Before we dive into this delicious recipe, we need to ask ourselves a very important question. A very important question, indeed: What is the difference between a cake and a torte?
When I first created this rich and chocolatey keto dessert, I automatically called it a torte. For no other reason than it simply seems like a torte, rather than a cake. It has a dense richness, unlike a light and fluffy Keto Chocolate Cake. And it turns out I was onto something.
While there really is no clear definition of a torte, it’s usually a dense, rich cake made with ground nuts rather than flour, and with little to no leaveners like baking powder soda. They can have multiple layers with jam or buttercream or they can be a single layer.
This Keto Chocolate Torte definitely falls into the rich dense cake category. Yum!
Why you will love this recipe
If rich, sweet, chocolatey desserts are your jam, then this Chocolate Walnut Torte is for you!
It’s an easy one-layer keto chocolate cake that looks elegant enough for any occasion. And if you don’t like walnuts, you can use pecans, hazelnuts, or almonds. You can even use sunflower seeds if you need to be nut-free!
Prefer dairy-free? You can do that too! Simply replace the butter with any oil and swap the whipping cream for coconut cream.
And this amazing keto chocolate torte has only 3.8g net carbs per slice.
Ingredients you need
- Walnuts: I love walnuts for the base of this chocolate torte, but you can also do pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds.
- Sweetener: I recommend an erythritol based sweetener, but any sweetener you like can work. Do be forewarned that the baking time may change if you use allulose.
- Cocoa powder: I recommend a good Dutched cocoa for a deep chocolate flavor.
- Butter: This chocolate torte would also be good with coconut oil or walnut oil.
- Unsweetened chocolate: I use Ghirardelli or Guittard, as I find that Baker’s brand tends to seize badly.
- Whipping cream: Use heavy whipping cream for the ganache, or unsweetened coconut cream for a dairy-free version.
- Sugar-free dark chocolate: This is not the same as unsweetened chocolate so make sure you don’t mix them up. I like ChocZero or Lily’s for this ganache.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt.
Step by step directions
1. Grind the nuts: In a food processor, process the walnuts until finely ground. Add the sweetener, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
2. Melt the chocolate: In a large saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the vanilla extract. Add liquid and whisk until mixture smooths out.
3. Bake the torte: Stir in the walnut mixture until well combined. Spread the batter in prepared baking pan and bake 20 to 30 minutes, until the edges are set but the center still looks slightly wet.
4. Make the ganache: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit to melt 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
5. Glaze the cake: Cool another few minutes to thicken, then pour the glaze over the cake, smoothing over the sides of the torte. Sprinkle the top with walnut pieces and chill until the chocolate is firm, about 20 minutes.
Expert tips
Make sure you line your cake pan with parchment so the torte is easy to flip out. But you still want to grease the both the pan and the parchment paper.
Don’t panic if your chocolate seizes and becomes gloppy when you add the eggs. This is very normal! It will smooth out as you add the warm liquid. Add only enough liquid until it’s smooth again.
Don’t overbake this torte. You want the edges to be well set, but the center should still look a bit wet. It will continue to cook a little after it’s out of the oven.
More delicious recipes with walnuts
Keto Chocolate Walnut Torte Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Torte:
- 5 ounces (141.75 g) raw walnuts
- 3/4 cup (136.5 g) Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup (21.5 g) cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter
- 2 tbsp walnut oil, (or 2 more tbsp butter)
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) unsweetened chocolate
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
- 2 to 4 tbsp (2 tbsp) leftover coffee or water, warm, but not hot
Glaze:
- 1/3 cup (79.33 g) heavy whipping cream
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) sugar-free dark chocolate, chopped
- 1/3 cup (39 g) walnut pieces
Instructions
Torte
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease a 9-inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the paper.
- In a food processor, process the walnuts until finely ground. Add the sweetener, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
- In a large saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then whisk in the vanilla extract. Add liquid one tablespoon at a time and whisk until the mixture smooths out.
- Stir in the walnut mixture until well combined. Spread the batter in prepared baking pan and bake 20 to 30 minutes, until the edges are set but the center still looks slightly wet.
