You won’t believe how easy this Slow Cooker Chocolate Cake is to make. And it’s so rich and moist, it doesn’t need any frosting. It’s one of my favorite low carb desserts.
I consider myself something of a keto chocolate cake fanatic. As evidenced by my vast recipe archives with multiple cake recipes, each with their own unique twist. And each special in their own unique way.
I’ve got Keto Flourless Chocolate Cake and Keto Chocolate Zucchini Cake. I’ve got dairy free Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake and Coconut Flour Chocolate Cupcakes. I’ve got simple Keto Texas Sheet Cake and elegant Chocolate Kahlua Cake.
See, that’s the beauty of chocolate cake; that it’s not just one thing. It’s many beautiful things. And this keto slow cooker cake is one of those beautiful, delectable, luscious, low carb things.
Why you will love this recipe
I first created this recipe back in August 2014, when it was too hot to turn on the oven. I found the idea of baking my slow cooker very intriguing, but I wasn’t sure it would work with my low carb ingredients. Still, I figured it was worth a shot.
I never expected the results to be so fabulous, so astonishingly tender and moist. It quickly became one of my most popular keto cake recipes.
Over the years, I tweaked the recipe to make it even lower in carbs but just as delicious. It’s such an easy cake to make, and it doesn’t heat up your kitchen in high summer. It’s also so moist and tender, it needs no frosting.
But a scoop of keto ice cream on top would certainly not go amiss!
Reader Reviews
“Thank you!! I have been searching for years for a keto cake recipe that is edible and I’ve finally found it! It’s very close to the “real” thing. I live at high altitude and baking is difficult. Cakes and bread are usually dense and half the size they’re supposed to be. Not this one!” — Pam
“This cake was absolutely wonderful! My guests loved it and couldn’t believe it was low carb and gluten free. The fact that it didn’t heat up the kitchen was a plus. I used a crock pot liner which i buttered, then used it to pull out the cake from the slow cooker. Easy, peasy and no pot to clean up!” — Yolanda
“This is the best low carb chocolate cake I’ve made. Turns out perfect every time. Love that I can put it in the slow cooker and not worry about checking to make sure it’s done without overbaking it. So moist and chocolaty.” — Maureen
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: Using good quality almond flour is extremely important for any almond flour cake.
- Cocoa powder: Use Dutch process cocoa powder for a deeper chocolate flavor.
- Sweetener: You can use any sweetener you like best here. Allulose and erythritol both work, as does a combination of the two.
- Protein powder: You can use whey protein powder, egg white protein powder, or a plant-based powder.
- Cold coffee: Coffee helps deepen the chocolate flavor. It does not taste like coffee.
- Sugar free chocolate chips: You can use Lily’s or ChocZero. You can also use homemade sugar free chocolate chips.
- Kitchen staples: Butter, eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, whey protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
2. Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and ⅓ of the liquid until well combined. If the batter is very thick, add more liquid 1 tablespoon at a time until a thick but pourable consistency is achieved.
3. Spread the batter: Spread the batter our in the to greased ceramic insert of a 6 quart slow cooker. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips.
4. Bake: Cook for 2 ½ hours. It will be gooey and like a pudding cake at 2 hours, and more firm and cake-like at 2 ½ hours.
5. Cool: Turn the slow cooker off and let cool 20 to 30 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve warm. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or keto ice cream.
Tips for Success
This cake isn’t meant to be flipped out of the crockpot, but rather served in sliced like a snack cake. If you are really dying to lift it all out in one piece, you will need to line your crockpot with parchment. It does leave wrinkled edges in the cake, however.
Do not use collagen or beef-based protein here, it will make the cake very gummy and hard to cook through.
I made this recipe with mostly allulose as the sweetener (I used Swerve allulose). The great part about this cake is that it turns out well with almost any granular sweetener you like best.
The chocolate chips are optional, but you can have some fun here. Try different flavors of chips or chopped nuts instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
A slow cooker keeps it more moist and tender as it traps the moisture during cooking. It also helps keep your kitchen cool if you crave keto cake in the middle of summer!
