This peanut butter and chocolate ice cream cake is not only low carb and grain-free, it’s also no churn and no bake! It’s incredibly simple to make. Grab a spoon and dig in while watching the Rio Paralympics this week. This post is sponsored by Jif®.
It’s pretty awe-inspiring to watch Olympic athletes do what they do. Flying and jumping about, running at top speed, hurling themselves forward for that chance at a medal and glory for their country. They are testing the limits of human physical ability and endurance, doing things most of us only dream of doing. But you know what might be even more awe-inspiring? Watching paralympic athletes do what they do. Flying and jumping about, running at top speed, hurling themselves forward for that chance at a medal and glory for their country. All with serious physical limitations that most of us couldn’t even imagine having. Truly, they are testing the limits of human ability and endurance, and the triumph of the human spirit. The Paralympics start this week in Rio and I plan on being inspired.
Like almost every kid on the planet, I harboured vague Olympic dreams of my own. I say vague because there was no real drive or mission behind it. But when I watched those young gymnasts flip and tumble, I wanted to move like that. I would daydream often about impressing my classmates by breaking out into cartwheels and backflips down the halls of my school. It’s pretty laughable, actually, because I am the most inflexible person ever. I can’t even touch my toes without a lot (and I mean a lot) of stretching beforehand. Still, as ridiculous and pie-in-the-sky as those dreams were, they did inspire me to achieve. Even if it’s not in the Olympic arena. And apparently I am not the only one so inspired.
As an official sponsor of the Olympics and Paralympics this year, Jif® wanted to channel that inspiration we feel when we cheer on our athletes. They conducted the #WhatIf survey, asking Americans how they are inspired when watching Team USA compete. The results?
- 77% of Americans say watching Team USA inspires them to pursue their dreams
- 84% consider Team USA athletes real life heroes
- 83% say watching Team USA inspires them to be more active
And when asked if they were given the chance to be part of Team USA?
- 91% of Americans believe it would be an honor of a lifetime to be part of Team USA
- 81% of Americans say being a part of Team USA is one of the best jobs they could imagine
- 51% of Americans would quit their job immediately if they could become a Team USA athlete
I think it’s pretty safe to say that we are well and truly inspired by what we see at the Olympics and Paralympics. And we only need to ask ourselves What If? What if I could do that? What if I could do something amazing that no one thinks I could do?
Want to see the power of What If in action? Watch this video of Paralympic swimmer Brad Snyder. You cannot help but be inspired by his story.
While I no longer harbour Olympic dreams, I do love to be inspired and test my own boundaries – whether it’s running, CrossFit, or in the kitchen. When I decided to go low carb after being diagnosed with diabetes, there was a lot I didn’t think I could do anymore. But giving up my lifelong love of baking simply wasn’t an option so I kept asking What If? What if I used this ingredient instead of that one? What if I tried this different technique? What if I could find new ways to make the old things I had always loved?
Okay, so those are not necessarily Olympic feats. But they do inspire me every day. Now it’s your turn.
GIVEAWAY
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter I used Jif@ Natural
- 1/3 cup softened butter
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 to 3 tbsp water
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter I used Jif Natural
- 1/2 cup confectioner's Swerve Sweetener divided
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a medium bowl, stir peanut butter and butter together until smooth. Stir in the cocoa powder, sweetener, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Stir in the almond flour. The dough will become very stiff and hard to mix. Add water, 1 tbsp at a time, until you have a cohesive but stiff dough.
- Press evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Top with a layer of waxed paper and smooth with a flat-bottomed glass or measuring cup. Refrigerate while preparing the ice cream.
- In a large bowl, beat together the sour cream, peanut butter, and 1/4 cup of the sweetener. In another large bowl, beat the whipping cream with the remaining 1/4 cup sweetener and the vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold whipping cream into peanut butter mixture until well combined and no streaks remain. Spread ice cream over brownie base and freeze until firm, 4 to 6 hours.
- Before serving, drizzle with a little low carb chocolate sauce, if desired
Serves 12. Each serving has 6.68g NET CARBS.
Food energy: 353kcal
Total fat: 31.20g
Calories from fat: 280
Cholesterol: 50mg
Carbohydrate: 9.73g
Total dietary fiber: 3.05g
Protein: 8.50g
Erythritol: 16.6g
Disclosure: Many thanks to Jif@ for partnering with me to bring you this recipe and for their wonderful sponsorship of Team USA.
Deborah says
Am floored that something so gorgeous is that easy….wow. And my favorite flavor combo to boot. This will definately be on my to do list.
JessMN says
honestly I’ve never been athletic and have never had Olympic dreams but I remember wishing I could do some of the floor gymnast as a kid!
Paulette says
Do you think it could be made with almond butter instead of peanut butter?
