This crazy mixed up keto earthquake cake is truly delicious stuff! An easy low carb cake to whip up, and a hit with all who try it.
I know what’s going to happen here. Call me clairvoyant or something but I know that the minute I publish this recipe, I am going to be inundated with questions. Because I myself have the very same question that I bet about 50% of you are going to ask: why is this delicious low carb chocolate and cream cheese cake called “Earthquake Cake”??? So I am heading you all off at the pass right now and letting you know that I have no earthly idea why it is so named, but I have some pretty good guesses. And I bet you do too, upon closer inspection.
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I am going to go all f0rmer archaeologist on you and point out that soil and rock and all the good stuff is always in nice neat little layers. This is Geology 101, friends, so hark on back to your freshman year and remind yourself how the top layer of soil always sits neatly on top of clay or sandstone or granite layers. And under that there are other layers. Layers upon layers, all the way down to the molten core of the Earth. When you head off to amazing natural sites like the Grand Canyon, you actually get to see those perfect layers in cross-section, the mighty Colorado River having cut it prettily for your viewing pleasure. And, as a former archaeologist/physical anthropologist, I have spent many a day excavating down into those layers, making detailed notes on the strata and which artifacts are found in which layers.
But then an earthquake happens and all those neat layers get churned up and messed up, and some bits that used to be on top are now on the bottom. And some of the bottom layers come all the way to the top. So that when you cut down into it, you see a bit of one layer here and a bit of another layer there and it’s much more difficult to make sense of. Which is also exactly what happens with this crazy mixed up low carb cake…you pour everything into neat little layers and then you churn it all up so that it makes no sense. Some of the bottom layer of coconut and pecans comes to the top and some of the top layer of cream cheese sinks down to the middle or even the bottom.
So what you have, in the end, is a gorgeously imperfect low carb cake with chocolate, coconut, pecans, cream cheese, and chocolate chips, all mixed and muddled together. This keto cake makeover was at the request of a few readers who brought the conventional earthquake cake idea before me on separate occasions. Of course, the conventional version is made with boxed cake mix (ACK!) and we don’t go there. It’s really so easy to whip up a quick low carb chocolate cake batter, I see no need for any sort of boxed mix. Scratch baking at its finest!
Earthquake Cake
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 264 Calories from fat 211 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 23.47g | 36% |
| Carbohydrate 7.54g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 3.4g | 14% |
| Protein 6.18g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
This crazy mixed up keto earthquake cake is truly delicious stuff! An easy low carb cake to whip up, and a hit with all who try it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 14 tbsp butter, melted, divided
- 1/2 cup cold coffee or water (coffee helps boost chocolate flavor)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle the bottom with the shredded coconut and the pecans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs, 6 tbsp melted butter, coffee or water, and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour over the coconut and pecans.
- In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the remaining 8 tbsp melted butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener. Dollop this mixture over the cake mixture by the spoonful. Use a knife to swirl into the cake mixture, scraping all the way to the bottom in some places to mix up the coconut and pecans.
- Sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Bake for about 45 minutes, until cake is mostly set through (will still be slightly soft and liquidy in the middle). Remove and let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
MORE GREAT LOW CARB CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPES
Low Carb Slow Cooker Chocolate Cake
Low Carb Mini Chocolate Cake with Whipped Ganache Frosting
OOH I wasn’t sure what earthquake cake was, but it looks delicious! I love the coconut chocolate combo
Can you subthe whey protein with egg white powder as in some of your other recipes?
Wow, this looks amazing! I’m pretty sure it will be a hit with everyone in the family. Plus, I love that it makes a full 9×13, rather than a smaller batch, without any crazy wild ingredients. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Just made this! AMAZING! Thank you Carolyn. We appreciate YOU!
Does anyone else have a problem with the Swerve powdered sugar? It leaves such a weird after-taste that everything tastes sickenly sweet after I’ve eaten something with it in it. I can’t use it any more.
I don’t use Swerve for the same reason, plus it’s expensive. I used half of what she called for in the dolloping part, and split that erythritol and Splenda. I tried it off the spatula and it was plenty sweet!
