This Keto Marble Pound Cake features sweet vanilla and chocolate batters swirled together into one gorgeous low carb dessert. With a cream cheese base and a rich chocolate glaze, it is tender, moist, and utterly irresistible.
It’s an age old dilemma: sometimes you simply can’t decide between a decadent keto chocolate cake and a classic keto vanilla cake. The struggle is real, my friends.
But the solution is close at hand! You can have your cake and eat it too with this stunning Keto Marble Pound Cake. You get a little bit of chocolate and a little bit of vanilla in every moist, delicious bite.
I brought this to a friend’s house to celebrate her new job and it got rave reviews. One friend couldn’t believe how fine the crumb was, and kept saying “It’s like real cake!”. Of course, it’s real cake… and it’s just as delicious as the high sugar kind.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Almond flour: This recipe works best with a finely ground, blanched almond flour. You could try sunflower seed flour for a nut-free version but it will be more gray in color.
- Sweetener: I recommend an erythritol-based sweetener for the cake, plus a little allulose for the glaze. See the Sweetener Options for more details.
- Protein powder: Adding a little protein powder makes the cake rise better. You can also use egg white protein powder or plant-based protein powder.
- Cream cheese: This makes the cake incredibly rich, with an unparalleled texture.
- Almond milk: The batter requires a little bit of liquid, but you could also use plain water.
- Cocoa powder: I recommend Dutch process for a deeper chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate chips: Any keto chocolate chips you like best should work.
- Heavy cream: This creates a silky ganache for the topping.
- Baking staples: Baking powder, butter, eggs, salt, vanilla.
How to Make Keto Marble Pound Cake
- Combine the dry ingredients: Whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Prepare the vanilla batter: Beat the cream cheese with the butter, sweetener, and vanilla, then beat in the eggs. Beat in the almond flour mixture and the almond milk. Transfer two thirds of this to another bowl.
- Make the chocolate batter: Whisk the cocoa powder and hot coffee together and beat this into the remaining one-third of the vanilla batter.
- Alternate the batters: Add alternating dollops of the batter to a prepared loaf pan and swirl with a knife.
- Bake the cake: Bake at 325ºF until risen and firm to the touch. Remove and let cool.
- Prepare the glaze: Heat the cream and allulose, and add the chocolate chips to melt. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Make sure you start with properly softened cream cheese and butter, as well as room temperature eggs. Otherwise the batter may become lumpy and you will get small air holes in the finished cake.
The key to getting beautiful swirls is to have the cake batters of the same consistency. Cocoa powder adds fiber and thickens the batter, so the hot coffee helps offset this.
You can make this in an 8×4 inch loaf pan, if that’s all you have. But because it is deeper, it will take longer to bake. I do not recommend glass or ceramic bakeware for this recipe.
Sweetener Options
I recommend erythritol in most of my keto cake recipes, as allulose can cause the cake to darken considerably as it bakes. The outside of the cake can get to the point where it tastes burnt, especially in a cake that takes a long time to bake.
While you are free to choose your favorite sweetener, I want you to understand how your choice affects the outcome. If you wish to use allulose, try preheating the oven to 325ºF and then reducing the temperature to 300ºF when you put the cake in the oven. Keep a close eye on it!
If you wish to use less erythritol, you can try 1/2 cup and then adding sweetness with stevia or monk fruit extract.
More Keto Pound Cakes to Love
Keto Marble Pound Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups (336 g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (36 g) whey protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 2/3 cup (126.67 g) granular sweetener, (see Sweetener Options section)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) almond milk
- 1/4 cup (21.5 g) cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (59.15 ml) hot water or coffee
Glaze
- 1/3 cup (78.86 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp allulose, or xylitol
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) sugar-free chocolate chips
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease a 9×5 inch metal loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper with overhanging sides and grease the parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, whey protein, baking powder, and salt. Break up any clumps as much as possible.
