Keto Cake
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My keto birthday cake recipe is light, fluffy, and perfectly moist. With a gorgeous crumb and creamy frosting, it’s the perfect dessert for any occasion! 2 grams of net carbs.
I have a short list of cake recipes that I can whip up at a moment’s notice, and my classic keto cake recipe is one of them. With the same delicate crumb and sweet vanilla flavor as regular ol’ birthday cake, it’s my go-to whenever I need a dependable low carb dessert that does not feel like a compromise- I promise!
Why I love this keto cake recipe
- The perfect texture. I need my cakes to be moist, fluffy, and with a creamy frosting, and this keto cake ticks all the boxes. Many keto cakes can turn out gritty or taste metallic, but not this one!
- Multiple frosting options. I’m a weirdo who prefers vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, but I also tested a few traditional frosting options for you.
- Nobody guesses it’s keto. I’ve made this cake for a few parties where just one person was following a low carb diet, but everyone came back for seconds of the cake- it really does taste like the real thing.
- Naturally gluten-free. No flour or grains are needed.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients and Notes
- Almond flour and coconut flour. I use a mix of almond and coconut flours to achieve a moist, fluffy texture, which is difficult to achieve with just one flour. With the almond flour, opt for blanched almond flour, which prevents the cake from being gritty or sinking in the middle.
- Butter. I recommend unsalted butter, because I like to add the salt myself, as some brands can be a little inconsistent. Coconut oil can work, but the texture will be a little more ‘bready’ than ‘cakey’.
- Allulose. I recommend using allulose over other keto sweeteners because it dissolves like white sugar and doesn’t leave the cake with a gritty texture or a metallic aftertaste.
- Eggs. Room-temperature eggs work best, as they don’t firm up the butter when added. I usually just remove them from the fridge about 10 minutes before I start baking.
- Milk. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk works, and water can also be used in a pinch.
- Baking powder, salt, and vanilla.
Keto frosting options
There are plenty of ways to customize the keto birthday cake with different frostings. Here are some of my favorite keto frosting recipes:
- Keto cream cheese frosting. Beat together softened cream cheese, keto powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a splash of milk.
- Cashew cream cheese frosting. Boil cashews for 5 minutes, then strain and blend with keto powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. I recommend cooking it for about 15 minutes to thicken.
- Whipped coconut cream. Beat together canned coconut cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
- Chocolate frosting. My favorite (and I’m in the minority here). Beat together softened butter, keto powdered sugar, vanilla, cocoa powder, and milk.
How to make a keto birthday cake
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line two 8-inch pans with parchment paper.
Step 2- Mix the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
Step 3- Make the cake batter. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until fully combined. Add the milk and vanilla and combine. Fold in the dry ingredients and beat until creamy.
Step 4- Bake. Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
Step 5- Cool and frost. Once cool, frost the cakes with your favorite frosting.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Don’t overmix the batter. Like a regular cake, overmixing the batter affects how fluffy and moist it turns out.
- Line the cake pans with parchment paper. These cakes a little fragile, and I find doing this guarantees the cakes release cleanly and makes cleanup much easier. A springform pan also works well.
- Don’t overbake the cakes. The tops should be lightly golden and spring back when touched. Remember, the cakes continue cooking as they cool down.
- Let the cakes cool completely before frosting. I’ve made the mistake of rushing this step before, and the frosting slid right off. A fully cooled cake is much easier to frost and decorate.
- Can I make this without eggs? I tried this cake without eggs, using an egg substitute. The texture was not super moist or fluffy but quite dense. If you don’t mind that texture, use a pre-formulated egg substitute (like Ener-G egg replacer) verus chia/or flax eggs.
Keto Cake (Vanilla Cake)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour 150g
- 1/2 cup coconut flour 56g
- 2 teaspoon baking powder 8g
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter unsalted, 170g
- 1 cup allulose 200g
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 serving keto vanilla frosting 240g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line two 8-inch pans with parchment/baking paper and set aside. You can also use greased sprinform pans.
- In a mixing bowl, add your almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder and salt and mix well. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream your butter and allulose until fluffy, around 8 minutes. Add the eggs in, one at a time, and beat well until fully incorporated. Add the milk and vanilla extract until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat until creamy.
- Divide the batter evenly amongst the two cake pans, and smoothen out the tops. Bake for around 22-25 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
- Once cool, frost the cakes with your favorite vanilla frosting.
I made this for a family reunion and this cake won them over to the Paleo side. I used 1/4 less butter. I added to it a 1/4 cup of homemade date/fig jam with coconut sugar. I have to make for thanksgiving…
Oh wow, I love that alternatives 🙂
This cake was just what I needed! I have gestational diabetes and needed cake for my birthday. I used a monk fruit/ Erythritol mix for the sweetener. It turned out great. I used sugar free chocolate pudding as frosting!
