This slow cooker cake recipe may just be the best low carb hocolate cake I’ve ever made. So rich and moist, it doesn’t need any frosting. And no need to heat up the kitchen when you make a low carb chocolate cake in your slow cooker or crock pot!
There is a serious dearth of low carb slow cooker recipes here on All Day I Dream About Food, and for that I apologize. See, slow cookers aren’t really my thing. At least, they weren’t until about a month ago. I know people who love them and swear by them and there are whole blogs devoted to them, but I never really saw the appeal.
I understand the attraction of popping a whole bunch of ingredients into a slow cooker, setting the timer and walking away, but all the recipes I ever tried turned out rather flavourless and uninspiring. The most action my old slow cooker got was when I went through a bout of making homemade crockpot yogurt. It turned out to be pretty useful in that regard. But most meals were best made on the stove top and in the oven, in my opinion, so my slow cooker hung out down in the basement, gathering dust.
I now think that part of my prejudice against slow cookers was due to not having a particularly good one. The old crock pot we had always gave off a funny smell when it was heating and it took forever to cook things through. I mean, I know slow cookers are supposed to be slow, but this one truly took ages. I finally gave up on it completely after a recipe for slow cooker cabbage and sausage never truly cooked at all and had to be finished off in our oven. That was it for me and slow cookers, I thought.
But this slow cooker cake recipe changed my mindset and my opinion on making low carb chocolate cake in a crock pot is forever changed.
Game Changing Slow Cooker Cake Recipe
Fate, however, thought otherwise. I was invited to be a part of a slow cooker charity cookbook that will be coming out in the fall, and Hamilton Beach very kindly supplied me with a brand new slow cooker to test out for my recipes. I’d met the good folks from Hamilton Beach at a recent conference and they showed me then and there that slow cookers have so much more to offer than I ever thought. They were whipping up plenty of tasty items right there and one of them happened to be a crockpot chocolate cake recipe. Um, chocolate cake in a slow cooker? I was floored. And determined to make a low carb, gluten free chocolate cake to rival it’s high carb, sugary counterpart.
Oh. My. Word. This low carb chocolate cake was so good, so unbelievably moist and rich, I actually made it twice within three days. That is saying a lot, my friends. I love experimenting with recipes so much that for me to make something twice, exactly the same way, is a really big deal. It was a huge hit with the whole family, and if you own a slow cooker, you are going to want to make this as soon as possible. Like…right now! And if you don’t own a slow cooker but are looking for one, I highly recommend the Set & Forget 6 Qt Programmable Slow Cooker from Hamilton Beach.
PLEASE NOTE! I’ve updated this recipe to make the low carb cake a little smaller and a little less carby. Although I loved the original, it was pretty big and each serving came in at a whopping 11.5 total carbs (about 5g net carbs). So I decided to try making it with ¾ the amount of batter and you know what? It was just as good. Possibly better, because then I could top it with some ice cream and chocolate sauce and not feel overly full afterward. And interestingly, the cook time was exactly the same.
Watch and see just how easy this slow cooker cake recipe is to make!
Video: How to Make Low Carb Chocolate Cake
But for those of you who loved the original recipe, don’t worry…just scroll a little further down, it’s still there!
Slow Cooker Dark Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoon almond flour
- ½ cup Swerve Granular
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoon unflavoured whey protein powder can sub egg white protein powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon butter melted
- 3 large eggs
- ⅔ cup unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sugar-free chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Grease the insert of a 6 quart slow cooker well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt.
- Stir in butter, eggs, almond milk and vanilla extract until well combined, then stir in chocolate chips, if using.
- Pour into prepared insert and cook on low for 2 to 2 ½ hours. It will be gooey and like a pudding cake at 2 hours, and more cakey at 2 ½ hours.
- Turn slow cooker off and let cool 20 to 30 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve warm. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Original (larger) Cake Recipe
1 & ½ cups almond flour
¾ cup Swerve Sweetener
⅔ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup unflavoured whey protein powder
2 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, melted
4 large eggs
¾ cup almond or coconut milk, unsweetened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips (optional)
Grease the insert of a 6 quart slow cooker well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, whey protein powder, baking powder and salt.
Stir in butter, eggs, almond milk and vanilla extract until well combined, then stir in chocolate chips, if using.
