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 1/3 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 1/2 hours. It will be gooey and like a pudding cake at 2 hours, and more firm and cake-like at 2 1/2 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 (112 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (95 g) sweetener, allulose or erythritol
- 1/3 cup (28.67 g) cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavored whey protein powder, can sub egg white protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp (85.21 g) butter, melted
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 to 1/2 cup (78.86 ml) water or cold coffee
- 1/3 cup (60 g) 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 1/3 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 1/2 hours. It will be gooey and like a pudding cake at 2 hours, and more cakey at 2 1/2 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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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.
I think the cooking time would be at least an hour less. I’d watch it carefully the first time.
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!!
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.
Good to know about the Great Lakes gelatin. Love that stuff!
Which can of Great Lakes gelatin did you use?
Don’t know what happened! But it didn’t turn out. Not enough liquid, went in dry and crumbly, came out dry and crumbly!
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!
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?
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.
Oh, I just posted and I used coconut flour! My mistake!
Oh yes, I can imagine that that amount of coconut flour would be a mess! Yikes!
This sounds delicious! Would almond flour work ok? I really do not like the flavor of coconut at all.
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!!!!!!!
You are welcome! So glad it made the grade.
Made this today. Tasty and moist!! Super easy too! But, very minor small problem. . . it is crumbling apart a bit. I was wondering if xanathan gum might help? How much xanathan gum would you recommend if I wanted to try adding that to help it hold together?
It’s strange that it was crumbly. It shouldn’t be, not with all those eggs. But if you want to use xanthan, I do about 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp.
Oh gosh, please disregard my comment. It was only random parts of it that crumbled. And the middle (and edges on some parts) was amazing. I think my slow cooker is cooking uneven. Its an older one. I will be asking for a new one as a Christmas present this year. 😉
I have been making this cheesecake in a mug recipe that I found on Pinterest. It turns out like a very very thick cheesecake pudding. . . A light went off in my head last night and I slice the cake in half, layered some of the chilled cheesecake in the middle and then put some of my home made starwberry sugar free jelly on top of the cake. Its so amazing. So so amazing. Thanks for the great recipes!
The best part about slow cookers is that even pretty good ones aren’t that expensive!
I have a 7quart crock pot. Are there any changes I should make to the recipe so that it comes out right?
I think your time will be a bit shorter so I’d start checking it at 2 hours.
Can the slices be frozen?
I didn’t try to do that, but I can’t see why not.
Looks Yummy!! Chocolate is my favorite food group! 😉
Do you think I could add zucchini to this without messing it up? how much could i add?
Good question. I think if you did about 2 cups fresh, drained it REALLY well (salted, let it drain for at least an hour and then squeeze out as much moisture as possible), and then added less liquid (maybe 1/4 cup less?), it would work. Can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried it!
Okay I don’t have the baking blend just regular truvia. But thanks for answering! I’ll give it a go, the cake looks wonderful!
Made this tonight! Use xylitol instead of swerve. I made it in my Hamilton Beach 6 qt slow cooker, and I turned it off at about 2.5 hrs. It ended up a bit dry, the whipped cream helps 🙂 I will try again and stop closer to 2 hrs. Thanks for the recipe!
Can you tell me the measurement for trivia in place of swerve? That’s the only sweetener I have. Thanks!
I don’t know for sure because I don’t use Truvia but it their baking blend is meant to measure cup for cup, then you can do a direct substitution.
Hi Carolyn, I’ve been having great results baking with ZSweet natural sweetener. I’ve even used it in coleslaw-measures 1 for 1 like regular sugar and tastes so very close to the real deal!
Making this cake as soon as I finish your chocolate coconut cookies, which I adore 🙂