Carolyn says
Absolutely. And sunflower seed butter too.
Becca says
What a delicious looking dessert! Back in the early 80’s, I was a semi-professional bowler, with aspirations of being on the Olympic team!
Susan says
Could I use yogurt instead of sour cream? I’m sour cream-a-phobic 😉
Carolyn says
As long as you use the super thick Greek yogurt, it should be good. May change the carb count, though.
Stephanie Ciu says
I love the Olympics & remember living the gymnasts the most. But I always knew I wasn’t athletic enough to ever compete.
This recipe is my favorite combo–I may have to make it today!
Carrie says
This looks amazing, Carolyn! I think all of these athletes are incredible. The long hours, the physical exhaustion, the commitment from the whole family…they are all heroes.
Melanie says
I wanted to be a gymnast of figure skater, of course! haha
Rosanne says
This looks delicious, I must try it for my daughter’s birthday next month!
Kelly says
This looks amazing and perfect timing. Chocolate and peanut butter are a favorite here, a recipe just in time for birthdays! One question though…I’ve been trying different low carb brownie recipes specifically for our birthday tradition of ice cream brownie cakes. Is the brownie base super hard? every low carb brownie recipe I have tried with almond flour flour makes it extremely difficult to get a fork through LOL I would love to find a brownie base that I don’t have to fight with! Thanks again for your wonderful recipes
Faith W says
I didn’t have any dreams of being an Olympian but have always loved watching the ice skating and gymnastics events.
🙂
Lauren S says
For the peanut butter do you use dry measure or wet meausre? I scale out all my ingredient when I make something, and I can never determine if peanut butter would be considered a solid (dry) or liquid measurement (volume).
Carolyn says
I measure it out in a dry cup measure. I.e. not a glass liquid measuring cup but just the regular cups. Does that help?
linda says
Hi Carolyn (and Lauren),
We were taught to measure sticky things like peanut butter using a glass liquid measuring cup and displacement. So if you want 1/3 cup of peanut butter put COLD water in the cup up to 2/3 cups and add peanut butter until the water goes up to the full cup measure. There are all sorts of other water/sticky stuff combos – but you get the idea.
Yum yum – another winner! Thank you!
linda says
oh – and you carefully dump out the water then the sticky stuff will usually slide right out into your mixing bowl…
Carolyn says
Thanks for the tip. Given that I am the recipe creator and I measured it into a dry measure cup, probably that’s the best way to do it for this recipe, to follow what I did. That said, it doesn’t really matter. A little more or less peanut butter isn’t really going to affect this recipe. 🙂
Darla Delmonico says
Never had any dreams of being in the Olympics and don’t really watch to much of it anymore. I have always enjoyed the ice skating tho.
Jenesa says
I dreamt of being a gymnast too. And while I may have been a bit more flexible than you described, I was terribly uncoordinated. The vault and balance beams turned into torture devices, and it was time to admit that I was better at watching others compete 🙂
Jen says
This looks decadent! My Olympic dream would be to be a gold-medal synchronized swimmer!
Jae W says
I never had any Olympic dreams, my dreams were all about teaching!
Erin@WellPlated says
This looks so lusciously creamy! (and the Olympics inspire me so, so much!)
Tierney says
This recipe looks amazingly decadent! I have used Jif Natural PB before and I love it.
Joan Kubes says
I used to think it would be great to be a gymnast.
Megan McM says
Didn’t really have one.
Can’t wait to make this recipe!
Kathy says
What is the difference between the smooth peanut butter in the base and the creamy pnb in the ice cream? Did you use the same for both?
Carolyn says
Ha, I didn’t even realize I did that. Same peanut butter for both! Smooth/creamy!
Faith W says
I made this cake today and it was so delicious! Thanks for sharing these recipes with us 🙂
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Kelly says
Does the base come out super hard when it’s frozen? I’ve been on a quest for a low carb ice cream brownie base that doesn’t stay too hard. Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
Carolyn says
The base isn’t too hard. If the cake has been in the freezer for a long time (say overnight), you do need to let the whole thing warm up a bit to be able to cut into it. Give it 15 to 20 minutes on the counter. When it’s first frozen after you make it and you’ve only let it freeze for four hours or so, the whole thing is perfect…easy to cut through but stays together.
Debra says
Thanks for this recipe. It sounds delicious and badly needed at this point. We are getting frustrated after trying several recipes we found on the internet that just didn’t turn out. Doesn’t sound like it takes too long to make either.
Helen Williams says
Made this yesterday for our Labor Day get together! It was so simple and quick to do! I loved the no bake and no churn part! This was a hit with my T1 daughter and everyone else at the get together!!! It tasted like a 10 times better version of the Reece ice cream pie in the the individual cartons. Thanks so much Carolyn for making such great desserts that we can be proud to take to an event and they come out tasting better than the other desserts there. 😉
Carolyn says
So glad it met with approval!