Pour into prepared insert and cook on low for 2 ½ to 3 hours. It will be gooey and like a pudding cake at 2 ½ hours, and more cakey at 3 hours.
Turn slow cooker off and let cool 20 to 30 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve warm. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
Serves 10. Each serving has 11.65 g of carbs and 5.38 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 6.27 g.
Food energy: 275kcal
Saturated fatty acids: 9.62g
Total fat: 22.94g
Calories from fat: 206
Cholesterol: 99mg
Carbohydrate: 11.65g
Total dietary fiber: 5.38g
Protein: 9.91g
Sodium: 209mg
KarinC says
Made this cake last night, YUM!! Cake-y on the outer edge, soft gooey chocolate goodness in the middle. Great chocolate flavor! I used coconut milk (didnt have almond) and I only had 3 eggs so I used a chia “egg” for the 4th. Cooked on low for 2 hours, my crockpot is a hot one even on low. I will definitely be making this again, will cook for 1 hour and 40 min next time. Thank you Carolyn!!
Judith says
I finally made this wonderful cake in my old round crock pot using half recipe. I used EVOO, which I use in most baked items. After reading the comments, I used half gelatin/wpp. Cooked for 1′ 45″ and after cooling, lifted it right out of the crock. Really great results but I may add more chocolate…..maybe in place of the whey.
Carrie says
Sounds amazing! Can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend. I was wondering, how do you think it would work with chocolate protein powder instead of unflavoured? Have you ever tried that? Thanks 🙂
Carolyn says
No but I can only imagine it will deepen the chocolate flavour.
Margery Zeller says
This is the second recipe using cocoa that everyone has raved about but mine has turned out bitter. Could it be the brand of cocoa I’m using? I’m using premium cocoa purchased from a candy factory. I made 1/2 the recipe for my small slow cooker. In addition to the Swerve sweetner this time, I added about 15 drops of Stevia Clear as well as 1 T. of Erythritol. I was able to counter some of the bitterness, but not all. Any insights to my problem with the bitterness?
Carolyn says
I think it must be the cocoa powder, but you may also be really sensitive to stevia. Stevia can be bitter in chocolate. Do you experience any bitterness with it in non-chocolate recipes?
Anonymous says
Is there anything you could use to substitute for the whey protein?
Carolyn says
Powdered egg whites are your best option.
Stephanie says
Just made this for the first time. WOWSA! You’ve really outdone yourself (again!) Carolyn! One question … after you turn off the slow cooker, do you let it cool with the lid on or off for the 20 to 30 minutes? Thank you again for all the wonderful support, and for sharing your ample talents!
Carolyn says
You can leave it in there. I leave mine in there for a whole day…but it’s so moist, you do need to refrigerate after the first day.
Ruth says
First of all, you are an amazing cook! You inspire me and I wish my mind was creative like yours is 🙂
I made this cake and it tasted amazing, definitly a ‘company’s coming’ over dessert and easy to make! However, I found it a tad dry, should I add a touch more liquid? I cooked it on low for 2hr 30m, should I try less time? Or maybe I put something in it I shouldn’t have ( I have a tendency for that :s haha my lesson: always check what you pull out of the cupboard before dumping it in…
Just wondering though as I will definitely be making this again so I figured I should ask 🙂
Carolyn says
Hmmm, if anything this is an overly moist cake. What sweetener or almond flour did you use? One of those might be the culprits. Otherwise, I would cook it for less time, until it’s just set in the middle. Maybe 2 hours.
Marolynne says
This dessert looks absolutely yummy!! I’ve read through all the comments and I’m not sure how to modify for a 4-quart slow cooker. It’s all I have right now. Can I just use all the same amounts of ingredients and cook longer? Thanks for your time!
Carolyn says
I think you’re better off to do 3/4 of the recipe. Or 2/3 but I don’t know that it will cut down that well for 2/3.
Marolynne says
Thank you Carolyn! I need to get a bigger crockpot but I might just try this at 3/4 of the recipe. Happy New Year!
rebi says
Oh ..sorry ..I didnt see your answer above.Thank you!
rebi says
Can I replace whole eggs with white eggs? Can I replace butter with coconut oil? Thank you!
Rose says
Do you have a link for the charity cookbook?
