This keto poke cake takes all the delicious flavor of your favorite cinnamon rolls and turns it into a delectable sugar-free dessert. It’s fun to make and looks fabulous when you’re ready to serve.
I love poke cakes. I hadn’t heard of them until a few years ago, but once I tried baking one myself, I was hooked. There is really something delightful about poking holes in a cake and drizzling on a sauce that sinks down into the holes.
It makes the cake extra moist and delicious, and it also looks super cool when you cut it into slices. I have a few keto poke cake recipes, including Boston Cream Poke Cake, Strawberry Poke Cake, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake.
And now I am adding this fun and tasty Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake to that list. If you love keto cinnamon rolls but you want something for dessert, this is the cake for you!
Why you need to try this recipe
I have seen cinnamon roll poke cake recipes before, but they all seem to take a boxed cake mix. I suppose I could have purchased keto vanilla cake mix, but I much prefer to make my own. Honestly, it’s just as easy as boxed mix and has better flavor and texture.
The cinnamon filling is simple to make and insanely delicious. I recommend Swerve Brown for real cinnamon roll flavor and a little allulose or BochaSweet to keep it from recrystallizing. Add plenty of ground cinnamon, as you want that flavor to come through in the finished cake.
The cake is topped off with a sugar-free cream cheese frosting that is fluffy and sweet. And pairs perfectly with the tender cake.
While this keto cinnamon roll cake has a number of steps, it’s actually quite straightforward. It takes less than an hour to make. And each delectable slice has only 3.3g net carbs!
Ingredients
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- Almond flour: As always, choose a finely ground almond flour for the best cake texture. If you would prefer to use coconut flour, follow the cake recipe from my Keto Chantilly Cake.
- Swerve Sweetener: You will need a number of different sweeteners for this recipe. The cake portion takes granular sweetener, the filling takes brown sugar substitute, and the frosting requires a confectioner’s sweetener. You can use other brands but I prefer Swerve Sweetener for all of these.
- Allulose: I also used some allulose in the filling to make it soft and keep it from recrystallizing. You can also use BochaSweet or xylitol.
- Protein powder: Protein powder helps keto baked goods rise and be lighter and fluffier. I used whey protein isolate for this cake, but you can also use egg white protein. Do not use collagen, as it will make it gummy and hard to cook through.
- Cinnamon: Can’t be a cinnamon roll cake without plenty of cinnamon!
- Glucomannan: A little thickener like glucomannan helps the filling set better. You can also use xanthan gum.
- Cream cheese: The frosting is cream cheese based, just like real cinnamon rolls.
- Kitchen staples: Butter, eggs, heavy cream, vanilla extract.
Step by Step Directions
1. Prepare the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, butter, vanilla, and water until well combined.
2. Bake the cake: Spread evenly in a greased 9×9 inch pan and bake at 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown on the edges and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool in the pan.
3. Poke it: Once cool, use a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake. Make sure to poke a lot of holes the filling gets into every little part of the cake.
4. Prepare the filling: In a small saucepan over medium low heat, combine the butter and sweeteners. Whisk until the sweeteners are dissolved. Stir in the cream and cinnamon. Bring to a simmer and whisk in the glucomannan. Cook about 3 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool to a sauce-like consistency.
5. Fill the holes: Drizzle the sauce all over the cake, making sure to get some of the filling into every hole.
6. Frost the cake: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together for 2 minutes, until well creamed. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract. Add the cream and beat until well combined. Spread over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon, if desired.
Expert Tips
Sweeteners: This recipe takes 4 different sweeteners, and it works best this way. There is a method to my madness! A little allulose or BochaSweet in the filling helps it stay softer and not recrystallize. But if you don’t have any, it will still be a delicious cake.
If you can’t get Swerve Brown, you can fake it with some granular and a little molasses. You would only need about 1 teaspoon and it will add less than half a gram of carbs to each serving.
