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Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowEver 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
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)
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!
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.
Keto Cake:
Cream Cheese Frosting:
Instructions
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 Like It?
Leave a rating to help other readers (this also helps me continue to provide free recipes on my site), or get the recipe sent to your inbox.
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
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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:
674 Comments
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.
Ana
0This cake has been an absolute success amongst all my friends – low carb followers or not.
I divide the batter in 2 only and bake for about 28 min. It’s a nice height, I believe divided in 3 will be too shallow. Also I use whipping cream instead of almond milk.
Just finished baking once again – this time for the birthday of a non-low carb friend (his request!).
Dee
0To be dairy free, can I eliminate the cream cheese for the frosting, but keep the rest of the ingredients? We are allergic.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Dee, You can sub coconut oil for the butter listed in the recipe to make it dairy-free, that would work fine. The frosting would need to be changed a bit in order for it work without the cream cheese. I suggest substituting with dairy-free cream cheese to save on the amount of powdered sweetener you would need to use.
Ana
0Delicious! I divided the recipe by 4 and baked on a 7in pan for 21 min (18 was not enough). It came out perfect, tasty and moist. It was devoured at once by 2 adults and 2 children!
Thanks for another great the recipe!
N. Insley
0Can this recipe be baked in a 9×11 baking pan instead of a springform pan?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Yes, you can do that but the baking time might be different.
Terry
0I am always wary of trying Keto/GF dessert recipes because, sadly, there are usually awful! Even when there are a lot of comments, many people rate before they even trying the recipe. I tried this recipe today. It was easy and it came out great! I cut it in half, baked it at once (One tier) ,and added five minutes to the baking time. I will be keeping this recipe! Thank you so much!
Veronica
0Great recipe! The only issue I had (and it’s not your issue but mine), is that I have a strong dislike for coconut and the coconut flour overwhelmed the flavor of the cake. Second time around I substituted lupin flour and it still came out perfectly, with full vanilla flavor.
Tammy Badeaux
0Our entire office is now Keto – Made this for a group of gentlemen, it was devoured in minutes!
Loved how easy it was. And not a huge amount of ingredients. I used two 9″ round pounds and it worked perfectly.
AGV
0I loved this recipe, any way you could help out in making it a bit more moist mine came out a bit on the dry side. Other than that tastes great.
Jennifer Oldfield
0Do you HAVE TO use coconut flour or can you use all almond flour?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Jennifer, Yes, you can use almond flour. Increase the amount of almond flour to 4 cups and omit the coconut flour. Enjoy!
Zaida Jimenez
0I’m planning on halving batter for two 6 inch pans. Would 27 minutes at 350 be a good bake time, or longer/shorter?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Zaida, Your cake rounds will take less time to bake. I would start checking for doneness around the 18-minute mark.
Eva
0Love it.
Will make it again for 100%. Did with few changes, but the most of it is from your recipe. Didn’t have just Erythritol- so, used xylitol and Monk fruit. I added choco in 2/3. So it’s layered choco- vanila- choco.. and Instead of crerm cheese i used ricotta cheese. ( Don’t like salt and sourness of cream cheese).
Covered with chocolate
Thank you
Linda Wootton
0I was teaching my granddaughter how to bake a cake without using sugar. It was my trial run in order to make the cake for my girlfriend on her birthday. Everything went so good and then it didn’t rise so I started looking at the recipe and realized I didn’t add baking powder. We went ahead and frosted think it would be like a cookie however I was moist and really good!!! Great recipe next time I’ll use the baking powder. 🙂
Jackie
0I only bought powdered erythritol – can I use it in the cake recipe?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Jackie, Yes that will work just fine!
Jodi Grow
0Thank you for this wonderful recipe! It was delicious and guilt free. My entire family loved it.
Valerie Rankin
0I am one of those ‘very special people’ that cannot tolerate erythritol (Or isomalt, malitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and especially xylitol). Do you think xantham gum + a little monk fruit would give me lift I need? All I want is a birthday cake 🙂 ..As a diabetic I’m glad I found your page. tks
Wholesome Yum A
0Hi Valerie, have you tried allulose? It might work better for you. You’ll need a lot less, so xanthan gum and monk fruit might be useful to add too. Check my sweetener conversion calculator to get an exact measurement.
Claire
0If I substitute Truvia for erythritol, how much more of each flour should I add?
Thank you!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Clarie, If using the granular form of Truvia there should be no additional modifications needed.
Patty Bernateau
0My mom is an insulin dependent diabetic and a cancer patient. We are so glad to have her another year and I was so happy to make this as her birthday cake. We loved it, used swerve granulated for the cake and swerve confectioners for the frosting and it came out delicious and moist. I’d love to share pics if I can!
Talia
0Do you cover the decorated cake and store in the fridge or can you leave it uncovered? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Talia, I would store it covered in the fridge if possible.
