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Caramel Cake – Keto Low Carb Recipe

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Love at first bite with this keto caramel cake. Your tastebuds will dance for joy and you won’t believe it’s low carb and sugar free! Tender almond flour vanilla cake with a rich caramel glaze.

Sugar Free Caramel Cake slice on a white plate with a strawberry

There are some recipes that just make me absolutely jump for joy. And this caramel cake is one of those recipes. It will make you jump for joy too, when you taste it. Two layers of the most tender low carb vanilla cake with a rich glaze of sugar free caramel. Really, this is keto dessert heaven.

And I don’t say that lightly because I make a lot of heavenly keto desserts. I have a sweet tooth and I am not afraid to use it. Nor am I afraid to get in there and attempt to make a keto version of traditional dessert like Southern Caramel Cake. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Sugar free caramel being poured over low carb vanilla cake

The inspiration for this Caramel Cake Recipe

Why is it that this Canadian seems to love southern recipes so much? Especially southern dessert recipes. This keto cake recipe was inspired by the one from my friend’s blog, Grandbaby Cakes. Jocelyn is a genius with cakes and other desserts and she’s also a total sweetheart in real life. But I may really just follow her so I can salivate over her recipes and then attempt to keto-fy them. Because inspiration abounds from that quarter!

I actually made this gorgeous caramel cake recipe over the summer and served it at a small 4th of July gathering. So why am I just sharing it with you now?

A slice being cut out of Southern Caramel Cake

Well the summer was long and hot and who wants to be heating up their kitchen during a heat wave? Am I right? But also I needed to get my updated Sugar Free Caramel Sauce recipe in place before I could share this beauty with you. Which took me a while because I wanted to create a how-to video for the caramel sauce.

And finally, it occurred to me that this is such a great keto holiday dessert, especially if you aren’t a pumpkin or pecan fan.

A slice of keto caramel cake a white plate with two strawberries
The Best Ketogenic Cookbook!

Tips for making Keto Caramel Cake

  1. The cake itself is simply an almond flour based vanilla cake, although it does have a little bit of coconut flour in it for better texture. I find that these two really work to create the best cake-like consistency.
  2. Yes, the cake also contains protein powder. As I have said about a million times, protein powder helps keto baked goods rise and hold their shape in the absence of gluten. You can use egg white protein instead. Check out my primer on the science of baking with almond flour for more info.
  3. Having all of your ingredients at room temperature is a must. It does you no good to soften your butter properly and then to dump in cold eggs, causing the butter to clump up again!
  4. The glaze for this sugar-free caramel cake is simply a double batch of my Sugar Free Caramel Sauce, but you leave out the extra water at the end. This helps it thicken up more and become a spreadable frosting. It will be quite liquid when it’s warm so be sure to let it cool properly before trying to frost your cake.
  5. The caramel sauce isn’t hard to make but if you find it too thick or too thin, you can still rescue it. For thin caramel sauce, add a tablespoon or two of powdered erythritol such as Swerve Confectioners. For overly thick sauce, stir in some water while stirring over low heat. Just a tablespoon or two should do it.
  6. The updated sugar free caramel sauce uses BochaSweet, which is part of why it stays so soft and doesn’t re-crystallize. Unfortunately, because of the popularity of some of my recipes made with this sweetener, they have sold out on Amazon and their website is taking backorders. Hopefully they will clear this up soon! You sub in xylitol or allulose in its place. See the notes in the recipe for more details.
  7. This is a RICH cake, coming in at a whopping 388 calories and 35g of fat per serving. I set the servings at 12 but it can easily extend to 16, especially if you serve it with a little keto vanilla ice cream!

Honestly, this sugar free caramel cake is so good, it might just leave you speechless. Sometimes I amaze even myself. And that’s a very good thing.

Caramel cake on a white cake stand

More Delicious Keto Caramel Recipes

Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake

Carmelitas

Salted Caramel Brownie Bites

Salted Caramel Cups

Keto Caramel Slice

Salted Caramel Smoothie

4.76 from 33 votes
A slice of keto caramel cake a white plate with two strawberries
Print
Keto Caramel Cake
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
 

Love at first bite with this keto caramel cake. Your tastebuds will dance for joy and you won't believe it's low carb and sugar free! Tender almond flour vanilla cake with a rich caramel glaze. 

