Keto dump cake is so easy to make and tastes fabulous. This low carb dessert features the bright flavors of strawberries and rhubarb with a buttery crust.
Okay so let’s talk about dump cakes, shall we? Because I had honestly never heard of them until a few years ago. I don’t know if it’s my Canadian upbringing or what, but they were entirely foreign to me.
I love the foodie world because it’s constantly introducing me to new things. And then I take this new idea, give it a keto makeover, and in turn introduce them to you.
So it was time I created a keto dump cake. It was a huge experiment, but it turned out better than I could have hoped. This strawberry rhubarb dump cake will not be my last!
Are you a rhubarb fanatic too? Then be sure to also check out my keto rhubarb crisp and my keto rhubarb scones!
What is dump cake?
In case you are as clueless as I was before embarking on my dump cake journey, let me enlighten you.
Dump cake is much as it sounds: you dump all of your ingredients into the pan, and you bake it. Much less work than a conventional cake. And they come out more like a delicious fruit cobbler, rather than a traditional sponge cake.
Sounds great, right? Except for the fact that most dump cakes are made with canned pie filling and boxed cake mix. Gasp, splutter, gasp! Oh, the sugar, oh the carbs!
Don’t worry, we aren’t going there. I have my ways and means, my lovelies.
How to make keto dump cake
Making the filling keto-friendly was quite easy. No need to use any canned pie filling, just toss the suite with sweetener and a little thickener like glucomannan or xanthan gum.
What fruit you choose is obviously very important, since fruit contains so much sugar. But the amount of fruit you need for a dump cake is significant and even berries aren’t quite low enough in carbs.
I highly recommend mixing the fruit with something like rhubarb, which is really low carb, and has it’s own delicious thing going on. But you could do something like chayote squash as well.
Replacing the standard cake mix for the topping took a little more consideration. I considered what normally goes into one of my keto cake recipes and cut it down to size.
Then I followed standard practice and simply drizzled melted butter over the top. It worked out beautifully, and I ended up with a bubbly sweet filling topped with a slightly crispy golden brown topping.
I did have to use a bowl to mix my topping together before “dumping”. A small price to pay for a healthier dump cake!
Tips for making this recipe
This delicious strawberry rhubarb cake is simple to make, but here are my best tips for getting it right:
- Use a glass or ceramic baking dish, as acidic fillings like rhubarb can react with metal and take on a tinny taste.
- The filling can be made with any sweetener you like best.
- You don’t have to use a thickener in the filling, but your dump cake will be more watery when serving.
- For a crispy topping, you really need an erythritol based sweetener such as Swerve. Other sweeteners (allulose, xylitol, etc.) will result in a softer cake. Which is absolutely fine if that’s what you’re looking for.
- As you drizzle the butter over the “cake mix”, try to get as even as possible. But it’s okay to have a few dry spots, they will still cook through.
Storing and serving Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake
Top with some keto vanilla ice cream or some lightly sweetened whipped cream.
A cake like this is best served fresh, although it will last in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. The topping won’t stay crisp but it’s still delicious.
Simply cover the whole dish with plastic wrap or tinfoil before refrigerating.
More keto rhubarb recipes
- Vanilla Custard with Roasted Rhubarb
- Rhubarb Coffee Cake
- Strawberry Rhubarb Fool
- Rhubarb Dream Bars
- Rhubarb Lemon Meringue Squares
- Berry Rhubarb Jam
Strawberry Rhubarb Dump Cake
Ingredients
Filling
- 2 ½ cups chopped rhubarb
- 1 cup chopped strawberries
- ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ½ teaspoon glucomannan can sub xanthan gum
Topping
- 1 ¼ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup butter melted
Instructions
Filling
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 2-quart glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Add the rhubarb and strawberries to the dish and sprinkle with the sweetener and glucomannan. Toss to combine well.
Topping
- In a medium bow, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle evenly over the filling in the dish.
- Drizzle the melted butter as evenly as possible over the topping. Get as many places as you can, but it's okay to have a few dry bits.
- Bake about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through in places. Remove and let cool (the topping will crisp up some as it cools).
Stephen says
Just awesome keto
Mary M says
This one didn’t work for us, but we’re glad we tried it.
The pro: The bottom part with the fruit was perfectly tasty, I’m glad that we have a perfect ratio for rhubarb/strawberry + sweetener and thickener. I am also thrilled to see glucomannan being used and the qty worked perfectly for the fruit. I can see myself making just the fruit part, even to use like a jam or topping. Total win.
