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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
Anita
0Do you think I can use Splenda instead of erythritol?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Anita, Yes, you can. Just use slightly scant measurements since Splenda is a little sweeter than erythritol. For the frosting, you may want to run it through a food processor to powder it more.
Amy
0Does this need to be kept refrigerated?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Amy, Yes, it’s best to refrigerate it, especially due to the frosting. It’s fine at room temperature for a few hours but beyond that, put it in the fridge.
Melinda
0I have made this cake twice and it turns out great. I do not make 3 layers, instead I pour the whole mixture into my 9-in springform pan and cook for 50 minutes. It’s easy to add extra flavor to like pumpkin spice or chai.
Dolly
0How much pumpkin spice do you add?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Melinda! Adding pumpkin or chai spice to this would be amazing!
Brittany
0Do you still cook it on the same temp, but just for 50 min?
Debbie L
0Thank you so much,this cake was so delicious. I took it to my grandsons birthday party yesterday and both my daughter-in-law and son were amazed at the flavor. This is my go to cake from now on.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Debbie! That’s awesome that everyone enjoyed it!
Denisse
0This looks yummy. Thank you for sharing. I’m going to a party on Saturday and I’m bringing my own cake! Lol
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Denisse! I hope everyone likes it!
Amy Berryman
0I would like to try this in a sheet cake pan – like a sheet cake . Would I need to adjust the recipe at all? And if so how much? Thanks. It looks delicious.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Amy, I haven’t tried this as a sheet cake but the recipe would be the same. You may need to adjust the baking time, though, depending on the size of your pan / thickness of the batter. If your pan is large, it’s a good idea to reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and increase the baking time.
Roxi
0Nadine, any update on this? I’m not a baker at all so couldn’t begin to “guestimate” ratio of wet vs dry to add, but did you try this? Thanks!
Cyndi Bryant
0I have to weigh my food out. Can you tell me how many oz or grams 1 serving is?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Cyndi, Unfortunately I don’t have the serving size by weight. If you wanted to weigh the whole cake, a serving would be 1/24 of that.
Michelle
0Hi Maya! I am so thankful for your site! My birthday is tomorrow and I just made your birthday cake – except with a new baking mix called Pamela’s Nut Flour blend. It is Almond flour, Coconut flour, flax, Pecan, and Walnut. For some reason Almond flour recipes make me feel awful after I eat them, so I’m hoping this one doesn’t do that. I had to use a little more almond milk since there is probably more coconut flour and I used 1-1/4 cups Erythritol. For the icing, I used 1 stick of butter, 3 bricks of cream cheese (24 oz), 1 cup of erythritol, and three tablespoons milk. It is perfect! Thanks so much for all your recipes!
Chelsea
0Michelle, did you use The Pamela nut flour for both coconut and almond and just use the exact measurements from the recipe?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Michelle! I’ve been wanting to try that flour blend. Good to know that it worked for this recipe!
Debbie
0How long did you bake as cupcakes Lindsey Lee?
Lindsey Lee
0Thank you so much. Today was my birthday and I made this into cupcakes and made a chocolate buttercream frosting with erythritol. They were so good. Glad I was able to celebrate my birthday and stay low carb!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Lindsey! Happy birthday!! I’m glad you liked the cake and good to know it worked as cupcakes. The chocolate frosting with sounds delicious, too!
Pilan
0I tried your strawberry lemon. It’s to die for just plain too.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Pilan! So glad you liked them both!
Pilan
0Hi, I’ve decided to make a 2 tier cake with strawberry cream filling. I will sent you a picture when I make the cake next week
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Pilan! That sounds awesome – looking forward to seeing the picture! I actually just posted a strawberry lemonade cake recipe that was somewhat based on this one, too.
Laura Guadamuz
0I’m just curious if you could make this without the springform pan, I just have two rounds and if so what would be the baking time??
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Laura, Yes, you can! The springform pan just makes it easier to get it out, so make sure to grease well if using regular pans. The baking time should be about the same if you have 9″ pans; it will be longer if you have an 8″ pans. (The baking time is mostly affected by the thickness.) Just bake until the top is golden and spring-y.
Nadine
0Could you make this chocolate by adding cocoa powder? If so, how much do you think you’d need?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Nadine, I think you could, but I haven’t tested it to determine the amount. Since adding cocoa powder would be adding a dry ingredient, you’d need to compensate by adding more of the wet ingredients as well. It’s on my list to do some testing for a gluten-free chocolate cake like this.
Nicole
0I’m confused. The cake ingredients say to use erythritol, but the cake instructions talk about powdered erythritol. Would you please clarify?
Thank you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Nicole, Sorry about the confusion. The cake uses granulated erythritol and the frosting uses powdered. I fixed the discrepancy in the cake instructions. Thanks for asking!
Jami F.
0This looks amazing!! Have you ever tried making it in cupcakes?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Jami! I haven’t tried that yet, but I think it should work. You’d probably need to reduce the baking time.
Dora
0Is it 1 1/2 tbsp of baking powder in the cake, or is it 1 1/2 tsp?
Dolly
0I misread this as well, and used tsp but mine still turned out with decent texture, if a little dense. Was not crazy about the flavor of the cake by itself- definitely not very sweet, but with frosting (I used a LC buttercream) it was fair enough.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Dora, It’s 1 1/2 tablespoons. The flours in the cake are pretty dense, so I found that quite a bit of baking powder was needed to help it rise.
Kristen Taylor
0Sounds delicious! (And very clever with the pecans!)… How many servings would you say this is to get it down to 2 net carbs each? (I’m thinking quite a few… maybe 16?)
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Kristen! The recipe is 24 servings, 2 net carbs each. These are narrow slices, but the cake tastes very rich and satisfying.
reddingmountain
0I made this cake for my husband’s birthday. It is not a very sweet cake but he enjoyed it! I did add unsweetened coconut between each layer sprinkled on the cream cheese frosting and finally topped with coconut. We pressed pecans into the sides of the assembled cake. You can see a picture of mine on my blog at redaredding.com Thanks for sharing a great alternative.