Rich low carb chocolate torte made with walnuts. This is one of the densest, moistest, richest low carb cakes you will ever eat. A little sliver is enough to satisfy!
I am a big fat jerk-face. Like, just a total meanie-pants. Really, I mean it, I am stupid-head to the nth degree. What on earth, you might wonder, has me calling myself such juvenile schoolyard names? Well, I owe this recipe to someone and I can’t remember who. And I think I’ve owed it to them for a few weeks now. All I know is that one reader had a huge windfall of walnuts and asked me what to do with them. I can’t even remember where or how she asked me, although I suspect it was on Facebook. Since I had recently created this recipe, I told her to email me because I had just the thing for her. She dutifully emailed and I had all of these wonderful intentions of emailing her back with the recipe right away.
And I didn’t do it. Of course I didn’t. The recipe wasn’t fully typed up yet and I didn’t have time in that moment, so I put it off. And then I lost sight of the email and it slipped my mind. Until yesterday, when I was deciding what recipe to put up and settled on this one. Then I slapped my forehead and went “Oh $***, you total meanie-pants jerk-face stupid-head, you forgot!”. Yes, apparently I am a little hard on myself.
Really, my connection with my readers is of the utmost importance to me. I honestly value it as much as any “real” relationship in my life. I get so many wonderful comments and emails, I have such loyal supporters, and I want people to know that I really don’t take that for granted. Not for a second, even when I forget to respond or email you back. Even when my responses come a few weeks too late to address the issue or problem that you have. I feel honoured that so many people look to me as a low carb expert and I try my hardest to answer each and every question thoroughly. But I do often fall behind, I do lose sight of queries, and I simply can’t always stay on top of it all. That’s life, I suppose.
So to the lovely reader who asked me for recipes to help use up her huge quantity of walnuts, this one goes out to you. And I just did a little search of my email and found the reader. So Diane…this one’s for you! Hope you love it.
- 1 1/2 cup walnuts
- 3/4 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp espresso powder (optional, enhances chocolate flavour)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 2 1/2 ounces sugar-free dark chocolate chopped
- 1/3 cup walnut pieces
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Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9-inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the paper.
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In a food processor, process walnuts until finely ground. Add sweetener, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt and pulse a few times to combine.
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In a large saucepan set over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs and vanilla extract. Add almond milk and whisk until mixture smooths out. Stir in walnut mixture until well combined.
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Spread batter in prepared baking pan and bake about 30 minutes, until edges are set but center still looks slightly wet. Let cool 15 minutes in pan, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove parchment paper.
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In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add chopped chocolate. Let sit to melt 5 minutes, then whisk until smooth.
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Cool another 10 minutes, then pour the glaze over the cake, smoothing the sides. Sprinkle top with walnut pieces and chill until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes.
Serves 12. Each serving has 2.97g NET CARBS.
Food energy: 343kcal
Total fat: 30.26g
Calories from fat: 272
Cholesterol: 112mg
Carbohydrate: 8.46g
Total dietary fiber: 5.49g
Protein: 9.54g
Erythritol: 15g
Tara says
Thanks so much for sharing all of these great ideas. Have you tried this with stevia? My son is on the MAD diet for seizures, which doesn’t let him subtract sugar alcohols from the carb count. He only gets 15-20 carbs per day (carbs minus fiber), so most desserts bust him. He is having a hard time adjusting to the diet, and I am on a mission to find him some tasty treats! I would love to hear of any of your recipes that would work for him (sides are another problem – I welcome just about any leads to increase his recipe box)). Thank you!!!!!
Carolyn says
Stevia would be fine. I don’t use it much anymore because my son has appeared to have developed an allergy to it.
Debbi says
If you are remotely allergic to Ragweed, you can react to Stevia. I found out the hard way 🙁
Going to try this w/o the Stevia, so it won’t be quite so low carb, and use almonds as I am also allergic to all other nuts.
Tamera Alexander says
LOVE THIS SITE!!! Can’t wait to make this chocolate walnut torte too!
A note to you, Tara. I’m betting you know Linda’s low carb site, but just in case you don’t… http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/ She has a fabulous pumpkin bake (got some in my fridge even now) that is terrific! Here’s the link to it:http://genaw.com/lowcarb/pumpkin_bake.html And also, Peanut Butter cookies (also in my fridge, here’s the link: http://genaw.com/lowcarb/magical_peanutbutter_cookies.html ) that are delicious! They’re a fabulous treat when you want something sweet. And a just one small pumpkin square or one cookie do the trick for me. Also, try the Magic Peanut Butter Pudding: http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/magic_peanutbutter_pudding.html Lastly, you might want to try these Mint Chocolate Chip Clouds. They are divine! http://genaw.com/lowcarb/mint_choc_chip_clouds.html And all low-carb! Blessings to you as you search for ways to enhance your son’s diet.