Love to hear that, Lindsey!!
Can I just use regular sugar if I can’t get allulose or monk fruit?
Yes, of course!
This is my favorite keto cake recipe that I make for all my birthday and celebration events. It consistently turns out moist and fluffy and not the least bit keto tasting.
Love to hear that, Chanel- I’m so glad this is the cake you make for those special occasions 🙂
I was just wondering if my butter should be cold (right from the fridge) or room temperature? Same question, regarding the eggs… Thanks! Can’t wait to make this… 😉😋
Hey Kate, yep, room temp butter and eggs for this recipe. Helps everything blend and bake more evenly 🙂
I have made this multiple times and I love it. I don’t use coconut flour, but I add the additional almond flour needed.
Abby
Did your cake come out moist not using coconut flour? Or does coconut flour make it moist
Thank you
Cathy
The batter was very thick, not runny like cakes I have made before. The finished product was heavy and greasy, like 3/4 c. Butter was too much.
Hi Janet- sorry to hear it didn’t work out well for you. The batter won’t be runny like other cakes, as it doesn’t use regular flour, sugar etc. I tested this cake multiple times to make sure the propotions were right, including the butter. Did you switch anything out or change anything? I’d love to troubleshoot for you 🙂
What size cake pans? BTW, I tried a couple of your recipes and they were all great!!
8-inch cake pans 🙂
The taste of the cake was really good. I choose to make a 13″x9″ instead of two 8″ rounds. I used monk fruit sweetener and 2% milk. Other than that I used the exact ingredients. My cake turned out really moist but crumbly. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Any thoughts?
Hi Donna- I think it’s the monk fruit brand you are using. I try not to recommend monk fruit for my keto desserts as there’s so much variance depending on the brand. I like allulose because it dissolves like sugar and is consistent every time. Do you have any on hand?
Great recipe that I made for strawberry shortcake (1/2 ingredients to make one layer). Wonderful result that will be my go to recipe for our family. Much appreciated!
Tripled this recipe to make my MIL’s 60th birthday cake and she loved it! One half vanilla, one half coffee flavoured. Non-keto guests enjoyed it too. It’s always going to be dense and quite delicate compared to a wheat flour based cake but this is definitely one of the best keto cake recipes I’ve tried.
Can you use honey instead of the allulose?
Will it turn out okay and keep the same texture?
Hi Tracey- it stick with the specific ingredients I recommend in this cake, as even one ingredient change can affect how it bakes etc.
I made this cake, the first time, for my brother, who is on a keto diet. He loved it. I frosted it with a monk fruit sweetened whipped cream and topped it with fresh blueberries. It was so good! I have made it several times since then and am getting ready to make it again for a friend. Great recipe!
That’s so wonderful to hear Tammy! Thanks so much for sharing. Your brother is a lucky man! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I made this cake for a keto friends birthday whose party included mostly non keto pals. None could pick the difference. A real keeper of a recipe
Seams thick
Can i use all almond flour? How will that affect the results?
No Erika, I wouldn’t recommend that. I developed this cake specifically with the ingredients listed, and swapping one out for something else will affect how it turns out. If you want an almond flour cake, you can make either my classic almond flour cake or almond flour chocolate cake.
Mine was, too. Probably differences in flour volume to weight. Because of this, it didn’t auto-level on the top and I wish I put another circle of parchment paper on top to make it even!
Hello Arman. I am a huge fan of all your recipes since we started the keto diet. Your recipes are always a hit in every event. Having said that, I need a very special recipe for an anti inflammatory diet and thought you could help. I need to make a GF cake for my son’s birthday. He is dairy, soy,sugar, and Gluten free, Can I substitute the almond for cassava flour and can the allulose be substituted for monk sugar?
Hi Maybel- thank you for your lovely comment. I haven’t tried this with cassava flour, but it will work with sunflower seed flour. Monk fruit sweetener should work, but it may have a cooling aftertaste. Let me know how you go!
Looks great and I’d Love to bake it but you have no weights in grams or oz. Cups aren’t precise enough when it comes to baking. Then there’s different cup sizes depending on country. May I suggest you start adding weight to your ingredients and I will come back! Cheers
Hi Cam! I am slowly adding metric measurements to all our recipes, and will have this one done shortly!
I baked it in a larger round cake pan..baked it and sliced it in half, put vanilla pudding in between the layers then put chocolate ganash on top using heavy cream and sugar free chocolate chips….boston cream pie…everyone loved it.