Dreamy keto pumpkin dessert recipe! Tender keto pumpkin lava cakes with a center of gooey sugar-free caramel.
Is there anything better than warmy gooey lava cake? How about pumpkin spice flavored lava cake? Wait, how about pumpkin lava cake with a center of warm caramel? Wait, even better… pumpkin caramel lava cake that’s totally keto-friendly!
Don’t even bother to answer that, it’s completely rhetorical. Because of course there is nothing better. Keto lava cakes are easy and delicious, like my Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Lava Cake. Always popular, and with good reason
And now that we are knee deep in pumpkin season, it’s time to shake up the flavor profile! Absolutely dreamy with a scoop of keto vanilla ice cream.
Pumpkin Lava Cake inspiration
As always, I have to give credit where credit is due. I think I first spotted pumpkin lava cake on Grandbaby Cakes. If you don’t know Jocelyn’s gorgeous blog, you do need to check it out. It’s not even remotely low carb but it will give you some wonderful inspiration!
I spotted a few more versions, all a little different, and I decided to give it a go. I actually used my Keto Peanut Butter Lava Cakes as the model, swapping out the peanut butter for pumpkin puree.
I knew I wanted to use my keto sugar free caramel sauce for the gooey center, but I was worried it would simply disappear into the rest of the cake. Still, I decided it was worth a shot…
Don’t flip out!
I’m not accusing you of flipping out, I promise. I am saying don’t flip these delicious keto lava cakes out of their ramekins.
While it’s so eye-catching to have a pretty little cake on a plate with a gooey center oozing out, that’s just not in the cards for this recipe. I tried it, and the bottom just wouldn’t come out intact.
But the cakes were so delicious just as they were, I decided not to change a thing. The caramel sauce held up perfectly and oozed out as a spoon dug into them, I simply didn’t want to mess with it.
So these wonderful keto pumpkin desserts must stay in their warm little home and simply be spooned straight into your mouth. Nothing wrong with that!
How to make Keto Pumpkin Lava Cakes
This is a simple and delicious keto cake recipe that doesn’t take much effort or time. Here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Make the caramel sauce first and let it cool to firm up. This recipe only uses a half batch of the caramel sauce and you can simply do that. Or you can make the full batch and save the rest for topping ice cream.
- Even though these keto lava cakes aren’t flipped out of the ramekins, you still want to grease them. It helps all the cakey goodness not stick and harden on the sides.
- Make sure your butter is melted but not hot. Never add eggs into very hot butter, or your eggs will cook.
- Make a well in the center of the pumpkin batter in each ramekin to hold the caramel sauce. You want to make sure some batter is covering the bottom and the sides, to seal the caramel sauce in.
- Use about 1 tablespoon of keto caramel sauce for each cake. It should have firmed up a bit, if you let it cool properly. You don’t want it completely liquid when adding it to the cakes.
- Cover the caramel with the remaining batter and smooth the tops as best you can with the back of a spoon.
- The cakes are done when the sides are set and the top is just barely set to the touch. Don’t bake them too long or they will get a bit tough.
- Do have a bit of patience to let them cool 10 minutes. They will burn your mouth if you try to eat them too early!
- Top them with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for the ultimate lava cake experience!
More keto pumpkin cake recipes
- Keto Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
- Keto Pumpkin Roll
- Keto Pumpkin Crumb Cake
- Mini Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Keto Pumpkin Mug Cake
- Keto Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake
Pumpkin Caramel Lava Cakes
Ingredients
- 1/2 recipe Sugar-Free Caramel Sauce
- 1/3 cup (81.67 g) pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup (56.75 g) butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp (72 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 6 tbsp (37.5 g) almond flour
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Make the caramel sauce according to the directions, but leave out the additional water in Step 4. Let it cool completely before proceeding.
- Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease 4 small (4 ounce) ramekins.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir in the sweetener, almond flour, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
- Divide about 2/3 of the batter between the ramekins to cover the bottom of each. Use a spoon to make a well in the batter (you want some batter to cover the bottom of the ramekin but raised on the sides).
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce into each well. Use the remaining batter to cover the caramel in each ramekin.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the cakes are golden brown and the tops are just barely firm to the touch. The caramel sauce may be bubbling up a bit through the top.
- Remove and let cool 10 minutes before serving in the ramekins (these will not stand up to be flipped out of the ramekins).
- Top with keto vanilla ice cream, if desired, and the remaining caramel sauce. If the sauce has thickened considerably, add a tbsp of water and re-warm gently in the pan.
Nutrition
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
These were easy and delicious. The caramel turned out perfect. I had tried another recipe that kept separating. Great recipe!
Thank you!!
This is an awesome recipe! If you have a bad sweet craving these little cakes will satisfy it…lol.
I didn’t have any ramekins dishes so I put the mixture in a silicone muffin tray…..and guess what?……after they had cooled I was able to pop them out and put into glass desert goblets!.
Cheryl ????????
For the caramel sauce, I used golden Monkfruit in place of BochaSweet along with the brown Swerve. Rather than pouring caramel sauce into the batter to bake, I simply poured it over the top when eating it. It was quick to whip up without dirtying many dishes…..I made the sauce in a 2 cup glass measuring cup in the microwave, and it worked great! This will be my go-to for using up a little canned pumpkin left over from another recipe.
Your keto recips are alwasy to good. I’m sure this one is a winner too. Thanks!
Everything about this is absolutely delicious! Great recipe!
So delicious! Just the right amount of caramel and pumpkin to satisfy the sweet craving!!
You may not know the answer to this one , because you have a family. However I would be the only one eating this . Do you know how it is served cold or reheated ?
Pam: That’s my question too. Do they reheat ok? There is just one of me, even if I halve the recipe. One will be leftover (I hope!)
Maybe I will need to make 4 to test various possibilities for the leftovers.
I kept mine at room temp and heated it up in the microwave, and added a bit more caramel to the top. It’s not quite as gooey but it’s still delicious!