This is the best keto cake recipe with fluffy vanilla cake layers and a silky cream cheese frosting. Enjoy a low carb cake that’s super moist and made with almond flour and coconut flour. It’s less than 4g net carbs for a huge slice. The perfect keto cake for any special occasion – birthday, friends gathering, weddings!
I always find cakes challenging to make, especially as I am not great at decorating them. But, with my birthday coming next week, I thought I should challenge myself and create a keto cake that’s easy to make, keto-friendly, so everyone can enjoy it!
- Watch How To Make The Best Keto Cake
- Why is this The Best Keto Vanilla Cake?
- Can You Eat Cake on a Keto Diet?
- Ingredients Needed
- How to Make this Keto Birthday Cake?
- Decorating the Cake
- Tips for Making A Moist Keto Cake
- Is this a Diabetic-Friendly Cake?
- Cake Leftovers
- Troubleshooting
- Looking for more Keto Cake Recipes?
- The Best Birthday Keto Vanilla Cake I’ve Ever Had
Watch How To Make The Best Keto Cake
Why is this The Best Keto Vanilla Cake?
My best Low carb Vanilla Cake recipe is:
- Fluffy and tender cake that is super flavorful
- Easy to make in under 30 minutes!!
- Only 4g net carbs for a delightful slice
- Perfectly sweet without any funky aftertaste.
- Bakes flat, so there’s no leveling needed.
- Fresh for up to 4 days – but tastes best if served the next day.
- Perfect to make cupcakes
So if any of the reasons above sound appealing to you, I’m confident this keto cake recipe will become your favorite!
Can You Eat Cake on a Keto Diet?
No, a regular cake made with white flour and sugar is not keto-friendly as it’s loaded with carbs and it makes it difficult to fit into ketogenic macros. A single slice of cake can contain anywhere from 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates or more depending on the serving size.
However, you can make a delicious keto cake with almond flour, coconut flour, and a low carb sugar replacement that’s allowed in moderation on a keto diet.
Ingredients Needed
All the ingredients in this gluten-free yellow cake are easy to find at your local grocery store, or you can order them online. I’m sure that if you’ve made any of my other recipes, you’re familiar with my easy keto dessert recipes, which are super easy to make and super delicious.
You’ll be impressed by how few ingredients are needed for such a fancy cake:
- Keto Flours – I always use a mix of almond flour and coconut flour as they complement each other and deliver that fluffy and airy texture. I suggest using both of these flour without trying to make any substitution. Choose superfine blanched almond flour to make this almond flour vanilla cake. If possible, sift the flours before use.
- Unsalted Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter and add only a dash of salt as this is a low carb dessert, and salted butter would overpower the sweet taste. If you’re looking for a dairy-free keto cake replace butter with melted coconut oil or avocado oil.
- Sweetener – I used Erythritol in this cake, but Monk Fruit sweetener or Allulose work as well. These are my favorite keto sweeteners that don’t have any aftertaste and taste similar to sugar.
- Eggs – Use room temperature large eggs
- Vanilla Extract – I highly recommend using high-quality pure vanilla extract to make this cake taste heavenly.
- Baking Powder – works as a leavener and helps the cake rise and become fluffy.
How to Make this Keto Birthday Cake?
The ingredients in this gluten-free birthday cake are enough for baking 2 cake layers with an 8-inch diameter. You can use a 9-inch cake pan as well, but the cake will be slightly thinner.
Preparing The Batter
To begin making the cake batter, we’ll need to gather all of our ingredients.
The first step is to cream together the eggs with the butter, adding the eggs one at a time. Incorporate the rest of the ingredients until a smooth batter forms. Don’t overmix!
The keto batter for this cake is slightly thick and not runny. It hardens as it bakes, and the coconut flour absorbs the liquid in the eggs.
Baking The Keto Cake
With your keto cake ready to go, place it in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top and set throughout. For a moist cake, don’t overbake the cake, or it becomes super dry and crumbly.
Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
Cake Frosting
Meanwhile, make the keto frosting by simply combining room-temperature butter, cream cheese, sweetener, and vanilla extract until fluffy and creamy. This keto vanilla frosting is almost zero carbs per serving.
Decorating the Cake
Spread the frosting evenly on the cake, decorate with a sprinkle, and let the party begin.
You could also use edible decorations like chocolate curls or sprinkles to add some extra flair.
Tips for Making A Moist Keto Cake
- If you would like to make a cake with only one layer, you can use the recipe and bake it in a single pan.
- Use a hand mixer to cream the sweetener and butter. A whisk or a rubber spatula won’t deliver the same results.
- Sift the flours for the fluffiest texture.
- Use a super fine blanched almond flour that doesn’t have any weird smell. If your almond flour smells or tastes odd, it might be rancid and ruin the whole low-carb cake!
Is this a Diabetic-Friendly Cake?
