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    Home » Gluten Free » Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cake

    Published: May 12, 2014 · Modified: Feb 17, 2020 by Carolyn

    Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cake

    This post may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    102.1K shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Dirt cake is a fun no bake dessert made with a combination of cookies, pudding, and other sweet ingredients. This 3 layer keto dirt cake recipe will blow your mind! Crumbly grain-free chocolate crust with layers of creamy sugar-free peanut butter and chocolate filling. So decadent.

    titled image - chocolate peanut butter dirt cake - a low carb chocolate dirt cake sits on a cake plate

    Dirt cake: not a very attractive name for a dessert, is it? Sounds like something you might have made in the sandbox in kindergarten, or something the school bully might make you eat on the playground after school. Thankfully, it is neither of those things but a delicious, creamy, no bake dessert only made to look as if it contains dirt. Which surely appeals to the kid in all of us.

    Dirt Desserts

    I’d never actually heard of them until relatively recently, perhaps because of my “north of the border” upbringing. But I have to admit, they look ridiculously good. Who can argue with crushed chocolate cookies and pudding? Not me, that’s for certain. Dirt dessert recipes come in all shapes and varieties. Like this adorable Dirt Pudding from NeighborFood.

    It’s not always about chocolate dirt cake, although because of the dirt-like appearance, chocolate’s the most popular flavor and cake is the most popular form. Some people prefer to make single-serving flower pot dirt cups, while others go a step up, into the land of dirt poke cake recipes. And if they are exceptionally gifted in the dessert making department, they make dirt ice cream brownies!

    white dessert plate with a slice of peanut butter and chocolate low carb dirt cake

    A reader recently reached out over Facebook to request one because her mother always made them on her birthday. And she linked to a delightful one with a peanut butter layer too on The Cookin” Chicks.

    Wait, what? Chocolate cookies, peanut butter AND chocolate pudding? Well that just jumped to the head of the to-make list! Of course, I wasn’t about to make it with the Oreos or packaged pudding that conventional dirt cakes contain.

    But a quick look at the ingredients let me know it really wouldn’t be tough to de-carb, in the end. I just had to make all the layers from scratch. A bit more work, perhaps, but definitely worth it.

    How to Make Low Carb Dirt Cake

    dessert plate with a slice of Low Carb Chocolate Dirt Cake with a fork full of it next to the slice

    When converting her recipe into a low carb dirt cake recipe, I tried to adhere to the spirit of the original peanut butter chocolate dirt cake recipe as much as possible, including making it a no-bake treat. Summer is coming and we should all be able to enjoy some deliciousness without turning our kitchens into a furnace.

    So the crust requires no baking, just some firm pressing into the bottom of the pan, and it holds together beautifully. The only part of the dirt cake that gets cooked here is the chocolate pudding, but that’s right on the stove top and doesn’t take more than about 10 minutes. Then the whole thing gets popped in the fridge to set.

    I made mine in a springform pan because I figured being able to release the sides would allow for easier serving. But you could also make this in a square pan or even a trifle bowl, and serve in big scoopfuls.

    You could even do individual servings in little plastic flower pots for a fun kid-friendly dessert. Dirt desserts don’t get more fun than that, right?

    a slice of Keto Dirt Cake with layers of peanut butter and chocolate, topped with sugar-free chocolate cookie crumbs

     

    Sugar-Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cake

    Low Carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cake

    A remake of the summer classic, this low carb dirt cake recipe will blow your mind! Crumbly chocolate cookie crust with layers of creamy peanut butter filling and chocolate pudding. Gluten-free and grain-free.
    4.85 from 19 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: Dessert
    Keyword: dirt cake, low carb pudding
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Chill time: 3 hours hours
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 16 servings
    Calories: 335kcal

    Ingredients

    Crust:

    • 1 ¼ cup almond flour Honeyville
    • 5 tablespoon cocoa powder
    • 5 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
    • 3 ½ tablespoon tbsp butter melted

    Peanut Butter Layer:

    • ¾ cup whipping cream divided
    • ¼ teaspoon liquid stevia extract
    • 8 oz cream cheese softened
    • ¾ cup peanut butter
    • ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener

    Chocolate Pudding Layer:

    • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
    • 1 cup whipping cream
    • ½ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
    • 4 egg yolks
    • ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
    • ¼ cup cocoa powder
    • 1 ½ oz unsweetened chocolate chopped
    • 3 tablespoon butter in 3 pieces
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions

    Crust:

    • In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, and sweetener. Add melted butter and stir until well combined.
    • Remove about ¼ cup of crust mixture and set aside.
    • Press remaining crust firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

    Peanut Butter Layer:

    • In a large bowl, whip ½ cup of the whipping cream with the stevia extract until it holds stiff peaks.
    • In another large bowl, beat cream cheese with powdered sweetener until smooth. Beat in peanut butter and remaining whipping cream until well combined.
    • Gently fold in whipped cream until combined.
    • Spread peanut butter mixture carefully over crust. Refrigerate while preparing pudding layer.

