Classic Italian Cream Cake goes low carb and keto! This rich layer cake is a truly special dessert recipe, and it’s worth the time and effort.
Some recipes make me do the happy dance. And this keto Italian Cream Cake is one of those recipes. I really am quite excited to bring this one to you today as it is seriously fantastic. I rank it up there among my best cake recipes, easily.
So here’s the deal. As most of you know, I’ve been hard at work on a keto dessert cookbook. Easy Keto Desserts will be coming out on July 3rd and I am so excited about that one. Because let’s be honest, that’s where my heart lies. Creating healthy low carb desserts just makes me happy. And apparently it makes a lot of you happy too. But the recipes in that book are, obviously, on the “easier” side of things. They are delicious treats you can whip up without a whole lot of effort and without getting out every pan and whisk in your kitchen. They are still creative and innovative, but they aren’t overly complicated.
And while I know many of you will appreciate that, I actually have a bit of a thing for more complicated desserts – the kind that really do have you getting out multiple bowls and beaters and whisks. The sort that has every cupboard open and every spare surface of kitchen counter covered. When I have the time for them, I really love those recipes…just burrowing into my kitchen and losing myself in the creation of something delicious.
I’d never heard of Italian Cream Cake before I moved to the US. It’s just not a Canadian thing…and with good reason. It’s actually not really Italian at all, but instead a kind of vintage southern cake recipe. But regardless of origins, it’s an astonishingly good cake and makes for a perfect low carb makeover. I realized it was perfect as a recipe to showcase Bob’s Red Mill products, because I would not only be using almond flour, but also their unsweetened shredded coconut and a little coconut flour as well. I always rely on their low carb flours and meals, as I know they will produce excellent results. And they came through for me as always!
How to Make Keto Italian Cream Cake
One thing I would do differently for this cake, however, is use smaller 8 inch pans. At the time of creation, I only had 9 inch round pans. They worked just fine but the layers weren’t as high and impressive looking as I would have liked – the cake was rather wide and squat-looking…but the amazing flavour more than made up for it. If you choose to use 8 inch pans, the baking time will be longer, of course. My guess is anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes longer. This is a big, rich cake, so whether you bake it in 9 inch pans or 8 inch pans, it serves about 16 people.
So here’s to easy desserts and here’s to complicated desserts. They both have a place in my heart!
Want more amazing keto cake recipes? Check out my new Keto Desserts page. All recipes under 7g TOTAL carbs!
Love to bake? You need this cookbook!
Low Carb Italian Cream Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 4 large eggs, room temperature, separated
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla , extract
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
Garnish
- 2 tbsp shredded coconut, lightly toasted
- 2 tbsp chopped pecans, lightly toasted
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease two 8 inch or 9 inch round cake pans very well (the 8 inch pans will take a little longer to cook but the layers will be higher and I think they will look better). Line the pans with parchment paper and grease the paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the heavy cream and vanilla extract.
- In another bowl, whisk together the almond flour, shredded coconut, chopped pecans, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat into the butter mixture until just combined.
- In another large bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until they hold stiff peaks. Gently fold into the cake batter.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and spread to the edges. Bake 35 to 45 minutes (or longer, depending on your pans), until the cakes are golden on the edges and firm to the touch in the middle.
- Remove and let cool completely in the pans, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment from the layers if it comes out with them.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Slowly add the heavy whipping cream until a spreadable consistency is achieved.
To Assemble
- Place the bottom layer on a serving plate and cover the top with about 1/3 of the frosting. Add the next layer and frost the top and the sides.
- Sprinkle the top with the toasted coconut and pecans. Refrigerate at least half an hour to let set.
Video
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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Hi Carolyn thank you so much for this excellent cake recipe. I have made twice. The first one was nice but the second cake came out even better. Regards Keith Lucas from George Western Cape South Africa
I made this just this week for my birthday cake! Instead of using a 9” or 8” cake pan, I used a six” and got two nicely sized two layers. I also made a traditional Italian Crème cake for the rest of the guests. I used to do a lot of cake decorating back in my younger years and this one came out beautifully! Even though it ended up being a six inch cake, I still cut it up into 16 slices, had one for myself, and wrapped the remainder in parchment paper and ziplock bags and put them in the freezer. I just didn’t want to be tempted. Ha ha! Thank you for the recipe! It turned out great, and I would challenge anyone to distinguish it from a traditional Italian Crème cake.
