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:
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
German Chocolate Frosting:
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon Bocha Sweet (or an additional tablespoon powdered Swerve)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup flaked coconut
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ teaspoon 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 ⅓ of the frosting. Repeat with the remaining layers and frosting.
Cody says
If i use half n half in place of the heavy cream will that mess it up? or do you think it would be fine
Carolyn says
I honestly can’t say, you will need to experiment.
gwen says
Do you have proportions for the same recipe to make a 9″ cake?
Carolyn says
I do not.
Patrick C says
Doing the math, the volume difference between two 9″ rounds and three 4″ rounds is about 3.375x. In theory, if you increased the recipe by approx. 3x, I’d guess you’d be able to fill two 9″ round cake pans. Still, there might be a little trial and error.
Lisa says
I tried the coconut/nut frosting on my chocolate cupcakes today, and it’s fabulous! Just delightful with the right amount of sweetness. I only had shredded vs flaked coconut on hand, so I chopped it up a bit more to make for a good mouth-feel texture and it worked perfectly. Thank you!
Jaylan says
Do the leftovers need to be refrigerated?
Carolyn says
Yes, you should.
Loyce Clark says
Ok, I tripled this recipe and it still went too fast with my keto family! This frosting was better than my Bama Betty’s full sugar recipe! DELICIOUS!
Julie says
Quick question if I want to sub out the almond flour for 100% coconut flour what would the measurement be?
Carolyn says
Sorry, that is not how these flours work. There is simply no such thing as subbing them, because you have to re=-work the rest of the recipe too. You can use this recipe and try to cut it down to size… https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/chocolate-coconut-flour-cupcakes-with-espresso-buttercream-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
Julie says
Ok thank you. We have a Severe nut allergy at our house so almond or nut anything is a no-no.
Angelic Rodgers says
Can you use sunflower seed flour? That might be an option.
Kimberly says
Delicious! I’ve been missing German chocolate cake, and this fit the bill. Much easier than you would think too. Thanks for sharing!
Angela Baumbach says
Just found you and can’t wait to try some of these yummy looking recipes!!
Do you or anyone know where I might buy a good tapioca fiber? Not tapioca flour or starch but tapioca fiber.
Thank you ????
Carolyn says
I’ve honestly never used it. Sorry!
Angela says
Thank you for your reply ???? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. It’s in popular premix products like Lakanto Brownies and cookies. I’ll try to use psyllium instead. Maybe it’ll be more widely available soon.
Thanks again!
Peggy says
I don’t have bocha sweet but I do have granulated stevia or Splenda can I use one of these instead
Carolyn says
They won’t help make the topping more gooey so just stick with Swerve.
Cathy says
How donyou get 3 4″ cakes from the printed recioe? I just made a single-layer 5″ cake. Are you supposed to double or triple the recipe?
Carolyn says
I made the cake layers from the recipe as stated. You simply split it between the 3 cake tins. It works if you split it up properly.
MEG Calabrese says
Thanks so much for this recipe!! I just finished making it. I put 1 candle on it for my birthday today. Life in the time of Covid-19.
Gwen says
I had been looking for a German Chocolate keto recipe cake and this is as close as I could have found. This recipe is so good I have made this cake twice and making it now for the holiday. So good thank you!
Carolyn says
Yay, glad you like it!
Patty says
I made this for my birthday cake since I’m the only coconut lover in the house. It was excellent! I rationed it so that I was able to have it 4 times. Slightly heated in the microwave to give the coconut a melty warm texture along with a cup of coffee is pure heaven! I followed the recipe exactly with no changes and it turned out perfectly.
Kev says
Hi! Could i replace swerve with monk fruit or stevia? If so, is there a change in the ratios?
Thank you!
Carolyn says
What kind of monk fruit? There are many kinds of monk fruit sweeteners, most of which are blended with erythritol.
Tammy says
I can’t wait to make this. I’m new to keto and trying to learn the ins and outs of using these new ingredients. Why do you recommend doing half swerve and half BochaSweet? I’ve seen other recipes using the 2 together. BochaSweet is my preferred sweetener and I prefer to use it in place of the Swerve. Thanks
Carolyn says
Swerve tends to make things hard, and Bocha Sweet tends to make things too soft. Together, they work perfectly!
Michelle Petty says
I need to frost two 8inch rounds. How many times should I multiply the frosting recipe??
Carolyn says
Please search for my German Chocolate Brownies, which have the right amount of frosting for two 8 inch rounds.
Susan Roberts says
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks so much for the German Chocolate recipes. They are very good!
I cooked the frosting recipe only (as a test recipe for a larger cake) and I think I cooked it too long as it became very thick and dry and the butter began to separate out. The flavor, color and texture were spot on, just too dry.
So I was going to cook a larger batch when I read to use your G.C. Brownie icing instead. I went to that recipe for the larger batch.
It’s funny, but I tried a G.C. frosting recipe from another website and it was too thin and looked and tasted like it was that awful canned stuff for people who can’t make it from scratch. Your recipe tastes like the old one I used to make years ago from scratch, which was what I was looking for.
Thanks so very much!
Susan Stephenson says
I’m making this cake for my Keto mentor, whose success launched my own journey. She is unable to tolerate Swerve, she discovered to her dismay. I have monkfruit sweetener on hand. Would that suffice? Or I can get the Bocha Sweet if it can be used exclusively in both cake and frosting. I really want this to work, as she has said that German chocolate was the birthday cake her mother always made for her. I appreciate any direction you can give.
Carolyn says
Her issues with Swerve likely extend to “monk fruit sweetener” as well. If she has issues with erythritol, she will feel it with Lakanto too. Bocha Sweet can be used for both cake and frosting.
Stephenson Susan says
The Bocha Sweet worked perfectly and my friend was grateful to have the cake of her childhood—legally!
Carolyn says
hooray!
Marla says
Have wanted to make this ever since you posted it. Finally did so today in honor of Memorial Day. I added 1/4 tsp espresso powder to the chocolate mix to intensify the chocolate flavor and I added 1/4 tsp. Maple flavoring/extract to the frosting because it needed a bit more something to me. Next time I will toast the pecans!
Patricia says
Just made it today and it taste great. Since my rankings were larger than 4oz, I doubled the flour and egg. Turned out great.