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Flourless Keto Chocolate Cake

Where are all the keto desserts?

The most difficult part about being on the ketogenic diet for a lot of people is not being able to indulge their sweet tooth. While keto recipes are all over the internet, keto desserts are a bit harder to come by. This keto chocolate cake though is all the best parts of dessert with none of the guilt about cheating. It’s rich, dark, intense… almost like a chocolate truffle. And it’s super easy to make, with ingredients you’re bound to have around the house. Welcome to our low carb dessert recipe: the Flourless Chocolate Cake.

 

The need for a keto chocolate cake

Sahil has an inveterate sweet tooth; you’ll find him reaching for something sweet even before the last bite of food has gone down. So when we got on keto, and he couldn’t have his post-meal piece of chocolate or half a cookie, you’d find him sitting in the corner with a hangdog face and sad puppy eyes. Something had to be done.

One of Sahil’s favourite desserts is a flourless chocolate cake. It’s dense and dark, much like a chocolate truffle in cake form. To make it keto friendly, I had to swap regular dark chocolate for Lindt 85%, the darkest I could go without making the cake too bitter. A splash of cream worked to temper the bitterness, but it also added more fat to the recipe, which made for an unstable chocolate mix where the butter, chocolate and yolks would separate. The solution? Mix, mix, mix with an electric beater until the fat and the chocolate emulsified into this thick dark ganache. Fold the egg whites in with the gentlest, gentlest hand. What you will have is a thick chocolate soufflé that rises while baking, then collapses a little bit, giving you a dense but airy keto chocolate cake. Could you ask for a better keto dessert?

You can check out our other Keto Dessert Recipes here for our Keto Chocolate Mug Cake and our Keto Cheesecake.

Cheers & Keep Cooking!

Nutrition Info (Per serving)

  • Calories: 301
  • Net Carbs: 6g
  • Carbs: 8g
  • Fat: 27g
  • Protein: 6g
  • Fiber: 2g

This recipe makes 8 servings.  Get this recipe on myfitnesspal.

Keto Chocolate Cake Flourless Cake

Low Carb Keto Dessert Recipes

A rich and delicious keto chocolate cake. Completely flourless.
3.82 from 350 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine General
Servings 8 Slices

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Butter an 8’ cake tin
  • Break the chocolate into even pieces. Add the butter and microwave in short bursts till the chocolate is melted. You can also do this over a double boiler.
  • Add the cream and Truvia and mix thoroughly.
  • Add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing until just combined.
  • Whisk the egg whites separately with a pinch of salt just until stiff peaks form (careful, do not over beat).
  • Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture in thirds gently until no white streaks remain.
  • Bake at 160 C (325 F) for about 45 minutes or until the rest of the cake is set but the centre just jiggles.
  • Bring to room temperature then chill for at least 4 hours before serving. This also freezes really well.
  • Note: Don't worry if the chocolate mix looks like it's splitting when you add the cream, just continue to whisk it for a few more minutes and it will emulsify into this shiny, rich ganache.

Notes

Tips to Keep in Mind While Making the Keto Chocolate Cake

  • You can use Bakers Chocolate , but do taste and adjust the sweetener accordingly, so your cake doesn’t become too bitter
  • Don’t fret if the butter separates from the chocolate when you add the egg yolks! Use an electric whisk and mix for a good five to seven minutes until it comes together like a thick batter.
  • If you’re really worried about it not emulsifying, just leave out the cream. You can whip it separately and top the cake with it.
  • The keto chocolate cake will rise and deflate a bit after you take it out of the oven; this is perfectly normal.
  • Use a spatula to fold the egg whites in and don’t beat it in with the whisk, as this will deflate the cake.
  • For a chocolate-orange cake, add a bit of unsweetened orange extract or the zest of one orange into the chocolate mix before you fold in the egg whites.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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134 Comments

  1. Hi! Love your videos and chocolate cake! How can I keep the cake from falling completely? It does more than deflate just a little, it ends up looking more like a brownie. Any ideas? I’m new to cooking Keto, thanks for any suggestions!