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: caramel cake, caramel cake recipe
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 388 kcal
Ingredients
Instructions
Cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 2 8-inch round cake pans. Cut parchment to line the bottoms of the pans and grease the parchment as well.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, whey protein, baking powder, and salt.

  3. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sweetener together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time and scrape down the beaters and bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract

  4. Add the dry ingredients in two additions, alternating with the almond milk. Beat until well combined. 

  5. Divide the batter between the two cake pans and spread to the edges. Smooth the tops and bake 25 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the tops are firm to the touch. 

  6. Remove and let cool in the pans, then flip out onto a wire rack. Be sure to peel off the parchment paper if it sticks to the cake layers. 

Caramel Glaze:

  1. Prepare a double batch of the Sugar Free Caramel Sauce but DO NOT add the additional water at the end of the recipe. Be sure to use a large saucepan (at least 3 quarts) as it will bubble up quite a bit. 

  2. Let the sauce cool down to room temperature. It should be quite thick at this point, but still pourable, and it will continue to thicken as it cools. 

  3. Place one layer of cake on a serving plate and pour about 1/3 of the caramel sauce on top. Carefully spread to the edges with an offset spatula and let sit another 10 to 15 minutes to thicken further.

  4. Place the second layer of cake on top. Pour some of the caramel over the top, letting it drip down the sides, spreading it over the top and sides as you go. Continue until the top and sides are well covered. Alternatively, you can simply let it drip down the sides and not spread it over. 

  5. ***If your caramel is too thin and is dripping too much off the sides of the cake, you can whisk in a tablespoon or two of powdered Swerve to help thicken it up. If it gets too thick, you can gently re-warm it over low heat to thin it up again. 

Recipe Notes

This sugar free caramel sauce uses Bocha Sweet, a low carb pentose sweetener, for consistency. Currently Bocha Sweet is out of stock on Amazon, and their website indicates that they are having difficulty filling their orders at the moment. 

If you can't get Bocha Sweet, you can sub in xylitol or allulose. You can also use all Swerve Sweetener and add 2 teaspoons of Yacon syrup or molasses. Do be forewarned that using all Swerve will result in a frosting that re-crystallizes quite a bit upon cooling. It will still taste great.

Also, if you can't get the new Brown Swerve, the addition of the Yacon or molasses will give you a caramel color and flavor. 

Nutrition Facts
Keto Caramel Cake
Amount Per Serving (1 serving = 1/12th of cake)
Calories 388 Calories from Fat 314
% Daily Value*
Fat 34.9g54%
Carbohydrates 7.6g3%
Fiber 3.4g14%
Protein 9.5g19%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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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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Comments

    • I just made this cake and it turned out very good…delicious in fact. I had caramel extract that I added instead of the vanilla extract…I also adjusted it to taste. The caramel topping however was a bit granular because of my brown sugar substitute which is granular (AMSON instead of Swerve) so next time I will use icing sugar and splash it with caramel extract so not to have that granular feel. No matter the taste is delicious.

      Reply

  3. I went on amazon last week to order the BochaSweet and it showed it was not available, but let me add my email to be notified, now it’s not even showing on Amazon, and their website is showing back ordered. So disappointed.

    Reply

  4. Knowing your love of caramel extract, have you ever added it to this cake? Or do you think that would be too much with the caramel sauce frosting?

    Reply

    • Personally, I think it wouldn’t be as good. Part of what’s so lovely is the juxtaposition of the caramel and vanilla.

      Reply

  5. The cake looks great and I’ve been wanting a good almond flour based vanilla cake recipe. I was able to get some Bochasweet before sell out and had a question for you. Have you tried some of your older candy recipes with Bochasweet such as toffee?. With swerve these would heavily crystallize. I was wondering if you had tried this.

    thanks, Vicki

    Reply

    • No don’t use it for toffee! If you’ve read my posts on it, you will see how it keeps things soft and it would be much too soft for toffee. It would be goo. Swerve re-crystallizes but for toffee, that’s actually a GOOD thing. It;s supposed to be hard.

      Reply

      • I see your point but I found the toffee too gritty for my taste. Thanks for getting back to me and keep the great recipes coming.

        Vicki

        Reply

  6. Oh, doing the happy dance…my BochaSweet is out for delivery….can’t wait to make this. Thank you, thank you. Have made your many caramel sauce versions over the years. Can’t wait to remake the pecan pie again…hope the ‘gooey~ness’ you mentioned in that write up is there.

