Let your sweetie know you care by making this keto Victoria Sponge Cake for Two. It’s the perfect low carb Valentine’s Day dessert for sharing. Grain-free almond flour cake with a sugar-free raspberry and cream filling. Brought to you in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.
Raise your hand if you’re addicted to The Crown? I can’t get enough of this show. We are well into Season 2 now and it’s wonderfully engaging, delving into the private lives of the seemingly stuffy British Royal Family. But behind the scenes, you realize that they aren’t necessarily so stuffy after all, but instead bound by hundreds of years of protocol and tradition. You watch Elizabeth being dressed by maids, being helped into and out of dresses that she should be able to easily get into and out of herself and you want to giggle a little. It may have made sense back in the day when queens were strapped into corsets so tight they could hardly breathe, with layers upon layers of underskirts and other drapery. But when Elizabeth 2 is being fussed over as she gets into a plain summer dress, you get a sense of the ridiculous pomp and circumstance that stifled the whole lot of them.
Stodginess and tradition aside, those Brits sure have given us some tasty treat (and some funny names to go with them). This traditional tea-time cake is also known as Victoria Sandwich or Victoria Sponge. I made a full-size low carb Victoria Sponge Cake a few years ago and I loved the simplicity of it. A filling of raspberry jam and cream sandwiched between 2 layers of tender sponge cake and topped off with a little powdered “sugar”. It’s straightforward to make but still visually stunning and absolutely delicious. And it’s an easy cake to make over into a keto-friendly version; you don’t need much more than Bob’s Red Mill almond flour, some whipping cream, and some sugar-free raspberry jam.
And since Valentine’s Day is coming and I am always receiving requests for small batch keto desserts, I thought it was time for a mini version, one that is perfect for serving just two people. Because there is so little adornment or frosting, you truly get to taste the dreamy combination of almond flour cake, cream, and raspberries. And I am convinced that with a little coaxing, a good fine almond flour like Bob’s can result in cake that is virtually indistinguishable from the flour-based version.
If I’d had thought ahead, I might have purchased some little round heart-shaped mini cake pans. Seriously, how cute would that have been? But as it was, I simply used my 4-inch ceramic ramekins. Some Victoria Sponge recipes have you making a buttercream for the filling but I simplified the process by making thick whipped cream. And for the jam, I made a small batch of my Raspberry Chia Seed Jam with Bob’s Red Mill chia seeds. But you could really use any sugar-free jam here, like the xylitol-sweetened raspberry preserves from Nature’s Hollow.
However you choose to make it, and whatever you choose to call it, this sweet little Keto Victoria Sponge Cake is a perfect low carb Valentine’s Day dessert!
Victoria Sponge Cake for Two
Ingredients
Cake:
- 6 tbsp almond flour
- 2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter melted
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Powdered sweetener for sprinkling
Filling:
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tbsp Raspberry Chia Seed Jam
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 2 (two) 4-inch diameter ramekins or cake pans.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the egg, butter and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared ramekins and smooth the top. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the center is set and the edges are golden brown.
- Remove and let cool 10 minutes, then run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen and flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Filling and assembly:
- Whip the cream with the sweetener until it holds very stiff peaks. (Whip it a bit more than you'd normally whip cream, it's okay if it curdles a little).
- Place one layer of cake on a plate and spread the top with the whipped cream. Spread with the raspberry jam and top with the other layer of cake.
- Sprinkle the top with powdered sweetener.
Many thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for partnering with me to bring you this recipe.
Mary Spicer says
Oh my gosh, just made this today. So delicious. We drizzled with chocolate. I love these! Thanks for sharing your amazing recipes.
Carolyn says
Happy Valentine’s!
Peggy says
I’m new to this and was wondering how I would calculate carbs and net carbs if I used this cake and didn’t use the filling but used your lemon cake frosting
Carolyn says
Sounds like you will need to enter the ingredients into an online nutrition calculator.
Anu says
I thought I had left a review for this but I can’t find it in the comments, so here goes! This was MARVELLOUS! I made this for my husband’s birthday (pre)kend and it was just the perfect sized treat for a Friday afternoon. I made the recipe almost exactly as written but used mascarpone cheese instead of whipping cream as I had some at hand. I also used erythritol + a few drops of Stevia as my sweetener as I don’t have Swerve. I will definitely make the full sized version soon. Thank you so much for this recipe, it is delicious 🙂
Carolyn says
Mascarpone is always a good choice!
