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.
Barbara says
This was sooooo good! I need a dessert for a family reunion and decided to make a test run with half a recipe. I used a 9” square metal (I didn’t see your note about the pan till after) pan and it was done in 35 minutes. Yum! This will definitely be going with me next Saturday (in a glass pan ????).
Cindy Clay says
Carolyn, thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I’ve been keto for almost 4 years and have tried many recipes. I have several favorites but this Earthquake cake is definitely the top of my list! So moist and chocolately, not to mention easy to make.
I freeze half once cooled and when I defrost this amazing treat it’s just as good as when first baked!
Kelly says
FYI – your video shows pecans and coconut being placed on bottom of pan before batter…except the actual recipe on Pete and gerry’s doesn’t even mention this. Didn’t realize it until it was too late.
Carolyn says
YOu’re getting the pumpkin earthquake cake and the regular earthquake cake mixed up! The coconut and pecans on the bottom is only in the regular one. So you did it correctly if you followed the recipe on Pete and Gerrys for the pumpkin one.
Pam says
OMG I made this cake and it was AMAZING! I used monk fruit and didn’t have any powder sugar and it still turned out great. The only thing I’d change is I would add butter or coconut oil to the pecan crust! Maybe not?!
I wanna try a vanilla version of this!
This is literally helping me stay carb and sugar free! Thanks
Elaine says
Do you have an alternative for the almond flour? My husband is allergic to almonds and he can’t have wheat flour either. Any suggestions?
Carolyn says
Sorry, no, this is an almond flour recipe. I have plenty of other cakes that are made with coconut flour.
Cristy VanWart says
Hi!! This looks and sounds fantastic!! I am curious if you have any suggestions for an alternative to the whey protein powder? Sadly no (cow) dairy for me… (right now i am just starting to add some hard goat milk cheese back into my life.) I can easily swap out the dairy cream cheese- but wondered if you had any ideas for the whey… collagen maybe..? ????
Thanks and again, looks scrumptious (as usual!)
Sheila Parrish says
Fabulous !!! Your website is the only place I go when looking for anything sugar-free! Thank you so much!!!
Gwen says
Can you use collagen protein powder instead of whey?
Carolyn says
It makes baked goods gummy and hard to cook through.
Gwen Larson says
Just bought 2 Swerve cake mixes to try, one vanilla, one chocolate.
I assume I would mix up the cake mix according to package directions and pour it into the 9×13 pan over the pecans and coconut?
Do I need more than 1 box of cake mix (each box makes 1 8-inch round)?
Thanks!
Tree says
I’m returning to follow up on my previous post from yesterday about my accident in making the recipe. Even with mixing all the ingredients together rather than keeping the cream cheese separated, it still came out good. However, I don’t think I’ll make that mistake again because I really like the cream cheese filling swirled in throughout the chocolate cake. At least the cake still came out delicious!
Tree says
I’ve made this cake multiple times and it’s awesome every time! However, I am in the process of baking an interesting version of this cake which happened purely by accident. I mixed all the dry ingredients together and then in the other bowl I ended up mixing the cream cheese with eggs when I suddenly realized I made a big mistake! Instead of wasting the eggs and cream cheese I just went with it and added the melted butter and mixed everything together in the pan. So I won’t have that awesome cheese cheese layer mixed in but I’m hoping it still turns out OK. I’ll let you know the results.
Lori says
The 45 min was to long for my oven but it was still delicious! I will make again and cut my baking time.
Laura says
This cake is amazing! I made it to enjoy with my family, but my husband said it tastes like keto. Whatever that means. ???????? I read through a few comments and couldn’t find the answer to my question … can a portion of the cake be frozen? There’s no way I can eat it all before it goes bad. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Sure, wrap it up tightly before you sock it away! Maybe even wrap up individual portions?
Cindy Clay says
I freeze half of the cooled Earthquake cake in a Tupperware type container and when defrosted is just as it was when it is freshly made, moist and delicious.
Felicia says
Can you use something besides whey protein?
Carolyn says
It’s important in helping the cake rise buy you can sub egg white protein powder.
kelly says
can i make this without the coconut flakes allergic and also the nuts allergy. and no chocolate chips on hand 🙁
Carolyn says
Yes, but if you have nut allergies, this is made with almond flour…
kelly says
for being keto low carb i always use CarbQuik
carol walter says
Hub says this is really good. I find it pretty crumbly and does not look like your moist pic. It is still a bit warm so it may have better testure and taste tomorrow. I used Hersheys cocoa and bob’s almond flour and Pyure with a bit of xylitol. I taste an aftertaste now, which I usually don’t notice with Pyure, but it is alway better the next day. My batter was very thick and hard to spread on the coconut but I could spread it. Not sure what happened. Perhaps I am still comparing it to my friend’s sugary earthquake cake and my love for super heavy, super moist cake with wheat flour and sugar. I will keep following to see if I can find tips here for an even better cake. I will be making it again, hopefully with even better outcome. I still don’t have the keto touch.
Carolyn says
If it’s hard to spread, it’s definitely too thick and you need to thin it out more before spreading. It should be spreadable but not pourable, if that makes sense. It also sounds like it’s getting over-baked. Remember that every oven is different. If you’re using a metal baking pan, that might be part of the issue… they conduct heat better than the ceramic pan I used.
Barb C says
It’s not an earthquake but it is a catastrophe, and taking the time to bake this cake as chocolatey-cheesecakey comfort food seemed like a good use of my time this morning! It’s in the oven now and my family and I will be excited to have some soon. Hopefully my teenagers sleeping in will feel like this was worth getting up for! LOL
Stacy Russell says
This looks so good. I might leave out the coconut and use Truvia. I’ve made plain cheesecakes adding chocolate chips but this looks like an even better combination. Glad I found you on Pinterest!
Sydney says
Has anyone ever tried making this without any sort of sweetener? Did it turn out ok? I generally don’t miss sugar/sweet things and the idea of sweeteners kinda weirds me out.
Carolyn says
It would be awful. Why make a cake if you don’t want something sweet?
Cat says
I rarely use protein powder, but have some plant-based (not whey) that is vanilla flavored (Vega Protein & Greens). I don’t want to go out and buy whey protein just for this recipe. What do you think would happen if I omitted it all together? Or if I substituted the plant-based protein powder for the whey? I’m dying to make this!
Cat says
Oh my, I just saw the question/comment not too far above mine. *eye roll* Sorry! I’ll try it with the plant-based protein!