    Reply

  17. 5 stars
    Amazing cake! It is to die for! How would I store it?
    Can I refrigerate it then leave it out a couple of days?

    Reply

  18. 5 stars
    Mmmmm! Growing up, we made a banana cake with caramel frosting. I’m thinking some banana extract might be just the thing to add to this cake to bring me back to one of my childhood favs! Thank you, Caroline—for ALL the yams!

    Reply

  20. I made this last night for a friend’s birthday celebration this evening. It turned out great! I haven’t tasted it yet so I’ll report back on how it tastes. I also purchased the keto dessert cookbook on Amazon this morning and I’m really excited to get that.

    Reply

  21. 5 stars
    Follow up to my comment from yesterday…
    The cake was a huge hit at my friend’s birthday party. Everyone loved it! The cake part was light and moist and deliciously buttery tasting. The frosting was gooey caramel goodness! Another huge hit, Carolyn!

    Reply

  22. 5 stars
    Has anyone tried using stevia instead of bocha sweet? Im from panama ( a very small country) and i cant find bocha sweet, molasses nor syrup. Thanks for the recipe BTW, looks amazing !

    Reply

    • I used Swerve (granulated) instead, and it tasted simply delicious!!! Moist, delicious, and the caramel sauce tasted better than any jar sauce I have ever bought.

      Reply

      • Thank you for sharing your results using Swerve. Swerve and Splenda are the only sweeteners that I have in my pantry currently. This cake looks delightful! I can’t wait to try it.

        Reply

  23. I can’t wait to try this cake! Caramel cake is my all time favorite and I haven’t had it in years. I have read a few reviews on Amz that say that Bocha sweet caused gas and tummy troubles – have you found that to be the case?

    Reply

    • Not at all but I am not using it full strength so that helps. Friends ate this cake (who aren’t keto) and no complaints from them either.

      Reply

  25. This looks incredible! I want to make it for thanksgiving- if i make it a day ahead of time how do you suggest storing it?

    Reply

  26. 5 stars
    Thank you for this and all your delicious recipes!
    I made half the cake recipe this morning for one layer, and it was delicious. It will probably be gone by tonight.
    Making it for a holiday dinner and making your NY cheesecake for Thanksgiving. Love your books.
    Thanks again.

    Reply

  27. 5 stars
    I just wanted to say Bravo! You have done it again! This is just wonderful! I added toasted pecans to the top and a little rum to the caramel… absolute heaven. The texture of the cake itself also – just incredible. Thank you so much for all of your hard work! ❤️

    Reply

  28. OMG – this recipe is amazing!! I made this cake for Christmas and it was a big hit with Keto and non-Keto folks! I altered it the next week and made it a lemon cake with a lemon glaze – for a New Year’s Eve party – again major kudos from both sides of the fence. This feels and tastes just like a carb cake without any of the carbs.

    On a separate note, I have been searching (without success- tried and trashed 7 recipes so far) for a great pancake recipe, and I fried a little bit of the cake batter – it also made a PERFECT pancake – now I just have to size it down to make a batch of pancakes.

    Thank you so much for sharing!
    #ketoforlife

    Reply

  29. Hi Carolyn! I really want to make this cake, but before I do I need to get your take on some swaps I would need to make. Hypothetically, if I sub hazelnut meal for the almond flour (allergic), would that just ruin it completely due to the heaviness and the color difference (I realize it would no longer look like a vanilla cake)? Also, what is your opinion on subbing collagen powder or bone broth protein powder for the whey protein powder? I’m really not trying to be difficult…whey gives me a stomach ache. 🙁

    Thank you for your opinion!!! No matter what, I am making that icing!

    Reply

    • Okay, hazelnut flour is great but it’s never as finely ground as almond and so definitely would be heavier and more coarse. But that’s fine. Do NOT sub collagen or bone broth powder here, though. It makes things very gummy. But you can do egg white powder.

      Reply

  30. I would like to know what the cholesterol is in recipes! My husband is Diabetic and has very high Cholesterol.

    Reply

    • You can enter all the ingredients into MyFitnessPal or another calculator to find that out. However, I would HIGHLY recommend reading up on new cholesterol research since we’ve had it wrong for a very long time. Dietary cholesterol is not a major contributor to higher blood serum cholesterol for most people and those who eat a high fat, very low carb diet often find that they’re cholesterol actually goes DOWN over time.

