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Ever wished for a keto cake that tastes as fabulous as it looks, without all the carbs? With my vanilla low carb cake recipe, you absolutely can! It’s got three moist layers, that classic yellow cake flavor, and creamy cream cheese frosting. Plus, I love that I can make the batter all in one bowl. I think this is the perfect keto birthday cake. Make it with me for your next special occasion!
Why You Need My Keto Cake Recipe
- Moist, fluffy, and sweet – To me, the best keto cake is about the texture, as well as sweetness without any weird aftertaste. So many of them are dry! This one is extremely moist and fluffy, with a light, tender crumb, and a sweet vanilla flavor. What you won’t taste is any bitterness or cooling effect — I can’t stand those!
- Keto friendly and gluten-free, but also family friendly – With only 2 grams of net carbs per slice, this cake fits perfectly into your keto lifestyle without feeling like you’re missing out. But with a large cake like this, I think it’s just as important that you won’t be the only one wanting to eat it. My family and friends happily do!
- Great for any occasion – I first made this recipe as a keto birthday cake, but have since served it for other holidays as well. It’s a great keto dessert for any celebration you have coming up.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my low carb birthday cake recipe recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
Keto Cake:
- Low Carb Flours – I use both my Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour and Wholesome Yum Coconut Flour for this recipe, because the texture turns out so much better than using one of them alone. The almond flour is particularly important because many brands are too coarse and will leave your cake grainy, and in fact this is why I created the Wholesome Yum version. YMMV with other brands! Steer clear of almond meal as well, which is the worst for texture. If you want a cake that uses just one of these flours, browse my other almond flour recipes or coconut flour recipes for other options.
- Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – My go-to sweetener for every low carb cake I make, and there’s a reason. Not only does it taste and bake like sugar, it keeps your cake super moist. I’ve tried so many other sugar substitutes, and the result is much more dry (sometimes even gritty) with most brands. If you still want to use something else, check my sweetener conversion chart to get the right amount.
- Unsalted Butter & Salt – I add salt separately to control the flavor, but feel free to just use salted butter. If you’re dairy-free, coconut oil is a decent stand-in, but keep in mind, it’ll change the flavor and texture a bit. Oh, and you’ll need to find a dairy-free option for the frosting, too!
- Eggs – You need a lot because of the coconut flour. I have a list of egg substitutes here, but with the number of eggs in this keto cake recipe, I don’t think they would would work here.
- Almond Milk – You can use store bought or my homemade almond milk, just make sure it’s unsweetened. You can also swap in other keto-friendly milks, like coconut milk beverage (the liquid kind from a carton, not the thick kind from a can) or watered down heavy cream.
- Vanilla Extract & Baking Powder – I like this brand of vanilla and this non-GMO baking powder.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Cream Cheese – Go for the full-fat stuff if you can; it’s richer and just works better with the keto cake.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Unlike other powdered sugar alternatives, this one dissolves completely (read: no gritty texture!) and is truly as fine as powdered sugar. Others can crystallize, too, so I highly recommend using this one.
- Butter & Vanilla Extract
Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
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Frosting Variations:
Not a fan of cream cheese frosting? You can make my keto buttercream frosting for something more classic, or keto chocolate frosting if you want a contrast to the vanilla. Throw on some sugar free sprinkles for a little extra fun!
How To Make Keto 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. Use a hand mixer to beat them in a large mixing bowl, until fluffy.
- Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the eggs, almond milk, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients. Beat in the almond flour, coconut flour, and baking powder. The batter will be pretty thick — this is normal!
- Bake until golden. Divide the batter among 3 lined cake pans (I prefer springform pans for easy release). You won’t be able to pour it, so just spoon it in and smooth the top. After baking, let your cake layers cool completely.
- Make the frosting. While you wait for the cakes to cool, beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered Besti, and vanilla extract in a large bowl, until smooth.
- Layer, layer, layer. Place one layer on a cake stand or platter and spread frosting on top. Repeat with the other two layers. Finally, frost the top and sides of your keto cake.
- Top with chopped pecans. My cake looked prettier with the nuts on top, and I didn’t have to obsess about making the frosting perfectly smooth. But, if your frosting skills are better than mine, feel free to skip the nuts and decorate the top however you like!
This low carb cake is tall, very rich, and filling, so I usually slice it into very thin slices for serving, but did slightly larger ones for these pictures. Here you can see the texture once you slice into it:
My Recipe Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. Especially the butter, eggs, and almond milk. Your butter won’t cream properly if it’s cold. And if your eggs or milk are cold, they’ll solidify the butter as soon as you add them.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter. Overmixing can make the cake dense instead of light and fluffy, which is definitely not what we’re going for.
