A stunning three layer keto chocolate cake with a touch of orange extract and a gorgeous chocolate drip glaze. This is a low carb dessert worthy of your time! This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
Talk to me, keto bakeaholics! Talk to me about the joy you get in the kitchen when you set about to make a glorious keto dessert that it going to wow your friends and family.
Talk to me about how good it feels when that dessert comes together perfectly, and looks just like you imagined in your head. And when it tastes as divine as you had hoped.
There is no better feeling in the world, I think. I’d even venture to say that it’s rather addictive. It’s that feeling that keeps us returning to the kitchen again and again. Baking is my drug of choice.
Well, this luscious Keto Chocolate Orange Cake was one of THOSE desserts. I sketched it out in my brain weeks before I started. I had a vision, if you will. And I think the photos show just how much it lived up to my vision.
Chocolate Orange Cake Inspiration
As you are probably well aware, I get much of my baking inspiration from Pinterest, and it was this gorgeous cake from Wilton that caught my eye.
Those stunning layers of chocolate cake, that rich chocolate frosting, and the chocolate glaze, all tinged with a hint of orange – how could I resist? I loved the rectangular shape, as well. A nice change from the typical round layer cake.
Terry’s chocolate oranges were an oft-shared Christmas treat when I was growing up. And this keto chocolate cake embodies that flavor without the resulting sugar high.
Nut-Free Keto Chocolate Cake Recipe
For the chocolate cake layers, I decided to use my classic keto chocolate cupcakes recipe. That recipe happens to be coconut flour-based, making this elegant keto cake completely nut-free. Hooray for those of you with nut sensitivities!
Of course, I couldn’t do it without my friends from Bob’s Red Mill and their awesome organic coconut flour. It’s so consistent, I know I can trust it for great results. I use it in all of my coconut flour recipes and it hasn’t failed me yet.
And trust me when I say it makes the best keto bagels! And my keto pancake bites are always a hit with the kids.
What is a crumb coat?
Now let’s get into a little technical baking talk, shall we? Learning about a crumb coat is going to help many of you when making keto cake recipes.
To create a rectangular cake, I baked it in a 9×13 pan and cut it into 3 even layers, each about 4 1/3 inches wide.
But cutting a cake this way means that the sides are extra crumby, and those crumbs can get into your frosting. If you’re a cake perfectionist, having little specks in your frosting is likely to drive you nuts.
Enter the crumb coat. A crumb coat is simply a thin layer of frosting spread over the sides of the cake first – so thin, you can usually see much of the cake through it. This helps smooth down the crumby bits so that they don’t stick to your offset spatula when you spread on the remaining frosting.
I recommend switching spatulas or cleaning your spatula before applying the second layer of frosting, to reduce the crumbs even more.
Tips for Keto Chocolate Orange Cake
This is an elegant keto layer cake that takes some effort to put together. But trust me, the effort is worth it! Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Be sure to line the bottom of your bake pan with parchment paper. This will make it much easier to get out of the pan so you can cut three even layers.
- I recommend a combination of both orange and vanilla extract. Sometimes orange flavourings can be a touch bitter and a bit of vanilla helps mellow them out.
- Feel free to do another flavor altogether! Mint would be lovely in this cake too.
- Be sure to do the crumb coat on the sides, as outlined above. It will really make a difference to the smoothness of your frosting.
- When a recipe such as this one specifies room temperature ingredients, make sure you follow it. It’s important for a smooth batter and a smooth frosting.
- The drip glaze specifies two different sweeteners. This is because using only erythritol (like Swerve) can cause the glaze to recrystallize a bit when refrigerated. A bit of BochaSweet (or allulose) can keep it looking shiny and smooth. But if you can’t find it or don’t want to use it, all Swerve will still be great.
- Thin slices of orange as garnish make for a stunning cake. I didn’t eat them so they aren’t included in the nutritional information.
- For long strands of orange zest to decorate, use a cocktail zester.