Protein powder: Yes, this is a critical ingredient and if you plan on doing any amount of keto baking, you will want to get some. It helps replace the gluten in keto cakes and baked goods so that they rise nicely and have a better texture. If you omit it, your cake will not rise as nicely.
Thickeners: The filling needs a little help thickening up and I like to use glucomannan for this. But xanthan gum also works, and you may even be able to use a tablespoon of collagen to the same effect.
Nut-Free Version: You can make this cake with coconut flour rather than almond flour. But it takes a lot of other adjustments, so it’s best to follow a recipe for a coconut flour cake and bake it in the square pan. My Chantilly Cake would work well. Keep your eye on it as I am not entirely sure how long it will take to bake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Poke cakes are so named because you really do poke holes in the cake. You then pour over a delicious filling such as jello, pudding, or caramel sauce that sinks down into the holes. When you cut the cake into slices, you see vertical lines of the filling right through the cake.
A conventional cinnamon roll poke cake contains upwards of 40g of carbs per serving. Yikes! But this delicious sugar free keto cake has only 5.4g of carbohydrate and 2.1g of fiber. That means it has only 3.3g net carbs per serving.
Unless you live in a very hot environment, this cake can be kept on the counter, tightly covered, for 2 to 3 days. You can also store it in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze it for several months.
Love cinnamon? Check out these delicious recipes!
- Keto Coffee Cake
- Instant Pot Cinnamon Roll Bread
- Mini Cinnamon Roll Cheesecakes
- Keto Snickerdoodles
- Keto Candied Pecans
- Easy Keto Cereal
Keto Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ½ cups almond flour
- ⅔ cup Swerve Granular
- ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup water more as needed
Filling
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup Swerve Brown
- 3 tablespoon allulose (or BochaSweet)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon glucomannan or ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
Frosting
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- ½ cup Swerve Confectioners
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup warm heavy cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9×9 inch metal baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, butter, vanilla, and water until well combined.
- If the batter is very thick, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. It shouldn't be pourable, but you should be able to scoop and spread it easily.
- Spread evenly in the prepared pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown on the edges and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool in the pan.
- Once cool, use a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake.
Filling
- In a small saucepan over medium low heat, combine the butter and sweeteners. Whisk until the sweeteners are dissolved. Stir in the cream and cinnamon.
- Bring to a simmer and whisk in the glucomannan. Cook about 3 minutes, until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool to a sauce-like consistency.
- Pour over the cake, making sure to get some of the filling into every hole.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together for 2 minutes, until well creamed. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract.
- Add the cream and beat until well combined. Spread over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon, if desired.
Monica says
Just WOW! This cake tastes exactly like a cinnamon roll when heated gently in the microwave! It is so yummy!!! Thank you!
Judy Higgins says
Would vanilla protein powder work?
Carolyn says
Yes, but leave out any additional vanilla.
Tara says
This cake is fabulous! Moist, fluffy and the cinnamon sauce in the holes is simply to die for! So much flavor! The frosting made a ton so the leftovers will go onto some muffins this week.
I couldn’t find plain whey powder so used vanilla and it was good.
Pam B says
Just checking .Even with cream cheese frosting g it anne left out for 2 or 3 days ?
Kayli Roach says
This was so moist! Probably the best keto dessert I’ve made so far!
Leslee Martinez says
Could I use flavored whey protein I have an apple pie cookie kind protein powder want to use up
Carolyn says
You’re certainly welcome to try it.
Laura mueller says
Could I use vital protein unflavored collagen peptides instead of whey protein? This looks delicious!
Carolyn says
No, they really don’t work the same way and collagen will make this cake very gummy and hard to cook through.