Yes! I am always shocked people use it so often in low carb recipes. It gives me a yucky aftertaste and I’m not usually sensitive to that sort of thing. I now use a great combo of stevia/erythritol I found on netrition.com. It’s cheaper and no aftertaste. I just use my vitamin to blend if a recipe calls for powdered sugar.
Please remember that every palate is different. I use Swerve because it’s the only low carb sweetener that does NOT give me an aftertaste.
us too. sometimes I buy generic eythritol on line also to save money
Same here, Swerve is all I use. But I always add a squirt of liquid stevia to anything I use Swerve in… it seems to balance out the sweetness perfectly!
I have found that Truvia works best for me. I have not found a powdered sweetener version of it though so frostings and stuff are harder to manage.
You can put trivia in a small food processor or coffee grinder to get a powdered version of trivia. For baking I prefer the trivia baking blends. The small amount of sugar in the blends means they bake and taste more like usual sugar laden baked goods. A definite plus imho. No aftertaste!
What is the name of the sweetener you use?? I can’t stand swerve!!!
Try Truvia and Truvia baking blends.
What do you use instead?
Like you, we did not care for the aftertaste with Swerve. It’s really too bad, because the initial taste is good.
Now we use an erythritol/stevia granulated blend or Sukrin. If we need it to be a little sweeter, we add some liquid stevia. Omica Orange Blossom is the best stevia we have found. We order it from Amazon.
we just use way less than recipe calls for. I guess we’ve lost some of our sweet toothe…
I used egg white powder, looks good, smells awesome….to hot to taste. I am loving the 9×13 size too. The ladies at quilt bee will be thrilled.
This was perfect to come out on Father’s Day! I made it while my husband is working and it’s cooling on the counter for a perfect evening surprise. It smells amazing. I put cacao bits on half and only used half the sweetener for the cream cheese dollops. Still tasted delicious! Thank you for an easy, chocolatey recipe!
Those of you complaining it’s too sweet, try cutting the amount of sweeteners down…I always use less Sweetener than called for, usually 2/3 to 1/2. I put in half, taste, and add more if needed. Since I started keto two years ago, I just don’t like things as sweet. That’s probably the issue with many of you. I can’t wait to try this. It pushes all my buttons!
You are so right Margaret! Everything seems sickening sweet to us anymore. So I always cut back the sweetener until I can taste it. I’d rather it was not sweet enough(in which case I just serve it with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream) than too sweet to start (in which case no one wants to eat it).
Any ideas for subbing the shredded coconut –Hubby does like coconut. I made your brownie cheesecake for Mothers Day and Fathers day the kids and grandkids really like it and could not believe it was sugar free and that Grandpa could eat it without raising his Blood Sugars . He was diagnosed with diabetes this past February and your meals and desserts have really helped us cope with the diet changes– Blood Sugar is down in normal ranges with just the change in diet, walking, losing weight and no med!! So Thanks for your recipes.
Just leave it out! Glad to hear he’s getting better.
Sorry foe the error should read —-Hubby does not like coconut
Use more pecans!!!!
Carolyn, I can’t figure out what I did wrong, and it’s driving me nuts! My cake looks nothing like yours. The cream cheese layer did not sink and mix together, my cake batter was very think and appears to be darker than yours. Also the cake is a little dry. I’m sure it’s my error, just don’t know what I did–maybe mismeasured the cocoa powder?
Without being in your kitchen with you, I honestly can’t say. But what cocoa powder did you use? If it was one of the super dark ones, maybe that’s an issue. Something went wrong, for sure because the cake batter should be quite liquid. Not quite pourable but definitely spreadable.
This cake looks good to a fault! Sorry – had to.
Hi, is there a substitution for the whey powder?
Egg white protein powder.
Can I get this in grocery stores?
Whole foods definitely carries it.
We love things sweet so no problem for us. It reminds us of Rocky Road one of our
favorite HC ice creams .
I just made these and they turned out awesome! I couldn’t find unsweetened coconut flakes at my local grocery store nor sugar-free chocolate chips, so I used just sweetened coconut flakes (in addition to all the other ingredients) and it was still the perfect amount of sweetness.
