Oh my, this keto praline sheet cake is absolutely to die for. It’s tender and fluffy, with a rich sugar free caramel glaze and a generous sprinkle of pecan pralines. It’s a classic southern dessert made healthier!
I am convinced I should have been born a southerner, with my taste for rich pecan desserts. Hey Georgia, will you adopt this Canuck? I promise to bake you plenty of keto desserts!
Seriously, this praline sheet cake is over-the-top good. And it joins a long list of other pecan-studded recipes like Keto Pecan Pie Bars and Keto Butter Pecan Cookies.
How can it not be good? Tender almond flour cake with a glaze similar to my sugar-free caramel sauce. And those sweet and salty keto pralines on top make my tastebuds sing.
If you’re crazy about pecans, head to the kitchen and make this as soon as you can!
Praline Cake Inspiration
You know I am a sucker for pretty cakes and confections. And I am a sucker for sheet cakes because they’re easy to make and have the ideal cake-to-frosting ratio.
I already have some wonderful sheet cake recipes, including:
So when I spotted this Caramel Praline Sheet Cake from Chef In Training, I thought it was time to add to my list.
I love all my sheet cake recipes but this one is truly special!
How to make Keto Praline Sheet Cake
Sheet cakes are easy to make and they feed a crowd, so mark this recipe for your next get together. Trust me, it’s worth it!
Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Make the pralines. I highly recommend using ONLY erythritol based sweeteners for the pralines. Pralines should have a slightly sandy coating of brown sugar (or, in this case, brown sweetener) mixed with butter. Other sweeteners like allulose or BochaSweet will give you a gooey consistency, which just isn’t right for pralines.
- Break them up. The pecan bits will cluster together when you first pour them out onto the sheet. Let them cool and then break them up with your fingers.
- Bake the cake. This is an almond flour vanilla cake, but I used Swerve Brown instead of granular to play up that caramel flavor a bit more. The perfect pan size for this is 10×15, but you can go a bit larger or a bit smaller. Just know that your cake will be thicker or thinner and the bake time will change.
- Make the glaze. The glaze is made from a thicker version of my caramel sauce, with some added powdered sweetener to make it more like frosting. Be sure to let the caramel sauce cool sufficiently before whisking in the powdered sweetener. Otherwise it will clump like crazy.
- Spread the glaze over top of the cake. Pour it on and use an offset spatula to spread it evenly all over.
- Sprinkle on the pralines. Try to get even coverage so that every piece has plenty of crunchy pecan bits!
Frequently Asked Questions
Don’t try to adapt this recipe to coconut flour. Instead, try using the cake from my Keto Chantilly Cake. I don’t know the exact bake time so be sure to watch it carefully in the oven.
Gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein helps baked goods rise and hold their shape. That’s why my cakes and muffins are lighter and fluffier than most keto recipes.
You can sub egg white protein but don’t use collagen as it makes things gummy and hard to cook through.
Pralines and caramel have a lot of butter and I don’t know that dairy free alternatives would work as well. You are certainly welcome to try!
You can easily halve the recipe and make it in a 9×9 or 11×7 inch pan. You will need to split one of the eggs in the cake by whisking it and measuring out half (about 1 ½ tablespoons).
Yes, you can make this cake a day or two in advance and refrigerate it. Let it come to room temperature before serving. I don’t think the glaze would fare that well in the freezer so I don’t recommend freezing it.
Storage Information
You can leave this praline sheet cake on the counter, tightly wrapped, for up to 4 days, and refrigerate it for up to a week.
The cake itself can be made ahead and frozen in the pan for several months. I don’t recommend freezing the caramel glaze, however.
More delicious keto caramel recipes
- Keto Caramel Cake
- Caramel Apple Scones
- Keto Salted Caramel Ice Cream
- Sugar Free Pecan Turtles
- Salted Caramel Butter Bars
Keto Praline Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Pralines
- ¼ cup Swerve Brown
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Cake
- 3 cups almond flour
- ⅔ cup Swerve Brown
- ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup butter
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Caramel Glaze
- 6 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup Swerve Brown
- ¼ cup BochaSweet or allulose
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups powdered Swerve
Instructions
Pralines
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the Swerve Brown, butter, and cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently, 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the salt and vanilla, then stir in the chopped pecans.
- Spread the mixture out on a silicone or parchment paper lined tray to cool. Once cool, crumble them into pieces with your hands.
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease a 10×15 jelly roll pan very well. You can also do this in an 11×17 pan but it will be thinner and will bake faster.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, whey protein, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, melted butter, water, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Spread the batter as evenly as possible in the prepared pan and bake 18 to 22 minutes, until golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
Caramel Glaze
- In a medium saucepan (can re-use the pan from the pralines) over medium heat combine the butter and sweeteners. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Remove from heat and stir in the cream and vanilla extract. Cool 15 minutes, then whisk in the powdered sweetener until smooth.
- Pour over the cooled cake and spread evenly over top. Sprinkle the top of the cake with the crumbled pralines.
Deb R says
Does whey protein isolate work the same as the whey protein concentrate that you link to in your recipes? The one you linked to on Amazon here is unavailable.
Thanks.
Carolyn says
It certainly should!
Susan R says
Hi Carolyn-I am obsessed with your recipes and have so many I want to try! I have already tried a few cakes and they were fabulous!! My question is, do you think any of your cake recipes that are for sheet cakes or 8″ round cakes or bundt cakes can be made in 9×13 pans? Would the only difference be the baking time? I love the idea of sheet cakes, but I really don’t want to buy another pan and I would like to use my 9×13 pan. I also do love bundt cakes and as I’m studying your recipes, I do see that this sheet cake recipe is quite similar to the Lemon Poppy Seed Cake and that one is a bundt cake. I will obviously experiment on my own, but I was just wondering your thoughts on this.
Carolyn says
Cakes can always be adjusted for a different pan. But you have to keep your eye on them closely because the cooking time changes. I always set the timer for about 15 minutes and then check often (like every frew minutes) after that.
Marcy says
I had a party yesterday, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to try this cake since it was a large group. It was easy to make and came together beautifully. I always worry about serving my baked goods to non keto guests, but to my surprise they LOVED it. People were going back for third helpings and begging for the recipe! I think I won some converts to sugar free baking!
William says
Amazing recipe. What is the cream used in the praline portion of the recipe? Heavy cream?
Carolyn says
Yep, heavy whipping cream!
Orit says
What can replace the whey powder?
Carolyn says
Please read the frequently asked questions in the post.