Kristin Bemis says
I almost never leave reviews but this cake needed one. This was amazing. It tasted like a cinnamon roll and the most amazing cake had a baby. This will be a recipe that I make time and time again. I have been missing cinnamon rolls and can’t seem to make keto ones successfully so this is a perfect alternative. I had the issue where it wasn’t cooked at the end of the time it should have been. I added another 10 minutes and it was still a little jiggly in the middle but I decided to take it out anyway. Once it cooled it was perfect. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes you provide. It keeps me on track and I never feel like I’m missing out on dessert or breakfast because cake is ok for breakfast!
Carolyn says
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Ginger says
The final cake tasted good. I had the same problems as Cece and Jocelyn, it took forever to bake. My oven temp is fine, I checked it with a thermometer. Everything was exactly like the recipe, including a metal pan. My best guess is the brand of the ingredients must make a difference. Cooking longer isn’t a big deal but I did want to share so future bakers can be aware that it might take longer.
Tom says
Love this recipe! I made a few mistakes along the way, but overall it came out great. I used apple flavoring instead of vanilla in the frosting for an extra flavor hit. It went well with the cinnamon.
I would really love if you could include a carb count for licking the spoon…or the beaters…or whatever else has stuff on it. 😉
One serious thing I would like to see is some sort of guide or tips for cooking these recipes at high altitude. I have a lot of trouble getting the cakes/brownies to come out anywhere near right at my altitude.
Carolyn says
I wish I could be your guide for high altitude but I’ve never lived or baked at it so I am no expert!
Caroline Nielson says
I’m giving this cake a 5 star rating because of taste, but I must say I didn’t like the way the filling turned out! It was not pourable to say the least. It ended up being a saucepan of stodgy, slimy jelly! I’m not sure, but I would say that the amount of Xanthum gum may have been the culprit. I literally had to scrape off the stuff because it would not drizzle, it just lumped onto my cake. Like I said, it tasted amazing and we devoured it. I’ve tried to find glucomannan, but have been unable to. Maybe that would have made the difference???
Carolyn says
You’re not the only one with this problem and it has to be the xanthan, so next time… add more cream!
Caroline Nielson says
I ended up adding water to try and thin it out. I didn’t think of more cream lol.
I’m going to try and find gluconamman on Amazon. I have never added more than 1/4 tsp of xanthum normally so I thought that was it.
Sheila Mustain says
This happened to me too. It’s like cinnamon gloop. Very delicious but offputting texture. Still tastes GREAT. Just kind plopped it on and tried to push it down in the holes.
Carolyn says
Yup, people are finding that with xanthan gum so I think I need to reduce the amount… I much prefer glucomannan.
Cece says
I am not sure why I had difficulty with this cake. After baking extra 10 minutes, the cake still refused to fully bake. Any suggestions?
Carolyn says
I would need to know a lot more. What kind of pan you used, what almond flour, what sweetener… I may be able to identify the problem with some of that info.
Jocelyn says
the same thing happened to me. I followed everything to a tee and still the middle was gooey, even after 30 minutes. I have made probably somewhere around 100 of Carolyn’s dessert recipes and they all turn our great but couldn’t get this cake to cook right.
Carolyn says
I cannot imagine why that would be, if you used the same ingredients I did. I’ve had many people make this with success already. What kind of pan did you use?
Jocelyn says
I used a square metal pan. it was still good even undercooked in the center.
Carolyn says
Most people don’t have this issue but a few of you do and I can’t quite figure out why!
Lana says
This looks so so good! Could I substitute or omit the protein powder ??
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post as I already discussed this.
Jan says
This poke cake is delicious! Because of nut allergies l, I used tigernut flour instead. It subs out cup got cup with almond flour. 😋
Robin says
I was wondering could this cake be made in a bunt cake pan?
Carolyn says
It’s not big enough for a regular 9-inch bundt pan. It would be very shallow.
Sherri says
Is whey powder all that we can use? I’m seeing it more and more but don’t buy it.
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post as I gave another suggestion.
Jo says
I saw this cake and immediately got the ingredients out to get to room temperature. Can’t wait to try this! Thank you for all the amazing recipes you create and share!