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!
- 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
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tbsp Raspberry Chia Seed Jam
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Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 2 (two) 4-inch diameter ramekins or cake pans.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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Sprinkle the top with powdered sweetener.
Many thanks to Bob’s Red Mill for partnering with me to bring you this recipe.
Melissa Leach says
Looks yummy and easy! 22.5 grams of erythritol? Oopsie.
Jkim says
Looks delicious and amazingly quick and simple to make! I don’t see the fiber and net carb numbers. Are they missing?
Carolyn says
Sorry the fiber is 3.42g. You can do the math for net carbs easily from that. I will add that into the recipe card.
Janet says
My favorite dessert in a mini version…what could be better!
Thanks, Carolyn
Janene Quinn says
I meant to give 5 Stars
Kim Toyofuku says
Wish my hubby was into raspberries because I would love to make this for V-Day! However this is the perfect idea for a dessert I have for an event coming up…medieval-themed so this might be just the right thing to add to the dessert menu along with the chocolate…of course!
Janet says
Neither my hubby nor I are big fans of raspberries so I made mine with frozen cranberries leftover from Christmas. It was a huge hit!
patricia says
Carolyn this looks delicious….as usual. I have to be dairy free, what could I sub for the whipping cream to get a thick cream layer? Thanks
Carolyn says
Honestly, I don’t really know. Coconut whipped cream is too thin and doesn’t really hold up in recipes like this.
Chantal says
If you’re all right with chickpeas (I know, not low-carb), you could try something called aquafaba. It’s the water left from cooking chickpeas, whipped up with sweetener. You can find instructions on YouTube.
Jkim says
I made this today. I’m a chocolate cake person, but this is delicious beyond belief! Thank you!!
Susan Pelter says
I ADORE your Victoria Sponge! One of my favorite desserts ever. Totally making it this week in the mini version!
Janet says
Just FYI, I have made clotted cream at home in an electric roaster oven that I purchased for cooking turkeys on holidays and it works very well. The cream doesn’t get dark and thickens wonderfully. My household oven doesn’t hold a low enough temp and because you have to run it for so long it tends to interfere with other cooking and heat up the whole house.
So now my favorite low carb dessert can be made with homemade clotted cream…Yum!
Jill says
Can I use erythritol or another type of sweetener? It is hard to find swerve in Canada, and when I look in the US it seems quite expensive. Thanks very much!
Carolyn says
Not sure what part of Canada you are in but Swerve is pretty available in Loblaws and Great Canadian Superstore. And actually quite a few natural grocers. But you can use another erythritol based sweetener.
Linda says
Would I double or triple or quadruple the recipe for a family sized version? Asking for a friend ?
Carolyn says
Check the blog post, I link to the full sized version for you!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
Love how elegant this cake is! The filling is what I love to have all the time! Happy Valentine’s Day! <3
Lori Kling says
AMAZING! Out of all of the desserts that I have made of Carolyn’s, this is by far the best! This will be what I am making for my birthday cake this year!
Thank you Carolyn for another wonderful recipe!
Lori Kling says
I forgot to rate the recipe! 5 stars all the way!
Yvonne Yirka says
This was DELICIOUS. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. Sweet but not too sweet and easy to make. Perfection!
Glenda Karmatz says
Great little cake. So good, that would like to make it as a bigger cake. Do I just double, or triple ingredients? Please post for larger size. Yes, it was that good. Would like to use this as a tiramisu base, maybe less sugar for the tiramisu base, but I think it could work.
Carolyn says
Please read the post, you will see that this is a miniature version of a large one I already made. It’s linked in the post itself.
Kirstie says
Beautiful! Tastes just like normal cake! I used diabetic cherry jam and added a little vanilla to the cream
Teresa says
Thank You!! This is perfect for making afternoon cream tea cakes…. will use fresh raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries this summer. I love this sponge cake.
Caleb says
Made this today and it is absolutely delicious. Was devoured in minutes so will be making more tomorrow. Thank you.
Maria says
How do you make the jam?
Maria says
Nevermind!! I found the jam recipe!!! 🙂
Carolyn says
Sorry, they are supposed to be linked but when I updated my recipe plug in, a bunch of the links disappeared.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.