This easy low carb cake is truly delicious stuff! Keto chocolate cake swirled together with sugar-free cheesecake, pecans, and coconut for a healthy take on the famous earthquake cake.
Sometimes, messy food is the best food. And this Keto Earthquake Cake is the perfect example. It’s messy to make and messy to look at, but it’s crazy delicious.
Just think about it: all those mixed up layers, jumbled and swirled together, studded with pecans, coconut, and low carb chocolate chips. It’s like a keto chocolate cake slammed into a keto cheesecake, turned upside down, did a couple of backflips, and landed in a baking dish.
And with every bite, you get a mouthful of all that goodness mixed together. That’s my kind of keto cake recipe!
Why you need to try this recipe
Cake doesn’t need to be complicated or time consuming to be delicious. And this Keto Earthquake Cake proves that point. While it does dirty several bowls, it’s relatively easy to prepare.
And it’s easy to make it look good, because it’s supposed to look messy and jumbled! No perfect layers or perfect frosting, just swirl the cake and cheesecake together for a mouthwatering combo.
It’s a great recipe to take to a party or get-together, since it makes 20 servings. But if you want to make it just for your household, you can also freeze the leftovers!
And each gooey, swirled slice has only 3.3g net carbs per serving. Yummy stuff!
Reader Reviews
“OMG!!! These are so rich and decadent! By far the best bar out there! Thank you!” — Joanne J.
“Hi Carolyn! I’ve made this recipe twice now and I love it so much! My son who has celiac disease was just visiting with me and my husband so I made it for him to try and he loves it too. I followed the recipe to the tea and it was easy to make and I also made sure to clean the bowls and the beaters of course! Yum yum!” — Lisa L.
“This is the best chocolate cake recipe I’ve made. Sweet but doesn’t have the sugar substitute after taste. Anything sweet I make my wife doesn’t like because of the aftertaste, her statement was “this is holiday worthy”.” — Robert.
Ingredients you need
- Shredded coconut: Use unsweetened shredded coconut, rather than flaked coconut. It makes it easier to mix everything up together.
- Pecans: Use finely chopped pecans for better consistency and distribution.
- Almond flour: For a nut-free option you can use sunflower seed flour.
- Sweetener: The cake takes both granular and powdered sweetener. I used Swerve for both but you can also use allulose.
- Cocoa powder: Dutch process cocoa imparts a deeper, richer chocolate flavor.
- Protein powder: Protein powder helps the cake rise better and be fluffier. You can use whey, egg white, or plant-based protein.
- Cold coffee: I like coffee because it enhances the chocolate flavor, but water works too.
- Cream cheese: You can’t make the cheesecake filling without this!
- Sugar-free chocolate chips: You can use Lily’s or ChocZero. They both work well in this recipe.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, butter, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt.
Step-by-step directions
1. Prepare the pan: Grease a 9×13 glass or ceramic baking pan. Sprinkle the bottom with the shredded coconut and the pecans.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
3. Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the eggs, 6 tablespoons of the melted butter, coffee or water, and vanilla extract until well combined. Pour over the coconut and pecans.
4. Prepare the cheesecake filling: In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the remaining 8 tablespoons of melted butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener.
5. Swirl the cake: 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.
6. Bake the cake: Sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Bake at 325ºF for about 35 to 45 minutes, until cake is mostly set through but still a little soft and jiggly in the center. Err on the side of underdone, rather than over-baking it. Remove and let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
Tips for Success
The pan you use makes a difference. Metal and ceramic or glass conduct heat very differently so I specify ceramic/glass for this recipe. If you don’t have one, use the metal pan but keep your eye on it and test frequently for doneness.
Do NOT over-bake this cake. A few readers have had issues with it being dry, and that always comes from over-baking. Keep your eye on it, and err on the side of under-baking. The edges should be set, but the center should still have a little jiggle to it when you shake the pan. It should not be liquidy, however.
Conventional earthquake cake is made with chocolate cake mix, and you could certainly go that route for this recipe. I think it’s just as easy and less expensive to make your own.
It also usually takes shredded coconut, chopped pecans, and plenty of chocolate chips. But if any one of these additions doesn’t appeal to you, feel free to leave them out. They are not critical to the outcome of the cake itself.
If you truly object to adding protein powder, you can skip it. But just understand that the cake will not rise as well.
Frequently asked questions
This is a big cake that feeds 20 so it’s great for parties and get togethers. You can make it a day or so in advance and refrigerate it. Wrap it up tightly so that it doesn’t dry out, and let it come to room temperature before serving.
Because of the cheesecake filling, leftovers should be kept chilled. Store in a covered container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to 2 months.
This keto earthquake cake recipe has 7.4g of carbs and 4.1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.3g net carbs per slice.
More keto cake recipes to love!
- Gooey Keto Butter Cake
- Pumpkin Crunch Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake
- Keto Chocolate Cheesecake
- Keto Flourless Chocolate Cake
Keto Earthquake Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 14 tablespoon butter melted, divided
- ½ cup cold coffee or water coffee helps boost chocolate flavor
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ½ cup sugar-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and grease a 9×13 glass or ceramic 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 tablespoons of the melted butter, coffee or water, and vanilla extract until well combined. Spread over the coconut and pecans.
- In another large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the remaining 8 tablespoons of 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 35 to 45 minutes, until cake is mostly set through but still a little soft and jiggly in the center. Err on the side of underdone, rather than over-baking it.
- Remove and let cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
Susan says
Do you really even need need the protein powder?
Carolyn says
If you want the best rise and texture, yes.
Susan says
Delicious!