The con: The texture of topping was not pleasant, although the dish improved a bit overnight. I didn’t let it go to waste, but would not use it again. I do not understand the purpose of the coconut flour (although I trust Carolyn), but the texture and flavor just didn’t work for us.
I love to have keto rhubarb options, so I will continue to try all of your recipes for rhubarb! The crisp is next! In Germany, there are a lot of rhubarb cakes that are covered with a meringue topping…sometimes a cake or shortcake like bottom, then rhubarb in vanilla custard, then meringue. Would love to see something like that! Thank you!
Donna says
Fabulous! Thank you!
Denise says
I’d like to make this but I live in a rural area and we don’t have rhubarb in our grocery stores. Is there anything else I can substitute or can I use all strawberries?
Carolyn says
You can use all berries but it will be higher in carbs.
Raechel says
This is my favorite of your recipes so far! I served it with homemade whipped cream using powdered allulose and it was divine! Thank you for making my life so wonderful with these great recipes!
Anna says
I hope this isn’t too annoying of a question, but do you think this would work the Swerve keto boxed cake mix instead of making it from scratch? It would be wonderful to not even have to mix that up!
Carolyn says
Yep, it should. You may need more butter to drizzle over. I haven’t tried it myself but it’s a similar idea.
Lisa Ellison says
This turned out amazing! I used a turkey baster to even out the melted butter. It worked great! Thanks for the great recipes. I will be making this again as my Oregon strawberries and my rhubarb are growing like crazy
Bethany Ball says
If I use frozen fruit should I increase the glucomannan?
Carolyn says
Good question! Frozen berries release a lot of moisture so it can’t hurt. Maybe double it?
Pat says
So I couldn’t find rhubarb, fresh or frozen, so I substituted with CRANBERRIES. So good! It was perfect
Carolyn says
Great idea!
Kat says
Followed recipe completely but the “cake” part was so grainy and sandy. Not cake like at all.
Carolyn says
Dump cake isn’t like cake at all. It’s meant to be more of a cobbler topping.
Judy M says
Do you sub glucomannan and xanathan gum in the same amounts? I bought a canister for a keto recipe and it’s been sitting on the shelf forever! Any tips on. How to use it are appreciated.
I’ve never had rhubarb. Can I make this with just stevia? Erythritol gives me gastric issues.
Thank you. Looks great.
Carolyn says
Yes, I do. They seem to have about the same thickening power. The filling can probably be sweetened with whatever you like but the top crust won’t crisp up as nicely without erythritol.
Michelle says
Unsalted butter?
Carolyn says
Depends on your tolerance for salt, but yes, most people use unsalted in baking.
Anne says
This was so good! I made it on Monday, then made it again on Friday so we could take it to the cabin!
Lynn Kirouac says
I love rhubarb and so wanted to love this cake, especially after searching for rhubarb for 2 months. Funny I could not find frozen rhubarb in my part of Canada. Anyway rhubarb season arrived and yesterday I made this cake. I followed the recipes exactly with no substitutes and it came out looking like the picture. That is where my excitement ended. Although the fruit part was lovely the cake part was just way too soggy and almost grainy. So I “dumped” it! I think I will save all the time and money spent on this recipe and use my remaining rhubarb for the Vanilla Rhubarb Custard recipe.
Deborah M Kloss says
Excellent! I had frozen some rhubarb last year and it worked just perfectly for this recipe. It was easy to make and very delicious. Thanks for the great recipe! We will enjoy this again and again.
JoanneM says
I made this, but with all rhubarb….because, Rhubarb! I added a bit of orange zest because that’s something Gramma did, and it was delicious. Just tart enough and the citrus note was perfection. Thank you Carolyn, this brought back some memories. I will be making this again and again. There will be a lot of rhubarb in my freezer shortly thanks to the giant, and ancient, patch in the back corner of the gardens.
Julie says
This dump cake is one of the best low carb desserts I’ve made besides your cheesecake. If you like strawberries and rhubarb you won’t be disappointed. thanks!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear that!
Trish says
Unfortunately, this will not be a keeper for us. The flavor is pretty good but the texture is not at all. Very mushy. I followed the recipe exactly except I used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener.
I’ll try some of the other rhubarb recipes on this site because I have a ton of it and I’ve had good luck with other recipes here.
Carolyn says
The top should not be mushy so I suspect the sweetener was the issue. Also… what flours did you use?
katerina @ diethood.com says
I can’t wait to try this! It sounds like the perfect keto dessert!