the cake is baked.
Carolyn
0Made the keto chocolate cake with almond flour to mirror a store bakery made (non-keto) cake for those at a surprise party that are opting for keto/sugar-free. I followed the recipe but doubled for a two layer 8″ square cake. I used all allulose not the monk fruit/allulose blend. Filled and frosted with the Wholesome Yum buttercream frosting. Added a filing of sugar free strawberry preserves. Very moist and well received. Keto baked goods often dry but the sour cream was the key. I also keep a stash of unfrosted cupcakes in the freezer as a periodic treat for my husband.