Grace says
I hope Tara gets to see this.
I use liquid Torani Sugar Free Syrup in MANY of Carolyn’s recipes. I wonder if that would be better for your son. Sometimes I simmer it down so things aren’t too liquidy. It is much lower in carb than powdered sweeteners. You might want to check that out. I’ve made another of Carolyn’s chocolate torte recipes using the vanilla sweetener. Just a heads up, so of the diff. flavors offered aren’t very good, but the vanilla is my go to. I buy it on Amazon. It’s cheaper than Davinci’s brand.
Janet says
My husband hates walnuts! Do you think this would work with almonds or pecans? Love trying your recipes!!!
Marcia Renee Little says
Oh My God, It absolutely works with pecans, I am eating it right now, and so delectable. This one just might be a plate licker. THANK YOU!
Linda says
If you don’t have a food processor or a heavy-duty blender, nuts.com sells walnut flour. 🙂
Karen says
Diane will TOTALLY forgive you. This torte is no joke. Making this weekend – right after the Blackberry Hazlenut Semifreddo. Haven’t quite recovered from thaaat one yet. Two weekend days = two desserts. Amirght? Love your recipes.
Carolyn says
yay, glad you love them!
Cindy says
This looks so amazing. I have a surplus of pecans, so I’ll be using those instead. Thanks for this awesome recipe. I will OD on chocolate!
Amy says
Looks awesome and I am sure it tastes even better!
Shannon says
Made this today. Very easy to make and OMG so delicious. One of our new favourites.
Carolyn says
Wow, that was quick! So glad you liked it!
Pat says
You have no idea how much I luv you for all these recipes you created!! I was so lost in the beginning but it’s getting better but I still gain weight from this high fat diet, blood glucose is better though ???
Carolyn says
Glad to hear your glucose is under control. Have you tried limiting the nut-based recipes to a few times a week? For some people, they can stall them.
Ruth Garcia says
Increase your potassium and B vitamins and your sugar cravings will deminish substantially. Former sugar baby.
Brenda says
Oh my, this stuff is heaven – and so easy to make!
Betsy says
Thank you for this recipe! I live at 9600′ in Colorado, and I have never ever even attempted to bake a cake using a recipe that has not been re-formulated for high altitude. I decided to give this a go and I am so glad I did. It turned out perfectly and looked exactly like yours in the photo! I might pull it out of the oven a little sooner next time because things dry out so fast up here. The flavor was outstanding and I *might* have even topped it with a spoonful of freshly whipped cream – DIVINE! I am no means an expert baker, so maybe you have some knowledge of why this cake turned out so well at high altitude? Thanks again, I really love your recipes and writings!
Carolyn says
Probably because a dense torte like this isn’t required to rise much at any altitude. So glad you liked it!
JOAN says
WOW. Made this for dinner guests and it will be my go to dessert from now on. Intense dark chocolate flavor, rich, satisfying and a snap to make. I omitted the expresso as caffeine is a problem, and I can’t imagine it being any better. THANK YOU!
Maya | Wholesome Yum says
This looks so rich and just gorgeous. Now I just need an excuse/occasion to try it. Does a weekend day count? 😉
Marcia Renee Little says
Yes definitely, it is so gooood!
Marina says
I made it yesterday and can’t stop eating it! I used truvia baking blend instead of swerve (because I can’t seem to get used to the swerve aftertaste bleh), It’s got some sugar in it but still low in carbs. Love it! I didn’t let it cool down enough before I took it out of the pan and it broke in 3 pieces, but it was so warm and soft I was able to patch it up and cover it up with glaze no problem! Also topped with walnuts and fresh organic strawberries! So good! And so awesome there isn’t any flour in it!
Toni says
This is the BEST grain-free treat I’ve had since I started on a low carb way of eating in January of this year. It tasted absolutely amazing and I found that after it had been in the fridge overnight, the texture was even better as it seemed to ‘settle’. My whole family loved it and I shall certainly be making this again!! We had it with berries and cream but, even on it’s own, it is seriously good. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! ? ? ?
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Sonya says
Well this is one outstanding cake! Made it today exactly as called for in the recipe but with a few drops of SweetLeaf Vanilla Crème drops in the glaze. To die for!
Marilyn says
Made this yesterday and was not what I thought it would taste like. I thought it would be kind of fudgy, but it was quite mealy. Maybe the walnuts were not ground enough? I really did not like the texture of the cake. Any thoughts?
Marion LeSage says
Made this today: the batter was a little too dark chocolate for me so I added a half cup of cream to the batter and baked it 7 minutes longer. The cake, once cooled and chilled has such a lovely creamy texture, although a little crumbly. I used Lily’s chocolate chips for ganache over the cake and walnut halves on top. Very tasty and decadent. Thank you for the recipe. ❤️???
