The decadent Keto Chocolate “Kahlua” Cake is an edible masterpiece. It features tender layers of keto chocolate cake spiked with sugar-free coffee liqueur and frosted with a rich coffee buttercream.
Nothing brings me more joy than creating keto desserts that rival those made with sugar and flour. And this Chocolate Kahlua Cake is a prime example of this little obsession of mine.
There is, of course, no real Kahlua in this cake. Instead, it’s spiked with my ever popular sugar free coffee liqueur.
But the overall effect is the same – a delicious chocolate layer cake with boozy coffee undertones and smooth coffee flavoured frosting. It’s a stunning keto layer cake that’s as tasty as it is pretty!
Keto Kahlua Cake Inspiration
I love to troll my dessert blogger friends for makeover recipes. That’s right, I am a classic internet troll and I haunt them on Pinterest frequently.
I am often take with the work of Lindsay from Life Love and Sugar, as well as Julianne from Beyond Frosting. Both of these women make some of the most beautiful cakes you’ve ever seen.
Working with keto ingredients makes my job a little tricky. I don’t have the advantage of gluten and sugar to give my desserts the same structure or consistency. But many of my keto layer cakes have been inspired by these bloggers, including:
And this new creation is no exception!
How to make Keto Chocolate Kahlua Cake
- Make the cake layers. I decided to make this keto cake recipe in 6-inch pans, for a taller, eye-catching dessert with 4 layers. Don’t worry, I provide instructions for 8-inch pans too! It’s a basic almond flour chocolate cake that’s easy to make.
- Copycat Keto Kahlua gives added flavor. But again, don’t worry. You can replace my homemade coffee liqueur with regular coffee, or with coffee plus some added vodka and rum to get the same overall effect.
- Slice the layers in half. To make a 4-layer cake, you bake two 6-inch layers and then you cut them very carefully through the middle. I use a serrated knife for this, and I take my time, eyeing each side as I go to make 4 even layers.
- Whip up the frosting. Mascarpone cheese makes up the base of this creamy coffee frosting. Then it gets folded into some whipped cream for a smooth and airy concoction. I won’t blame you for just digging into the frosting with a spoon!
- Assemble the cake. Place one layer on a cake platter and spread with some of the frosting, then repeat until all of the layers are added.
- Use the crumb coat method. Slather a light layer of frosting over the sides of the cake first, to “set” the crumbs and make them stick to the cake. This helps to avoid getting little crumbs in the outer layers of the frosting.
- Decorate! I held back enough frosting to make little stars around the top of the cake. Admittedly, I am not great at this but it worked out quite well. Then add some coffee beans to the stars and some sugar-free chocolate sprinkles to the top and the base.
Frequently Asked Questions
I have provided instructions for 8-inch cake pans in the recipe notes. The cake layers will be much thinner so plan on making a two layer cake.
You bet. Just replace my keto coffee liqueur with plain coffee and you’re good to go.
I do not advise coconut flour for this Keto Kahlua Cake. However, if you are allergic to nuts, you can use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour. It’s a direct cup-for-cup replacement.
Substitute cream cheese for the mascarpone, for a delicious alternative.
I recommend a granular sweetener for the cake, but you can use any granular sweetener you like best. The frosting requires a powdered sweetener so it’s not gritty, but again, any powdered sweetener should do. The consistency of the frosting comes from primarily from the mascarpone and the whipped. It may be a bit softer if you use BochaSweet or allulose.
Good Dee’s awesome chocolate sprinkles are back in stock!!! Go check them out! There are a few other brands as well.
Carolyn recommends:
- Lining the bottom of your pans with parchment paper is the best way to ensure that they will release properly.
- The small Ateco offset spatula is my favorite tool for spreading frosting over keto cakes!
- These are the 6-inch cake pans I use.
Keto Chocolate Kahlua Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 2/3 cup (178 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (43 g) cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup (36 g) unflavoured whey protein powder, (or egg white protein powder)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter
- 2/3 cup (121.33 g) Swerve Granular
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (118 g) sugar-free coffee liqueur, OR 1/4 cup strong coffee + 2 tbsp vodka and 2 tbsp rum
Frosting
- 1/4 cup (59 g) sugar-free coffee liqueur, OR 2 tbsp strong coffee + 1 tbsp vodka + 1 tbsp rum
- 1 1/2 tsp (1.5 tsp) espresso powder
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) mascarpone cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (136.5 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener, divided
- 1 cup (238 g) heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish (optional)
- Keto chocolate sprinkles
- Coffee beans
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease 2 (two) 6-inch cake pans (see blog post for advice on baking in larger pans). Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper circles and lightly grease the parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.
- Add the almond flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the coffee liqueur. Beat until just well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters as needed.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the two baking pans, and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until risen and the tops are firm to the touch. Remove and let cool 30 minutes in the pans, then run a sharp knife around the edges and flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cakes have completely cooled, slice carefully through the middle of each with a serrated knife, to make 4 cake layers. Note: If your cakes are very domed at the top, carefully slice off the domes to even them out.
Frosting
- Gently warm the coffee liqueur in the microwave and stir in the espresso powder until dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone with 1/2 cup of the powdered sweetener until well combined. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the coffee mixture.