I use less Swerve as recommended sometimes about 1/3 of the amount. No aftertaste or issues. I did the same thing when I used sugar -as it was too sweet also for me. I follow the same guidelines as when I baked with sugar. We found that our sweet tooth is not that sweet, if we eat cake with sugar- maybe a bite is all we can handle. That is a good thing! My husband is a diabetic and try to not use sugar or wheat products for hour health. Your recipes make our life with food more enjoyable.
Cake is an absolute bliss. So moist and with so many textures! Came out fab. THANK YOU Carolyn for constantly adding joy to my life!
Delicious!
It is great we all can adjust ‘sweetener’ products according to our preferences. I am thankful for lots
Of choices these days!
Do you really even need need the protein powder?
If you want the best rise and texture, yes.
I baked this cake ahead of time for tomorrow. Smells wonderful. Can’t wait to try it. What’s the best way to store it? In or out of the refrigerator?
Mine didn’t last more than a day but I would probably refrigerate leftovers.
The protein powder I have on hand is vanilla flavored. Will this make a big difference in the outcome of the cake?
Just omit any vanilla and maybe cut back on the sweetener a little.
That’s what I used and it was delicious!
Vanilla is the only kind I have and I dont omit the vanilla or cut back on sweetner.
Yet another indication that low carb is NOT hard with amazing sweets like this! Thank you so much for all your hard work…and sharing with us! I bought some espresso powder from my favorite spice store (myspicesage.com…and I don’t work for or get referral credits, I just LOVE it!). If I use that..use a tiny amount in…water to make up for the liquid? I’m a bit squicky about using too much, I don’t care for uber-strong coffee and don’t want it to take over…but I’d still like to use it,makes me all chefy n stuff :). Thanks so much, this is the first time in my life I’ve stuck with a new WOE, and its been a breeze because of stunning recipes like yours!
Ugh, how I missed the “coffee or water” instructions…silly me, nevermind 🙂 I did email you with a small novel asking a simple question, smh. No rush, just another stupid human trick I tried dealing with on WordPress. Thanks!
You can use just water in the same amount with a little of the espresso powder and I don’t think you will need extra liquid.
I usually make 1/2 recipes as there is just two of us. When there are three eggs do I need to divide an egg or would two eggs make a big difference. I run into this pretty often. I could also use one egg and one white or yolk.. Saving half an egg it usually does not get used.
This is what I usually do: 1 egg plus one egg white and then just hold back on 1 tbsp water, unless the batter is very thick.
Carolyn I just want to check and see if you have any idea of how much THM baking blend I would use in place of the almond flour If I do is there any other adjustments you could recommend. I know you have baked a bit with-it in the past so I thought I would ask because I just made with almond flour and loved it. I just have so much baking blend on hand I’d like to use it .
I would use the same amount but then I would add an extra egg and a little extra butter. Because baking blend is MUCH drier than almond flour alone.
My mom and I made a carby version of this cake in California. Our understanding was that it was called Earthquake Cake because baking it caused cream cheese faults on the surface of the cake — at least with the high carb version.
Karen in Idaho
Just following up to say, I warmed individual slices up in the micro and put them on top of a dollop of whipped cream.
So, so, so tasty.
Carolyn I’m a little confused on the divided Swerve amounts. Is the first 1/2 cup for the cake and the second full cup for the cream cheese dollop? TIA…
Granular for the cake, powdered for the cream cheese. So two different ingredients.
Anyone know if this freezes well? Would love to be Able t pull out A serving once A week as A treat
it should freeze just fine.
I love your recipes and am looking forward to making some show stopping desserts for the 4th… Can you please explain the carbs listed in the nutrition info… is that for the whole pan? I am sorry, but I simply don’t understand, thank you
The total servings are 20, which it states at the top of the recipe. The nutritional counts are always per serving so it’s 7.54g total carbs per serving with 3.4g fiber. Which means it’s 4.44g NET CARBS per serving.
I personally love Swerve. I also just wanted to say thank you. No complaints just a thank you for still having amazing desserts on this wol. I appreciate your time and dedication.
I made this cake yesterday and it’s terribly dry, almost crumbly. I think I need a scoop of ice cream to moisten it up. I would like to try this again but hate to waste ingredients. Followed recipe exact, but did cut back on the swerve sweetener. Help!