To make sure that you can enjoy this diabetic cake, please consult with your healthcare provider first. Although this cake is low carb, your carbohydrate intake might be different, and it may spike the insulin levels. Just be careful and always consult with an advised person.
Cake Leftovers
There are chances that there won’t be leftovers for this keto vanilla cake as everyone loves it, but just in case, here’s how to store it:
- In the refrigerator: Store leftover sugar-free keto birthday cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. When ready to serve, slice and enjoy.
- Can I freeze this keto cake? Yes, any leftover cake slices can be individually frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge.
Troubleshooting
When it comes to making a delicious keto vanilla cake, there are some common mistakes that can easily be avoided. Overbaking, undertaking, and overmixing the batter are all easy mistakes you may fall into if you’re not careful! Let’s dive into each mistake so we can get your cake just right.
First, when it comes to baking time, it’s important to keep an eye on the clock and watch for signs of doneness, such as a golden-brown color or when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean. Too much time in the oven will result in a dry texture – nobody likes biting into something they have to choke down with extra water!
On the other hand, too little baking time won’t allow your cake to rise and set properly, leaving you with an unappetizingly gooey mess.
Second is mixing – while this step might seem simple enough, too much stirring can make your batter tough instead of light and fluffy. To avoid this problem altogether, mix together your wet ingredients first, then add in dry ingredients until everything is fully incorporated but still slightly lumpy. This way, you’ll achieve the perfect consistency without having to worry about overworking your batter.
Finally, here’s one last tip: use only room-temperature ingredients. Cold butter or eggs from the fridge can affect how smoothly everything blends together, which could drastically alter the outcome of your finished cake.
Looking for more Keto Cake Recipes?
- Keto Red Velvet Cake
- The Best Low Carb Keto Carrot Cake
- Easy Keto Vanilla Pound Cake
- Keto Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe
- The Best Keto Coffee Cake
The Best Birthday Keto Vanilla Cake I’ve Ever Had
Description
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sweetener or up to 1 cup if you prefer it sweeter
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Keto Vanilla Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 4 oz unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sweetener
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C /350°F. Line two 8-inch (20cm) cake pans with parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray.
- Make the cake: Combine the dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, salt. Stir to break any almond flour lumps. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sweetener for about 3 minutes until smooth and creamy using an electric mixer.
- Add eggs one at a time and continue mixing. Add in milk and vanilla extract. The mixture might look curdled as the liquids combine with the fat in butter.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until a creamy cake batter forms. Scrape the sides from time to time.
- Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Use a rubber spatula to smooth out the tops.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-22 minutes. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. Let the cakes cool completely in the pan.
- Meanwhile, make the keto frosting.
- Assemble and decorate the cake – Place one cake layer on a large serving plate and top with half of the frosting. Top with the second layer and evenly spread the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving! Enjoy!
How do we calculate the nutrition info?
These nutrition facts listed are determined using nutrition information from the USDA Food Database. Our nutrition facts are accurate, but if you are using different products, please make your calculations. Net carb count is calculated by subtracting both fiber and sugar alcohols because they don’t raise blood sugar.
This sounds fabulous! For cupcakes, about how long would you say to bake? Same temp? And how many will they yield?
Thanks in advance! I’m such a newbie at baking and terrified LOL
To make cupcakes you’ll need to bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are firm to touch. I’d say you can make 12 cupcakes. If you try them, let me know how they turned out!
It’s really good! It’s a pain to make with dropping one egg at a time and all but it is delicious. I didn’t have almond milk so I used whipping cream and added a little more so the batter would pour into the pan.
Cake tastes great but layers did not bake up high. Mix came out more like a loose dough than a batter
What size were your pans? The cake batter can be slightly thick if you’re not using room-temperature eggs. Hope this helps.
I made this. Cake did not rise and came out in very thin layers. Tasted great though
Can you half the recipe and use 6inch round pans?
Yes, you can certainly halve this recipe to use with 6-inch round pans. When adjusting recipes for different pan sizes, the key is to ensure that the baking time is modified accordingly since smaller pans will often mean the cake bakes faster.
Absolutely amazing I was doing my research on the best birthday keto cakes that’s not boxed and this is amazing
Tastes alright. The batter would never get smooth and did not pour out at all. It was difficult to put in the pan and was gritty and flat after cooking. It fell apart when trying to put on icing after complete cooking in the pans.
My biggest issue with keto friendly baked goods is the coconut flour. I am not a huge fan and it over powers the flavor so all I taste is cocnut. I, personally, cannot enjoy. Girlfriend likes it, though.
Ah, it sounds like you had a bit of a battle with the batter, and I’m really sorry to hear that. Coconut flour can be a bit of a diva, soaking up moisture like there’s no tomorrow and bringing its strong coconutty flavor to the party, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It’s great to hear your girlfriend found something to like about it, though! Thanks a lot for trying out the recipe and sharing how it went—your feedback is super valuable!