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.
Nicole says
Hi Carolyn I have made this cake a dozen time its my favorite snack to take to work. My question is can I pour this recipe into my brownie pan it will portion it our for me. Do you think it will come out the same way?
Carolyn says
Would you bake it in the oven, then? If so, I believe some commenters have said it worked out for them so search the comments to see what they did.
Terry Guidry says
Do you think this would work in an instant pot pressure cooker? If so would you know how long to “cook” it? I’ve done cheesecakes in the instant pot but not a cake cake.
Carolyn says
Not really sure, to be honest.
Jennifer Farley says
You are a baking goddess!
Brandie says
You had me at slow cooker! And chocolate. And cake. YUM! 😉
michele says
this looks like something i would love to try! but i can’t think of one good reason what the benefit would be of cooking it in a slow cooker. this falls along the same lines as using a blender as a mixer for batter (no thanks). anyway, i would want to turn the cake out of the vessel to serve -but i know the whole thing would fall apart if i tried. are there instructions for baking in a good, old fashioned (albeit boring) oven?
Carolyn says
A slow cooker keeps it more moist and tender as it traps the moisture during cooking. An oven is dry heat. Very different and the result is very different. If you want a chocolate cake cooked in the oven, I have plenty of those. Just use the search box on my blog and you will probably find what you are looking for!
Sf says
Hello,
I don’t have a slow cooker..can I make this in a regular oven?
Carolyn says
Yes, but I am a little unsure how long it should bake for. Depends on the pan size, I guess. A 9×9 pan would take longer than a 9×13. I’d do a 9×9 and start with 25 minutes at 325F.
Robin Finke says
I have chocolate whey, would it work?
Carolyn says
Should work just fine.
Moe says
I have found that newer crockpots cook waaaaaaay hotter now a days. So I always place a Pyrex in my crockpot so it isn’t touching the bottom. I also put some water in the crockpot for moisture bc hotter tends to dry stuff out. Do you think that method would work for this cake? I hate to ruin something so delicious with expensive ingredients.
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried that method with this cake so I can’t really tell you. But my crockpot is a recent model so it works for this recipe.
Melissa says
I made this in my small crock pot (not exactly sure of the size, maybe 4 cups?) and the batter filled the crock about half way. It rose almost to the lid during baking. It turned out moist and perfect!
Carolyn says
Good to know!
Jessica Hoover says
Any way you can edit the smaller version and add in the amount for the wet ingredients? 🙂 Made this the other day and everyone loved it! So rich and moist!!
Jessica Hoover says
Nevermind! Just saw that you answered the question already. ? everyone I shared the recipe with hasn’t seen the wet ingredients either…wonder what’s up with it?
Carolyn says
There is some sort of caching issue I am trying to figure out!
Amanda says
How many eggs and how much almond milk in the new recipe?
Amanda says
Oops, just saw you answered that
Melissa says
I just started putting ingredients together for the lower carb recipe (smaller) cake. What are the wet ingredient measurements?? Do I use from the original recipe?? Help! I’m ready to put it crock pot!
Carolyn says
They are there, I promise. Sounds like you have a cached version of the blog on your browser. You need to clear your cache to see it properly. But it’s 3 eggs, 6 tbsp butter, 2/3 cup almond milk, 3/4 tsp vanilla and 1/3 cup chocolate chips.
Donna says
Holy Cow what a great cake – this is now my favorite cake – I made the larger. Boy, I’m I glad I did. My family and friends ate the whole thing yesterday. I whipped 2 cups of heavy cream with lemon extract and monk fruit sweetener for a topping. And I used the sugar free chips in the cake. I like cake the next day better so I hid a small (2 x 2″) piece that I cut right out of the middle- hehe… So amazing! with my coffee. You are definitely the SuperStar of low carb cakes and cookies. I tell anyone asking about low carb cakes to check out your recipes because yours are so spot on perfect for texture, taste and sweetness and not being overly sweet. Thank you….. I can’t wait for your cookbook…..
Carolyn says
I am so glad you liked it!
Donna says
Hi, I too can not get the wet ingredients in the print version of the smaller cake. I cleared cache but still not working, then i used other computers that have never been on your site and still no go. Is the recipe in another place on your site or in your new cookbook I pre-ordered?
Donna says
sorry about the second comment, it did not show on my other computer, so i thought it did not go through since i was not signed in… oops…
Carolyn says
it’s 3 large eggs, 6 tbsp melted butter, 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/3 cup sugar-free chocolate chips.
donna says
Hi, I still cant get the print version with the wet ingredients and i just tried on 2 different computers that i had not gone to your site with in the past, so noting to clear, because clear cache did not work on my main computer, still looking elswhere on your site for the smaller version…
Carolyn says
it’s 3 large eggs, 6 tbsp melted butter, 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/3 cup sugar-free chocolate chips.
MW says
Hi! I think the wet ingredients are missing, can you add those in? At least the new print version is missing them…
Carolyn says
I fixed that yesterday afternoon but sounds like your computer has cached the old version so that’s all you can see. Clear your cache and the new one should be there
Tracy says
Ok, maybe I’m losing my mind- but there are no measurements or ingredients listed for eggs, milk and butter…sooo here I sit with all of my dry ingredients in a bowl, but can’t make it because I don’t know what to add!
Carolyn says
Looking into it!!! Sorry, it must have been cut off when we made the switch to the new recipe card. I will fix it ASAP.
Carolyn says
Sorry, I am having difficulties fixing the recipe and working with my tech person. But…it’s 3 large eggs, 6 tbsp melted butter, 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 3/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/3 cup sugar-free chocolate chips.
Tracy says
Thank you! 😉 I took my best guess prior to reading this. I used 3 lg eggs, 1 stick of melted butter (so a little extra) and 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk, so we will see how it turns out!
Carolyn says
I think that should work! Turns out it was one of my security plugins not recognizing my recipe plugin. it’s so fun to be a website owner! 🙂
Tracy says
I hear ya! And, it did turn out! I never put the connection together that the 5 min peanut butter mousse is also your recipe! It’s my fave! I made a batch of that to put on top!
Chris says
Hi – I am probably the only one, but I can’t see some of the ingredients in the “new version”…eggs, milk, butter….
I just went with the older version and it is good. Thanks for all you do!
Vicki says
After letting this cool do you turn it out just like a normal cake pan? Flip the pot over? It’s cooling now..
Carolyn says
No, I simply cut it out in pieces like a snack cake!
Tanya says
Hi Carolyn, Just wondering what the amount/measurement of chocolate would be in weight, as I was going to use Lindt 90% Chocolate Bar instead of chocolate chips?
Carolyn says
Good question. I am going to say 2 ounces or around there.