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
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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I love German Chocolate cake, and these are to die for!
I’ve been craving a sweet treat! I can’t wait to make this!
Yes please! I’ll take 2!
A whole cake just for me! Love it!
I love german chocolate, and I love that its low carb.
HI CAROLYN!
IF I WANT TO MAKE A BIG CAKE IN A 8 UNCH PAN MAY I NEED TO TRIPELE THE CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE,?
AND IF I DO IT OLSO CAN HOLD WELL WITOUT PROTEIN POWDWE AS THE MINI CAKE?
THANKS FOR THE RECIPE.
Please look at my other chocolate cake recipes and use one of those. Then look at my German Chocolate Brownies and use that frosting.
The recipe I have been dreaming of! Thank you, Carolyn!
Cake looks delicious. Really wanting to try it. In reading recipe directions for frosting call for adding vanilla after removing from heat. None is listed in ingredients for frosting. Also egg yolk is plural yet only one is listed in ingredients. Can you clairify please? Thanks bunches.
It’s just one egg yolks and 1/4 tsp vanilla. I’ve fixed the recipe.
I made the German Chocolate recipe today, I did not have ramekins so I doubled the recipe and made cupcakes, made six cupcakes doubling the recipe. The frosting calls for adding vanilla, did not see this on the ingredient list for the frosting, I added almost a teaspoon. The cupcakes and frosting were delish, my hubby ate 3 and he said they were very good, usually won’t eat my keto baked goods.
SOOOO cute. Almost doesn’t matter what it tastes like! Almost. Making this weekend as an early Valentine’s Day gift to myself !!! =))
No idea why on earth this is called German chocolate cake as this kind of cake is virtually unknown in Germany and especially pecans have no tradition here… (normally chocolate cake is not layered at all, just covered with chocolate or simply with icing sugar)
Looks really delicious though! 🙂
I hope I can give it a try, soon.
It’s not German as in the country. It’s German as in the last name of the man who first created it. 🙂
“It” being the chocolate not the cake. The cake came along more than 100 years after Samuel German developed the chocolate that bears his name.
(Sorry. Once an editor, always an editor.)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_chocolate_cake
It was originally called “German’s chocolate cake.”
????
This is dangerous… so easy to make and so delicious! Perfect size for my family of three and will definitely be a go to recipe for us 🙂
I am so glad I just read this, I have a grandson with Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Abil cannot eat dairy, corn (and the byproducts), berries, nuts, peanuts or coconuts. His mother is thinking he is becoming sensitive to gluten now. I make a lot of his bread and cookies. Abil loves sunflower butter sandwiches and so now I will try the sunflower seed flour.
Hope it helps. It’s a great sub for almond flour and is 1:1 in replacement.
Carolyn,
I hope you can help me. I’ve loved all your recipes and I’m grateful for you sharing your knowledge. I have a problem. I have a food intolerance to almond *and* coconut flour. I’ve used pork rinds for a substitute for bread crumbs but I’ve been unsuccessful with using them for any flour. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks for all you do for all of us.
Mickey DeFalco
YES! Use sunflower seed flour. It’s a perfect replacement for almond flour. If you are super allergic, make sure you get the kind that’s certified nut-free (i.e. not processed in a facility that also processes nuts). GERBS is a good brand, they are totally nut free, I get mine on Amazon. https://amzn.to/2FVR4by
I’d love to make a regular size cake. Do you know what the measurements of ingredients would be for an 8 inch version? Thank you.
Hi Darlene. That would be easy, just search my blog for any of my chocolate cakes. Then use the frosting from my German Chocolate Brownies.
The bocaSweet is not used in the frosting recipe from the brownie recipe. How can I adjust to add that to the brownie frosting recipe. I think the BocaSweet makes it so much better!
Just do half Swerve and half Bocha Sweet. Same principal as the small one but on a larger scale.
I have found that Bocha sweet comes in regular and powdered. Which version do you recommend for this recipe?
I will specify powdered if I want you to use that so in this case, granular. Although truly, either would work.
I tried searching your blog for chocolate cake and surprisingly came up empty for a full keto cake recipe. I found chocolate cheese cakes, mini chocolate cake, mini peanut butter cake, chocolate zucchini cake, several lava cakes, and the sugar high cake which is NOT keto. Any chance you can link one for us?
https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/chocolate-layer-cake-with-chocolate-sour-cream-frosting-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
Carolyn,
Could this be made in a 9×13 rectangular pan? I think it would be easier to take along to a family gathering.
Sandy
This tiny cake would need to be scaled up by 3 or 4 times or so to fit in a 9×13 pan.
Looks yummy! Question about the number of servings. The recipe states “serves 4” but there are only 3 ramekins being baked. Is 1/3 of the recipe a serving, or do the cake layers have to be cut to make sure there are 4 servings.
Thank you!
There are three layers but you don’t take them apart. You simply slice the cake as you would a bigger one.