- The cake is best stored in the fridge but I think it tastes best at room temperature. So cut a slice using a sharp knife (heat it up for cleaner slices) and let it sit out a few minutes before serving.
More keto orange flavored recipes
- Keto Cranberry Orange Scones
- Keto Cardamom Orange Biscotti
- Keto Chocolate Orange Spritz Cookies
- Keto Cranberry Orange Coffee Cake
- Keto Orange Olive Oil Cake
- Keto Orange Cheesecake Mousse
A stunning three layer keto chocolate cake with a touch of orange extract and a gorgeous chocolate drip glaze. This is a low carb dessert worthy of your time!
- 2/3 cup coconut flour (73g)
- 2/3 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 6 tbsp dark cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup unflavored whey protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup water more if needed
- 2 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 6 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp powdered BochaSweet (or an additional tbsp Swerve)
- Thinly sliced orange
- Long strands of orange zest
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Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 inch metal rectangular pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper (cut to fit) and grease the paper.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
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Stir in the butter, eggs, orange extract, and vanilla extract. Stir in the water until the batter is smooth. If the batter is overly thick, add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until it thins out. It should be thick but still pourable out of the bowl.
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Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake has risen and the top is firm to the touch. Remove and let cool in the pan.
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Once the cake has cooled, run a sharp knife around the sides to loosen and flip it out onto a cutting board. Cut the cake crosswise into three even pieces.
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Place the chopped chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted.
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In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Beat in the sweetener and extracts, then add the melted chocolate and beat until well combined.
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Beat in the cream. Add more cream as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency.
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Place one section of the cake on a cake platter. Spread the top with about 1/4 of the frosting. Repeat with the remaining two layers of cake.
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Use some of the frosting to crumb coat the sides of the cake (see the crumb coat section in blog post). Then spread the remaining frosting evenly over the sides of the cake.
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In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit a few minutes to melt.
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Add the sweeteners and whisk to combine. Let cool a few minutes to thicken, and then slowly pour over the top of the cake along the edges, letting it drip down the sides.
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Smooth the glaze over the top of the cake.
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Let the glaze set for about 20 minutes, then use thinly sliced oranges and strands of orange zest to decorate as desired.
Teresa Kuhn says
This is going to be a must for me to try! My favorite thing is orange and chocolate combined!!!
sandi ohlrich says
this cake sounds wonderful, but I see there is bocha sweetener in it and I have no idea where to find it. Our regular grocer does not have it, I have asked at the health market here, nope they don’t have it.
Susie Gastenveld says
I order mine from Amazon!
Penny Frick says
Carolyn mentions in her TIPS that you can sub Allulose for the BochaSweet.
Holly says
Going to give this a try. Will omit orange and use peppermint. (orange allergy) Thanks for sharing this.
Kim says
Good morning, are you using Lily’s chocolate bars or just regular unsweetened bakers chocolate in this recipe? It looks beautiful
Carolyn says
When it specifies “unsweetened” it means no sweetener at all, so it’s baking chocolate.
Nicole says
Excited to try this! Thank you for creating a recipe that is almond flour free!
Pam says
I adore orange and chocolate, and can’t wait to make this! I don’t have a rectangular 9 x 13 pan…do I need to make any adjustments in time or temperature for using glass? Thanks again, Carolyn, for another drool-worthy recipe!
Carolyn says
I’m sorry I don’t advise this. First, it will take your cake quite a bit longer to cook through. Also, glass pans do not have straight sides or corners so the layers won’t work out properly.
Sandy says
Could I substitute the cream cheese with Greek yogurt.
Carolyn says
No, I am sorry. That would result in a very messy, gloppy frosting. They do not have the same consistency at all.
John Ferguson says
Thanks Carolyn for another great recipe. I’ve been on the Keto diet for about 6 months now and I’m continually looking for tasty recipes to add to my list. I’m doing well but I do need to broaden my culinary repertoire plus I have had 76 years to develop an insatiable sweet tooth plus this looks fabulous to serve to visitors. Many thanks for your wonderful recipes.