      Reply

      • I agree with Carolyn. Really check scientific research. Keto and baked goodies like this one are perfectly fine for those with High Cholesterol! Studies actually show that people following a keto diet reduce their cholesterol levels and many are able to get off the medications they were initially put on.

        Reply

  31. 5 stars
    I was so excited to make this cake I made it before I bought all ingredients. My substitutions worked great so I thought I would share. This is the best low carb cake I have ever had. You must try it. I have already shared this recipe with my family and colleagues. So I did not have the whey protein powder so I used 1/2 C coconut flour instead of 1/4 C. I also did not have bocha sweet for the sauce so I substituted erythritol same measurements. This is so amazing I can not wait to make it again maybe I will put sugar free chocolate chips in the batter. Thank you for this recipe. I will now make another one of your gems!! Good job.

    Reply

  32. 4 stars
    The cake looks very dense and did not rise well to bring it to an airy like cake. I didn’t use whey protein and used an extra 1/4 cup of coconut flour. I’m not sure what I did wrong. The baking powder should have made it rise. Please help.

    Reply

    • Well I will be honest here, I am not accepting your review. You made a major error by your changes. Whey protein helps gluten free baked goods rise and hold their shape in the absence of gluten, which is a protein. And to sub it with coconut flour? No wonder it was so dense. Sorry, you need to read my primer here on baking with coconut flour. Please never ever give a crap review unless you make the recipe exactly and it doesn’t work out. That’s absolutely unfair to me! https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-basics-baking-with-coconut-flour/

      Reply

    • I hope it’s not too late to ask, I noticed the thread is a few years old , but I can’t wait to make this cake. Caramel cake is my favorite and now on keto I never thought I’d have it again.
      I’m wondering if the Bocha sweet should be powdered or granulated? I have never used it before.
      Also the swerve is brown sugar so that’s granulated just to confirm.

      Reply

  33. I see that several people have asked for various portion substitutions and I have read through them and through your recipe notes .. but nobody has asked if it would be ok to use pea protein substitute? Would that be okay in this recipe?
    I can’t wait to make this cake!!!
    Thank you so much!
    Paula

    Reply

    • Any dry protein powder should work EXCEPT bone broth protein (tends to make things gummier). The only thing I would worry about is… will it make it greenish? Most pea protein powder is a greenish tinge.

      Reply

  36. 5 stars
    Wow. This is by far the best Keto cake I have ever made, and I have made many! I did not even have all of the right ingredients but I don’t mind flying by the seat of my pants when I am too excited to try a recipe. I did not have whey protein isolate so I ground a 1/4 c. of flax seed meal and added that instead. The rise was perfect! I did let the cakes cool for 10 min before placing on wire racks because they were a bit delicate. For the caramel sauce I only had powdered Swerve and used that for the whole recipe and added the molasses. I assumed it would crystallize due to the comments in the post and from personal experience but it has not yet (24 hrs later) yay! I plan on using the cake recipe for any kind of cake, can’t beat it. I NEVER comment on recipes, but this is too good not to! Thank you!

    Reply

  37. 5 stars
    I spent hours in my kitchen creating this last night. It turned out wonderful! The cook time for my cakes took almost twice as long at 325, the sauce took a lot of whisking to make sure the xantham gum dissolved properly, AND the red sharpie marks I made on the parchment paper from creating the perfect circle for my pans transferred to my cakes making the edges pink, BUT in the end, the cake came out beautiful. It is moist, and rich, and could almost pass for bakery shoppe caramel cake.

    I even served my non-keto, non-low carb spouse and she loved it too.

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • So delighted to hear it! Now… you may want to check that oven temp, because it sounds like it’s off a bit. Could be the kind of pan you used too but oven temp is the first culprit.

      Reply

  38. Hi,
    I’m really eager to make this for my boyfriend’s birthday. I live in the UK where we use the metric system so I don’t understand the 1/4 cup etc. I was wondering if i did an online convert to grams, would this be okay?

    Reply

    • It won’t be accurate but for your info, a cup of blanched almond flour is about 100g and a cup of coconut flour is 110g.