- Remove and let cool 20 in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment paper.
Ganache
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit to melt 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
- Cool another few minutes to thicken, then pour the glaze over the cake, smoothing over the sides of the torte.
- Sprinkle the top with walnut pieces and chill until the chocolate is firm, about 20 minutes.
Video
Notes
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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The Swerve left a terrible aftertaste. Did not care for this recipe…too chocolate also. I didn’t know there was such a thing as I love chocolate. Maybe another sweetness would work but won’t waste the ingredients again.
Sorry it didn’t do it for you! But please do understand that many of us get no aftertaste at all with Swerve.
OMG OMG OMG! Carolyn, this was amazing! I only ever make your recipes now as they always turn out well. But this torte is so delicious that it is in a class of its own. Thank you for this. I substituted SugarLike for Swerve as I prefer it and I put pecans on top instead of walnuts, but otherwise followed it exactly. I used a springform pan and it came out nicely. It looks very fancy and I will be having it at our Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. Thanks again 🙂
Cathy
So glad you liked it!
I made this for the first time and although it was deliciously fudgey I did not like the bits of walnut that were present. Should I have ground the walnuts to get as fine as store bought almond flour (Costco) is Carolyn?
The best chocolate flour less cake I’ve ever had. Thank you so much Carolyn for all your wonderful Keto recipes.
I have made so many of your recipes and all of them have been so good. I have a friend is allergic to walnuts can we substitute it for hazelnuts? I know walnuts has more fat than hazelnuts.
Any nut will work.
Currently waiting on this to cool so I can try it! Does this need to be stored in the refrigerator or can it be kept on the counter in an airtight container?
Should be okay on the counter for 3 days or so.
This sounds amazing. I’d like to make it dairy-free for a friend. Do you know of a sub I could use for the cream in the glaze? Thanks!
Coconut cream should be fine but it needs a bit more of the chocolate to thicken properly.
I have just made this, it’s in the oven as we speak. I used mixed nuts as I had some left over from xmas to use up, I also used Natvia which is a mix of stevia and erythritol, apart from that I stuck to the recipe. Although I cannot comment on the finished product, I know its going to be good because I licked the bowl clean and the taste was amazing. I am so happy that I can have these kind of treats eating low carb. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks, Penny. Enjoy it!
Thanks so much Carolyn for this recipe! I made this today for my hubby’s birthday and it was a big hit. Everybody was wowed. I was hesitant to make it for today as it was my first attempt to make it but it was very well done. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
So glad everyone liked it!
The tort part of this is still very bitter. Will try using 1/2 cup swerve and 3/4 cup stevia raw. The glaze recipe had no sweetener at all. It was awful until I added swerve brown sugar and stevia to it. Not sure if that was just an oops I forgot to add? But it’s not in the recipe. Will try to make again with a few tweaks.
I’m sorry but you made a major error. I didn’t say to use unsweetened chocolate for the glaze… I said to use SUGAR-FREE chocolate and I linked you to exactly what I meant. Sugar-free means that it is indeed sweetened, just not with sugar. So yes, you torte would be unbelievably bitter. Please read the recipe carefully.
You consistently have the best low carb recipes I’ve ever tasted! I’m slowly going through all your dessert recipes and they’ve all been fantastic! Better than the carby versions in my opinion. Thank you for sharing these because they’ve kept me sustainably low carb and very happy.
So glad you think so!
Didn’t have almond milk so I used heavy cream. Cooked it in a convection oven and took it out at 20 minutes because it looked done and it was. Turned out rich and delicious. Thank you!
Glad to hear it worked out!
Love the rich flavor this offers! I don’t wanna share it with anyone!
This looks totally amazing! I’m sure Diane will consider this deliciousness worth the wait!
I love the richness of these sorts of cakes, and the addition of espresso makes it that much of a deeper flavor. Yum!
What am exquisite torte, Carolyn! I adore your desserts!
Can I use coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup for this recipe? I have several food intolerances and cannot use the sweeter this calls for. It is difficult for me to find sweets that I can eat. I miss my sweets!
Thanks
Sure, I would use coconut sugar so you don’t throw off the liquid content.