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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
Kate
0Just made this cake for my T1 Diabetic daughter. It is so, so, good!! Tastes great and is light and fluffy, just like a real cake. I did make it into muffins though which worked just as well. Thanks for sharing this fabulous recipe.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you and your daughter liked the cake, Kate!
Vicki
0Is it really 8 eggs?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Vicki, Yes, it’s 8 eggs.
Emily Luckower
0Did you level off the top of the cake layers?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Emily, Yes, level the top.
Jenny
0Can I use coconut milk and all coconut flour? I am allergic to nuts.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jenny, You can use coconut milk beverage (the liquid from a carton, not the thick kind from a can). You can’t use all coconut flour, but you can try swapping the almond flour with sunflower seed meal. The color and flavor will be different, but should still work. Coconut flour alone definitely will not – sorry.
Wholesome Yum A
0Is this cake supposed to turn out pretty dense? I just made it and I cooked it a little longer than suggested because it didn’t firm up until around 25 minutes for each layer.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Amanda, The time can vary depending on your oven and pan. It usually comes out a medium density, but maybe a bit denser than some other cakes. Check your baking powder if it’s super dense – this needs it to be very fresh.
Michele Sellers
0How did you cut this cake into 24 servings??? I can’t imagine being able to cut it into 24ths.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Michelle, It’s super rich, so I found that a little goes a long way. I just cut it into 8th’s and cut each of those into 3 thin slices. We had a lot of people at the party when I made this, so I needed to cut it into a lot of slices, but then discovered that one slice was actually quite satisfying. You could probably also cut it into 6×4 squares, but they wouldn’t all be the same unless you make the cake square instead of round.
Michele Sellers
0Thank you for letting me know how you did that. I’m still not sure I could do it but I guess I won’t know until I try. 🙂
Jessica
0Hi! I’m thinking about doing this cake for my brother’s birthday. My step mom avoids gluten and dairy products and my sister and I are following the keto diet. However, my husband is intolerant to almonds! Lol A Little bit complicated to satisfy everyone without having to bake 2-3 different cakes. Could I use another type of vegetable milk instead of almond (rice, coconut?) and another flour to replace almond flour? If I use only coconut flour, will it be the same consistency? Thanks a lot!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jessica, Happy upcoming birthday to your brother! That is a challenge. It’s doable, but I’m not sure if it would work with this recipe. You’d need to make a lot of changes, which I haven’t tested, so can’t say if it would work. But if you want to attempt it, here are the things you can try:
Good luck!
joanne
0I have made this cake twice and both times it turned out to be moist and delicious. We ate it plain without icing and with whipped bream and berries. Everyone loved it!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy to hear that, Joanne! Whipped cream and berries make the perfect additions!
Jenn
0Hey! I made this on Monday for my own birthday! I added raspberry flavoring and fresh raspberries to the middle and it came out great! Everyone who tried it liked it, and my daughter even bragged to one of her co-workers about it, and ended up bringing in a slice to work this morning! Thank you very much for the recipe!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked it, Jenn! Happy birthday!
Feryl
0Could you please let us know the amount for each ingredient?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Feryl, Yes, the amounts are on the recipe card above.
Jeremy
0Just made this, subbed buttermilk for the almond milk and put strawberries in between the layers. It is shockingly good! Bravo on this recipe, it’s really outstanding! Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked the cake, Jeremy! Thank you!
Sandra Vandevelde
0Do I have to use coconut flour? Why?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Sandra, Yes, the combination of flours is needed for the right texture and ratio with other ingredients.
Shelli Eastman
0Does this have any carbs at all? My brother is a type one diabetic and I want to make this for his birthday but we have to count carbs.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Shelli, The nutrition info is on the recipe card. One serving has 2g net carbs.
Leslie
0Made this cake tonight as a “practice” for a good friends 60th birthday party. It’s so yummy, I can’t wait to share it next weekend! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked it, Leslie! Thank you for stopping by!
Edith Colwell
0I just found out i have pancreatitis. My birthday passed without any celebrating, so I found this recipe. I’m still in the hospital but when I get home I’m going to make this and make me a party.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hope you feel better, Edith! Enjoy the cake and happy belated birthday.
Candice Barrow
0I made this cake but the cake didn’t rise as much as your photos, any idea what could have gone wrong? Also, the dough was more like a cookie dough than a normal cake dough. I’m wondering if I put too much almond flour and if that could have affected the rise and the texture. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Candice, Low carb baked goods don’t rise as much as regular wheat ones, but it should be similar to the pictures. It’s hard to say what went wrong without being in the kitchen with you, but I’d like to help if I can. Did you add more almond flour than the recipe called for? If so, that would definitely be the cause. Otherwise, another common culprit is the baking powder – make sure it’s very fresh. Finally, mix the batter well to create air which helps it rise. Hope you liked it otherwise.
Pooja
0This cake is awesome…it turned out better than the many cakes I have made with traditional ingredients. It is fluffy, moist, not sickeningly sweet and utterly delicious. I was truly blown away. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked the cake! Please come back again soon!
Kathy
0Are the measurements the same for erythritol (which I could not find) and monk fruit the same….1 cup??
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Kathy, No, it’s not the same. The amount depends on the brand of monk fruit as they are typically a blend. Check my sweetener conversion chart.
Lori
0Made this today for my sister’s bday. Everyone loved it! Incredibly delicious and unbelievable it’s just 2 net carbs. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’m saving this one!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Lori! Happy birthday to your sister!
Sara
0Hi.. After reading all the great reviews I am making this for my own birthday.. Do I have to make 3 layers or can I do it in 2?
Sara Chwatt
0I made it in 2 & it was great!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Happy birthday, Sara! You can do 2 layers, but you’d likely need to bake for longer.