This keto slow cooker chocolate cake recipe has 7.3g of carbs and 4.2g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.1g net carbs per slice.
Store the cake in a covered container on the counter for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze the cake for several months.
More great slow cooker recipes
Keto Slow Cooker Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup sweetener allulose or erythritol
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup unflavored whey protein powder can sub egg white protein powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon butter melted
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ to ½ cup water or cold coffee
- ⅓ cup mini sugar-free chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Grease the ceramic insert of a 6 quart slow cooker well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt.
- Stir in the butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and ⅓ of the liquid until well combined. If the batter is very thick, add more liquid 1 tablespoon at a time until a thick but pourable consistency is achieved.
- Pour the batter into prepared insert and sprinkle the top with the chocolate chips.
- Cook on low for 2 to 2 ½ hours. It will be gooey and like a pudding cake at 2 hours, and more cakey at 2 ½ hours.
- Turn the slow cooker off and let cool 20 to 30 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve warm. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream or keto ice cream.
Exploding Mary says
Looks great.
You know, I do love my slow-cookers (I have four), and I have pretty much adapted all of my soup and stew recipes to take advantage of slow-cook convenience, rather than using new “slow” recipes; but this summer I did discover the lovely ease of cooking corn cobs the slow way– simply tossing as many shucked cobs in there as will fit, adding a little oil or butter and some marinade or herbs, and 1/4C water. I like rosemary and orange-flavored oil as a combo, then cook on high for a couple of hours or low for 4/5. The corn is so infused with flavor, you need no salt or butter, and has great texture. And it doesn’t heat the kitchen as does boiling.
Heather says
Thank you for such a delicious recipe! Could I ask your recommendations on a few substitutions? (1) I’m really sensitive to caffeine as well and would like to decrease the cocoa powder. I thought about cutting it down to 1/2 cup or 1/3 cup cocoa powder. How much should I increase the almond flour by and should I add coconut flour? (2) Would it be possible to substitute the butter for olive oil?
Carolyn says
Sure, cut the cocoa powder back. Add the same amount of almond flour that you cut back the cocoa powder, and then add a tbsp or two of coconut flour. I am sure olive oil would work but it will impart an olive oil taste. Hope that works!
diana says
This is hands-down the best chocolate cake I have ever tasted! I made it for our anniversary last night, but while it was cooking, hubby grabbed me and took me out to eat, and I forgot about the cake. My slow cooker has a “warm” function that keeps food hot until you turn it off. This morning I remembered that the cooker was still on and thought the cake would be doomed. But incredibly, it was just as rich and luscious as could be–we just can’t stop eating it!
Carolyn says
Wow, so glad it survived all that!
Cindy Maddux says
I just bought a rice cooker that has several functions on it, one of them being Slow Cook. The instructions say that the Slow Cook function operates as a traditional “High” Slow Cook function, and your instructions say to use Low setting. Would adjusting the time work with this recipe and if so, by how much? I have no experience with Slow Cookers so any advice would be appreciated from anyone who has the experience. Thanks.
Paula says
I made this last week and we LOVED it!! Took it to church picnic to share with our LC friends. Served with toasted pecans and HWC. As my friend says, it’s a “do again!” My favorite cake of all time is a mayonnaise cake so next time I make this, I’m going to try subbing mayo for the butter and eggs.
Kim S. says
Loved this cake! So easy and very moist as you said. Was wondering how long to cook it if I wanted to use same recipe for cupcakes or regular cake pans and would it stay as moist? Only problem with crockpot cake is that it is not too pretty to look at just out of the crockpot so not very suitable for serving to guests.
Carolyn says
I think you could try it in the oven but you’d want to add a pan of water to help keep it moister.
Anne O says
Made this for the second time today– even better. I lined my entire slow cooker with parchment paper then put cake batter in *awesome* entire cake slides right out afterwards. Mine is done at the 2-2.5 hour mark. I have topped it with your cream cheese butter cream frosting and freeze it in slices. Have the most scrumptious chocolate cake on hand now. It is just excellent- I may say the best choc cake ever or best I’ve had in a LONG time. Thanks Carolyn!