    1. Hey Becky! So this cake does have a tendency to deflate, depending on how light or heavy a hand you use to fold the eggs in and generally what the temperature difference is like when you take the cake out. What I like to do is turn off the oven 5 minutes before the specified time and then leave it in for another 15 minutes. This way it cools slower so it deflates a little less.

    1. It should be done in about 20-25 minutes. However, my no-fail test is to gently jiggle the cake around the 18 minute mark. If it’s still very jiggly all over, let it go for five more minutes before you jiggle it and again. When it’s almost ready, it’ll be firm around the sides but the centre should still wobble a bit, at which point you can turn the oven off in about a minute. Does that make sense?

  2. Lovely tasting cake. I have made it twice and both times it shrunk a lot but it tastes terrific. Will give it another try next week!

    1. Yes it does shrink quite a lot, it’s a akin to a souffle since it’s just eggs and chocolate. SO much like a souffle it does shrink.

  3. I am looking into this type of eating and previewing recipes. Looking to help with several issues such as lose weight and lower cholesterol and triglycerides and hopefully decrease risk of diabetes. So of course the first ones i check are desserts. Lol. Anyway could Baking powder or soda be added to help with the deflating or shrinking. Thanks u

  4. I fluffed the egg whites and as I was folding them in the batter started coming apart and getting oily. I thought maybe I didn’t whip the eggs whites enough so I carefully poured the “oil” back into my mixing bowl and it never fluffed. Poured it back in, can’t seem to get it to mix. While baking, the liquid seeped thru my spring form and had to put a drip pan under it. Any idea what went wrong? I made this last week with not issues. Only thing I changed was using 100% dark chocolate versus Lily’s chocolate.

    1. My mixture separated but when i added the egg whites in I just kept folding it together and it worked back and baked beautifully. if the oil searates just keepgoing. Great recipe thanks.

    1. So it’s kind of by feel, till the center is not jiggling and depending on your oven this takes anywhere from 30-45 minutes.

  5. Would it be possible to make mini cakes in a muffin tin? I don’t have a springform pan and I feel like mini cakes would be great for easy portion control 🙂

      1. Sahil, I am going to try this Chocolate cake, I brand new to the KETO diet and haven’t tried too many new recipes. Can I use half and half since it’s like a cream? Too COLD to go out today to run to the store and buy whipping cream!!

  6. Hi I had an epic fail this evening. I think it’s b/c I used 100% chocolate….and once i put the cream in it didn’t feel right. It never recovered….in the oven now with a puddle of oil on top…erg….I soooo wanted to make this work. I can’t imagine it will taste good…will find out in about an hour….

  7. Mine also separated and it looked almost granular, 🙁 this happened after i added the eggs, i’m guessing because the eggs where cold?
    Right now in the oven, but I have he sinking feeling it will be a dud

  8. I just started Keto about a week ago, and was craving something sweet so gave this cake a try. It honestly tastes better than a regular chocolate cake. The texture is truly to die for. 5 stars.

  9. I’ve made this cake several times and I love it! Gonna make it tomorrow again! I ran out of almond flour so this is my best chance to eat some keto chocolate desert ??❤

    1. The substitution for a U.S. ounce of baking chocolate is three tablespoons of cocoa powder and one tablespoon butter/coconut oil or fat of your choice. You do not have to use any type of chocolate bar or chips

  10. Feeling like a barefoot keto contessa right now, Sahil! Can’t thank you and your beautiful girlfriend enough for this wonderful recipe! To think I even just whipped the egg whites by hand and only got it to froth stage and not stiff peaks! I’ve been craving something chocolatey lately and this really hits the spot, can’t tell it’s a low carb recipe too. From the bottom of my happy heart, my hips and I thank you!

    1. I calculated the macros for the full cake, cut the cake into 8 slices, divided total macros by 8 to get the macros for each serving. Pretty easy.

  11. Thanks so much for this recipe…Just made this and ate it shortly after it came out of the oven… amazingly moist and delicious!

  12. Worked out very well. Cooked for 45 mins, and it cooked perfectly. Given its richness, a small piece is very satisfying; and filling. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you.

  13. What did I do wrong? Cake ended up never setting. It turned out to be like thick chocolate pudding; no cake texture at all.