- Don’t forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl. I always recommend this, but especially here since we’re making this batter all in one bowl. If you don’t mind extra dishes, you could mix the dry ingredients separately first to reduce the amount of scraping you have to do.
- This keto cake is fragile, so I recommend springform pans. They make getting the layers out so much easier! You can use regular cake pans if that’s what you’ve got, though.
- Don’t have 3 pans? You can definitely make this keto cake recipe in 2 pans instead, or even a larger 9×13 pan for a sheet cake, like a reader asked me recently. (The baking time will vary, so you’ll need to check on it.) I don’t recommend waiting for layers to bake one at a time, though. I used to do this, but the baking powder isn’t effective in the batter sitting that long, so no longer do it.
- Rotate and swap the positions of the pans halfway through baking. Since you’ll have 3 pans in the oven at once, they’ll bake more evenly if you do this. Be quick, so you don’t let too much heat out!
Keto Cake (Very Moist, Easy Recipe)
By
This easy keto cake recipe is so rich, sweet and moist, that no one will guess it's low carb (2g net carbs per slice). Perfect for birthdays!
Ingredients
[ See substitutions ]Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.
Keto Cake:
Cream Cheese Frosting:
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 bottoms of 3 9-inch (23-cm) round springform pans with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the butter and Besti, until fluffy.
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Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the almond milk and vanilla extract.
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Beat in the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt.
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Divide the batter among the 3 prepared pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and springs back.
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Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered Besti, and vanilla extract, until smooth.
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Let the keto cake layers cool separately to room temperature before stacking. Frost between the layers, and all over the top and sides at the end. Top with chopped pecans (optional) if you like.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 slice, or 1/24 of entire recipe
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you avoid dense cake, keep your batter smooth, and options for different types of pans.
- Store or make ahead: You can make the whole keto cake birthday cake in advance and refrigerate until the day-of, or just store any leftovers. Either way, your cake will last up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Freeze: You can freeze this cake for up to 3 months. Place freeze it uncovered on a sheet pan first, uncovered to protect the frosting. Once solid, wrap in several layers of plastic wrap and foil to freeze long-term. Before serving, unwrap the layers and thaw in the fridge overnight.
- Note on nutrition info: The optional pecans are not included in the numbers below.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
Add Your Notes Your Notes
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 Cake
More Keto Cake Recipes
If you like this keto birthday cake, you might also like some of my other low carb cake recipes:
678 Comments
Diana Kugler
0I have a question. Is there any way to reduce the amount of Butter to this recipe to make it a little healthier? Maybe some Apple Sauce? I make my own Apple Sauce with no added sugars. Thoughts?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Diana, This low carb cake recipe is ketogenic, which means high fat and low carbohydrate. Swapping applesauce for butter will increase the carb counts in this recipe, as even unsweetened applesauce has a lot of natural sugar in it. If you are not on the keto diet, and simply looking to bake a gluten-free cake, then you can swap 1/2 cup of butter for applesauce and only use 1/4 cup of butter. I hope this helps.
Diana
0It does help, thank you. We were hoping for a cake that was a little lower in both calories and fat and gluten free. This will be an excellent option for us. Thank you again for the help.
Mbt
0This may not be for everyone; I did not like this cake. Sorry
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Mbt, Sorry you didn’t like the cake. I have several others on the site you may like better. This Keto Chocolate Cake is very good and has more of a traditional cake texture. I hope you find one you enjoy!
Shawna
0This is the first time I have ever made and eaten a keto cake. I used the cream cheese frosting recipe provided. I thought it turned out pretty good for being keto. I love that the cake itself has the perfect sweetness and even with the frosting it’s not overly sweet. I will definitely be making it again and trying the buttercream frosting next time.
LGW
0Great cake! We don’t like frosting so I made this in a Bundt pan and it worked out nicely. It wasn’t quite sweet enough for my husband so the next time, I’ll add more erythritol. I also didn’t have almond milk on hand so I used half and half. I baked the cake in the Bundt for about an hour and 10 minutes at 350° F. It needed the extra time since the cake was thick and dense. Thank you for posting keto recipes!
Shayna
0Hi, I can’t wait to try this but I don’t have almond milk. Can I substitute heavy whipping cream instead?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Shayna, Yes. I recommend mixing 50:50 heavy cream and water for this recipe. Enjoy!
Cynthia
0Is it okay to use regular butter instead of grass-fed butter? Will the recipe still be keto-friendly?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Cynthia, Yes, regular butter will work just fine. It is still a keto-friendly ingredient.
