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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I’ve made this twice now, and I LOVE this recipe. I wanted to try to slim down the recipe a touch, so this time I use 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup kefir cheese ( had some I needed to use up, next time I’ll use greek yogurt which I expect will work as well), 2 eggs and 2 eggbeaters (only because I ran out of eggs). I also left out the chocolate chips because last time the chips completely disappeared into the cake in the baking process. I can’t tell any difference in the end product, and the nutrition stats are slightly less decadent.
Made this a few days back, and it was utterly superb. I did have a few issues when it came to removing it from my slow cooker, as I didn’t use any parchment paper I just greased the slow cooker with butter but it still stuck to the bottom. Other than that, it tasted awesome and everyone I’ve given a sample to couldn’t praise it enough. So next time I’ll make sure to use parchment paper and some coconut oil for easier removal. Thanks for this recipe and all the others, they’re great. Keep up the good work!!
Glad to hear it! Mine didn’t stick to the bottom at all but slow cookers differ quite a bit so who knows.
I made this yesterday for my husband’s and also my bday (same day). It was very good! I think it’s just as tasty as the usual sugary cake. I also made chocolate icing so it would be super rich.
There were a few minor issues. My cake was too moist after turning off the crock pot and letting it cool. It seemed undercooked even though my setup was almost identical. The cake was perfect the next day, just some sticking to the pot. Also, it was impossible to remove after cooling it so I just put the icing on top and left it in the pot. The individual pieces were somewhat messy.
Still, I thought it was very yummy. My husband and 4 year old son loved it too. 🙂
I used Anthony’s blanched almond flour, Jay Robb protein powder, almond milk, granular erythritol, and PAM for the pot (which I don’t normally use). Maybe the PAM couldn’t withstand the slow cooking. I also have a 6 qt Hamilton Beach cooker so I don’t know why it seemed undercooked. The optional chocolate chips maybe?
Bonnie, I use coconut oil for the sides of the slow cooker and parchment over the oil on the bottom. This makes it easy for the cake to come out in one piece beautifully.
Now that I’ve over-cooked these cakes twice, I’ve come to the decision that I need to cook it for 4 hours in the slow cooker (average sized cooker), then turn it off, take the lid off, take the crock out and let it cool for a half hour. After that I put a plate on top, turn the whole thing upside down and the cake slides right out!
Huh…okay so same slow cooker? Or maybe a different model that’s not as hot. I’ve never used anthony’s almond flour so I can’t say if that’s the issue. I doubt it’s the pam and it’s definitely not the chocolate chips because I used them in mine.
It does sound like your slow cooker is less hot than mine, so yes, perhaps a little undercooked and more like “pudding cake”!
Is there an alternative to using whey protein powder? I’m allergic to whey. This recipe looks delicious, I hope to try it if I can figure out how to replace the whey! Thank you for sharing your tips and recipes!
Sure, you can use hemp protein or powdered egg whites.
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.
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?
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!
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!
Wow, so glad it survived all that!
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.
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.
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.
I think you could try it in the oven but you’d want to add a pan of water to help keep it moister.
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!
It’s fast becoming a favourite in my house!
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!
So glad everyone liked it!
Just put this in my crock!
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!
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!
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.
Well that’s interesting because I was planning on trying cheesecake in my slow cooker!
Rae, can you please post your full cheesecake recipe?
Are you kidding me? This cake is ridiculous! Soooooo YUM!