The Best Keto Yellow Cake
{Ketogenic, Low Carb, THM:S}
I've been having a serious craving.
For a REALLY GOOD yellow cake that is keto, low carb, and a THM:S.
And I'm not talking about a dry, grainy, yucky keto cake.
I'm talking about a moist, yummy, perfectly-textured yellow cake that still fits my keto macros and tastes like it could have come from a bakery.
And I wanted it to have some serious chocolate buttercream that rivals the best cake shops.
In our house, we have something called “the 4-year-old test.” Basically, if the 4-year old approves of a dessert recipe, then it’s good enough to publish and serve.
She is far pickier than we are.
So when I saw her steal a couple of bites of the test cake for this one off my plate because she just HAD to go back for more, I knew we were ready to publish this recipe for the Best Keto Yellow Cake.
Ya'll, I threw away 6 (SIX!!!) cakes working towards this one – the Holy Grail of Yellow Cakes.
It clocks in at just 1.3 grams of carbs per serving – assuming you slice the cake into 16 slices.
I made mine by baking the batch in 2, 9-inch round pans, then stacking them with a healthy layer of buttercream in between and outside. You could also bake them in 8-inch round pans, or just a 9×13 pan and it will also come out great.
Here's what you'll need:
For the cakes:
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 Eggs
4 Whole Egg Yolks
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Lakanto Confectioner’s Sweetener
¼ tsp Stevia Glycerite
1 cup Almond Flour
2 T Coconut Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
For the Buttercream:
1.5 cups Butter, softened
1 cup Lakanto Confectioner’s Sweetener
1 cup Cocoa Powder
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Directions:
To Make The Cakes:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2, 8 or 9-inch cake pans (using Round parchment in the bottom, if desired)
In a clean, cooled bowl, whip the Heavy Cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Add in the eggs, egg yolks, Sweetener, Stevia Glycerite, Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt.
Run the mixer slower 4 times around the bowl, then scrape the sides.
Run the mixer again slowly until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the 2 prepared pans, and tap down gently to release any air bubbles. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set in the center.
To Make The Buttercream:
Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip until not only combined, but until the icing has become light and fluffy.
Ice the cooled Yellow Cake & enjoy!
Ok, let's talk macros…
Since this cake is based mostly on whipped cream, this keeps it VERY low carb. The macros below are based upon slicing the cake into 16 pieces:
275 Calories
28g Fat
1.3g Net Carbs (2.4g Total Carbs – 1.1g Fiber)
4g Protein
A few tips:
Customize Your Buttercream: some people like less icing, some like more. And some people love a sweeter buttercream, while others prefer to tone down the sweetness. It's absolutely ok to use less sweetener to make it more to your taste, just be sure to taste test before frosting the cake! Also, I used ALL of this buttercream on the cake while in the throes of PMS, but a few days later I felt like it was too much. Feel free to use as much as or as little as you prefer – it's all good!
Whipping the Cream: It is important to not over mix the batter, since it will break down your whipped cream and make it runny, instead of stiff. I don't want to make you afraid of this, but also let you know to be careful. Dump all the ingredients on top of your whipped cream, and mix 4 times around the bowl slowly. Scrap the sides, moving the dry ingredients to the center, and then I put my mixer on high speed and went maybe 10 times around the bowl. This combined all the ingredients without breaking down the whipped cream.
Releasing the Cakes: One pro tip I use is greasing my cake (nice) pans with coconut oil, then dropping a pre-cut circle parchment paper into the bottom. This combination of good pans, oil, and parchment paper help my cakes to release from the pans perfectly every time.
You May Also Like
Cakey Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
Keto Scotcheros
Sugar-Free Strawberry Pie
Easy Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies
Keto 7-Layer Bars
Keto Lemon Bars
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
Affiliate Links: There are a few special ingredients in this recipe. The links below are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something by clicking and buying through my link I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you:
- Kirkland Almond Flour
- Stevia Glycerite
- Lakanto Granluated Classic Sweetener
- Lakanto Confectioner's Sweetener
- Coconut Flour
- Vanilla Extract
- Cake Pans I Use
- Circle Parchment Paper
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 Eggs
- 4 Whole Egg Yolks
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup Lakanto Confectioner’s Sweetener
- ¼ tsp Stevia Glycerite
- 1 cup Almond Flour
- 2 T Coconut Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- For the Buttercream:
- 1.5 cups Butter, softened
- 1 cup Lakanto Confectioner's Sweetener
- 1 cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- To Make The Cakes:
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2, 8 or 9-inch cake pans (using Round parchment in the bottom, if desired)
- In a clean, cooled bowl, whip the Heavy Cream until it forms stiff peaks.
- Add in the eggs, egg yolks, Sweetener, Stevia Glycerite, Almond Flour, Coconut Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt.
- Run the mixer slower 4 times around the bowl, then scrape the sides.