Lou Ellen Bass
0Just made this for my birthday! Loved it!! I used almond extract instead of vanilla & almonds on top instead of pecans. I would like to try again with more coconut flavor next time. Can you make this with less almond flour & more coconut flour? What adjustments would be needed?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lou Ellen, I would not change the flour ratios, it would change the recipe a lot. Instead, you can use coconut milk in place of the almond milk, and use coconut extract to give it additional flavor. If you have shredded coconut, you can sprinkle it on top of the frosted cake!
Cynthia B
0Hi there, I was wondering if I could substitute the cream cheese frosting for a buttercream style frosting? Would it mess up the flavour combination (be too sweet maybe?) or do you think it would be ok? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Cynthia, I think buttercream frosting would be a nice addition to this cake. Please let us know how it turns out!
Maria Koziol
0Wow! Delicious! I made it today and I can’t believe this is a keto cake, taste like heaven!!
I wish I can share a picture of the final product, looks and tastes fantastic!
alexandra
0Hi! can I use stevia instead for the cake?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Alexandra, I would not use liquid stevia in this recipe. If you have baker’s stevia then you may be able to. Check with the manufacturer to verify the level of sweetness for your baker’s stevia. If it is 1:1 with sugar, then you will need to cut the amount down by 1/4 cup.
Casey
0I had the bariatric surgery and can’t have the erythritol and was wondering if i would be able to replace that with stevia, or any other sugar alternative?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Casey, Allulose may be a good option for you. It is actually a rare form of actual sugar, we just can’t metabolize it. You can read more about it here.
Sasha
0Hi Maya,
Lovely recipe as usual.
I use your site a lot as I find your recipes delicious and reliable.
I’m finding it more difficult to access recipes because of all the promotions/pop-ups for example the offer to sign up for emails constantly pops up. It makes things awkward as I’m trying to view the recipe as I cook. Can anything be done?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Sasha, You may be interested in Wholesome Yum Plus, which includes an ad-free version of the website.
Tricia Fisher
0Hi! I was wondering if you could freeze the leftovers?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Tricia, The frosting will weep a bit after defrosting the cake, but it will hold up fairly well to the freezer. Be sure to wrap it well to protect from freezer burn.
Andrea
0Hi, me again! I made these as cupcakes for my class and everyone loved them!! My only concern was that they were very very dense. They were moist, but dense. Is there a way to make them fluffier, maybe more almond milk? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Andrea, I’m so glad everyone loved the cupcakes! My only suggestion is to make sure you are using a high quality blanched almond flour. Anything with the phrases “finely milled” or “superfine” will give the best texture for keto baking.
Andrea
0Trying this out this week, but I want to make cupcakes for class. Would this recipe be enough for 24 cupcakes? And how would I adjust the baking time for that? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Andrea, Yes, this should make 24 cupcakes. Bake time and temp should be about the same.
Andrea Hasnain
0Would this recipe be enough for 24 cupcakes? And how long would I bake that for?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Andrea, This recipe should make enough for 24 cupcakes. Bake time and temp will be roughly the same, but sure to test for doneness.
Rosane Santos
0My cake never cooked in the middle
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Rosane, I’m sorry the cake didn’t turn out as you had expected. Baking times may vary due to the fact that everyone has a different oven. Oven temps are not always consistent and many have hotter or colder spots.
Andrea
0Hey! Can I use granulated sugar in place of the powdered sugar for the icing? Thanks so much!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Andrea, No that will not work. Your icing will be very gritty if you use granulated sweetener.
Andrea
0Hi! Can I use granulated sugar instead of powdered for the icing? Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Andrea, I don’t recommend using a granulated sweetener for icing, because it would be grainy in texture.
Pam
0Hey! I’m so glad to find this recipe. Can I cut the recipe in half ? It’s only my husband and I I don’t want to make a large cake. Will it work?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Pam, Yes, you can absolutely cut the recipe in half. You can bake in one larger cake pan or split into two as the directions say. You’ll just have to keep an eye on the cake as bake times will change slightly depending on what you decide to bake it in.
Briana M Roberts
0Hello, first thank you so much for this recipe. Second, is there a way to make this into two layers instead of 3? What would the measurements be for the ingredients? Thank you!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Briana, There are a couple of ways you could do this. If you still wanted a large enough cake to serve at a party, you could simply divide the cake batter between 2 pans and increase baking time to start checking for doneness around 30 minutes. If you wanted a smaller cake, then I would change the servings from 24 to 12. The recipe amounts will change to exactly half the recipe. Divide that batter into two pans and start checking for doneness around 15 minutes.