I really don’t know. A few other people said the same but most people say it’s perfect. Could be your oven or perhaps your almond flour or cocoa powder.
Wow, just made this and it’s amazingly delicious. This is the first keto chocolate cake that I’ve made that really turned out well. We love it! Moist, flavorful, lots of nice texture and contrast. SO good. Thank you!
Made this for the Fourth of July celebration. Very yummy – none of our non-LC guests knew! 🙂
Could you use chocolate whey protein powder? I was thinking then cut back a little on the sweetener and cocoa….
Sure, I guess that would work.
I made this recently and unfortunately, overbaked it! I cooked it in a glass baking dish for about 39 minutes, which was too long. Obviously, it was too dry, although the taste was tantalizing and I will try again. Another issue I encountered was that it was actually too sweet for me; very rare with your recipes. …And after being in the fridge, the Swerve really crystallized in the remaining cake. Good news, my significant other LOVED it, adores the sweetness, doesn’t mind the crystals, and finds it absolutely fabulous with the whipped cream I made to compensate for the dryness. So overall, a win! Next time: less (and mixed) sweeteners and less baking time. I can tell that when I get it right it is going to be amazing!
Holy moly, this was awesome. Definitely a keeper. I had the Trader Joe’s vanilla whey, did not decrease sweetener or omitted vanilla, and it was awesome. My only suggestion to others is: more nuts. I did 3/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup nuts and it still wasn’t enough IMO. There is enough cake and cheesecake filling to justify quite a bit more nuts. You could do chopped walnuts or mixture of both. This was heavenly and everyone in my extended family on the SAD diet could not believe it was healthy/low carb.
This is SO GOOD! It has a definite German Chocolate Cake flavor. It is also quick & easy, and “carbers” love it too!
Those who commented that it is dry, when baking with almond flour, you have to get acclimated to the “done” consistency. Better to underbake than overbake. If it was too dry, then try again & bake less. My finished product was moist & divine!
I am baking this right now. It takes amazing off the spoon, so I can’t wait until its ready. I used a Stevia/Erythritol blend called native (in Australia) and only used half the amount mentioned.
Carolyn, I have only stumbled across your page and have already favourited it. You have so many Keto recipes that look absolutely amazing. I am new to this lifestyle, but am already seeing the benefits.
Thank you, Laura!
This looks delicious! I realize it’s a keto recipe but it this Trim Healthy Mama compatible? If so, could you tell me what fuel setting it would fall under?
Yes, it is and it’s an S Recipe.
This was so good however it was dry because I got distracted and baked it too long. No problem just served with vanilla ice cream. I will make it again and make sure I don’t overbake. Since there are only two of us I froze half the cake.
Last night I made a trifle out of the frozen cake. I layered vanilla sf pudding, whipped cream, strawberries, and raspberry liquor with the cake. Everyone loved it.
Thanks for another great recipe.
Sounds delicious!
Another delicious recipe loved by all!!! Thanks for all your hard work! I can’t wait to get my copy of your book from amazon!!
Someone please tell me what I did wrong! I’m guessing that the cake part is suppose to be runny like a box cake mix? Mine was a clump – I added 2 more cups of water and still extremely thick! I’m a good cook and baker but I’m missing something somewhere – please help me!
Did you by chance use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Yes I did
Well, that would be your problem, then. These two flours are not interchangeable in the least.
Yes I did
This looks fantastic, but I do not like coconut. Do you think I can just leave it out, or would I need to replace it with something? Thank you!
Can totally leave it out!
Um…this. was. awesome. First recipe of yours that I have tried, and thank you. It’s awesome. I used half the sugar and I used heavy whipping cream in place of the coffee/water, and it’s pretty much heavenly. I think that those who left comments that theirs turned out too dry is because they cooked it too long. My batter was also very thick but my cake was very moist and lovely, but I only baked for 35 minutes. Oven temps do vary. 🙂
I made this for my birthday and it is delicious!!! My bf thought it was amazing that I made it and it was LC. Thank you very much:-)
Belated Happy Birthday!