  14. I made this cake last night. First of all, I’ll need to try this recipe a couple times. Here are a few things I noticed. Make sure the egg yolks and chocolate mixture are close to the same temp. When I added the egg yolks I got an oily separated layer and the chocolate mix was more dense (the eggs basically came right out of the fridge while the chocolate was melting). I thought it was lost, but simply fired up the double broiler again and returned the bowl for a bit and mixed it back together (using the power mixer I used on the egg white prep). I also think I baked it little long as it was a little dry after it cooled and a little flat. The wife and I really enjoyed it however, and It’s definitely something I’m going to get better at. Great culinary challenge, a little like making hollandaise from scratch. Two thumbs up!

  15. Made these tonight. Another awesome recipe! I used jumbo muffin cups/tin (single servings) and baked for 25 minutes … worked perfectly! Topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cocoa powder!

  16. When I made this for the first time about a month ago, my husband and I had been on the keto diet for about six months. We started out kind of hard core and only occasionally served dessert and when I did, it was fresh fruit. Lovely, but after losing about 10 kilos or so apiece, we were ready for a real treat. This did not disappoint by a LONG shot! I nearly wept… ; )

    This is basically a baked chocolate mousse. It does require you to master the art of folding a base into stiffly beaten egg whites, which, while not rocket science, does require a little practice. If your cake falls or deflates dramatically when cooling, I recommend you watch the video and try again. Use a spatula, FOLD the chocolate-butter base into the egg whites GENTLY, but completely and handle it gently when you bring it out of the oven.

  17. I should have mentioned in my previous note that, to stabilize the beaten eggwhites, I added a 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and cream of tartar to them. Delicious as is, but I add a teaspoon each of vanilla extract and instant espresso to the chocolate mixture before folding into the eggwhites.

    I wonder if there are other ways to use stiffly beaten eggwhites for other cake-like desserts…

  18. I want to make this as a birthday cake so many say it deflates what can you suggest? Make two and make two layer cake? I would like to ice it and put candles in it. I will need to be made in the afternoon and transported to restaurant…

    1. Yes it will deflate so if you want a really big cake then you will need to make 2 of these and then you can layer one over the other and ice it with whatever you like. You would want to make it the day before and keep it overnight in the fridge. However it’s a VERY dense and rich cake so there is also an almond flour cake on the website which you can use that might be better if you want to create a layer cake. You can also double this recipe and bake it in a much bigger cake tin.

  19. Loved the recipe, perfect decedents for the chocolate lovers in its all. Only thing I changed was 180g on 86% Lindt dark chocolate. Regardless perfection on a plate. Thank you very much for the recipe.

  20. OMG! You guys rock! I added 1/4 teaspoon of espresso powder, and wow! It added just a little extra depth of flavor. You guys have the best keto recipes online! Thank you!!!

  21. Hi i was just wondering how do you stop the dark chocolate from being so bitter even when I add cream and sweetener its still bitter I use 85%

  22. Hello Sahil,

    I made the cake yesterday and was perfect in every way except the bitterness although i added 5 Tbsp of erythritol/stevia sugar but it was still too bitter for my taste, just wanted to ask is it possible to make it with canderel chocolate/no added sugar and low carb as well, as it already has artificial sweetener and i think it won’t need adjustment, you can check the below link. thank you.

    http://canderel-me.com/our-ranges/chocolates/slabs/

    1. That amount of sugar does absolutely nothing. I live in a country where I don’t get 100% chocolate so I make do with darker chocolate. Sugar won’t kill me or anyone else who makes this recipe on Keto. It’s very minimal and makes no difference.

  23. I made this for my husband’s birthday and I am surprised at how good it turned out. Fed it people at work not on keto and they loved it too. Fantastic outcome not just amongst the keto recipes but overall.

      1. I followed ur video..the cake broke..it was too soft..where did I go wrong? I followed ur video to follow each and every step..the entire cake crumbled..it taste good though..plz tell me where I went wrong and how to improve?

        1. If it’s too soft then it’s probably just under cooked. It liquid like and gooey or fully hard and crumbling? I can’t imagine why myself. Did you whip the egg whites to stiff peaks?