Kristin Sykes-David says
I just made this cake to take to a birthday celebration and after cooling in pan 15 minutes, I turned it out to further cool and it FELL APART. The middle is not cooked. I will piece together the outer part and call it earthquake cake! You know, after the big one that is due in the NW!
Toni says
I cooked mine about 10 minutes longer and you do need to give it adequate time to cool properly before turning it out of the pan. It’s not the kind of cake that can be rushed as the texture improves`as it stands overnight. My husband has been begging me to make this one again 🙂
Marcia Little says
My kids have begged me to make it again, so I did. So yummy, lol.
Ilana says
Will this torte freeze well?
Carolyn says
It certainly should!
Ilana says
Thank you, Carolyn! My good friend/coworker brought this for me for my birthday, then went home sick, and I want to save her some for next week. I couldn’t wait to try it, though. It is truly amazing!!
Marcia Renee Little says
I am so glad that I found your site and this recipe, this was/is excellent!
Anja says
Best chocolate keto cake I ever had! I love the moisture and rich chocolate flavour. It was even better after one night in fridge. Thank you for the recepie.
Carolyn says
Well, I love hearing that!
Marcia Little says
I am in love with this cake! I have now made two. So good.
Carolyn says
That’s awesome!
Lisa says
Thank you for this recipe Carolyn! I love to bake and have made many desserts throughout the years. This one is hands down one of the best desserts ever, and that includes the NON Low Carb variety! A new family favorite. I made this for Christmas day, and then once again just because. I will be making this for the 3rd tomorrow since my dad has requested this dessert for his 87th birthday celebration. Your Blog is awesome and it is one of the first ones I look at when searching out new and delicious recipes! Thanks again!
Carolyn says
So glad you like it, Lisa!
Tom says
This is an incredible dessert, so decadent and chocolate-y. Although your pictures are excellent, I’m not sure they quite do justice to just how fantastic this torte is. It’s like eating a piece of fudge-y heaven. And yes, a small piece is very satisfying.
Carolyn says
Wow, that’s high praise, thanks!
Kath says
Made this for a family get together, for my non low carb relies. They loved it. So did I!!
Used xylitol. Very rich and decadent.
plasterers bristol says
one of my all time favorite cake recipes. Thanks for sharing. Simon
Kathy says
Do you mean 3gm Carb instead of 300
Carolyn says
I don’t mean either. YOu’ are reading the wrong thing. You are looking at the Recommended Daily Values.
Kathy says
Do you mean 3gm Carb instead of 300. Yes. See that sorry
Marie says
Hi, i was wondering if I could dubble this and bake it in a spring form pan?
What do you think?
Carolyn says
It will take longer to cook, I am not sure how long.
Chuck Jones says
I would recommend using a spring form pan. That worked really well for me.
From my experience, next time I make this I will reverse the order here: “In a large saucepan set over low heat, melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.” I’ll slowly drizzle the chocolate into the beaten eggs.
When I started whisking in the eggs, the chocolate mixture started separating and the eggs started curdling. I was really lucky to be able to rescue it.
Carolyn says
That would only happen if your heat was too high and your chocolate mixture too warm. You may want to give your chocolate and butter a little time to cool before adding the eggs. If you have an electric stove-top, the heat is harder to control than gas and that may be why your chocolate was too warm.
Nic says
Waiting for mine to cool but it looks and smells incredible! Been meaning to try this for a while and wish I hadn’t waited so long ? thank you so much for all your amazing recipes! I’m in the UK and I now have two sets of cup measures just for your recipes which always work!
Carolyn says
Haha, smart. I bet US cups are pretty easy to come by and help with accuracy!
Denise says
My friend made this for me for my birthday! It was amazing!!!
Karen Ellem says
Hi!
I live in Australia and have just come across your choc walnut Torte and looking forward to making it. Im on a Keto diet because of my bad health and really miss light/or dark fruit cakes,and Im wondering if you had a recipe for a cake and replaced all the mixed fruit with toasted various nuts.I would love such a recipe.Can you help please? Kind regards,
Carolyn says
I don’t have such a thing but it’s on my list to make for next year!
Jo says
What’s the volume of the walnuts after they’ve been ground, please? I have some pre-ground walnuts I’d like to use. Alternatively, what’s the weight of the walnuts, please?
Thank you!
Carolyn says
Sorry, no idea. I didn’t measure it that way. I’d probably do about 2/3 or 3/4 of the whole nuts.
Lorri Bosch says
Can I use coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup for this recipe? I have several food intolerances and cannot use the sweeter this calls for. It is difficult for me to find sweets that I can eat. I miss my sweets!
Thanks
Carolyn says
Sure, I would use coconut sugar so you don’t throw off the liquid content.