Carolyn says
It’s fast becoming a favourite in my house!
Charlotte says
Thank you for this!!! My 4 year old helped me make this as a birthday cake for her very health conscious father (well, we all are, but he was excited to hear about the ingredients.) My daughter loved to help. I made it with chocolate protein powder because I didn’t have plain and also used 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup coconut oil because I just didn’t have a 1/2 cup butter. Turned out great. Oh, I used coconut sugar instead of Stevia. The whole thing was delicious. Thanks so much!
Carolyn says
So glad everyone liked it!
Shannon says
Just put this in my crock!
elviira says
This just sounds (and looks!) amazing! Might be a reason to _finally_ get myself a slow cooker… I didn’t even know that you can make cake in it! Thanks for a great recipe!
Carolyn says
Definitely do it, Elviira. They can be so useful and until a few months ago, I didn’t know you could make cake in it either!
Rae says
I have been making a lovely slow-cooker praline cheesecake for a couple of years. It tastes as good as cheesecake from “that famous restaurant,” and has a perfect texture…except it’s sugar-free, and only a few carbs per slice. I use a 7 inch souffle pan set on top of an aluminum foil ring inside my slow cooker insert, and do the water bath in the insert, with a dish towel under the lid to catch any drips. I usually use pecan meal for the crust, although most recently I used your Cinnamon Crunch cereal, which was spectacular.
Carolyn says
Well that’s interesting because I was planning on trying cheesecake in my slow cooker!
Deb says
Rae, can you please post your full cheesecake recipe?
Hope says
Are you kidding me? This cake is ridiculous! Soooooo YUM!
Beth M. says
Ok, this was so good it might be a really bad idea to have so much of it in the house! I don’t have a smaller crock pot, but I’m wondering if I could make a half batch, spoon the batter into silicone muffin cups, and put them in my slow cooker to bake. Any guess on how to adjust the cooking time? I may have to just experiment.
Carolyn says
I think the cooking time would be at least an hour less. I’d watch it carefully the first time.
Beth M. says
Just made this tonight, and it’s amazing. I had chocolate whey protein on hand, so I used that instead of unflavored, worked great. Thank you!!
heather says
I am really allergic to all protein powders so I tried out substituting 2 tbsp Great Lakes kosher gelatin for the protein powder. I didn’t change any other ingredients. It worked great! Delicious and moist and it did rise so I would call it a success.
Carolyn says
Good to know about the Great Lakes gelatin. Love that stuff!
Raquel says
Which can of Great Lakes gelatin did you use?
Pam says
Don’t know what happened! But it didn’t turn out. Not enough liquid, went in dry and crumbly, came out dry and crumbly!
Alison says
I just made this cake and I have to say it is my favorite recipe thus far. Everyone in the family thought it was delicious. Thank you so much for helping us low carbers not feel like we are missing out in life. Excellent job, Carolyn!
Kathleen says
Please forget stupid question I posted about using almond flour instead of coconut. Didn’t read recipe right. Must have been thinking of another one. But maybe you can still answer. Can almond flour be used instead of coconut for most recipes?
Carolyn says
It really depends on the recipe. Coconut flour and almond flour behave so differently. Coconut is extremely dense and requires far more eggs and liquid than almond so the recipe won’t just work with a direct substitution.
Pam says
Oh, I just posted and I used coconut flour! My mistake!
Carolyn says
Oh yes, I can imagine that that amount of coconut flour would be a mess! Yikes!
Kathleen says
This sounds delicious! Would almond flour work ok? I really do not like the flavor of coconut at all.
Angie Clowes says
Whoa- I just made this cake and I was so floored by how amazing my house smelled while it was cooking that there was no possible way I could save it til’ after dinner! I sampled it (hopefully nobody will notice, lol) and my mind is blown! I have been low-carbing for 14 years off and on and I have never come across a cake recipe that tastes this decadent…..thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!
Carolyn says
You are welcome! So glad it made the grade.