  24. I’m new to keto – 3 weeks in – and wanted a keto cake so I didn’t undo my hard work. My husband made this for my birthday cake covered in whipped cream. I am a pretty awesome cake maker but this was the BEST cake I’ve had. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

  25. Mine is in the oven right now. I used the whisk on my electric hand mixer to mix the egg yolks in one at a time. I slowly added the cream and had no problem with anything separating. It was amazing how much volume the stiff egg whites made.
    Ok, out of the oven, cooled then refrigerated. I think I may have over cooked it, but it didn’t fall at all. I whipped up some cream for on top and took it to a meeting tonight. 7 people ate it and it was a hit. It will be my go to cake from now on. It was amazing. Thank you so much for the fabulous recipe. So simple. I like simple recipes.. Thank you again!!

  26. So I was experimenting with an eggless version of this cake – I substituted the eggs with a mixture of flaxseed meal and water (1 tbsp of flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp of water = 1 egg). However, I forgot to add in any rising agent (baking powder, baking soda) which your recipe did not need as the eggs would take care of that. I didn’t get a cake out of all this, but a delicious, soft and chewy chocolate brownie.

  27. My room temp egg yolks never emulsified. Extending the mixing time resulted in a grey colored chocolate with white liquid, lumpy/grainy looking. Not sure if it was oil (it didn’t feel oily). All was good until the egg yolks. Had to throw it all away at that point. Any ideas? Very bummed as I hate all the keto treats so far. Thanks!

    1. That’s really strange and I’m sorry it didn’t work out. What chocolate were you using? You could try skipping the cream altogether and just mixing the rest of the ingredients. Because we’re adding a good amount of fat to this recipe, sometimes the emulsion doesn’t come together, much like mayonnaise.

  28. Well, this was darn good. I was lucky that I have goose eggs, so one goose egg, one chicken egg. I threw in all my chocolate; 9 oz, and it was semi sweet, as that’s all I had. This was somehow light yet rich at the same time. Could really just sit and eat the whole thing. I did not make it too sweet. Baked for 40 min, left in oven shut off to cool, Threw in fridge as I was eager to try, it collapsed, but, who cares. DELICIOUS.

  29. Can i eat this once cooked? Bit disappointed as made it for eating tonight but then ended up noticing the 4 hour chilling period too late (even though your recipe time at the top says 10 minutes idle time???

    1. You can eat it once cooked that’s not an issue. The chilling period is recommended but you can just eat when it’s ready. I’m really bad with this whole cooking time/passive time business. I should fix that.

  30. Hi Sahil and deepti, this is an incredible recipe. The only problem is the truvia, I searched it on amazon from your link. The truvia nutrition chart shows 99g of carbohydrates in 100 g of truvia. Thats a lot of carbohydrates. Its equivalent to suger which is almost 100 % carbs. How should I deal with it. Is it false information printed on the truvia jar or what. I am totally confused. Please reply ASAP.
    Thank you again for making keto so easy for me.

    1. Hi Abdul, those carbs are ‘sugar alcohol’ carbs which our body does not process. That’s why it’s fine. We don’t count sugar alcohols and fiber on Keto when counting carbs, we only count net carbs. Hope this helps.

      1. Thank you very much Sahil bhai. Its a total relief. Gonna make this in Ramadan for breaking my fast tomorrow.

  31. Thank you for this recipe, I made it last night – very easy, no separating of oils, I used stevia-only sugar alternative that I had and added it to taste as I didn’t want this too sweet. used an 8″ square tin, & the volume of batter looked like it would be a very thin cake, it went in the oven at 160*c for 45 mins – came out risen to double height & looking fabulous, I went back to it after 10 mins – It had flopped back down to its depth as batter – but hey!! it tastes amazing…..hubby loves it. we ate it still warm then went back for 2nd helpings. It is now in the fridge but calling out to me 🙂 I shall be trying more of your recipes soon. I m testing recipes before we go ‘full on keto’ but by knocking out all heavy carbs & fasting for 16 – 18 hrs per day, we have lost lots of weight already, but both have plateaued – hence need to go full keto methinks.

  32. I made the cake today. I over cooked it and is was crumbly but so delicious. I scooped it out into wine glasses. I iced it with equal amounts of butter and cream cheese, erythrotal, organic cacaoa and vanilla and then topped it with unsweetened whip cream and it was so creamy and delicious. Everyone loved it.