Lisa Marie
0I just made this and put it in a 9 x 13 pan. Modifications: added a bit of salt, about 10 drops of French Vanilla stevia, and half a bag of Lily’s chocolate chips. (Didn’t use the frosting. Didn’t need it!) Cooking time increased to about 30-35 minutes. PERFECT cake! Very moist and makes a ton! I ended up with 16 good-sized pieces. : )
Thanks for this recipe base!
Rosanna Kobayashi
0Just wondering would it be alright to use all almond flour or is the coconut flour needed?
If I use all almond then do I not need as many eggs?
Wholesome Yum A
0Hi Rosanna, I don’t recommend exchanging almond and coconut flours — you’ll need the combination of both to get a cake-like consistency.
Jolanta
0Do you think I can make this into a sheet cake?
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Jolanta, you should be able to do that. Monitor closely for doneness and tent it with foil if it looks too brown.
Gary
0Odd – the recipe states “For this particular sugar-free cake recipe (and most baking), I recommend either monk fruit sweetener or erythritol.”, but your response seem to indicate that monk fruit sweetener isn’t going to work? I was just about to ask if you used granulated or powdered in the cake mix itself, as I have both (I use Lakanto).
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Gary, monk fruit on its own will not work. Brands like Lakanto blend both monk fruit and erythritol to create a 1:1 sugar substitute. You can definitely substitute Lakanto here, but check the linked conversion chart in my comment above first for the exact amount.
Sara
0I want to use monk fruit instead of erythritol since that is made from corn (severe corn allergy here). Would I use the same amount in the cake (not the icing)?? Thanks!
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Sara, the monk fruit conversion wouldn’t work here. The next best choice would be birch xylitol (check labels to make sure it’s not corn-derived). Use my sweetener conversion calculator to get the correct measurement.
Shailya
0Looks yummy, cant wait to try for my daughter’s birthday!
Can I just make one layer cake by diving the recipe ingredients by 3?
Wholesome Yum
0Yes you can!
Gail Loud
0This sounds good…would I be able to use a 9X13 pan for a sheet cake?
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Gail, you should be able to do that. Monitor closely for doneness and tent it with foil if it looks too brown.
Alisha
0Hi! How can I make this a chocolate cake?
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Alisha, I haven’t tried doing that, but you could probably mix 4-5 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the batter. Let me know if it works for you!
Dalma
0What can we use instead of butter if we want to make it dairy free? Coconut oil? How much?
Many thanks
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Dalma, you can use the same quantity of coconut oil.
Sasha
0Hi Maya, thank you for another wonderful recipe. I don’t expect you to remember but some years ago you helped me figure out the whole sweetener conversion thing even though I’m in the UK.
I made this last week as I’d made a friend’s full carb, sugar, gluten cake & I wanted one for myself that fits into my way of eating. It is delicious, my husband, who loves cake & says the way I cook makes weight loss easy, loves it too.
It’s my birthday on 26 July, so I’m making this again for me ☺
I was quite lazy and just put all the ingredients in the bowl at once-still fabulous. Thank you again xxx
PS thank you for the metric conversion option, it makes this UK baker’s life so much easier
Shana
0In have a coconut allergy in my home. Can we just not use coconut flour or what would you recommend?
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Shana, unfortunately you need both flours for this recipe. The cake won’t turn out with just one.
Joy
0This is amazingly quick and delicious. With a Grandson with celiac and a Husband with Type 2 I was beginning to think cardboard was my only option. I added fresh blueberries and baked it in a bundt pan. It does need extra time, but so worth the wait. Now they want me to buy a doughnut pan so they can have morning doughnuts . I think you have created dessert monsters and I can not thank you enough. Just a quick note, we live off the grid and you can mix it by hand and still have it turn out :^)
Keshia
0This looks like the perfect cake for my daughter’s birthday. I already have a blueberry icing I’m going to make, so I wanted a simple vanilla cake to go with it. I’m also having a small wedding reception later this year and want to make my own cake, so this looks perfect.
My question though is how will the time change if I used a 8in pan instead of 9in? I want to make a taller cake, but will it be too dense for that? Would I need rods to keep it together?
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Keshia, you’d probably just need to bake it longer and use a toothpick to check for doneness. If the top gets too brown, you can simply tent some foil over it.
Laura
0THANK YOU for giving me faith in keto baking. I consider myself good in the kitchen, so when my first keto cake failed nearly a year ago (despite doing everything right and the great reviews the recipe had), I felt discouraged. Instead, I opted for buying things already made. This cake came out great! I tried a bit of it before frosting it and cannot wait for my Mom to try it today, her birthday. I halved the amount of cream cheese and added 1.5 cups of heavy cream instead, along with some red color to make it pink and thinly sliced inside strawberries to cover it and fill it. Also, it was so big that I saved a layer to share! I even had enough icing for that layer too, which I cut in half to make it a half cake. I cannot wait to try other recipes from your blog now that I feel confident they will be great! Thank you!
Wholesome Yum L
0Hi Laura, thank you so much for the kind words and great feedback. I hope your mother has a Happy Birthday and enjoys her cake.