My popular no-bake chocolate peanut butter dirt cake now comes in mini size! This is a sweet little low carb keto cake that serves 2 to 4 people.
I am a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad person. Because I have been holding out on you, saving this delectable keto dirt cake recipe for weeks and weeks. I made it back in mid-March, so that means it’s been 6 weeks or so. It’s such a glorious little low carb cake that I really have no excuse. I should have been taking out ads in all the major papers, plastering it on billboards, and just generally making a huge ruckus to get your attention. Because this cute little guy is the mini version of my ever popular full size Low Carb Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cake. And despite his small stature, he is worth all the fuss.
I made that full size cake almost three years ago now. It’s been one of the most popular recipes on my blog and with good reason. It’s no bake and relatively easy to make. Perhaps the biggest challenge is having the patience to let it set properly in the fridge for a few hours. It’s got a a delicious chocolate cookie-style crust. It’s got a creamy layer of peanut butter cheesecake goodness. And another creamy layer of keto chocolate pudding. And then it’s topped off with a little more of the cookie crust, crumbled over it to resemble dirt. I don’t know who thought of making cakes look like dirt but it’s an idea that seems to appeal to kids and adults alike.
I’d list that cake as one of the iconic low carb dessert recipes, because people always go nuts for it. It’s been shared and pinned and shared some more. But it is a large cake with 16 servings and if it’s only you and your honey at home (or you and your dog, or you and your friend, or your cat or your goldfish, or just plain old you), that’s a lot of dessert. I’d even venture to say that the full-size version is overwhelming if you don’t have at least a few other people to share it with. And while I advocate for eating dessert on a regular basis, I don’t advocate for eating dessert for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, AND dessert. You need some variety in your diet, my friends. One cannot subsist on dirt cake alone, no matter how much one might want to do so!
So making a mini version of this cake was on my mind ever since I started making all of my mini cakes. Dang, those things have been popular! And they are really fun for me to make, which helps keep this little trend of ours going. I love the challenge of it. It’s never so simple as just dividing all the ingredients by 4. Because when eggs are involved, you can’t always divvy them up easily. And I like to simplify the process for the mini cakes, since attempting to whip 2 tablespoons of heavy cream is kind of a pain in the behind. So it takes some re-jiggering of both the process and the amounts to get something I would deem blog-worthy.
This guy, though. This guy is blog-worthy. He’s cute and delicious and just the right size for 4 servings of rich, creamy low carb chocolate and peanut butter goodness!
Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Dirt Cake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tbsp butter melted
Peanut butter layer:
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1 1/2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 3 tbsp whipping cream
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Pudding:
- 3 tbsp almond milk
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp Lily's chocolate chips
- 1/2 tbsp butter
Instructions
Crust:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, and sweetener. Stir in the melted butter until it begins to clump together. Remove about 1 1/2 tablespoons of this mixture and reserve for the topping.
- Press the remaining crust mixture into the bottom of a 4 inch springform pan. Set aside.
Peanut Butter Layer
- In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, peanut butter, and sweetener until well combined. Beat in the whipping cream and vanilla extract until smooth. Spread over the crust as smoothly as you can (it's tricky in the tiny cake pans!)
Chocolate Pudding:
- In a small saucepan over medium low, combine the almond milk, cream, sweetener, and egg yolk, whisking continuously until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and whisk in the xanthan gum.
- Add the cocoa powder, Lily's chocolate, and butter. Let sit a few minutes to melt and then whisk until smooth. Pour over the peanut butter layer.
- Chill the cake at least two hours, until chocolate pudding is set. Run a knife around the outside of the cake to loosen from the sides and then release the springform sides.
- Sprinkle the top with the reserved crust mixture.
Notes
Nutrition
USED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE (affiliate links are included):
