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My keto red velvet cake recipe features a light and fluffy cake that’s enveloped in rich, cream cheese frosting. It’s vibrant, flavorful, and wildly impressive! 2 grams of net carbs.
Need more keto cake recipes? You’ll love my keto chocolate cake, keto bundt cake, and keto strawberry cake!
Nothing is quite as impressive as a red velvet cake. Except, perhaps, a sugar free red velvet cake recipe!
For this recipe, I kept the hallmarks of red velvet cake: its vibrant color, subtle flavor, and rich cream cheese frosting. The biggest difference? I used gluten-free flour and cut out the sugar. According to my friends, you can’t even tell!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Perfect for a special occasion. It’s great for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, or when you want a dessert that’s a bit out of the ordinary.
- Diet-friendly. It’s gluten-free and can easily be made dairy-free if you use dairy-free frosting.
- The best texture. It’s soft and moist, with the perfect crumb, and the creamy frosting adds a nice contrast.
Ingredients needed
- Almond flour. You must use blanched almond flour, not almond meal. It helps keep the cake moist and light without being gritty.
- Baking powder. Helps the cake rise.
- Salt. Just a pinch to bring out the sweetness of the cake.
- Eggs. Use room temperature eggs so they mix smoothly, and you won’t have to overmix the cake batter.
- Granulated sweetener. My go-to sweeteners are allulose or monk fruit. Both have the taste and texture of real sugar. I’m personally not a fan of stevia and its aftertaste.
- Vanilla extract. A must for any good cake.
- Coconut oil. Melted and cooled coconut oil. Use refined coconut oil to ensure there is no coconut flavor.
- Red food coloring. A must for red velvet. I used an all-natural food coloring.
- Butter extract. Optional, but it gives a more authentic red velvet flavor.
- Cream cheese frosting. A classic red velvet cake MUST have a keto cream cheese frosting.
How to make keto red velvet 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 and grease a cake pan.
Step 2- Mix. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a second large bowl, combine the wet ingredients, including the food coloring. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until smooth.
Step 3- Bake. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. Let it cool completely.
Step 4- Frost. Once the cake is cooled, frost as desired.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Save time. Use a stand mixer for the cake batter and the frosting.
- Don’t overbake the cake. It’ll continue to cook as it cools, so pull it from the oven once that toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting it. So the frosting doesn’t slide off.
- Don’t expect the cake to rise too much since it’s grain-free.
Variations
- Make a tiered cake. Double or triple the ingredients and add frosting between each cake layer.
- Add chocolate. For a more ‘typical’ red velvet flavor, add 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder.
Storage instructions
To store: Keep the leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To freeze: Place cake slices in a freezer bag and freeze for 6 months.
Frequently asked questions
I wouldn’t recommend using coconut flour, as this recipe calls specifically for almond flour. If you’d rather use coconut flour, make my coconut flour cake with keto substitutes and add red food coloring.
More impressive low carb desserts
- Keto creme brulee
- Keto German chocolate cake
- Keto carrot cake
- Keto eton mess
- Or any of my keto desserts
Keto Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs room temperature * See notes
- 1/2 cup allulose or monk fruit sweetener
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon butter extract optional
- 1-2 drops red food coloring
- 1 cup cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together your eggs, allulose, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and butter extract until combined. Add your red food coloring.
- Gently fold through your dry ingredients into the wet and mix until combined. Transfer the batter into the greased cake pan and bake for 25-27 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean from the center.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool completely, before frosting.
Is there chocolate in this cake batter?