- In another large bowl, beat the heavy cream with the remaining sweetener and the vanilla until it holds stiff peaks. Add the mascarpone mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined. Then beat in the remaining coffee mixture until the frosting holds stiff peaks.
To assemble
- Place one layer of the cake on a cake plate and top with about 1/2 cup of frosting, spreading to the edges. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and frosting.
- Spread the remaining frosting over the sides of the cake, reserving a little for piping decorative accents, if desired.
Garnish
- Place coffee beans decoratively around the top of the cake and sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles.
- Gently press some chocolate sprinkles into the base of the cake, all the way around.
Notes
- Prep the pans as directed above and divide the batter evenly between them. Bake at 350F for about 15 to 20 minutes. They will be much thinner than the 6 inch cakes.
- Do not attempt to split the cakes in half, they will be much too thin and fragile. Frost as a 2 layer cake and enjoy!
Nutrition
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So moist! Made this quick in a bundt cake without the frosting…so delicious!
I made this last year for Valentine’s Day dessert! My husband and I loved it! Easy to make too!
I had high hopes for this cake but mine turned out a little dry and grainy. Do you think it was the almond flour or the sweetner?
Made the cake part. So far, so good. Would i be able to make this the day before i plan to serve it? Will the frosting hold it’s structure over the course of 24 hours if i keep it refrigerated?
It should!
I made this cake but had to substitute few things, like I didn’t have heavy cream so I used half and half and I added guar gum to thicken it.
I wish I could post pic of it. I also added a tbs of lemon juice instead of coffee which turned the milk then I whipped it in the mixer. It tasted great but was not firm. I also used cream cheese.
Can you do this as cupcakes?
Sure!
Loved loved loved this recipe. Just wondering tho if u could also include the sodium amts in yr recipes as I am on a low salt diet fir health reasons like an awful lot of other people are these days. Would u consider doing that? Otherwise love all yr amazing recipes.. u r a genius baker!
Glad you liked it. I will consider adding sodium but it’s a huge project as I have over 1000 recipes. So… it might be better to consider using an online calculator. You can control sodium simply by using unsalted butter and not adding additional salt. Most baked goods should be very low sodium if you use these things.
Do you think the cake could be made in a 13 x 9 pan for a single layer cake?
Sure!
is adding alcohol necessary? We don’t have either rum or vodka in the house and i don’t want o buy it just for this recipe
Please read the Frequently Asked Questions, as I already addressed that.
I noticed that your quick coffee liqueur sub above calls for both vodka and rum. Do you think that your original sugar-free coffee liqueur recipe might benefit from a mix of vodka and rum as well?
You’re certainly welcome to add a little rum! But I’d stick mostly with vodka since it extract the coffee flavor better.
Looks amazing. On my list for this weekend, to celebrate your birthday! Thank you.
I’ve been reading about substituting lupin flour for some of the almond flour in baked goods, though I haven’t used it yet.
Have you tried this this? Thoughts?
Lupin flour is much more fine and powdery and thus will likely dry out the cake. I also don’t think it tastes very good. It can be useful in a few places but personally I wouldn’t add it to sweet recipes.
This cake is amazing. The whey protein is a game changer – it adds so much structure and makes this much more carb like. And the mascarpone in the frosting is spectacular – really don’t understand why it is not used in more American desserts. The only thing I might have liked a slightly stronger coffee flavor. Perhaps a coffee extract could accomplish that – but I didn’t try Thanks for such a beautiful recipe!
I LOVE mascarpone… we need to teach people to use it more. 😉
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing chocolate kahlua cake recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
This cake was so good and moist! The flavor is really good and we all loved it 🙂
This turned out not only beautiful, it was DELICIOUS!! Thank you so much for this absolutely wonderful recipe. It’s definitely a favorite now!
Any substitute for the espresso powder if I can’t find it in the store? I waited until the day before to make this! Thanks!
Grab some Starbucks Via packs! About 2 will be the right amount.
Sounds like a great recipe. I’m planning to use it for a berry chocolate trifle. Is it possible to substitute something else for the whey protein powder, i.e. ordinary protein power? And if I can’t get hold of this, what difference is it likely to make to the finished cake?
It makes a HUGE difference. Please watch this video to understand why, as I show the difference of muffins made with and without protein powder. You will be astonished.
https://youtu.be/8SA_iBl0pUU
Thanks Carolyn. As this cake is part of a trifle (custard, berries, cream etc. combination) I’m giving it a go without protein powder as I don’t have any and am trying to avoid going to the shops today! Will let you know how it turns out.
If it’s not going to be a layer cake, then I think it will be fine.
Hi Carolyn,
Tried it without the protein powder – you were right! Even for trifle, chocolate biscuits weren’t the plan! With protein powder, chocolate cake (delicious) was the result!!
What’s the difference between whey powder and whey isolate (in baking)? Can they be used interchangeably? Thanks so much for all of your GREAT work and wonderful food! Also, I personally, really appreciate the fact that you take time to ‘educate’ those of us who are still learning. You are a good teacher and appreciated more than you realize.
In baking, no real difference so yes, feel free to use it!
Can you use a sweetener besides Swerve? I just can’t handle the cooling effect. Would allulose work in the cake?
Please read the blog post as I already addressed this.