This mini German Chocolate Cake Recipe is sure to please. Delicious keto chocolate cake with sugar-free German Chocolate Frosting, in just the right size for sharing. Built-in portion control! This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.
German chocolate cake is a relatively recent discovery for me. Yes, I know it’s been around for ages but I always passed it by in favor of other cake flavors. Why? I cannot even fathom that. I honestly cannot.
Do I like chocolate? D’uh!
Do I like pecans? Double d’uh!
Do I like coconut? OMG, do you even need to ask?
So why did I not come up with a low carb German Chocolate Cake recipe earlier? I have no flippin’ idea. It defies logic. I have no defense.
But now I’ve addressed the matter and created this sweet little mini chocolate cake, replete with a divine sugar free pecan coconut frosting. Will you forgive me? More importantly, can I forgive myself?
How To Make a Mini German Chocolate Cake
First, let me say that this Mini German Chocolate Cake Recipe was inspired by the one I saw on Chocolate Moosey. Since my mini keto desserts have been extremely popular, it seemed like an ideal makeover recipe that could be easily keto-fied.
As always, I turned to my trusty low carb baking sidekick, Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour. It’s perfect for my mini keto cakes and desserts because it’s finely ground, blanched almond flour. They turn out as well as any high carb cake, I would wager.
This time, I split my batter into three 4-inch ramekins. I was worried they wouldn’t be thick enough and would be very fragile but they held together perfectly. I really wanted the 3 layer look, but you could easily do 2 layers if you prefer. You can also use 4-inch springform pans.
Whatever pan you use, be sure to grease it well. I usually do a layer of butter topped with a layer of coconut oil spray or avocado oil spray.
With these mini keto cakes, I haven’t found that I need to use any protein powder. They are small enough to rise and to hold together easily without the added protein.
For the German Chocolate Cake Frosting
Traditional German Chocolate takes evaporated milk in the frosting, but that includes some unnecessary carbs. I’ve learned that using heavy cream in place of evaporated milk works in most recipes. It’s about as thick and it’s much lower carb.
Because this is such a small amount of frosting, you really want to use a small saucepan and keep your heat VERY low. Stay by your pan and whisk constantly, as it will thicken up quickly. If you’re working on an electric stove, you may want to take the pan off the heat a few times so the temperature doesn’t rise too quickly.
German chocolate cake frosting is meant to be somewhat gooey so I used a combination of Swerve and Bocha Sweet to achieve that consistency. When I have used all Swerve in the past, it tends to harden up as it cools. It’s still delicious, of course, so if you can’t get your hands on Bocha Sweet, use just the powdered Swerve.
Be careful on the addition of coconut, as many brands of shredded coconut are sweetened and basically a big old high carb bomb. But Bob’s Red Mill also produces both flaked and shredded coconut that is entirely unsweetened and I always have both on hand. For this recipe, I used the flaked because I liked the chunkier texture in the frosting.
Pre-chopped pecans can help simplify the process. I love the ones from Trader Joe’s because they are tiny pieces and they are lightly toasted, which brings out additional flavor.
If your frosting is too thin to spread, it means you didn’t quite cook it long enough. There’s an easy fix here, though. Whisk in just a tiny bit of coconut flour (no more than a teaspoon) and you should get the right consistency.
And there you go. Now you have a delicious Mini German Chocolate Cake that’s easy to make and keto-friendly. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day dessert!
More Keto German Chocolate Recipes
Keto German Chocolate Brownies
Keto German Chocolate Truffles
Keto German Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Mini Chocolate Cake:
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
German Chocolate Frosting:
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp Bocha Sweet, (or an additional tbsp powdered Swerve)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flaked coconut
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Chocolate Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease three 4-inch ramekins or mini cake pans well. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, baking powder, and salt.
- Whisk in the butter, egg, and vanilla extract. Divide between the prepared baking dishes and bake 10 to 15 minute or until set and firm to the touch.
- Let cool in pans, then run a sharp knife around the inside of the ramekins and flip out. If your cake layers have humps, slice the tops off to make them flat and even.
German Chocolate Frosting:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cream, egg yolk, sweetener, and butter. Cook until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes, watching carefully the whole time.
- Remove from heat and stir in coconut, pecans, and vanilla. Let cool a few minutes as it will continue to thicken up (if it's too thin, whisk in a teaspoon of coconut flour to help thicken it).
To Assemble
- Place one layer of cake on a plate and top with about 1/3 of the frosting. Repeat with the remaining layers and frosting.
Nutrition
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So good! My daughter wanted German chocolate cake for her birthday today (12/11/24). I am trying to eat less sugar and carbs and came across your recipe. I had all the ingredients at home. The cake was moist and the frosting just the right sweetness. Thank you so much!
do you use powdered or granular swerve?
I am a big fan of using my microwave for baked goods like cakes and muffins so I decided to use my silicone mini cake pans and spread the batter between 3 pans. Then I set microwave for one minute and they were done perfect. The tops remained flat so it was easy to keep the layers level. They turned out great and stacked well and now in the fridge for hubby’s birthday tomorrow. Smell good looks good.
I made this today. My cakes didn’t want to release from the ramekins so mine is pretty ugly. But great flavor and easy to make. You could put that frosting on shoe leather and it would be fabulous! I may try an 8” springform single thin layer cake next time to make it easier. But a great recipe!
I baked this in four tiny ramekins, and then put the frosting on top and served it as four individual tiny desserts for Valentine’s Day. It was a big hit even though I had to use pistachios instead of pecans (didn’t realize I was out of pecans until I was making the icing!) Great, fast and easy recipe! I think the individual cakes would also be delicious topped with other frosting or keto ice cream.
I made two of these for my 60th birthday. They came out fine. The first one was a little thin so I doubled the recipe for the second one and it was better. Also, I only used coconut oil in my pans and it worked fine.Thanks for the recipe. I am always looking for new recipes since I was diagnosed with diabetes and need my sweets. So far so good.
I know if I want a dessert I can count on to be AMAZING I come to Carolyn! And she did not disappoint with this recipe. I doubled it and made it in two 5-1/2″ cake pans and it came out perfect! The frosting tastes as good – if not better – than my original recipe. I took this to a family birthday party with a *regular* German chocolate cake and everyone wanted mine, they said it was WAY better than the full sugar one. KUDOS Carolyn on another great recipe.