It is great we all can adjust ‘sweetener’ products according to our preferences. I am thankful for lots
Of choices these days!
Eileen says
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!
Sally says
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.
Ally says
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.
Barbo says
We love things sweet so no problem for us. It reminds us of Rocky Road one of our
favorite HC ice creams .
Paula says
Hi, is there a substitution for the whey powder?
Carolyn says
Egg white protein powder.
Tonya says
Can I get this in grocery stores?
Carolyn says
Whole foods definitely carries it.
Julie says
Would chocolate whey protein powder work as a sub?
Carolyn says
Sure.
Erica says
Any idea if hemp protein powder would work? I’m out of the whey protein and have dried egg whites as well as the hemp.
Pam says
This cake looks good to a fault! Sorry – had to.
Mimi says
Ha! I thought the same thing!
Brenda Cash says
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?
Carolyn says
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.
Shelby says
My batter was not liquid at all either, I think it could be the almond flour. My cream cheese dollops were fairly thick also. Not sure if that was supposed to be the case, but not sure how I could have messed that up if they weren’t supposed to be. lol We haven’t had a chance to taste it yet but I am positive it is going to taste delicious anyway! I will probably try it again and try using a little less almond flour. It may be possible that it is the brand I used which is different from yours (I used Trader Joe’s Super Fine Ground).
Carolyn says
I guess it’s the almond flour, then. It’s interesting, you are not the only one who’s had this problem. Low carb batters do tend to be thicker than regular, though!
Lori says
Can these be made into cupcakes? If so, how would the time be adjusted?
Carolyn says
Sorry, I’ve never tried that, you will need to experiment.
Chris says
Use more pecans!!!!
Dea says
Sorry foe the error should read —-Hubby does not like coconut
Dea says
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.
Carolyn says
Just leave it out! Glad to hear he’s getting better.
Margaret Floeter says
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!
janet says
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).
Linda says
I find letting baked goods sit a few days before eating really mellows the sweet overpowering taste. I started using xylitol for my sweetner and just love it. (We have no pets). Good luck.
Maria says
I use xylitol also and find that it is the only one without an aftertaste and does have as much of the cooling effect. I have tried every sugar replacement on the market and nothing compares to xylitol
Erythritol came close but it had too much of that cooling effect even in recipes. All the others had an aftertaste.
Delaney says
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!
Chris says
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.
Janai says
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.
Delaney says
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!
Amanda says
Be careful- If you are doing Keto, Splenda is not Keto and can still spike your insulin.
Diane Turner says
No Splenda doesn’t spike your blood sugar. Go watch Keto Connect on YouTube they tested all the sweeteners and Splenda did not raise your blood sugar.
Barbara A Chen says
Splenda can spike insulin without spiking blood glucose through the cephalic phase effect. You can search that. Glucose is only half the story. In general, though, depending on the individual, any sweetener including natural ones can spike insulin. Without testing both blood glucose AND ketones at the same time, calculating the ratio and repeating periodically after ingesting the sweetener you won’t know for sure. Two fit docs are more scientific in their blood level experiments than Matt and Megha. I love Matt and Megha, but as with all YouTubers there are limitations to their tests and results. Your mileage may vary and every individual is different. Check out Two Fit Docs for a better test on sweetening coffee with a slew of different sweeteners. The wife is not insulin resistant but the husband is and their results are different as a result. At the end they realized that while they didn’t show insulin SPIKES with certain sweeteners, they did not experience the insulin DIP that they normally get with just black coffee in the morning. Took them WEEKS to complete the tests so they could be as strict as possible with controlling outside variables.
Aubree says
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.
Carolyn says
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.
Marie says
us too. sometimes I buy generic eythritol on line also to save money
Allyson says
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!
Troyce Schreffler says
I learned to do this when I use Swerve also. Makes a world of difference in eliminating the cooling effect of Swerve.
Tricia says
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.
Carol McRee says
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!
Chis says
What is the name of the sweetener you use?? I can’t stand swerve!!!
Carol McRee says
Try Truvia and Truvia baking blends.
Anne says
Note that Truvia Baking Blend has sugar as one of the ingredients.
Carol says
I use pyure, just stevia and eritherol
Christa Back says
What do you use instead?
Pam says
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.
Marie says
we just use way less than recipe calls for. I guess we’ve lost some of our sweet toothe…
Lallie says
This happens to many people who eliminate sugar and cut down on the carbs in their diet. I tend to use half of the amount or even 1/3 rd the amount of sweetener called for in most recipes. I also like to use just plain erythritol sometimes because it has only 70% of the sweetness of sugar. This way I can reduce the sweetness without taking some of the bulk of the ingredients away.
Stacy says
Just made this! AMAZING! Thank you Carolyn. We appreciate YOU!
Engela Viss says
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!!
Elizabeth Hayes says
Can you subthe whey protein with egg white powder as in some of your other recipes?
Tricia Hoff says
I tried substituting Erythritol and powdered Swerve in a coconut cake recipe and while everyone else loved it, I couldn’t eat it because it made my mouth burn. It’s expensive, but I’ve had great success using Monkfruit sweetener in recipes so I’m going to try this recipe using that.
Hope says
I love monk fruit! I use it all the time. No aftertaste.
Carolyn says
Each palate is different, I get a strong aftertaste with monk fruit.
Debbie says
Tricia, my mouth has been tasting weird for awhile! Was it long lasting or just right after eating it?
Thank you!
AZ@...And A Dash of Cinnamon says
OOH I wasn’t sure what earthquake cake was, but it looks delicious! I love the coconut chocolate combo