This low carb gingerbread cake roll is holiday happiness in a sweet little package. Full of sugar-free vanilla cream, it’s a keto dessert you won’t want to miss.
You can’t see me, but I am dancing around with excitement at sharing this recipe with you. It’s the first day of December and I do declare Gingerbread open for the season. And the absolute best way to celebrate is with this spectacular low carb gingerbread cake roll. Seriously, this is the bomb-diggity. And I don’t say that lightly. In fact I never say it at all. It’s a phrase that heretofore has never passed my lips. So you know it’s going to be good, if I stoop to using teenager-like terminology to describe it. Wait, is that even teenager terminology? Maybe it’s too old for that. Those kids have probably moved on to much more interesting phrases. So I am stuck here in old fogey-land, trying to make myself sound hip and cool and messing it all up. But what do I care? My mouth is too full of this cake to pronounce it properly anyway.
So yes, serious holiday deliciousness that you don’t want to miss. It’s my new favourite low carb cake, honestly. Actually, don’t listen to me when I say stuff like that because I say it all the time. I am a fickle cake lover, and am always switching allegiances to whatever new cake strikes my fancy. I have many favourite cakes and if you held a gun to my head, chances are I wouldn’t be able to name the one I love the most. Boston Cream Poke! No wait, White Chocolate Cranberry! Ohhh, hold on a sec, is that Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter? Look, something shiny! Oh no, wait, that’s just chocolate ganache pouring over Death By Chocolate Cheesecake.
You catch my drift? That said, this really is a delicious cake and worth all the trouble of whipping the egg whites and carefully rolling the cake in a tea towel while you make the filling. It’s an impressive looking thing, too. So you can make it for holiday gathering where all those non-low carb naysayers will be talking about how nothing can taste as good as wheat and sugar. Oh no, they are so glad they don’t have to eat low carb or gluten-free, because that stuff tastes like sawdust. But look at this pretty gingerbread cake roll, you must try a slice! It’s so good, it just has to be made with high carb ingredients. Right? Right?
Word to the wise on low carb cake rolls. You really don’t want to skip the grassfed gelatin, as it helps it be flexible and not crack as much. You may be able to sub in an envelope of Knox gelatin but I am not certain because I have yet to try that.
Now go. Go make this bomb-diggity cake and impress the heck out of your friends and family. And yourself. Happy Gingerbread Season!
Low Carb Gingerbread Cake Roll
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup almond flour
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon grassfed gelatin
- 2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 4 large eggs room temperature, separated
- ¼ cup granulated Swerve Sweetener divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Vanilla Cream Filling:
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 ½ cups whipping cream divided
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F and line an 11x17 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and pan sides very well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, powdered sweetener, cocoa powder, gelatin, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves.
- In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with 2 tablespoon of the granulated sweetener until lighter yellow and thickened. Beat in the vanilla extract
- Using clean beaters and a large clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt and cream of tartar until frothy. Beat in the remaining two tablespoon sweetener until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the egg yolk mixture into the whites. Then gently fold in the almond flour mixture, taking care not to deflate them, until no streaks remain.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan and bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the top springs back when touched.
- Remove from the oven and let let cool a few minutes, then run a knife around the edges to loosen. Cover with another large piece of parchment paper and then a kitchen towel. Place another large baking sheet overtop and flip over.
- Gently peel the parchment from what is now the top of the cake. While still warm, gently roll up inside the kitchen towel, starting from one of the shorter ends. Don't roll too tightly or it will crack. Let cool while preparing the filling.
Vanilla Cream Filling:
- In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese with ¼ cup whipping cream until smooth.
- In a large bowl, beat the remaining whipping cream with the sweetener and vanilla extract until it holds soft peaks. Then add the cream cheese mixture and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Do not over-beat. Remove ½ cup and set aside for decorating.
- Gently and carefully unroll the cake. Do not try to lay it completely flat, let it curl up on the ends. Spread with the remaining filling to within ½ inch of the edges. Gently roll back up without the kitchen towel. Place seam side-down on a serving platter.
- Sprinkle with some more powdered sweetener, if desired. Pipe remaining vanilla cream mixture in stars or other shapes down the center of the top of the cake.
