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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Made this cake last night, YUM!! Cake-y on the outer edge, soft gooey chocolate goodness in the middle. Great chocolate flavor! I used coconut milk (didnt have almond) and I only had 3 eggs so I used a chia “egg” for the 4th. Cooked on low for 2 hours, my crockpot is a hot one even on low. I will definitely be making this again, will cook for 1 hour and 40 min next time. Thank you Carolyn!!
I finally made this wonderful cake in my old round crock pot using half recipe. I used EVOO, which I use in most baked items. After reading the comments, I used half gelatin/wpp. Cooked for 1′ 45″ and after cooling, lifted it right out of the crock. Really great results but I may add more chocolate…..maybe in place of the whey.
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend. I was wondering, how do you think it would work with chocolate protein powder instead of unflavoured? Have you ever tried that? Thanks 🙂
No but I can only imagine it will deepen the chocolate flavour.
This is the second recipe using cocoa that everyone has raved about but mine has turned out bitter. Could it be the brand of cocoa I’m using? I’m using premium cocoa purchased from a candy factory. I made 1/2 the recipe for my small slow cooker. In addition to the Swerve sweetner this time, I added about 15 drops of Stevia Clear as well as 1 T. of Erythritol. I was able to counter some of the bitterness, but not all. Any insights to my problem with the bitterness?
I think it must be the cocoa powder, but you may also be really sensitive to stevia. Stevia can be bitter in chocolate. Do you experience any bitterness with it in non-chocolate recipes?
Is there anything you could use to substitute for the whey protein?
Powdered egg whites are your best option.
Just made this for the first time. WOWSA! You’ve really outdone yourself (again!) Carolyn! One question … after you turn off the slow cooker, do you let it cool with the lid on or off for the 20 to 30 minutes? Thank you again for all the wonderful support, and for sharing your ample talents!
You can leave it in there. I leave mine in there for a whole day…but it’s so moist, you do need to refrigerate after the first day.
First of all, you are an amazing cook! You inspire me and I wish my mind was creative like yours is 🙂
I made this cake and it tasted amazing, definitly a ‘company’s coming’ over dessert and easy to make! However, I found it a tad dry, should I add a touch more liquid? I cooked it on low for 2hr 30m, should I try less time? Or maybe I put something in it I shouldn’t have ( I have a tendency for that :s haha my lesson: always check what you pull out of the cupboard before dumping it in…
Just wondering though as I will definitely be making this again so I figured I should ask 🙂
Hmmm, if anything this is an overly moist cake. What sweetener or almond flour did you use? One of those might be the culprits. Otherwise, I would cook it for less time, until it’s just set in the middle. Maybe 2 hours.
This dessert looks absolutely yummy!! I’ve read through all the comments and I’m not sure how to modify for a 4-quart slow cooker. It’s all I have right now. Can I just use all the same amounts of ingredients and cook longer? Thanks for your time!
I think you’re better off to do 3/4 of the recipe. Or 2/3 but I don’t know that it will cut down that well for 2/3.
Thank you Carolyn! I need to get a bigger crockpot but I might just try this at 3/4 of the recipe. Happy New Year!
Oh ..sorry ..I didnt see your answer above.Thank you!
Can I replace whole eggs with white eggs? Can I replace butter with coconut oil? Thank you!
Do you have a link for the charity cookbook?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501023411/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1501023411&linkCode=as2&tag=aldaidrabfo05-20&linkId=U4VBOL3Y5VEFA7FD
Can I replace the eggs with white eggs? Can I replace the butter with coconut oil? Thank you so much.It looks delicious
For egg whites, you want at least 1.5 times the eggs…so I’d say 6 egg whites. Coconut oil shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Hi,
Looks brilliant. What can I use to substitute Swerve? I live in the UK and 1lb of Swerve is about $120.00.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swerve-300115-Sweetener-16Oz-1Lb/dp/B004X71550/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1418247550&sr=8-8&keywords=swerve+sweetener
Thanks
Tim
What brand of erythritol or xylitol can you get?
Hi,
I will use what Adrian points to below.
Thanks
Tim
I have been using Xylitol but it really pushes up my blood sugar.
Tim – I’m in the UK and I buy Sukrin 500g, which is about £6.50 from Apollo Active, here’s the link.
http://apolloactive.co.uk/products/sukrin-granulated-natural-sweetener-500g?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=773860839&gclid=CJuG6tHWvcICFTDJtAod2SYALA
I’m from the UK too! I recently bought a German brand of erythritol from amazon, and it’s now at £7.99 for 1kg. Used it today for this recipe and it turned out really well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Natur-Total-Erythritol-erythritol-substitute/dp/B00NSLAM88/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419455650&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=erthriyol
I don’t have a 6 quart slow cooker – instead I have a 4 quart and a 7 quart – would you go with the 7 and shorten the time?
Yes, I’d probably go with the 7 and watch it from around the 2 hour mark.
Just made this yesterday. My cake does not look that lovely dark color of yours. It is a lighter brown.
My 16 year old son absolutely loves it. I warmed it up and served it with real whip cream. This cake is a real winner. This does not taste SF at all. I also used some monk fruit sweetener I had, erythritol and some brown sugar blend from Splenda.
I substituted coconut flour for the whey and used coconut milk from the can.
This cake is a total winner!
I cooked mine for about 4 hours, turned off the crockpot and left it in over night.
It probably didn’t turn out as dark because your cocoa powder was a lighter variety. I have used Hershey’s Dark and regular and it’s good either way.
This cake is currently in my slow cooker, but I had to comment right away! I know it’s going to be great just by licking the spoon. This is the first low carb and/or gluten free treat I’ve ever made that had batter that tasted like REAL batter. I can hardly wait for the cake to be done!
Thank you so much, Carolyn!!!
Hope it lives up to the promise of the batter!