Classic yellow cake gets a healthy low carb makeover. And it’s made in miniature so it’s just the right size! Top it all off with a decadent chocolate buttercream for a special treat.
Anybody who knows me knows I can get a little obsessive about things. A little, a lot, you know, what’s the difference? It doesn’t become all-consuming, I can put whatever my little obsession du jour is away in its own compartment and manage to function pretty well. But it stays there, quietly poking and prodding me, reminding me of its existence until I am ready to let it out again. This happens a lot with recipes and recipe ideas. I may be looking you in the eye and chatting about any number of things, the weather, our kids, current events. I may seem completely present in the moment. But really I am mulling over a recipe idea in my head, thinking how to make it work, what ingredients to use, and what I want it to look like. I just can’t help myself.
Such is the case with these adorable low carb mini cakes for two. This first one, a classic yellow cake with chocolate frosting, was so fun to make and so perfectly delicious, I almost immediately embarked on making a second one of a different flavour. And now I am completely obsessed. I am already scheming what flavours I want to do for my third, my fourth, and probably my 18th too. Maybe even a 100th. There is no shortage of ideas here and I am determined to make them all. I hope you join me on my crazy mini cake journey.
I typically make large cakes that feed 12 or more because that’s what bakers do. Go big or go home, right? But I also receive a lot of requests for smaller desserts, ones that feed just one or two people. I confess, I didn’t see the attraction for a long time because if something is delicious, why wouldn’t you want MORE of it? And more and more and more? But then I realized that this is dangerous territory. If you don’t have a large family to feed or an event to go to, a large amount of delicious and very tempting food can lead you astray. It may be low carb if you have a proper serving size, but it’s no longer so if you can’t help but eat half the cake in one go. And I pride myself that my cakes and desserts are so tempting, you are always going to want seconds.
Let me be clear that this is not a mug cake in disguise. I did not cook it in the microwave, I baked it properly in the oven. Although I did my second mini cake, a seriously chocolate-y affair, in our convection/toaster oven, to avoid heating up the whole kitchen. That worked very well too. I used ceramic ramekins of a larger size (4 inches in diameter, 1 cup capacity), similar to these NorPro ramekins, and greased them well with coconut oil spray, and my little layers just fell right out perfectly. You could also use little 4-inch cake pans as well.
Now, I do call this a cake for two but it is rich enough that it could serve three to four. I ate a quarter at a time, topped with a little low carb ice cream, and it was just the right amount for dessert. But the point of these mini cakes is that if you did fall prey to temptation and found yourself eating the whole thing…you really wouldn’t do much damage in the end!
Classic Yellow Cake for Two
Ingredients
Yellow Cake:
- 7 tbsp almond flour
- 2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp unflavored whey protein powder
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Frosting:
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 to 3 tbsp whipping cream, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven (or toaster oven) to 325F and grease 2 4-inch ramekins or mini cake pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, whey protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
- Divide mixture between the ramekins/pans and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until center is set and edges are just golden brown.
- Remove and let cool a few minutes in the pans and then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- In a medium bowl, beat together the cocoa powder and melted butter. Beat in powdered sweetener and vanilla extract.
- Beat in whipping cream one tbsp at a time until a spreadable frosting consistency is achieved.
- Place one layer of cake on a small plate and spread the top with about 1/4 of the frosting. Top with second layer of cake and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides of the cake. Let set in fridge 20 minutes, then get your honey-pie or your friend and dig in!
Notes
Total fat: 39.72g
Calories from fat: 357
Cholesterol: 84mg
Carbohydrate: 9.91g
Total dietary fiber: 4.63g
Protein: 10.91g
Erythritol: 30g
Nutrition
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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Oh my! This is the best keto cake I’ve had tasted. I used egg protein powder, added sugar free chocolate chips and made a crumb topping- yum! Any chance you could modify this recipe for a full size cake?
Thanks so much!
What other comparable sweetener could be used? I’m having trouble finding Swerve locally.
Any erythritol based sweetener would do.
For both the granulated and powder? Sorry if this seems like a silly question. I just started dating a guy who’s diabetic and I really want to learn how to make foods that he can enjoy and will be healthier for him. This is all new stomping grounds for me.