- Run the mixer again slowly until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the 2 prepared pans, and tap down gently to release any air bubbles. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until set in the center.
- To Make The Buttercream:
- Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip until not only combined, but until the icing has become light and fluffy.
- Ice the cooled Yellow Cake & enjoy!
Other Keto Resources You May Be Interested In:
What 60 Days In Ketosis did For Me: My Keto Diet Story
What Is The Ketogenic Diet? {Keto 101}
Keto Quickstart: 30-Day Beginner's Guide to Keto
5 Supplements To Help You Get Into & Stay In Ketosis
The 4 Types of Ketogenic Diets
How To Calculate Your Keto Macros
7 Ways To Beat Keto Flu
How To Know You're In Ketosis
6 Benefits of The Keto Diet {That Aren't Weight Loss}
Why You Shouldn't Go Keto
What To Eat On A Ketogenic Diet
If you loved this recipe, please snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @fitmomjourneythem and use the hashtag #fitmomjourney!
xoxo,
Gretchen
Keto doesn't have to be hard – download Keto Quickstart and start today! (it's free!)
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosures for more information.
Summer says
July 5, 2018 at 4:23 pmThis is the best keto dessert I’ve ever tasted. Granted I’ve never truly made a keto cake from scratch, but I love everything about it! Thanks for sharing this recipe! It was just what I needed on my birthday!
Gretchen Lindow says
July 6, 2018 at 2:08 pmYes! I’m soooo glad you liked it!
Mere says
August 24, 2018 at 12:33 pmVery good! I think next time I make it, I will combine all the ingredients except the whipped cream before adding them to the cream. My caked ended up very thin even though I didn’t mix long, but must have been enough to deflate the whipped cream. Could have also been partly due to using a 9×13 pan. It still tasted great though!
Kim says
August 30, 2018 at 2:25 pmIn the directions you say to add salt, yet there’s not salt listed in the ingredients. How much salt are we supposed to use??
Penny says
September 8, 2018 at 3:28 pmWould like to try this. Can you update the recipe with the amount of salt please? Thanks
Mollie says
November 15, 2018 at 8:15 pmHi there! So I freaking love your yellow cake recipe. It comes out perfect every time. I’m looking for a similar texture but with chocolate cake. Do you have a chocolate version you use? Do you think if I add some cocoa powder it would come out okay?
Gretchen Lindow says
November 16, 2018 at 11:10 amYAAS! I’m so glad you love it! I haven’t quite perfected the chocolate version – unfortunately it’s not quite as simple as adding cocoa powder – but I’m hoping to get it perfected within the week!
Christal says
November 17, 2018 at 10:36 pmBA-BY!!! This recipe is GOLD!!! I am very particular about how I like my yellow/white cakes to taste and I was 100% sure that being keto, I would never get to enjoy a good, normal tasting cupcake again… Unless I wanted tospend a ridiculous amount to purchase a popular premade keto yellow cake mix that’s out now, which is NOT an option. FF to tonight, I was really craving a cupcake and said to myself, why not try a recipe from Google and hope for the best 🤷🏾♀️ yours was the first one to pop up so I tried and it did not disappoint! This taste 100% like a homemade non-keto yellow cupcake! I cant believe it! I frosted mine in Keto Connects vanilla butter cream frosting and I am now the happiest person on a diet ever! YOU’RE AWESOME!
Toni Lee Fiore says
February 20, 2019 at 1:13 pmSince beginning a ketogenic diet this new year, I’ve craved tasty, non-eggy desserts (or breads), desserts that do not included chocolate (chocolate does help mask the eggy-ness of many keto bakes). This yellow cake is delicious and my ABSOLUTE 1000% favorite keto dessert, hands down. The only changes I make are the following: I mix all my cake ingredients together first (minus the whipped cream) then I whip my heavy whipping cream. I slowly fold my “batter” into my whipped cream and I mix the batter just enough to blend everything together. The key is to NOT over-mix the whipped cream. Also, to help my whipped cream develop nice peaks and hold up to the mix-in, I add approximately 1/2 tsp cream of tartar to my whipping cream just as I start to get a slightly thickened product. I’ve made this cake 4 times now and it is a non-fail! Thank you!
Gretchen Lindow says
February 20, 2019 at 2:31 pmI am so glad you like it! These are great tips for making it successfully!
Michelle A Bridges says
April 15, 2019 at 4:45 pmWe tried this last night and loved it! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
LaWanda says
April 29, 2019 at 9:58 pmHi Gretchen! Do you think I could make cake pops using your recipe?
Chris says
May 9, 2019 at 2:37 pmThis buttercream recipe makes enough for about 3 cakes, it’s A LOT, you can half the recipe and be fine. Also the amount of cocoa (1cup) makes the chocolate icing very bitter, consider cutting it down to 1/2 or even 1/4. You still have good chocolate icing that way!
Gretchen Lindow says
May 15, 2019 at 5:49 pmGreat tips – thank you!