    Chocolate Pudding Layer:

    • In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine almond milk, whipping cream and sweetener. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sweetener.
    • In a bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture into the yolks to temper. Then slowly whisk tempered yolks back into saucepan.
    • Reduce heat to medium low and sprinkle surface with xanthan gum, whisking vigorously to combine. Whisk in cocoa powder and cook until thickened, about 3 or 4 minutes.
    • Remove from heat and stir in chopped chopped chocolate and butter until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract.
    • Let cool about 15 minutes and then spread evenly over peanut butter layer. Sprinkle with reserved crust ingredients.
    • Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours. To serve, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan and remove sides. Run the knife under hot water to cut nice even slices.

    Notes

    Serves 16. Each serving has 8 g of carbs and 3 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5 g.
    335 Calories; 32g Fat (81.8% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 115mg Cholesterol; 162mg Sodium.
    Nutrition Facts
    Low Carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cake
    Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
    Calories 335 Calories from Fat 288
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 32g49%
    Carbohydrates 8g3%
    Fiber 3g12%
    Protein 8g16%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

     

     

    102.1K shares

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    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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      Recipe Rating




    1. Linda says

      September 23, 2023 at 4:43 pm

      5 stars
      Oops! forgot to do the stars.

      p.s. my husband says it’s the best dessert I’ve ever made

      Reply
    2. Linda says

      September 23, 2023 at 4:41 pm

      This was SO delicious! Just the right level of “sweet”, and rich, but not TOO rich.
      I’ll be making this again!
      Thank you for putting out these fabulous recipes. I’ve made lots of them and have never been disappointed

      Reply
    3. Trina says

      June 13, 2022 at 10:10 am

      5 stars
      truly one of the best low carb desserts I have ever made! Thank you!!!

      Reply
    4. Evelyn says

      January 18, 2022 at 10:01 pm

      Mercy!! This looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it.

      Reply
    5. Natalie Harrington says

      December 25, 2021 at 11:36 pm

      5 stars
      We made this for Christmas 2021, and it turned out incredibly well. I’ve never made pudding from scratch, and the joy when I removed that spring form pan, and everything held… magical! Thanks for this!

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        December 26, 2021 at 7:19 pm

        Fantastic!

        Reply
    6. Kristy says

      September 28, 2021 at 1:16 pm

      Can this be made and then frozen for later? If so how long would it keep in the freezer?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        September 28, 2021 at 2:56 pm

        I honestly can’t say as I never tried to freeze it.

        Reply
    7. Wendy says

      September 17, 2021 at 5:18 pm

      I have macadamia milk on hand and was wondering if I could use it instead of the almond milk

      Reply
    8. Tara says

      January 22, 2021 at 2:29 pm

      5 stars
      This is my 3rd time making this dessert and I just want to say, it is superb! I honestly would never know that it was sugar free had I not prepared it myself!

      Reply
    9. Kristeen Downs says

      December 01, 2020 at 4:38 pm

      What can I use in place of Liquid Stevia?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        December 01, 2020 at 5:46 pm

        More Swerve.

        Reply
    10. Saadia says

      July 30, 2020 at 1:16 am

      5 stars
      Best keto dessert ever! I used crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy and it worked out fine. Initially, I had trouble getting the stiff peaks to form while whipping the heavy whipping cream, but after watching some YouTube videos, I realized my bowl was too large. Once I moved the cream into a smaller bowl, it whipped up nicely. Also—I cheated a little and used store bought sugar free jell-o pudding for the chocolate pudding layer. The first time around I used sugar free white chocolate and added cocoa powder and extra powdered Swerve. This second time, I used sugar free chocolate pudding. I mixed the pudding mix with half almond milk and half heavy whipping cream the first time. The second time, since I was using a larger jell-o pudding box that called for 3 cups of cold milk, I used 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, and 1 cup of FairLife milk. Added extra powdered Swerve to taste. Topped my cake with crushed pecans in addition to the “cookie” topping. Simply delicious. Also, since this second time I made the cake in a 7” springform pan, I had extra chocolate pudding from the larger jell-o pudding mix, so I created two individual dirt cakes for my husband’s co-worker. Just layered each mason jar with the “cookie” crust on the bottom, peanut butter cream cheese layer, some extra cookie crumbles, chocolate pudding layer, more cookie crumbles, and chopped pecans. Sending it to hubby’s work tomorrow. Will let everyone know what the co-worker says! I’m taking the 7” cake to my sister’s for a holiday party, so I can indulge in a sugar free dessert while everyone else is eating non-keto desserts. Thank you Carolyn for a delightful keto cake recipe that I will make again and again.