RACHEL says
I don’t remember having Olympic dreams….but I was always fascinated by the figure skating.
Jenny Peters says
i always wanted to be a gymnast, I always thought they were so pretty!
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
I was all about gymnastics and figure skating! Now maybe if somebody had promised me this ice cream cake at the end of practice, I might have been more committed 🙂
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
I always loved watching the gymnastics and dreaming about doing those flips! Of course, now that I’m much older and have never taken a gymnastics class, it’s never going to happen…but I can still dream, right? And this cake? I’ll be dreaming of creamy peanut butter goodness all day now!!! Yum!
Stephanie Deal says
First things first — as a Navy mom – I love that you added the clip of Brad S to this post. Isn’t he flipping amazing!! I’m so inspired by Brad and ALL of the paraOlympic athletes!!
Second, this cake looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! I’ve always bought Jif peanut butter and will definitely have to try their Natural product.
Lastly, YES – I always wanted to be a figure skater in the Olympics even though I grew in Atlanta and ice rinks were few and far between but that didn’t stop my 12 year old self from dreaming. 🙂
Thanks Carolyn for all your fabulous recipes — they keep me happy AND low-carb!
Nicole D says
Made this yesterday and it was a huge hit with everyone–you wouldn’t even know it was low carb! My 9-year-old did most of recipe herself (so easy!) and even requested that we make this for her birthday cake. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Juli V says
I never had any Olympic dreams. I was more into music. I wanted to play an instrument on Broadway or for Disney.
Karen says
Not sure HOW you do it, but almost every time, I have all the ingredients on hand to make up your deliciousness recipes. My brother-in-law’s birthday is today. Making this bad boy for him … he will never know it’s low carb and healthy. Our secret! =))
Carolyn says
Well that’s awesome, so glad my recipes and your pantry go well together!
Debi Tisdale says
I loved Dorothy Hammil, I had no dreams of being in the Olympics, I’m not athletic at all!
Joellen says
I didn’t have Olympic aspirations, but loved watching the Winter Olympics and gymnastics.
gerry @ foodness gracious says
So there’s no limit on slices right? 😉 I could inhale a few for sure!!
Jenny says
This looks delish! I’ll try it this weekend! As for Olympic dreams..probably anything having to do with a horse event!
Erin says
I didn’t have any childhood Olympic dreams:( I remeber Mary Lou Retten.
Can’t wait to make this! Thanks so much!
Annah says
What kind of pie pan did you use? Was it a springform? Just wondering how you got that nice clean edge.
Looks amazing!! I’m in Mexico right now but am going to make it as soon as I get home. Seriously can’t wait.
Carolyn says
It’s not a pie pan. I think it says in the instructions… 9-inch springform pan. That’s what gives it the straight edge. You could do this in a pie pan if necessary, but it would be an ice cream pie! 🙂
Julie D. says
I LOVE the Olympics, all of them! Always wanted to be a gymnast, but now that I’m trying to take up running, the marathon was amazing to me.
kelli says
i always wanted to be a gymnast or an ice skater in the olympics. those were my favorite to watch as a child. this recipe looks amazing! surprised to see it’s keto!
Linda H says
I am SOOOO making this this weekend!! Thanks for all of your awesome creations!! 🙂
Linda H says
DEEEEE-licious!!!! Although, I haven’ t found one of your recipes that wasn’t! It was a huge hit with our keto friends AND our non-keto family! Keep it up! I’m ready for the next one!
THANK YOU!!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Michele says
Hi Carolyn,
For the low carb chocolate sauce, do you just melt a sugar free chocolate bar? Is there anything you add to it to thin it out? Just curious. Recipe looks fabulous!
Carolyn says
I did about 1 ounce of sugar-free chocolate with 1/2 tbsp butter so that it’s softer.
dealindiva says
My childhood olympic dream was to ice skate, I love to watch them and wanted to be them.
Isis says
Any reason this couldn’t be refrigerated instead of frozen? It looks good, but I don’t eat too many frozen things because my teeth are sensitive and it can be uncomfortable. Thanks!
Carolyn says
It would be just fine refrigerated. Softer, of course but it should still hold up.
jackie says
Growing up Janet Lynn was competing in the Olympics in Ice Skating singles, she placed 3 I think. She was from my home town so of course I wanted to be an Olympic ice skater.
Kelly says
Is the confectioners sugar the same as powdered sugar.
Carolyn says
Do you mean Swerve? Yes, confectioner’s Swerve is powdered, similar to icing sugar.