If you can find a powdered sweetener, you could use that for both the cake and the frosting. If you can only find granular, some people have good luck powdering the granulated erythritol in a coffee grinder.
To be honest, purchasing them both online is sometimes the best way!
I increased ingredients by 50%and made this into 5 cupcakes. Excellent cake! Didn’t need icing. They are honestly just as good and similar texture to homemade yellow cake with sugar and wheat flour. I should add that I used vanilla whey protein powder since it’s all I had and I didn’t reduce the vanilla since my powder is pretty light tasting. Also baked 18 min at 350 F Thank you for my go-to cupcakes recipe!
Glad you liked it!
I made this for my birthday and shared it with a friend! Neither one of us could finish half – it’s that rich. I actually love the cake and decided to double the recipe and make mini cupcakes for my lunches. I do find that almond flour is easier on my tummy than coconut flour so this is a great go-to recipe.
So glad to hear it!
OH MY GOSH!! Thank you SO much!! I just can’t believe I will be able to make a cake with frosting every once in a while!! What a great treat! I was just wondering if I could use vanilla whey protein powder and cut back on the extract, as I do not have unflavored protein powder?
That should be fine.
If I don’t have any kind of protien powder, could I just add a little more almond flour?
So happy to see small cake for two :)Thank you for helping all to be kind to our diets 😉
You can leave it out but I think your cakes may be more dense and not rise as well.
Could I add either a tiny bit of DaVinci sf syrup or a lemon extract to the batter to flavor it?
Of course…but I have a lemon cake coming soon!
I love this – going to try it tonight. I don’t have small cake pans, but I do have english muffin rounds – they are 3.75 “, so maybe that would work. Going to try them on a pan, and hope the batter does not run out under it. I’ve done several of your chocolate cakes, and they were awesome, but too big for 2 people. I end up eating a whole cake (less hubby’s nibblings) over a week, and that is just not practical.
Still glad to have you, sis! I cannot figure this low-carb thing out on my own.
Glad to help! I think the batter should be thick enough to work in the rounds but maybe cover the bottoms with tinfoil?
Is there a full size cake recipe? This was amazing! By far the best real-cake-like taste and feel!!! I am trying to multiply the ingredients, but thought you may already have one?
There is not but if you quadruple everything, you’d get a pretty good sized cake. Bake in 8 inch pans, not exactly sure how long but start checking at 15 minutes!
The best ever recipe! Now it’s my favorite cake! I;ll use this recipe every time when I’ll have the chance -party,birth anniversary.Thank you!
So glad you liked it!
Wow! Just wow! I thought I would want the whole thing, but it is so satisfying that just a quarter of the cake was enough. So excited to have this recipe!
Also, can I add cocoa powder to the cake baker to make it a chocolate cake or would that wreck it? If yes how much should I add?
Thanks again!
Not with this recipe. It would require a bit of tweaking. I have a chocolate mini cake coming soon!
Hi! I love you! I have been eating low carb and low sugar sence May and I have lost 42lbs so far! I’m a baker (one reason for dieting lol) and have been wanting to try one of your recipes. I was wondering why you don’t add in a sugar content amount? Is it because the amount is so insignificant that it doesn’t matter? Thank you so much for you time.. Marie
I don’t think my software calculates sugar grams. I actually should check. I don’t think of it as important because it is pretty minimal. It would only come from the dairy and the almond flour.
Make this for my mom birthday on 8/2 and it was very good, which worked out perfectly since I’m the only one Low carb and she’s still deciding.
Glad to hear it!
I’m new to your blog and am excited to try this! Dumb questions: Is the Swerve Sweetener granular in the cake and powdered in the frosting (like regular sugar and powdered sugar, respectively)? Also, I usually bake with unsalted butter; is that what you use? or would I need to add another pinch of sale?
Yes, exactly. Granular in the cake, powdered in the frosting. I usually use salted butter but I have a taste for salt. So I try to write my recipes for those using unsalted. And keep in mind that the baking powder contributes salt as well. If you tend to like things salty as well, go ahead and add more.
I made this today. I used dark cocoa in my frosting, and it turned out decadently delicious! Great recipe…easy to make and adapt with other frostings.