Keto Peanut Butter Earthquake Cake

Fun with ChocZero!

I have so much fun playing with all the wonderful ChocZero goodies. My last order included their decadent hazelnut spread, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and a few bags of their dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

And the idea for this earthquake cake variation popped into my head upon seeing those delicious peanut butter cups. They were just begging to be used in some over-the-top keto dessert.

Do I need to tell you how good this is? It’s gooey, it’s rich, and the peanut butter cups become melty and delicious on top of the warm cake.

Ingredients you need

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• Almond flour: Blanched almond flour produces the best results for keto cakes.
• Sweetener: You need both granular and powdered sweetener for this recipe. I recommend Swerve Sweetener.
• Cocoa powder: Use dutch process cocoa powder for a richer chocolate flavor.
• Cream cheese: Make sure it’s properly softened so you don’t get any clumps in your filling.
• Peanut butter: I like natural creamy peanut butter for this recipe and my new favorite is the no-stir Santa Cruz brand.
• Almond milk: The filling needs to be thinned out a little with liquid. If you don’t want to use almond milk, try using half cream and half water.
• Chocolate chips: I used the dark chocolate chips from ChocZero, but you could also use their delicious peanut butter chips!
• Salted peanuts: Chopped peanuts give the cake a delightful crunch. But you could always do some more chocolate chips.
• Sugar-free peanut butter cups: Add these after the cake is out of the oven, so they don’t melt away completely.
• Pantry staples: Eggs, butter, vanilla, salt

Step by Step Directions

1. Make the cake batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients, and then add the butter, eggs, water, and vanilla. Spread the batter in a 9×13 inch ceramic baking pan.

2. Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, and butter together, then beat in the sweetener. Add the vanilla and thin the filling out a little with some almond milk.

3. Swirl them together: Dollop the cheesecake mixture over the cake batter and swirl with a knife.

4. Sprinkle the top: Add the chocolate chips and chopped nuts to the top of the cake.

5. Bake: Bake the cake at 325ºF until the sides are set. The center should still jiggle ever so slightly when the pan is shaken.

6. Add the peanut butter cups: Sprinkle the top with chopped peanut butter cups and let cool before slicing into pieces.

Expert Tips

Baking pans: I recommend glass or ceramic for this particular recipe, as it allows the cheesecake filling to cook through properly. But you can use a metal pan as well. Just watch it carefully as the cake may bake faster.

Don’t overbake: A cake like this can become dry if you bake it too long. Because of the cheesecake filling, the center may still seem soft. Look for the sides to be completely set, and then give the pan a shake. If the center still looks liquid, it needs more time. But if it jiggles just a little bit, it’s done.

Nut-free variation: If you want to make this cake without tree nuts, use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour. You can use it in exactly the same quantity.