      Reply

  39. 5 stars
    This is hands down the most amazing cake I have ever had!! My mom used to make the best caramel cake and I have been craving it but it doesn’t fit into my Keto lifestyle. This was sooooo good!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Even my non-Keto family live it!

    Reply

  40. 5 stars
    This was amazing! Our family has been eating low-carb for 7 years and we have attempted SO.MANY
    desserts that look good, but ultimately disappoint. But you have never let us down. Your Kentucky Butter Cake and brownies were recent hits, but this is my new favorite. We made this for Easter and even our non-low carbers went back for seconds. Way to just nail this, Carolyn! You made our holiday 🙂

    Reply

  41. Any special suggestions for turning these into cupcakes? Would really love to bring in a treat for the office that was single serve! Thanks so much.

    Reply

    • The cake is a place you can use your fave sweetener. The frosting requires the sweeteners I discussed. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  44. 4 stars
    Even though its wrong to rate a recipe when I haven’t made it exactly as written, I just had to let you know how good the cake was. I didn’t have access to the sweetener but I’ve been so craving carrot cake or spice cake, I decided to make 1/2 this cake recipe as cupcakes with spices and cream cheese icing. It turned out so good. The texture is so nice. Thank you for this recipe. I will definitely be making the “caramel” cake as soon as I can get the sweetener.

    Reply

  45. 5 stars
    I have made the cake portion of the recipe several times and it is always delicious! Recently, I made the cake, baking it in a 13×9 pan, once cooled I poked holes in the cake using a wooden skewer, then poured sugar-free jello liquid over the cake. Refrigerated the cake 4-5 hours then served it with fresh whipped cream. So delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    Reply

  49. this is the best tasting low carb cake i have ever made and ive made many since my diagnosis. so buttery delicious with high carb texture. i will be making it again and again. thank you very much.

    Reply

  50. 4 stars
    I have a new gas oven, and 325 was NOT hot enough to cook the cake. I had to bump it up to 375 and bake it another 25 minutes! Otherwise, love this recipe!

    Reply

    • You need an oven thermometer, because new or not, your oven is off. I have one and it registers exactly 325F when I preheat my oven. I bake ALL of my cakes at 325F so I know it works.

      Reply

  51. Love that word, juxtaposition. So clever. Now I need to go get the dictionary! This caramel cake looks like I want to eat it, I’ll share though. I want to make it soon. Thanks (:

    Reply

  52. 5 stars
    I have to make this ASAP, especially with a few family birthdays coming up! I have never made caramel before so am reassured to know you can still thicken/thin it out! I follow Jocelyn over at Grandbaby Cakes too – cake is one thing I miss being on Keto, but now there is no excuse not to enjoy, thank you for the recipe! Sim x

    Reply

  53. Made the cake part today (Tuesday) and I am serving on Friday. What do you think, freeze it until Friday, or store in the fridge? Thanks

    Reply

  54. 4 stars
    I made this the other day as a trial run for a birthday cake I’ll be bringing to work for a coworker on keto. I was pleasantly surprised! The caramel glaze actually resembles regular caramel sauce. One question though – how far in advanced would I be able to make the cake? I wonder if I can make the cakes ahead and freeze them until ready to use… Thanks in advance!

    Reply

  55. Hello! I am having a hard time finding unflavored whey protein where I’m located in Germany. Do you think I can use vanilla flavored whey protein? Or would that be a terrible idea? This cake looks delicious!

    Reply

  56. 5 stars
    Finally got around to making this awesome cake. It’s SOOO good. Thanks Carolyn! You knocked it out of the park again.

    Reply

  57. So delicious and beautiful! A family tradition in our home is a southern caramel cake. It was first lovingly baked by my grandmother. As we have begun keto for health reasons (diabetes), I am so grateful to have found this recipe. I followed the directions exactly and it doesn’t disappoint both in appearance and taste. I plated it on my grandmother’s milk glass cake plate and my daughter’s 17th birthday was deemed a success. I am so pleased to be able to care for my daughter and celebrate her birthday with our familiar tradition.
    Thank you Carolyn for your brilliance and tenacity in creating yummy and healthful options!

    Reply

  58. This was delicious! We didn’t have whey powder so we did the flaxmeal replacement someone else mentioned and it worked well. New to keto and most of our dessert experiments have not gone well – this impressed our non-keto guests! Our friends mentioned it tasted like pancakes so now we’re having leftovers for breakfast 😉

    Reply

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