Do you miss cake after moving to a lifestyle low in carbs? You can have your cake! Try this yummy low-carb yellow cake with dark chocolate frosting.
I typically reserve low carb cakes for special occasions. Traffic to this site has been phenomenal this month. So, I decided to celebrate and treat myself to cake!
When I returned to this blog in October 2014, I was determined to make this website the absolute best it could be. Since then, I have spent many hours sharpening my photography skills as well as learning new blogging tricks.
If I had the time, I would write everything down in a book to share. There are so many things that are needed to succeed in blogging. Sometimes, you get a lucky break, but usually, success comes from tons of hard work.
I readily admit that I'm somewhat of a workaholic. I have probably spend way too many hours on this blog. However, it has all been worth it as I have seen such a huge improvement over the last year.
The biggest reward is when others tell me how much the site has helped them with their low carb of eating. It's also great when readers write in and let me know how much they enjoyed a recipe. It's these little things that keep me going!
I've reached a point where I have gotten a little smarter on time management. Therefore, I now spend my precious time on areas that count. I've also realized that I can't do it all, no matter how hard I try.
To be honest, I've always been somewhat of a computer geek. Although I love figuring out how to do all the technical aspects of blogging by myself, I just don't have the time for it any more.
I also don't have a lot of time to do the tedious tasks like promoting on social media. I do what I can, and try to automate as much as possible, but there comes a time when you just have to hire help.
I've offered to pay my older kids to do some of the work. But, they don't have a lot of interest in helping. My son does do some paid writing for my other blog. However, it's just so he can bring in enough income to eat while at college. That's why I've started hiring out many of the tedious tasks so I can focus on the low carb recipes.
Although low carb sweets typically aren't an issue, I believe they should be eaten in moderation. In 2016, I'd like to focus more on savory recipes with some sweets sprinkled in.
Recipes like this low carb yellow cake with dark chocolate frosting should be reserved for a special occasion where it can be shared. I don't recommend eating sweet foods too often as even those without sugar can cause issues.
I'm not much of a frosting person anymore. And, I would have preferred much less frosting per serving. But, since this is a rare treat, I loaded the frosting on like any regular double layer cake.
I'll admit that the frosting adds a ton of erythritol. If I make this cake again, I'll do it as cupcakes or leave the cake in the baking pan and add only a small amount on the top. I'm just not that into overly sweet desserts since I've been following low carb for so long.
A better frosting would have been much lighter and airy like a whipped chocolate mousse. I'm going to have to work on a lighter low carb dark chocolate frosting as this frosting was really rich.
The low carb yellow cake itself isn't very sweet. For inspiration, I used this recipe from The Cake Bible. However, I changed the recipe to use whole eggs rather than just the yolks.
The addition of whey protein gives it a light texture. It isn't as springy as a regular yellow cake because that's really difficult to achieve using low carb flours.
You could use regular cocoa for the icing, but I prefer the bittersweet taste of a dark chocolate frosting. It's a very fudgy frosting that's loaded with butter. Buttercream frosting is the best!
I used to always add xanthan gum to low carb baked goods. But, I've found it doesn't really make a big difference when I leave it out. This low carb yellow cake held together well without the gum. I found the texture to be very similar to bakery style cakes.
Speaking of bakeries, it would be awesome if someone started a low carb bakery. Do you know of any? The bakeries in our area seem to do great business and I always wondered what the market would be like for one that catered to diabetics and low carbers. There certainly is a market for it.
With all the great resources and alternatives ingredients available, I haven't found the low carb way of eating to be restricting at all. On low carb, you really can have your cake and eat it too. You can also enjoy a moist and delicious keto chocolate cake if you prefer.
Low Carb Yellow Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting
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Recipe
Yellow Cake with Dark Chocolate Frosting
Video
Ingredients
CAKE:
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup almond flour
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein 1 scoop
- 1 ¼ cup low carb sugar substitute or preferred sugar substitute
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup butter 1 ½ stick
FROSTING:
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- ¾ cup dark cocoa
- 2 cups Swerve Confectioners Powdered Sweetener or other powdered sweetener
- 1 teaspoon SweetLeaf Stevia Drops
Instructions
CAKE:
- Combine eggs, heavy cream, water, and vanilla extract in medium bowl. Set aside
- In large mixing bowl, blend together the almond flour, coconut flour, whey protein, sweetener, and baking powder.
- Add butter and about half the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened.
- Increase mixer to medium speed and beat for about 2 minutes.
- Scrape sides of bowl and add remaining egg mixture. Beat for another minute.
- Spread batter into two greased 9-inch round cake pans (I used ungreased silicone pans).
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
FROSTING:
- Whip butter until fluffy.
- Mix in half the heavy cream.
- Slowly add the cocoa until blended in.
- Add powdered sweetener in batches, beating well after each addition.
- Whip in remaining heavy cream and stevia liquid. Add additional cream if needed.
- Frost cake as desired. Makes enough frosting for a 9-inch double layer cake.
Notes
Erythritol carbs per slice: ~45g (no impact on blood sugar - mainly from frosting)
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
© LowCarbYum.com - Unauthorized use of this material without written permission is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes. Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
Marilyn
Hi Lisa, love your recipes. In many of your recipes, it calls for coconut flour. My autistic grandson is ultra picky, and if hedetects coconut, will not eat it. With the
At said, onthis recipe, can I just use the almond flour in its place? Thank you. Marilyn
Lisa MarcAurele
If the coconut flour is used with almond flour, replacing with almond flour is fine. But if it’s a coconut flour only recipe, other changes are likely needed.