  33. Hi…I made this cake last night… Half the Qty… Although it fell hard, it was still soft n moist, so no complaints there…But my issue is with the stevia….I added 1.5 TBSP of stevia (although half will be 2 Tbsp but I hate stevia) and now the whole cake is so much governed by stevia that its unbearable… Are there other options? How do you all tolerate the strong after taste of stevia?

    1. I use truvia in this recipe. I would suggest buying Eryhtritol for baking. Also you got to find the right brand of stevia and figure out how much to add based on your taste.

  34. Tried it for my husband’s birthday today.. though it stuck to the pan a little and turned out a little lopsided it tastes faaaantasstic!! I covered it in ganache to cover up the aforementioned lopsided ness.. will tag you on Instagram after we dig into it this evening. Cheers !

    1. Use whatever sugar substitute you like but don’t do it because of fear. They are perfectly safe. Use stevia instead if you like.

  35. I love the Cake however long used 100 % dark bakers chocolate and I added twice the amount of swerve sweeter and still taste bitter. When in was making the batter it was not as bitter and but once done baking it taste bitter. What can I do?

    1. 99.99% of the time I use salted butter. However the salt content varies from brand to brand so I always recommend tasting your dish as you are cooking and adjusting as you need. Handy tip, you can always add salt in, you can’t take it out. Even in my desserts I like using salted butter as it just adds that beautiful savoury note and especially with chocolate and coffee it really enhances the flavour.

  36. This cake was a great success for me! I think it really helps if your eggwhites are room temperature before you whip them. I put in the pinch of cream of tartar and they were very billowy. They folded in nicely and I was able to bake it in a 8″ round cake pan. I didn’t have enough of the Lindt chocolate so I replaced it with unsweetened baking chocolate and added more sweetner. It would have tasted even better if I had doubled the sweetner but using the baking chocolate gave a lovely rich dark chocolate flavor and probably reduced my carbs. Thanks for a great recipe I will be using again and again!

  37. Hiya. I have tried this recipe many times. It is amazing and my go to dessert. Is it possible to make them and freeze them ? And if so how well do they defrost ? Thank you for a brilliant recipe ❤❤

    1. I think it should be fine. I haven’t done it myself but I see no reason why it shouldn’t free well.

      1. Thank you i will give it a try as ive not got my parents eating it too. I need to make more hahaha. Hopefully freezing it will be ok

        Thank you again 🙂

  38. Hey I don’t have stevia powder…have the small tablets instead…how many tablets do I use to replace the stevia powder in the recipe? Dying to try this recipe..

    1. I would not know, it depends on the sweetness level. What you will have to do is add it and taste the batter and keep adding till it’s as sweet as you want.

  39. Made this tonight, with 100% pure chocolate.. worked out very well.. Didn’t deflate.. but the butter kinda pooled to the bottom of the mold.. Otherwise, an excellent option instead of using almond/coconut flour.. Thank you from Medellín, Colombia!

  40. I made this for my 60th birthday. I subbed coconut milk for the cream, used Lily’s 85% chocolate and subbed 1/8 c coconut sugar for Truvia. At the 45 minute mark it was already completely set but that didn’t seem to do it any harm. I was too lazy to whip the coconut cream, so just drizzled it with coconut milk and topped with raspberries.
    It’s excellent and easy to make. A keeper!

  41. Did anyone had problems with an excess of fat? I’ve just put my cake into the oven and the butter is just pouring out of my spring-form cake tin (thankfully, I put the tin onto a baking tray, so it’s not messing up my oven). Is it because I’ve used 100% chocolate (100% Callebaut Cocoa Mass)?

  42. Hi shail l tried this recipe and I love it. It’s very satisfying thank you so much for sharing this superb recipe.

  43. I made the cake today. A tip to make sure the cake doesn’t deflate so much is to keep the whipped eggwhite in the fridge for about 10 minutes. And not folled the eggwhites to much. It is a very nice recipe!

  44. I made this cake today and used the idea of leaving the cake in the oven for 15 min after I turned of the heat and it hardly deflated. Must say this is a wonderful recipe!! Will make it again.

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