This keto peanut butter cup cake is over-the-top delicious. Tender chocolate cake with a chocolate peanut butter filling and sugar free peanut butter frosting. Topped with a few keto peanut butter cups, it’s a sure-fire hit. This post is sponsored by ChocZero.
Okay, chocolate peanut butter lovers, have I got the keto dessert for you! This poke cake is so fun to make, and an absolute delight to the senses. Add it to your must make keto cake recipes right away – you’ll be glad you did!
I made this cake for my husband’s birthday this year. I love making a big multi-layer keto birthday cake but he wanted something little different this year. He wanted something rich and moist, that tasted like keto peanut butter cups.
I was more than happy to oblige, let me tell you!
Peanut Butter Cup Poke Cake Inspiration
As I so often do, I took to Pinterest in search of inspiration. It didn’t take long to find exactly what I was looking for.
This lovely Reese’s Poke Cake from Cupcakes and Kale Chips caught my eye almost instantly. And since I always have a bag of ChocZero Peanut Butter Cups on the go, I couldn’t wait to give it a try.
I took my basic keto chocolate cake recipe and downsized it a bit. Then I created an easy chocolate peanut butter sauce and poured it all over the cake.
I whipped up a light peanut butter frosting and spread that overtop, and sprinkled the whole thing with chopped peanut butter cups.
Absolutely divine!
How to make Keto Poke Cake
Don’t be put off by the multiple sections and long ingredient list. This peanut butter cup poke cake is easy to make!
- Make the cake: This is a basic almond flour keto chocolate cake recipe. It should only take you about 35 minutes to make, start to finish.
- Poke holes in the cake: Take the handle of a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the cooled cake.
- Make the chocolate peanut butter sauce: Heat up some almond or hemp milk and add the chocolate. Let it melt, then whisk in some peanut butter and some sweetener. Pour this over the cake and allow it to drip down into the holes.
- Make the frosting: This is a light and fluffy keto peanut butter frosting. You might be tempted to just eat it with a spoon, but resist the urge. Then spread it all over the top of the cake.
- Sprinkle with peanut butter cups: Coarsely chop the peanut butter cups and sprinkle them all over the top of the cake. If you have any leftover chocolate sauce, drizzle this lightly over the top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Try using sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour at a 1:1 ratio. You could also use one of my coconut flour cakes as the base, but you’d need to cut it back by about 30 percent.
Gluten is a protein and adding protein powder to keto cakes helps them rise and hold their shape. You don’t have to add it but your cake will have a better texture. You can use egg white protein powder or plant based protein powder instead, but I really don’t recommend collagen protein. It tends to make the cakes very gummy.
I recommend the end of a wooden spoon. I’ve tried with skewers before and the holes aren’t big enough to allow the filling to soak down into the cake.
Make your own! I have a fabulous recipe for keto peanut butter cups.
This keto poke cake is best kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Cover the top of the pan tightly to keep it from drying out.
Carolyn recommends
- I simply cannot recommend USA Pans enough. The best bakeware on the market, bar none! I’ve had the 9×9 inch pan for about 8 years and it’s still going strong.
- My favorite whey protein is this grassfed protein powder. If you’d prefer to use egg white protein, try this one.
More keto poke cake recipes
- Coconut Cream Poke Cake
- Boston Cream Poke Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Poke Cake
- Lemon Poke Cake
- Cannoli Poke Cake
Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- ⅔ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoon butter melted
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk or hemp milk
- 1 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
Frosting
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup butter softened
- ⅓ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon whipping cream divided
Garnish
- 4 sugar-free peanut butter cups chopped
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease a 9×9 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- Stir in the eggs and melted butter, then stir in the water and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until risen and the top is firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
Filling
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the almond milk to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit a few minutes to melt, then whisk until smooth.
- Add the peanut butter and the powdered sweetener and whisk until well combined. Set aside about 3 tablespoons of the filling (for drizzling over the cake when it's frosted).
- Use the handle of a wooden spoon to poke holes all over the cake. Pour the remaing filling over the cake, allowing it to seep into the holes. Refrigerate 30 minutes to set.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat together the peanut butter and butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener.
- Add two tablespoons of the cream and beat in to lighten.
- In another bowl, beat the remaining cream until it holds stiff peaks. Add the whipped cream to the peanut butter mixture and beat on low until just combined.
- Spread the frosting over the chilled cake.
Garnish
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with the chopped peanut butter cups and drizzle with the remaining filling. (Rewarm the filling gently and add a few teaspoons of liquid if it's too thick).
- Refrigerate another 30 minutes to firm up the frosting.
Sunny says
Can I use egg whites in place of the water and protein powder?
Carolyn says
You can certainly try… I just worry that your cake will be rubbery and eggy.
Lisa says
Made this for my son’s (Type 1 Diabetic) 12th birthday. It was a huge hit with our entire family (even those who don’t eat low carb). I made it exactly as written but doubled the recipe since we have a large family. It turned out perfectly. I did have to extend the bake time a little bit, and used Lily’s peanut butter cups since that is what I had on hand. It was perfect and I will definitely be making it again! Thank you, yet again, Carolyn, for your support of the T1 community and your talented and delicious culinary creations! I hope you know how appreciated you are!
