Keto German Chocolate Cake

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This sugar-free keto German chocolate cake is a stunner, with three layers of rich chocolate cake and classic coconut pecan filling. While it’s made with keto-friendly ingredients, this cake could fool anyone. Add it to your list of keto dessert recipes to try!

Unlike my popular keto chocolate cake recipe made with cocoa powder and sugar-free chocolate frosting, this one gets its chocolate flavor from my favorite ChocZero Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips and has a coconut pecan frosting. The result is less dark, but makes up for it with richness. I use these chocolate chips for dozens of keto chocolate desserts, because they check all the boxes: low in carbs, natural ingredients, soy-free, no aftertaste, and absolutely delicious.

Get Choczero Chocolate Chips For This Recipe

What Is German Chocolate Cake?

German chocolate cake, which actually originated in the U.S. by a man named Samuel German, is a chocolate layered cake with coconut pecan frosting [*]. Unlike most regular chocolate cake recipes, German chocolate cake uses actual baking chocolate instead of cocoa powder. The “frosting” is a custard, made with condensed or evaporated milk, shredded coconut, and pecans.

As you might guess, this dessert is not normally keto friendly, but it can be with this keto German chocolate cake recipe!

Why You’ll Love This Keto German Chocolate Cake Recipe

• Light and fluffy cake with rich chocolate flavor
• Sweet, caramelized coconut pecan filling
• Tastes like the real thing!
• Easy to prep components ahead
• Keto, low carb, and gluten-free
• Less than 4 grams sugar per slice

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here I explain the best ingredients for easy keto German chocolate cake, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

For The Chocolate Cake:

• ChocZero Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips – These sugar-free dark chocolate chips are my favorite… and you would never know they are sugar-free! I also tested the cake using their milk chocolate chips, which is delicious if you like milder chocolate flavor.
• Butter – Use unsalted butter. Coconut oil is fine to substitute if you like, but you’ll also need dairy for the filling and substituting there won’t work as well.
• Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – This keto sweetener is what I use in all my cake recipes, because it makes them super moist and won’t crystallize. Plain allulose is fine to use instead, but you’ll need 33% more. If you want to use something else, check my sweetener conversion info here. But, be aware that the result with most other sugar substitutes, including erythritol and most brands of monk fruit or stevia, will be more dry.
• Eggs – Use whole, large eggs. Flax eggs may work as a substitute, but I haven’t tested to confirm.
• Vanilla Extract – For flavor.
• Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour – This super-fine almond flour ensures the best texture in your keto-friendly German chocolate cake (many brands are too coarse or inconsistent). Unfortunately, coconut flour won’t work as a substitute here, and making this cake nut-free is not realistic since pecans are also a key component. If you need nut-free options, browse my nut-free keto recipes here.
• Baking Powder – I like this non-GMO brand.
• Sea Salt – Balances out the sweetness.

For The Coconut Pecan Filling:

• Keto Sweetened Condensed Milk – Gives the filling luscious flavor and thickens it. Just be aware that this doesn’t exist in stores, so don’t go looking for it there. Simply make this sugar-free condensed milk recipe instead (using butter, heavy cream, and Besti Powdered), then use it for your cake filling.
• Butter – Again, unsalted.
• Besti Brown Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – My low carb brown sugar substitute; I haven’t found anything else that comes close in terms of flavor, moisture, and sweetness. More importantly, unlike other brown sugar substitutes, Besti Brown will dissolve completely, so your filling will be smooth. If you can’t get your hands on it, it’s best to opt for a powdered sweetener, but you’ll lose that brown sugar flavor.
• Egg Yolks – Yolks only, no whites for this part. (You can use the leftover whites to make keto bread, coconut macaroons, or sugar-free angel food cake.)
• Vanilla Extract – Same one used for the cake.
• Shredded Coconut – Make sure it’s unsweetened coconut, like this brand.
• Pecans – We’re using chopped pecans for the filling and whole pecan halves for the topping, so I just buy halves and chop what I need for the filling.

How To Make Keto German Chocolate Cake

This section shows how to make German chocolate keto cake with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

1. Melt chocolate. Use a double boiler or microwave to melt the chocolate chips.

2. Cream butter and Besti. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream butter and Besti together until it is light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

4. Add chocolate. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla.
5. Add dry ingredients. Beat in almond flour, baking powder, and sea salt.

6. Bake. Divide the cake batter into 3 prepared pans (line them with parchment paper and grease the sides), smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick comes clean. Cool completely before flipping to release.

7. Make sugar-free sweetened condensed milk. (Use the link for instructions.)
8. Add butter and brown sweetener. Whisk butter and Besti Brown into the condensed milk, until smooth. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
9. Temper egg yolks. Add the egg yolks and whisk until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
10. Cool. Let the mixture cool for at least 10 minutes (this is important to avoid separation later).
11. Add nuts and coconut. Stir in shredded coconut and pecans. Let the frosting cool completely.