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        July 30, 2020 at 8:08 am

        Excellent!

        Reply
    11. Daughter oftheKing says

      June 08, 2020 at 3:21 pm

      5 stars
      perfect that’s the only word you need to know!

      Reply
    12. Lindsay says

      May 22, 2020 at 6:12 pm

      5 stars
      I’m not usually a fan of keto desserts but this is the first keto dessert recipe that I’ve made that turned out amazing!

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        May 22, 2020 at 8:44 pm

        So delighted to hear it!

        Reply
    13. Sandy says

      July 12, 2019 at 5:47 am

      5 stars
      I made this last night. It looks yummy. Hopefully will be as good as it looks. Will let you know when we eat it this weekend. Going to experiment freezing some since it’s only my husband and myself. Will let you know about that too! Lol. Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    14. Daneille says

      April 12, 2019 at 3:40 pm

      Oh man, now THAT is pudding! Absolutely delicious, and the texture….!

      I haven’t gotten to eat the fully assembled cake yet, but I just wanted to let other readers know, if they are lazy pudding makers like me (I NEVER bother with tempering eggs), it will still come out fine if you mix all the ingredients together at the start. Just be sure to cook for 2-3 minutes more once you start seeing un-burst bubbles following in the wake of your whisk (the xanthan gum makes the surface tension too heavy for bubbles to break on their own). Scrumptious!

      Reply
      • Daneille says

        April 12, 2019 at 3:46 pm

        Also, for people having trouble with the xanthan gum, I mixed mine into the cocoa powder before adding to the eggs/milk. This helps prevent clumping

        Reply
    15. Joi says

      March 05, 2019 at 1:41 am

      I’m making this for a new home construction party this weekend and am excited – and a little bit terrified of the powdered Swerve in the peanut butter layer. I have such bad luck with Swerve. Is there anything I can sub that won’t get crunchy/have that cool aftertaste? I normally sub Ideal (xylitol) But there isn’t a powdered version of Ideal and it’s super grainy. Help, pretty please? 🙂

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        March 05, 2019 at 8:57 am

        I don’t experience the cooling effect with Swerve but you do need a powdered sweetener so I think it’s your best bet.

        Reply
        • Joi says

          March 06, 2019 at 1:26 am

          Thanks for the advice! I tried the PB layer tonight and the minty cooling effect is minimal; am sure it will be fabulous. (Sorely tempted to try the brownie layer from your brownie cheesecake as the base layer… 🙂 Thank you so much for all your amazing work and public service!

          Reply
      • Ann says

        January 22, 2022 at 7:46 pm

        Bocha Sweet is a great sub for Swerve. I can’t find it locally so I order online.

        Reply
      • Colleen says

        March 05, 2022 at 8:13 am

        You can still use xylotol, just put it in a blender to create a powder

        Reply
    16. Greg Rallo says

      December 20, 2018 at 2:12 pm

      5 stars
      I made this last night. WOW! Is is amazingly rich, and creamy, and yummy.

      I followed the recipe exactly with only one exception. I don;t have liquid stevia extract. I omitted it altogether and still thought the pie was AMAZING!

      I don’t buy swerve, but I have an erythritol/stevia blend that I buy in bulk. I just dropped it into a coffee grinder for 5 to 10 seconds and it was a fine powder. I highly recommend doign this. It blends/dissolves so much easier.

      Reply
    17. Michele says

      December 13, 2018 at 9:47 pm

      When you say whipping cream you mean heavy whipping cream correct?

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        December 14, 2018 at 9:13 am

        Yes. But they are really both the same for these purposes.

        Reply
    18. Aileen says

      October 16, 2018 at 2:38 pm

      5 stars
      My sister made this this weekend and it was soooooo good !!! Just a fabulous recipe and the pudding layer was perfect pudding! YUM!!

      Reply
      • Carolyn says

        October 16, 2018 at 7:46 pm

        So glad you like it!

        Reply
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