- Refrigerate 1 hour before slicing. Store in the refrigerator.
Notes
Katie says
Okay, this recipe was just amazing! Can’t believe its healthier for you too! Perfect for the holidays!
Jennifer says
I LOVE this recipe & love that it’s healthier too! Will be making it again and again!
Rachel says
Would this turn out okay with egg substitutes? Such as maybe chia eggs, flax or something else? I want to try it soooo badly but we can’t eat eggs! Thanks!
Carolyn says
I am sorry, I have no idea but I rather doubt it.
J says
will this work in another size glass baking dish like 9 inches by 13 inches?
Carolyn says
No, it will be too thick.
Nancy Hudson says
Hi Carolyn… Question, would this be able to be made with Coconut flour? I seem to have stomach issues with the almond flour.
Carolyn says
I haven’t tried this with coconut flour. If I were to, I would use only 1/3 cup. It may even need a bit more liquid if that batter is too thick.
Richard Wilson says
This cake is the BEST! I did cheat and cut it into 4 pieces and stacked it instead of rolling it. Hey I was born in an Oregon lumber town and had to make the log into a new product! Delicious!
Carolyn says
Fair enough! As long as it tastes good. 🙂
Lena Stuckmaier says
Do I wait until it is cool to unwrap it and frost it?
Carolyn says
It will be mostly cooled by the time you’ve created the filling.
Candy nelson says
Hello Carolyn
My Family loves chocolate more then anything
Can I make this a Chocolate roll cake? What substitutes would you
Recommend? Thank you in advance we so love your recipes!
Thanks Candy
Carolyn says
Please search my blog for a chocolate strawberry cake roll and you will find exactly how to make a chocolate version. You can use this filling.
Jacinta Moran-Dunn says
Any ideas for substituting coconut flour.
Carolyn says
Not for this recipe, no.
Anna says
Gingerbread cake is my very favorite for the holidays! This cake roll is so pretty!
Jamielyn says
This looks AMAZING! Perfect for the holidays and so pretty too!
Allyson Zea says
I can’t believe this is on the healthier side! It looks so delicious!
Rachael Yerkes says
I am obsessing over this! Cake rolls are my favorite, but I’ve never had a gingerbread one! So good!!
Amy Locurto says
I can’t wait to make this recipe! YUM!
Verna says
I made this recipe for a holiday dessert and my family loved it! I’d love to remake it as a strawberry Swiss cake roll for Valentine’s Day (I always cook at home because I like my cooking more than eating out). Any thoughts on changes to the cake itself? Have you tried making this cake in other flavors? Thanks!
Swati says
My cake totall6 cracked and wouldn’t roll. What did I do wrong?
Graham Wilson says
I made this for Christmas with my in-laws and my family, and it was a hit! Even among the Baby Boomers! Thank you!
(Also, I added this recipe to Fat Secret with attribution to you so I can feel even less guilty about eating it)
Carolyn says
Hi, I am really thrilled you like my recipes but please do not add them to Fat Secret. I rely on ad revenue as a source of income. By posting the recipe in another location, I lose valuable traffic. I’d really appreciate if you did not do this in the future. Thank you!
Verna says
Wouldn’t fat secret just have the nutrition info? A lot of the nutrition info for your recipes have been added to lose it. It just means that it’s convenient to track the nutrition, it doesn’t have the recipe.
Sarah Boyle says
We love this cake!!
Made it 4 times already – so satisfying on our keto diet.
I’ve used Winco gelatin each time, without mixing with water or preheating – worked perfectly as far as we can tell.
Looking forward to exploring your site and trying other recipes.
Thank you Carolyn!
Carolyn says
thanks for the feedback!
Dora Spencer says
This is absolutely divine! And all I had was the Knox gelatin and it still turned out great!
Catherine says
This is amazing! Was on my sweet table for Christmas day among a lot of regular sugar type sweets for the family. The only disappointing part was how everyone, including the family that is not on a low carb lifestyle, was helping themselves to a piece of this cake roll………. I had to quickly slice off an extra piece for me and hide it in the fridge for this morning’s coffee!
Will be making two for New Years!
Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Carolyn says
Well, I am glad everyone liked it so much!