Mary says
Is there a suitable substitute for the bakers chocolate? I want to make it tonight, but I don’t believe I have bakers chocolate and really do not feel like going to the store again this week.
Carolyn says
No sorry, it’s pretty critical to both the frosting and the glaze. Cocoa powder won’t work, it will thicken things too much.
Mary Holllis says
I made it last night and used Lily’s semi-sweet in place of the bakers chocolate. I added a little butter to the chips for the frosting before microwaving to help with the melting. I also added just a touch of cocoa powder to darken the frosting a bit. For the glaze, I also used Lily’s semi-sweet and just reduced the added sweetener by 1 Tbs. It’s been resting in the fridge overnight as yesterday was a fasting day for me, but I’m hopeful it’s good.
I got home and was halfway through the cake when I realized that someone (no one claims it!) used all the orange extract and put the empty bottle back with my baking supplies. Thankfully my wife wasn’t far from the store at the time and was able to purchase some. My cake is pure chocolate (replaced orange extract for more vanilla), but the frosting will be chocolate/orange. I’ll post a picture in the Facebook group tonight and come back here to leave a recipe rating after I taste it.
Carolyn says
Would love to hear how it turns out! Sounds like my kids, putting empty bottles and boxes back… 😉
Mary says
I wanted to come back after I tasted it. It’s amazing. The semi-sweet chocolate chips worked perfectly in both the frosting and the glaze. There was a lot more glaze than needed to make the cake pretty, but I didn’t want to waste it so I piled it on. It was basically covered and delicious. Admittedly, I didn’t measure this very well. I heated the 6T of cream and then added enough chocolate to make it look right. I’m a fairly seasoned baker so this makes perfect sense to me. ha! I sliced it into quite a few slices and froze them for later. I even shared with two non-keto co-workers (one who has recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia) and they love it. The one with fibromyalgia says it gives her hope that she can live without sugar to help with the pain from inflammation. I’m glad one of my daughter’s used the orange extract so that it didn’t make it into the cake. I feel like it was a perfect balance of chocolate and orange with chocolate cake only + orange chocolate frosting. Thank you for this recipe. It’s a keeper!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it! You know… you can always hold back some glaze and use it over ice cream later. Of course, because it’s a ganache, it does not like to heat up well. Since you’re seasoned, I am sure you are aware of this. I recommend warming it double boiler style again, otherwise it can seize and clump.
Cathy says
I was wondering can you use regular cocoa or does it have to be dark cocoa? Also can you substitute the whey protein powder or just leave it out if I don’t have any? Love all your recipes. Can’t wait to try this cake.
Carolyn says
The dark is prettier but regular cocoa is fine. However, protein powder is quite important in order to get keto cakes to rise and hold their shape.
Lindsay says
All I can find is flavored whey protein powder. Can I use a vanilla protein powder?
Carolyn says
Yes but it may overpower the orange extract a bit. Don’t add any more vanilla and then maybe a bit more orange.
Anne says
This exactly fit my needs today. I wanted to bake something, and it just happens that I bought orange extract yesterday, with no real plan on how I was going to use it. Well, this was perfect. Lovely flavour.
Mary says
Can I use three bread loaf pans instead
Carolyn says
I suppose so but the bake time may be a bit different since loaf pans are typical 5 inches wide.
Dorothy says
Good morning, I want to make this cake for a friend, but I am wondering if there is a substitute for the whey powder?
Thank you
Carolyn says
The next best option is egg white protein powder.
Monica Burridge says
Mary, did the 3 pans work out?
Ben says
Do you know offhand what the ratio would be to switch from coconut flour and 6 eggs to almond flour and fewer eggs? From my experiences with coconut flour in other recipes, it seems like coconut flour always tastes a little dry once the cake is cooled.
