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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
brenda
0Cake batter does not go flat while waiting for three baking times??
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Brenda, I recommend baking all 3 layers at once to avoid this issue.
Jane
0It was perfect, I do love much sweeter icing so I added more confectioners sugar and a little cream! Perfect cake!!!! Thank you!!!
Songangel20
0Can you make a roll cake out of this?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0No, sorry this batter won’t work for a roll cake, as it’s too fragile and will break if you try to roll it. Keto cake recipes like this don’t have the gluten of regular ones, so you’d need a recipe specifically designed for rolling, like my keto pumpkin roll.
Carolyn
0Can you make this cake in a 9×13-inch pan instead of 2 round cake pans? I would like also to know if you can bake your other cakes in this size pan?
thank you
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Carolyn, You should be able to do that. Monitor closely for doneness and tent it with foil if it looks too brown.
Ediith
0Is that 32 oz cream cheese….
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Edith, Yes, there is 32oz of cream cheese in this recipe.
Tinisha Dodier
0Real nice pattern and wonderful articles, nothing else we want : D.
Nancy Dearing
0Could this cake be made as one layer in a 9 by 13 baking dish?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Nancy, Yes, definitely! You’ll need to watch the baking time, as it might be different.
Jennifer Sadler
0I do not have spring form pans. Can I use cake round pans?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jennifer, Yes, you can use regular round cake pans. I just prefer springform pans to get the cakes out of the pans more easily.
Lisa
0Am I able to use granulated coconut sugar? No worries about keto or sugar free over here.. thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lisa, Yes, that should work if you aren’t concerned with carbs.
Jen
0Can I make this in one pan (like the keto french almond cake)? Will it bake properly?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Jen, I have not tried this, but you’d need a pretty tall pan and the baking time would take much longer. You’d also risk the top browning too much before the inside is done; lowering the oven temperature may help with this, but then the oven time would be even longer.
Ro
0I do not see the length of time these cake layers are cooked in the recipe that goes to print do you?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Ro, Yes, the baking time is on the recipe card as well as the print version. Please make sure you read the recipe card above to not miss a step. Hope you love this keto cake!
Patty
0This was the last birthday cake I was able to make for my mom. She was diabetic on top of her brain cancer. We enjoyed it with a glass, or two, of rosé. She loved it. Thank you
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0This warms my heart, Patty. I’m so sorry you (and she) had to go through that, but am so honored that this cake had a special place in both your lives.
Lizzie
0Question: Are springform pans necessary?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Lizzie, A springform pan allows you to easily remove the cake from the pan. However, other readers have used regular round cake pans and had success after parchment and butter on the sides of the pan.
Carson
0Just ordered my first bag of Besti! So excited to try! Question- do you think I could sub ghee or coconut oil for the butter in this recipe? Thanks so much!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Carson, Yes, you can replace the butter with an equal amount of coconut oil or ghee.
Janice
0Can this cake be made in a regular cake pan or as a Bundt cake? I don’t own a springform pan.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Janice, Yes. The cake is just easier to remove from a springform pan.
Malorie
0What else can ya use if you don’t have Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Malorie, Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend is the closest thing to sugar I’ve found (and it’s why I created it, I didn’t love the alternatives!), and in particular, it makes the moistest cake. You can get Besti sweetener here. I’ve made this cake with other sweeteners in the past and it’s not as moist. If you have another brand, you can use my keto sweetener guide for conversions, but know that your cake will turn out more dry.
Khristi
0I am allergic to coconut can you substitute it with almond flour or something comparable?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Khristi, No, sorry, you do need both flours for the right texture and moisture in this low carb birthday cake recipe. You can try my almond cake for a keto cake without coconut flour.
Brenda
0This cake has become a favorite for me I had to get used to the almond flour having been raised to eat only white flour; after you put the cream cheese icing, DELICIOUS! I put berries between the layers ( just a few ) delicious. I can now have HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAKE … yeah !!!
Faye Roner
0Best cake EVER! Absolutely making it again!
Scarlett
024 servings??!!? Please be realistic. Impossible to cut this cake into paper thin slices. I know this won’t be published but I hope you will try to be real about servings, not like most of the other products on grocery store shelves.
Cat Olvedo
0Do you have to be an a** about it? She’s being kind enough to share a wonderful recipe and that’s how you react? If you don’t have anything nice to say just don’t say anything. What a miserable ungrateful human piece of garbage you are. Shameless.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Scarlett, Did you actually make the recipe? This cake is very tall and rich, and I do usually slice it very thin when serving. If you prefer to cut the cake into 12 servings, each slice will only have 4 net carbs. Hope you enjoy!
Julia
0I am not very confident when it comes to keto baking but this recipe gave me everything I needed for success. Thank you for sharing this delicious cake!
Christina
0Another great recipe!!! I added a bit extra vanilla extract to both cake batter and cream cheese icing. Came out excellent! 15 min in my oven was enough time. Thanks Maya!