- In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until very smooth, then beat in the sweetener and vanilla until well combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the beaters and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the almond flour mixture and beat until well combined, then beat in the almond milk. Transfer about two thirds of this mixture to a separate bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot coffee or water until you have a smooth paste. Beat the cocoa powder mixture into the remaining one third of the batter until well combined.
- Add alternating dollops of vanilla and chocolate batter to the bottom of the pan and swirl with a knife. Repeat another layer with the remaining batter and swirl again, then smooth out the top. Bake 60 to 75 minutes, until the top is risen and is just firm to the touch. Do not over-bake.
- Remove and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Loosen the edges with a sharp knife and lift the loaf out by the overhanging parchment. Let cool completely.
Glaze
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream and allulose. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the chocolate chips and let sit a few minutes to melt, then whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled pound cake.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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This is absolutely 10/10 recipe. The cake was fluffy and moist inside. I’ve added a rum fragrance oil to the chocolate batter, and used 50/50 of allulose & xylitol. It slightly burned outside, so I think I’ll adjust the sweetener proportion slightly.
Worth recommending!
I started making this recipe last night and finished up this morning. Since my oven isn’t true to temperature I chose to bake it for 70 minutes instead of the shorter time. When I took it out of the oven it didn’t appear overcooked. I set it on my stove, covered it and went to bed because it was late. This morning I checked it and saw that it had fallen a little 🫤 but I went ahead and made the ganache and poured it over the top. I waited until the ganache had set before I tried a slice. The texture is very close to wheat flour pound cake. I think I would like it a tiny bit sweeter. The ganache is very good. I think I may have dried it out some baking it for 70 minutes. I think next time I make this I will bake it for somewhere between 65 and 70 minutes. Even though mine came out a little dry, this will not go to waste 😋
I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer! That way, you can set your temp higher to match the real temp and bake for less time. I think that would help.
Just curious, I see you mention that the whey replaces gluten. If I were to use gluten for this, what would the measurement be?
Hi – can you freeze this cake? And if so do you freeze it in pieces or as a whole (or half) cake? Thank you.
Either way works! Just wrap it up tightly.
I made this over the weekend for a church potluck and came home with an empty plate! It was a hit. This is definitely a keeper.
Great to hear!
Holy smokes, Carolyn– you knocked this one out of the park!! I made it tonight for our weekly family dinner and everyone agrees it’s the best keto cake I’ve ever made (and in eight years of keto, I’ve made plenty!) This is so very moist, tender, and delicious, and I imagine that brick of cream cheese is what makes it such a winner. I love it when a recipe comes out beautifully, and after making this I’m positively giddy! Thank you for this wonderful cake that I will make again and again!
That’s fabulous to hear!
Does peanut flour work as a substitute for whey protein powder in cake recipes? I have successfully used it in the bar recipes with delicious results!
No it’s not a good sub. It doesn’t make them light and fluffy.
Hi can I use vanilla protein powder I don’t have unflavored whey
Thanks
Yes, just leave out any additional vanilla.
I am not being critical, but for me personally, it’s too high in carbs. I know it is a winner for those who can do higher carbs. Any suggestions on how to lower the carb count?
Leave off the chocolate glaze! 🙂
Hello,
Since I don’t use protein powder, what is a good substitute? Is the baking powder not enough to make it rise?
There isn’t one. So you understand the baking science involved… gluten is a protein and baking powder makes gluten-containing recipes rise because the gluten creates strands/bonds when liquid is added. The gas released by the baking powder is then trapped by the bonds. Some additional (dry) protein powder helps do the same in gluten-free keto recipes.
The marble cake looks yummy but what can I substitute for the whey powder? I don’t have any and I don’t use it. Thank you.
There isn’t any sub for the whey. Read the post or answer to Elly. Whey protein, egg white protein (maybe sub that???) are necessary for keto baked items to help replace gluten which makes cakes, etc rise. Sometime they can be switched out for other types of protein powders, but often they CAN’T.
Looking forward to making this!