Constance Hegel
based on the carb content in swerve, just the frosting per slice is 10 net carbs
Lisa MarcAurele
You can ignore the carbs in Swerve as they come from erythritol which has been shown not to impact. It's only an issue if you are sensitive to the sweetener.
Natasha
Hi can I substitute the whey protein?? Thank you
Lisa MarcAurele
You can. I'd recommend either another protein powder like collagen or just use some extra almond flour.
Vanessa
This is my go to cake, especially for birthday celebrations! ? It’s so yummy!
Betty
Hi! Looks awesome! The butter that is used in the cake (not the frosting): Should that be room temperature, softened, or melted? Thanks very much.
Lisa
I used softened butter.
Betty
Thank you very much for your reply, Lisa! I made this tonight, it was delicious and very pretty to look at. 🙂
John
Frosting is amazing although you will need way more than 3 tbs of cream. The cake is a little too dry and crumbly. When making the batter it doesn't pour like regular cake. You have to spread it like a pan cookie dough. Will play around with it to improve this recipe.
Lisa
I'd reduce the amount of coconut flour to make it less crumbly. Coconut flour can vary quite a bit.
Beth
This recipe is wonderful!! An excellent keto replacement! Thank you for posting. Yellow cake & chocolate frosting is my husband's favorite. He has joined me on my keto journey and this made us both SO happy!
Lisa
That's great to hear! Thanks for letting us know how the recipe worked out for you.
Jennifer
Hello, I'm testing cakes out for my son's birthday. He wants a 3D monster truck cake. Would you know the adjusted bake time if I were to use one bigger cake pan (I believe a 12×15)? I need a cake that can hold up to being cut/shaped, stacked and piped with frosting. Thank you!
Lisa
This is a regular box mix size and would fit in a 9x13-inch pan. I'm think maybe you'd want to increase it 1.5 times? I think double might be a bit much, but you could always bake any extra separately.
Catherine
Hi, Lisa! This was the first time I made something from your site. I am shy about making things with coconut flour since the baked goods always came out dry for me. I made this last night and was surprised that it was moist and lovely. It tasted amazing! I took some out of the fridge today to take some to work and was SHOCKED! It was just as moist! I am so thankful! Thank you for this recipe! This will be my go to from now on when the family wants cake. I swear they will never know it is healthy! This is an amazing recipe. Thanks for all you do!
Lisa
I almost forgot about this recipe! It was made right before we took a trip to Florida so I froze most of it. But, I really enjoyed each thawed piece. So happy it worked out for you and that it helped build your confidence with coconut flour (my favorite low carb baking ingredient).
NikkiD
Can I substitute more of one of the flours for the whey protein?
Lisa
You can. I just like the lighter texture that whey protein provides.
Elana Heideman
I made this recipe but the cake didn't rise AT ALL. Came out like a flat disk. Any recommendations as to what I might have done wrong?
Lisa
There's a lot of baking powder in this recipe. It should have risen some. Did you test the powder you have to make sure it's good?
Misty
What kind of sweetener do you use? Your recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup sweetener. This was my first time baking without sugar I used stevia and the cake was unedible lol
I looked up stevia it says you should use 1/2 teaspoon to replace a cup of sugar. I will try again. My son just got diagnosed with type 1 and I was looking for a cake recipe for him.
Lisa
The sweetener amount is sugar equivalent. I find stevia bitter by itself. When using a stevia concentrate, you'll need to convert using the brand's conversion table for replacing sugar. I find mixing stevia with erythritol and or monk fruit is best. I typically use a one for one sugar replacement like Swerve mixed with a bit of stevia concentrate. So, for this recipe, I may use 1 cup Swerve and 1/4 teaspoon stevia powder.
Misty
So swerve would be a better sweetener? Thank you! I'm new to baking without sugar I've never used stevia or swerve before. I will definitely try again.. Thank you
Lisa
Swerve is very popular with the low carb community in the US. It's made with erythritol and a fiber sweetener. You could just buy erythritol and blend it in with the stevia you have. Erythritol powder is a little less sweet than sugar.
Misty
Ok thank you so much for all your help!
Lisa
Sorry to ask, but 1/2 a "cup" of heavy cream? It just says 1/2 heavy cream. Thank you.
Lisa
Yup! Should say cup. Thanks! Will get it fixed soon.
Marsha
I tend to cut the sweetener called for in low carb sweets by at least half and usually more than half. Since I have been eating low carb for over 5 years now, I find that a lower amount is sweet enough.
Having said that, I eat one low carb treat every day after dinner, I don't deny myself low carb treats. In doing so, I never ever cheat by eating carby food, nothing tempts me, even when travelling or standing by a table at a party loaded with high carb foods.
I concentrate on foods that are nutrient dense, so I actually don't eat very much. I eat a big breakfast and don't eat again until dinner, except for two cups of tea in the afternoon and I never snack.
I just wanted to share what works well for me.
Lisa
Wow! That's great that you can go so long without eating between breakfast and dinner. Nothing wrong with one small treat a day. I just can't seem to stop at one. That's my problem with sweets.
MArty
How many carbs please.
Lisa
There are 9.1g total carbs with 4.5g fiber (4.6g net) per slice. This information was added, but somehow didn't stick. I re-entered the data so hopefully it stays this time.
Patricia Delgado
This looks great I'm gonna try it soon, thanks. Any ideas if it might freeze well so we don't feel forced to eat it all in a week ?
Lisa
It will freeze well, just be sure to enjoy at room temperature.