Love the recipes on your site! Almost every one I’ve tried has turned out spectacularly!
Carolyn says
Use my Keto Devil’s Food Cake as the cake layers. No need to change anything except the baking time for the 9×13 pan.
Ben says
Thank you so much! I made it last night as suggested with the Devils Food and it turned out fabulously! My ganache died (split), unfortunately, and I had to use the poor-man’s version with melted Choczero chips and butter as a replacement, but the whole combination is one of the best things I’ve made. Thank you again for sharing your creations with us!
Carolyn says
Oh no! What brand of unsweetened chocolate were you using? Or was it over too high heat?
Ben says
My guess would be the heat was too high. I was just using regular Bakers chocolate. It worked absolutely beautifully in the frosting – I might never make chocolate frosting any other way now!
Ryan says
Hi! I’m so excited to try this as I’m a total chocoholic!
Can this be made in advance? Would you recommend keeping it unassembled?
Carolyn says
How long in advance, is the question? I might do the cake and frosting, then do the glaze on the day of.
2pots2cook says
Beautiful combination of flavours and so beautiful photos ! Chocolate is so in love with orange ! Thank you and be safe ! 🙂
2pots2cook says
Honesty, I am not sure if my comment passed through so here I am again to say how lovely your photos are and how chocolate is in love with orange ! 🙂
Gabriella says
Carolyn I just made the cake but it didn’t rise enough for me to cut it. I baked it in a 9×13 pan any ideas why it didn’t rise enough? I will cut in 4”25 and put one on top of tbe other with frosting it should be ok. I hope!
Carolyn says
I’m confused… that’s how you are supposed to cut it anyway. 3 even pieces out of the rectangle, cutting across. It should be fine.
Sharrece says
What can be used instead of swerve? We’ve tried them and cannot stand the taste?
Carolyn says
You need to tell me what sweeteners you prefer so I can advise if they work in this.
Diana says
Can I use black cocoa?
Carolyn says
Sure!
Tonia says
This recipe looks amazing! I’m allergic to whey and was wondering what I could sub for the whey protein powder?
Carolyn says
Egg white protein is always a good replacement.
Maria says
Can you sub monk fruit for swerve or eythyritol?
Carolyn says
If you mean Lakanto or another “monk fruit blend”, then yes because those are mostly erythritol.
Kendall says
Just wanted to say a thank you for linking to my orange olive oil cake! I’ve been a fan of yours for a while so it was such a nice surprise to see the link back to one of my own recipes!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Kendall!
Philis says
Is it possible to use half & Half instead of heavy cream? Could one do that in your Caramel sauce and just not be as rich a taste? 🙂 I am especially curious about the Caramel sauce. (I wish I was a runner like you and burned a gazillion calories to eat more of your desserts. You are an incredible recipe maker.
Carolyn says
You can but your glaze (or caramel sauce) will be a bit thin. For the chocolate glaze, you can add a tbsp of cocoa powder to help thicken. For the caramel, you may need more xanthan gum.
Toni Dash says
This is so good and delicious!! Everyone at my house was impressed!
Lisalia says
Stoked to find your awesome recipe for chocolate cake. I NEVER feel deprived on keto while using your recipes!!
Betsy says
Gorgeous cake! Mine don’t come out nearly as pretty, but the taste is great! 🙂
Carolyn says
I am sure it looked fabulous!
Gillian Oldridge says
Hi
Can’t wait to try this…
Can leftovers be stored in the freezer?
Carolyn says
Sure, it should freeze well.
Rosa says
Hi Carolyn!
This looks AMAZING! I am planning to make this for Christmas.
I am not a huge fan of chocolate orange but I do love chocolate. If I omit the orange extract, do you think I could use coffee in the cake in place of the water to really play up the chocolate flavor? Or would 1/2 cup be too much coffee?
Thanks in advance! I enjoy all of your recipes.
Carolyn says
You can use coffee for the water, that would be great.
Sheryl says
Oh yummy