This dreamy keto black forest cake recipe is made sheet cake style, for a delicious and easy low carb dessert. All the delicious flavor with a fraction of the carbs.
Did you ever think you’d be able to enjoy Black Forest Cake on a keto diet? I don’t blame you for being skeptical, but this cake comes in at only 7g total carbs per serving.
How is that even possible, when cherries are definitely “not keto”?
Well you already know I firmly believe in using a small bit of “not keto” ingredients to lend authenticity to a keto dessert like this one. Just like my Keto Peach Ice Cream, a little of the fruit gives great flavor and texture, while still maintaining the right macro nutrients for a keto diet.
And then you can amp up the flavor you’re going for with extracts, and you’re good to go.
Are cherries healthy?
When it comes to fruit, cherries are not really the best choice for a keto diet. Certainly not if you’re going to sit down and eat a bunch at once. A cup of pitted cherries is about 19g of carbs, so you do need to use them sparingly.
That said, cherries are quite nutritious. That deep rich red indicates the presence of many antioxidants, along with plenty of vitamin C, potassium, and anti-inflammatory compounds.
I don’t snack on cherries the way I might have in the past, but I do like to find creative ways to use a few in keto baking. I only used 3/4 of a cup for this keto Black Forest Cake.
To round out the cherry filling, I used some raspberries as well, as they are much lower in carbs, and have many of the same good nutritious qualities.
What is Black Forest Cake?
Black Forest is a well known and beloved cake that features chocolate sponge with a rich cherry filling and a whipped cream frosting. It originates from Germany, and contains kirsch, a cherry liqueur, to heighten the cherry flavor.
Typically, a cherry syrup is created with the kirsch, water, and sugar, and is brushed over the sponge cake to moisten it. Then chopped cherries and whipped cream frosting are layered together, with cherries and chocolate garnish on the top.
I’ve had many readers request a keto version of Black Forest Cake but I wanted to be sure I could make it truly low carb. Making it as a sheet cake allowed me to keep the cherries to a minimum, while still maintaining the traditional flavor.
Of course, I skipped the kirsch and used cherry extract instead!
How to make keto black forest cake
I love sheet cake for so many reasons. It’s easy, it has the perfect frosting-to-cake ratio, and it serves a crowd. Here are my best tips for making Keto Black Forest Sheet Cake:
- Use a jelly roll pan with sides at least 1 inch high. I have one that is 15×10 inches that works perfectly for this cake. If you use another size, like 17×11, your cake will be thinner and bake a little faster.
- Depending on how non-stick your pan is, you may want to line the bottom with parchment, as I did. Grease the pan, and then lay down the parchment on the bottom and grease the parchment as well.
- The “cherry” filling is a mix of both cherries and raspberries, to help keep down the carbs. You will need cherry extract if you want a true Black Forest cake flavor. I have this one from Olive Nation.
- Also add some of the cherry extract to the whipped cream frosting, so that you really get the flavor coming through without too many carbs.
- Reserve some of the whipped cream for piping small rosettes on the top of the cake, as it makes a lovely presentation.
- The decorations and added garnish are up to you. I did fresh cherries on top of each rosette, but the truth is that was for decoration only. I did not eat the extra cherry, I gave it to my kids!
- If you want to use the keto chocolate sprinkles as I did, you can purchase them on Etsy from The Sprinkle Company. You could also simply take a small piece of keto dark chocolate and shave it over using a cheese grater.
How to store keto black forest cake
Because of the fresh fruit filling and the delicate whipped cream frosting, this isn’t really a make-ahead cake.
You can make the sponge a day or two in advance, and the cherry filling can also be made in advance and refrigerated. But once you assemble the cake, it’s best to eat it within 3 days or so.
Keep any leftovers refrigerated.
More delicious keto sheet cakes
- Keto Texas Sheet Cake
- Keto Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
- Keto Cannoli Sheet Cake
- Keto Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Keto Strawberry Sheet Cake
Keto Black Forest Cake
Ingredients
Cherry Filling
- 3/4 cup pitted fresh cherries, chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 3/4 tsp cherry extract
Cake
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2/3 cup granulated Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup unflavored whey protein powder (can sub egg white powder)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup water
Whipped Cream Frosting
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 1/2 tsp cherry extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish Ideas
- Fresh cherries (whole or halved)
- Sugar-free chocolate sprinkles
- Shaved dark chocolate
Instructions
Cherry Filling
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the cherries, raspberries, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the berries can be easily mashed with a fork, about 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sweetener and the cherry extract. Set aside.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease a 15 by 10 inch jelly roll pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment and grease the parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, butter, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Stir in 1/2 cup water until well combined. If the batter is overly thick, stir in more water 1 tbsp at a time. The batter should be spreadable but not quite pourable.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan, and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely in the pan.
- Once cool, spread the cherry filling evenly over the top of the cake, spreading out the cherry bits as evenly as possible.
Whipped Cream Frosting
- In a large bowl, combine the cream, sweetener, cherry extract and vanilla extract. Beat until the cream holds stiff peaks.
- Spread about 3/4 of the whipped cream over the cake, as evenly as possible. Use the remaining cream to pipe rosettes decoratively on the top of the cake.
Nancy says
Black Forrest! My favorite! Thank you for this, Caroline!
But I am allergic to coconut… can I use more almond flour?
Carolyn says
Yes but you need to triple the amount…
Kelli says
I have frozen cherries and frozen raspberries – do you think they could work?
Carolyn says
Absolutely!
Elaine Roveroni says
Do you think this will hold up in two 8inch pans as a taller cake instead of a sheet pan one? Thank you
Carolyn says
Sure… It will take longer to bake through.
Ronak Mehta says
Baked this cake for my birthday and it was an absolute hit! So moist and tasty. Thank you for doing what you do
Angelin says
I tried this out but the cake was a bit harder.. but it tastes fine.
Carolyn says
Not sure what you mean by harder? Sounds like maybe it got over-baked.
Barb C says
This was delicious! It was genius to add cherry extract to the whipped cream I think that made a big difference. Will make this again!
Angelo says
I believe if you use actual Kirschwasser, not cherry liqueur, it gives a depth of flavor that isn’t present when you sub it with cherry extract. Since it’s straight up clear cherry brandy it should be relatively keto friendly. A bit hard to find but well worth it.
https://www.heinemann-shop.com/en/global/schladerer/schladerer-kirschwasser-42vol-0-7l/p/000000000000014340/
Carolyn says
I don’t use any cherry brand in this cake, just cherry extract.
Dag says
Simply delish. Cut back a bit on the sweetener and none in the fruit topping as my husband I like less sweet in everything 😀
Fantastic recipe!!
Selina says
I don’t have a jelly roll pan. Could I use a 9×13 pan?
Carolyn says
Yep, but your cake will be thicker and take longer to bake, and you will probably need less of the frosting.
Selina says
Thank you! I’ll half the frosting and adjust the baking time. So excited!
Amanda says
Thank you so much!
I’ve been meaning to play around with a BF cherry filling to add a little bit to plain Greek yogurt with some dark chocolate shavings. I have everything I need already (love that extract), so this is perfect! 😋
Black Forest is my fav. Tbh…I’m the only one who eats keto in my fam, so will have to play around with measurements at some point to scale this one down at some point. Thanks again