Elizabeth says
I was interested in your story about being diabetic and wanting to still bake. I think it is so hard to bake when your family wants the real sugar and regular flour. But I want them to start enjoying food that I make that is okay for me to eat as well. I am not diabetic but I am prediabetic. So thank you so much for all your recipes! They truly are inspiring and this one really doesn’t look that hard to do, so I am excited.
As far as the Olympics, I always loved to swim and thought it would be neat if I could win some type of medal, but I never went on the swim team. I also remember watching movies that talked about an Olympic team or even just a team of some sort conquering the odds against them. To me, that is huge. And it really does apply to life. I think it always inspires me a little. Just to try harder.
joanna schupp says
I’m not a big sports fan but I do love gymnastics!!! I’ve probably gotten more injuries than I’d like to admit but it’s quite fun!!
Sherrie Lee says
I didn’t have any Olympic dreams of my own growing up. I do remember 2 sisters at church that did a little exhibition for us tumbling on mats and being impressed by the aireals with no hands. Their father talked about the dedication and practice every day both before and after school. They were Olympic hopefuls. They moved so I don’t know if they made it.
Mary Calabrese says
Gymnastics, of course. It didn’t matter that I suffer from a lack of coordination.
Gina @Running to the Kitchen says
Wow! This looks amazing!
Kapu says
Went out species to buy a 9in pan. Made it last night and oh soooo yummy. I did put it in the fridge after it hardened in the freezer. It’s like a firm mouse with a soft brownie. Love it.
Kapu says
Special*
Carolyn says
Yay!
Donna says
The softened butter? Is that salted, unsalted or something like Shedd Spread?
Carolyn says
What is Shedd Spread? I usually use salted butter but you can really use either. I just have a very high tolerance for salt.
Donna says
Country Crock Shedd Spread is margarine. I just wanted to clarify what you actually used.
Thank you for your quick reply.
Carolyn says
Ugh yuck! Never use margarine! 🙂
Dirty Harry says
The texture of the ice cream is amazing. If your freezer is set at -21 like mine it’s rock hard but once you let it warm up the ice cream is light and fluffy. I don’t like most sweeteners but this tastes awesome even for someone not on a low carb diet!
Carolyn says
Glad you like it!
Rachel says
Jif Natural still has sugar in it. Any suggestions for those of us who don’t eat any sugar?
Carolyn says
Justin’s is good.
Rachel says
will we have to add sweetener?
Carolyn says
It’s up to you. I doubt it, though.
Susie Zecca says
I LOVE this pie, and so does everyone I serve it to. Question: in calculating the net carbs, do you not subtract the sugar alcohols?
Carolyn says
I DO subtract sugar alcohols…or actually, only erythritol, since it doesn’t spike me at all whereas others spike me a little. But I don’t add them in to the counts in the first place. You can see my nutritional disclaimer at the bottom of each post.
Holli says
Hi Carolyn,
Do I have to use a powdered sweetener? Can it just be a sugarfree sweetener that is not powdered? Thanks.
Carolyn says
it may be gritty if you don’t use powdered but you are certainly welcome to try.
Julia Kruz says
This peanut butter and chocolate ice cream cake looks yummi! I’m really wondered that it is low-carb! Will try to cook it for my family! Thx for sharing, Carolyn!
Holli says
Hi Carolyn,
I made this ice cream cake for a birthday and they loved it! Except next time I make it for a birthday I would like to double it and make it double the size. How would you do that? Would you double the brownie bottom and then double the filling? Or put one brownie bottom on top of the one cake and then another filling on top of it? I know, silly question! Not sure how is the best way. Thanks for the great recipes, I can always count on your site for new recipes.
Carolyn says
I am not sure what I would do to make it bigger. Probably the second choice but you’d have to freeze the first layer ahead so the second layer of brownie didn’t sink right into the filling.
Julie L Harrington says
This is an amazing dessert! I made this yesterday for my sister and nephew. They scarfed it down and took a fair amount home. Neither are keto eaters, but they LOVED this recipe, and so did I! In fact, my husband who is semi-commital (keto is all I cook) exclaimed that if all my keto creations were as delucious as this pie, he’d eat keto all the time! Thank you for such a delicious recipe. I’m having my siblings over again this weekend, and this is definitely going to be the featured dessert! Can’t wait! 🙂
Carolyn says
Wonderful, I love hearing that!
Amanda says
Help! I can’t find “Powdered” swerve on Amazon. Only granular and confectioners. Is there a different brand that would substitute?
Carolyn says
Powdered is confectioners.
Mary says
Is there something I can use other then swerve? I dont have any on hand and I can’t wait for Amazon’s 2 day shipping 😬 darn procrastination. Lol
Carolyn says
It really depends on what you have.
Donna says
Could you put the mix in an ice cream maker and just make ice cream?