12. Assemble. Place one layer of cake onto cake stand and top with part of the coconut pecan filling. Top with second layer of cake and filling. Repeat with third layer and remaining filling.
13. Garnish. At this point, you can leave the cake as-is, but I like to dot the perimeter with pecan halves, sprinkle more chopped pecans and shredded coconut over the center, and finish with a drizzle of melted chocolate.

Tips For The Best Sugar-Free German Chocolate Cake

• Use the right ingredients. I selected the flours, sweeteners, and chocolate used in this recipe to achieve the richest, moistest result. Some substitution options are outlined in the ingredients section above, but the result may be worse.
• Use room-temperature ingredients. This helps the batter mix and rise better, and prevents the butter from solidifying when adding the eggs.
• Rotate the cake pans if needed. If you bake all three pans at the same time, rotate them on the racks for even cooking, and make sure that they all have the same amount of batter.
• Use a large saute pan for the filling. A medium saucepan will take a long time to make condensed milk, and the larger surface area of a saute pan will make the process go much faster.
• Cooling the filling is crucial. Allowing the caramel mixture to cool before adding the nuts and coconut will ensure that the frosting doesn’t separate. (Trust me, I learned the hard way during testing!)
• Also cool before assembly. Let the cake and filling cool completely before you start to assemble. This ensures that the cake won’t tear or get soggy.
• Use a cake stand. It’s not required, but makes assembly much easier.

Storage Instructions

• Store: Cover the cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
• Freeze: You can freeze this sugar-free German chocolate cake recipe by wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap and storing in freezer for 2-3 months.
• Thaw: Let the cake come to room temperature on the counter, or thaw in the fridge overnight.

More Keto Cake Recipes

If you like this keto German chocolate cake recipe, you might also like some of these other keto cakes:

Keto Lemon Cake

Keto Red Velvet Cake

Keto Birthday Cake

Keto Chocolate Cake

Recipe Card

4.78 from 31 votes

Keto German Chocolate Cake

By Maya Krampf

This beautiful, sugar-free keto German chocolate cake recipe tastes as good as it looks! Made with simple ingredients, it's hard to guess that this is low carb.

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 15 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Servings: 16 (adjust to scale recipe)

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Ingredients

[ See substitutions ]

U.S. – Metric

Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.

Chocolate Cake:

• 7 oz ChocZero Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips (1 bag) ▢
• 3/4 cup Unsalted butter (softened) ▢
• 1 1/2 cups Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend ▢
• 6 large Eggs (at room temperature) ▢
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract ▢
• 3 cups Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour ▢
• 1 tbsp Baking powder ▢
• 1/4 tsp Sea salt ▢

Coconut Pecan Filling:

• 1 recipe Sugar-Free Sweetened Condensed Milk (1 1/2 cups) ▢
• 3/4 cup Unsalted butter ▢
• 1/4 cup Besti Brown Monk Fruit Allulose Blend ▢
• 6 large Egg yolks (at room temperature) ▢
• 1/2 tbsp Vanilla extract ▢
• 2 cups Unsweetened shredded coconut ▢
• 1 1/2 cups Pecans (chopped) ▢

Instructions

[ See step photos • See my tips ]

Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.

Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Line 3 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease the inner sides.

2. In a medium bowl in the microwave, or a double boiler on the stove, melt the chocolate chips. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to cream the butter and Besti together for 2-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.

4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.

5. Beat in the melted chocolate and vanilla extract, until smooth.

6. Beat in the almond flour, baking powder, and sea salt, until smooth.

7. Divide dough among the 3 prepared pans, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the top springs back and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

8. Cool the cake layers completely in the pans, then run a knife along the sides and flip to release.

Coconut Pecan Filling:

1. In a large saute pan, make the sugar-free sweetened condensed milk according to the instructions here.

2. Add the butter and Besti Brown. Cook for 1-2 minutes over low heat, whisking frequently, until smooth.

3. Whisk in the egg yolks. Cook for about 5 minutes over low heat, whisking frequently, until it starts to thicken.

4. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

5. Stir in shredded coconut and pecans. Let the frosting cool completely (it will thicken more as it cools).

Assembly:

1. Place one layer of cake onto a cake stand or platter. Top with about 1/3 of the coconut pecan filling.

2. Place the second layer of cake on top. Top with another 1/3 of the filling.

3. Place the third layer of cake on top. Top with the remaining 1/3 of the filling. If desired, garnish with more coconut and pecans, and/or a drizzle of melted chocolate.

Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!

Maya’s Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 slice, or 1/16 entire cake

(Serving size might sound small, but it’s a big, tall cake that’s very rich and filling.)

Nutrition Facts

Amounts per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 637

Fat 63.3g

Protein 10.5g

Total Carbs 17.2g

Net Carbs 6g

Fiber 11.2g

Sugar 2.9g

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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