S. K. says
Hi Carolyn, can I replace some of the almond flour with coconut flour (swap about 1/2 cup almond flour for 1/8 cup coconut flour?)- Would that work for this recipe ?
Carolyn says
Not unless you change more of the recipe as well. It’s just never a good sub without restructuring the rest of the recipe. Is there a reason you wish to do so? You could always use my keto chocolate cupcakes if you want to do all coconut flour.
S. K. says
Thanks Carolyn, I will try your suggestion using your coconut flour cupcake recipe. The reason I asked was that I find the almond flour-only cakes to be a bit gritty (I use Bob’s brand). But the recipes I tried that had coconut flour + almond flour + whey protein powder seemed to be best combo in terms of giving that true cake-like texture. I had success replacing some of the almond flour with coconut flour 4:1 in keto biscuit recipes, but wasn’t too sure how the replacement would work out with cakes.
JT says
This was a very delicious cake. I just made some slight changes.. Added some salt to the peanut butter, since the one I have is salt-free. Used a bit less sweetner, cocoa, and chocolate (based on family’s preference). used powdered lakanto sweetner with a couple tablespoons of allulose filling & frosting. Ended up needing to add bit more liquid to the filling until pourable consistency. Also reduced the heavy cream in the frosting by a tablespoon or so. Left out the chopped peanut butter cup garnish (didn’t have any on hand), but still turned out so decadent.. one of the best keto cakes I’ve tried. Thank you for sharing your recipe, Carolyn
Gina says
Made this cake tonight. So good! I enjoy all your recipes.
Monika Dabrowska says
This cake is absolute winner so far, texture, flavour, just beautiful noone would guess it’s sugar free. Your recipes are just perfect, had no fail and always come back here for new ideas. Thank you
Elizabeth Landon says
Absolutely fantastic! I’m going to make this again as a layer cake. Twice as good right?????
Joseph Beard says
This Keto Peanut Butter Poke Cake was outstanding. Over the top delicious. It is so good it could be considered dangerous. This is going into my personal favorite list. Oh yeah!
Joy says
OMG! Unbelievable good! But I did end up baking it longer due to using a glass pan!
Angela says
FYI, this can definitely be made dairy free. I used butter-flavored coconut oil for butter, egg white protein (as suggested in the recipe), and Silk dairy free heavy whipping cream. Worked perfectly! The frosting is like crack!!! I will definitely be using that on other things, as well. This recipe is a keeper, for sure. ????????
Charlotte says
Does anybody else have to bake this almost twice as long as the recipe calls for? Still turns out delicious.
Carolyn says
Did you bake it in a ceramic or glass pan? If so, that’s why it’s taking so long.
Lisa says
I used a regular metal cake pan, but I double the recipe. I had to add 15 minutes to the lower end of the bake time-so I think I did 35 minutes at 325. It was perfectly moist and delicious though!
Chelsea Santos says
Welp, another recipe I have very little willpower over in regards to consumption and portion size! It’s so incredibly amazing I would often find myself standing over the cake with a fork. Really good Carolyn, you’re amazing! It reminds of Drakes Funny Bones which is one of my favorite guilty pleasures (east coasters will know!) but with zero sugar. Fantastic recipe, a keeper.
Liz Tapelt says
Oli made this recipe today and it was delicious!! Only issue I had was the filling was thick…more spreadable than pourable. I’m wondering if I didn’t let the milk get hot enough or if my peanut butter was too thick. Suggestions?
Carolyn says
Hard to say without being there but you can always thin it out with more liquid.
Natasha says
Another keto-friendly dessert that I love! It is so delicious, my family enjoyed this for dessert! Definitely one of our new favorite recipes.
Kristyn says
Now, this is a poke cake that I won’t get sick of! It’s incredible & a chocolate lovers dream!! Can’t even tell it’s keto friendly!
Allyson Zea says
These are so tasty and KETO!!!! Sign me up for another batch!
Cheryl Dubien says
Delicious! I had to bake it a few minutes longer than the recipe directions. I’m in Canada so no Choc Zero peanut butter cups. Instead of making my own, I grated a bit of dark chocolate on top. The cake tasted great and we didn’t miss the peanut butter cups. Another great recipe!
Carolyn says
Sounds like a good solution!
Heather K. says
I made this last night and it is fantastic. Thank you so much for your recipes!
Kate says
choc zero now has peanut butter chips. Have you tried them yet?
Carolyn says
Just got my hands on some. Tasty for sure. I have yet to try baking with them.
MJ says
How could I use Gentle Sweet instead of Swerve?
Carolyn says
You will need to experiment on that front.
Roberta says
Could you please link the recipe for your keto peanut butter cups? I can’t find it, and in my Country we’ve not access to ChocZero… Thank you!
Carolyn says
It is linked earlier in the post, but here it is again. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-cups-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
The FAQ section doesn’t allow me to link, which is why it’s not right there.