Katie says
I loved your recipe! I had it with a layer of freshly sliced strawberries instead of jam (and of course whipped cream)! I will definitely make this again, but my batter was pretty chunky, thick and sticky and hard to get into the ramekins. It wasn’t quite as smooth or spongey as yours, it was perhaps a bit more dense. Do you have any tips for this? Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
If it was that thick, you needed more liquid.
Cara Miles says
I don’t usually leave comments, but felt I needed to here. This was hands down the BEST KETO dessert I have ever made. Even my kids loved it. I substituted strawberries for raspberries since that’s what I had and that jam is phenomenal. It’s the first KETO dessert recipe I’ve made that doesn’t taste weird. What a perfect recipe and I thank you so much for sharing this.
Carolyn says
So happy to hear that!
Gina says
Would it work well if I tripled the ingredients to make a bigger cake in 2×8” cake tins. I’m thinking for a low carb birthday cake
Carolyn says
If you read the blog post, you will see that this is a mini version of a bigger cake I have already made: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-victoria-sponge-cake/
Doc says
Have you tried this in a microwave?
Carolyn says
No, but having made many mug cakes I’d say it would be very spongy and not as good.
Naomi says
Could this be made with regular all purpose flour and sugar instead? I love that it’s a small recipe, but I’m not interested in making low carb. This is the only recipe for 2 that I’ve managed to find.
Carolyn says
Sorry, Naomi, but I have no idea. I don’t bake with those things any longer. It certainly wouldn’t be a 1:1 replacement, as these ingredients behave very differently.
Marla says
I made this earlier this week in a heart shaped pan that is approximately 4.25″. It came out beautifully! I cut it in half and did the whipped cream and raspberry layer. I added a dollop of whipped cream on top with a raspberry. I loved it and will make it again!
Lora says
Hi there, do you think oat flour could be used in place of the almond flour for this lovely cake?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
No, they do not have the same consistency at all and oat flour is a lot drier. You would need to increase the fats.
Deborah says
Really loved this little cake….it far exceeded my expectations for something so simple and easy. I made it as a quick dessert and used one 6″ cake tin and baked it about 27 min.
Per a tip from one of your fellow LC bloggers I now add a mini pinch of xanthin my whipped cream once it reaches the soft peak stage….it isn’t quite as lovely as clotted cream but it is a bit sturdier as a filling and doesn’t mash down nearly so much when you cut into the filled cake with your fork.
I split the layer and filled it with only the whipped cream (vanilla and a few drips of brandy) and topped it with fresh strawberries. So yummy.
Lovely recipe…..this is going to be a “go to” for my house during berry season. Thanks !
Carolyn says
Sounds great!
Jenna says
Love your recipe! I made the mini version for Mardi Gras today. Actually, I doubled it and made two because I didn’t see the link to the regular size. Curious what size ramekins did you use for the two cakes in the mini recipe? I didn’t end up with enough batter to fill the bottom of that many ramekins. I ended up making the mini cakes bigger and then slicing them in half after they cooled. Came out great and my entire family loved them! (I made with Stevia since I don’t use swerve.)
Carolyn says
The recipe states the size in the instructions. 4 inches in diameter.
Carolyn says
Glad it worked out, though.
Nats says
Hiya. Is it possible to make this into a chocolate version? Really want to make with cocoa. Thanks!
Carolyn says
I have tons of chocolate layer cakes. Please use one of those for the cake layers.
Mark Keating says
In the UK use Truvia for the sweetener and clotted cream as it doesn’t need to be whipped. You can also buy St Dalfour whole fruit preserves.
Mary Manello says
I also want to make a full size cake, but when I clicked on the link, I noticed that there are TWO EXTRA INGREDIENTS that this little darling sponge cake does NOT have. The full size one has more carbs, too, I think? Isn’t there a calculation you can share, of THIS baby cake, so we may make THIS one in a larger pan? A 9 x 13, perhaps? Thank you, so very much!
Carolyn says
Small cakes made in a ramekin and large cakes made in a large pan are very different. The big one requires a protein powder to rise and hold together better. So no, there is no special calculation and I highly recommend following the large recipe as written. You can simply cut it into 16 instead of 12 and the carbs will be about the same.