So glad it worked out!
Morning Linda Wolff, May I ask was the bake time the same for the 6 inch cake? Thank You.
This was amazing! Even hubby said 3x, “this is so good”! Thank you so much and Merry Christmas!
Hi I think this looks delicious but I am a little afraid of all the swerve sugar. my husband and I got horrible diarrhea from monk fruit dessert. Any suggestions? Emma
Swerve doesn’t contain monk fruit.
This sounds wonderful but I am not a fan of coconut. Is it possible to just leave it out of the recipe?
It adds structure so no, I don’t recommend leaving it out.
Would this work subbing the 3 or 4 dairy ingredients with comparable non dairy ie the whipping cream, heavy cream, cream cheese and butter ??
I don’t know, I think you will need to experiment!
I have a huge bag of lupine flour. I was wondering if I could substitute the almond flour with this lupine flour or maybe half-and-half? Thanks for the recipe. I absolutely love Italian cream cake, it’s one of my favorites.
THey really do not bake the same way at all so you will need to experiment. I suspect it will be very dry if you swap in 100%
It fell apart taking it from greased and parchment paper greased pan as well as cutting it. . 🥲. I followed the recipe to the letter. It was delicious, though.
Sounds like you over-baked it a little bit.
Just made this cake awesomely fantastic toasted coconut pecans, bf couldn’t believe keto!???? how do I store ? I made this in past as non keto, pretty close I can’t tell difference frosting amazing.
Store it in the fridge, and cover the cut sides with plastic wrap/waxed paper to keep it from drying out.
Help. I Made this cake and built the Recipe in My Fitness Pal. This doesn’t have only 5.7 Carbs. I have checked it multiple times to be sure I got everything in right. The Swerve seems to add a lot of carbs per packaging.? Please advise. I haven’t tasted it yet, but planning it for Turkey Day!
Hi Laura… you need to do some research on erythritol sweeteners. Erythritol technically has carbs but they have zero impact on blood sugar so they don’t behave like carbs. Thus, they should be entirely subtracted. MFP sometimes does this and sometimes doesn’t. It’s not very reliable. So I stand by my calculations (also please see the nutritional disclaimer at the bottom of every post). It explains this fully.
Just made this cake and it turned out great for a keto Italian cream cake with just a little over 3 carb for 16 slices. Will definitely make again.
My family really liked this one a lot.
Yay!
I don’t know what I did wrong, I followed the recipe exactly, but it was extremely dry . I looked over the recipe, directions several times, but couldn’t figure out what I did wrong? I noticed that in the reviews, someone asked about protein powder? I didn’t see it listed for the Italian Cream cake recipe. If anyone could help me with what I could do , it would be so wonderful. I would love to make this for my anniversary ( 43 years!) Maybe my eggs, even though they are large, aren’t truly large? I don’t know, it’s just frustrating that such a wonderful sounding cake didn’t work for me. It was dry and crumbled when removed from the pans. The crumbs tasted good ????
If it was dry, it got over-baked. YOu don’t want protein powder in this recipe, the whipped egg whites give it structure, and the protein powder would dry it out even more. What sweetener did you use?
Hi, I can’t use proteins powder, is there any substitution?
This cake really needs it but you can use egg white protein powder instead (really just powdered egg white).
I love this cake so much. It does take some time to make it but the end result is amazing! Everyone should try this recipe, you won’t regret making it!
This looks wonderful. I’m allergic to almonds, though. Is there something that I can replace the almond flour with?
You can try sunflower seed flour.
I do not see egg whites in the ingredients anywhere
They are part of the whole eggs. You separate them… please read the instructions carefully, step by step.
Hi Shannon I saw your comment about not seeing egg whites anywhere in the ingredients list. I’m assuming when it said four eggs separated that would be where you get your egg whites from. I hope this helps.