Carolyn says
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501023411/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1501023411&linkCode=as2&tag=aldaidrabfo05-20&linkId=U4VBOL3Y5VEFA7FD
rebi says
Can I replace the eggs with white eggs? Can I replace the butter with coconut oil? Thank you so much.It looks delicious
Carolyn says
For egg whites, you want at least 1.5 times the eggs…so I’d say 6 egg whites. Coconut oil shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Tim Wright says
Hi,
Looks brilliant. What can I use to substitute Swerve? I live in the UK and 1lb of Swerve is about $120.00.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Swerve-300115-Sweetener-16Oz-1Lb/dp/B004X71550/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1418247550&sr=8-8&keywords=swerve+sweetener
Thanks
Tim
Carolyn says
What brand of erythritol or xylitol can you get?
Tim Wright says
Hi,
I will use what Adrian points to below.
Thanks
Tim
I have been using Xylitol but it really pushes up my blood sugar.
Adrian Pearson says
Tim – I’m in the UK and I buy Sukrin 500g, which is about £6.50 from Apollo Active, here’s the link.
http://apolloactive.co.uk/products/sukrin-granulated-natural-sweetener-500g?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=773860839&gclid=CJuG6tHWvcICFTDJtAod2SYALA
Seraphina says
I’m from the UK too! I recently bought a German brand of erythritol from amazon, and it’s now at £7.99 for 1kg. Used it today for this recipe and it turned out really well.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Natur-Total-Erythritol-erythritol-substitute/dp/B00NSLAM88/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419455650&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=erthriyol
Lorili says
I don’t have a 6 quart slow cooker – instead I have a 4 quart and a 7 quart – would you go with the 7 and shorten the time?
Carolyn says
Yes, I’d probably go with the 7 and watch it from around the 2 hour mark.
Linda says
Just made this yesterday. My cake does not look that lovely dark color of yours. It is a lighter brown.
My 16 year old son absolutely loves it. I warmed it up and served it with real whip cream. This cake is a real winner. This does not taste SF at all. I also used some monk fruit sweetener I had, erythritol and some brown sugar blend from Splenda.
I substituted coconut flour for the whey and used coconut milk from the can.
This cake is a total winner!
I cooked mine for about 4 hours, turned off the crockpot and left it in over night.
Carolyn says
It probably didn’t turn out as dark because your cocoa powder was a lighter variety. I have used Hershey’s Dark and regular and it’s good either way.
Amy says
This cake is currently in my slow cooker, but I had to comment right away! I know it’s going to be great just by licking the spoon. This is the first low carb and/or gluten free treat I’ve ever made that had batter that tasted like REAL batter. I can hardly wait for the cake to be done!
Thank you so much, Carolyn!!!
Carolyn says
Hope it lives up to the promise of the batter!
Beth M. says
I’ve made this twice now, and I LOVE this recipe. I wanted to try to slim down the recipe a touch, so this time I use 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup kefir cheese ( had some I needed to use up, next time I’ll use greek yogurt which I expect will work as well), 2 eggs and 2 eggbeaters (only because I ran out of eggs). I also left out the chocolate chips because last time the chips completely disappeared into the cake in the baking process. I can’t tell any difference in the end product, and the nutrition stats are slightly less decadent.
Adrian Pearson says
Made this a few days back, and it was utterly superb. I did have a few issues when it came to removing it from my slow cooker, as I didn’t use any parchment paper I just greased the slow cooker with butter but it still stuck to the bottom. Other than that, it tasted awesome and everyone I’ve given a sample to couldn’t praise it enough. So next time I’ll make sure to use parchment paper and some coconut oil for easier removal. Thanks for this recipe and all the others, they’re great. Keep up the good work!!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it! Mine didn’t stick to the bottom at all but slow cookers differ quite a bit so who knows.
Bonnie says
I made this yesterday for my husband’s and also my bday (same day). It was very good! I think it’s just as tasty as the usual sugary cake. I also made chocolate icing so it would be super rich.
There were a few minor issues. My cake was too moist after turning off the crock pot and letting it cool. It seemed undercooked even though my setup was almost identical. The cake was perfect the next day, just some sticking to the pot. Also, it was impossible to remove after cooling it so I just put the icing on top and left it in the pot. The individual pieces were somewhat messy.
Still, I thought it was very yummy. My husband and 4 year old son loved it too. 🙂
Bonnie says
I used Anthony’s blanched almond flour, Jay Robb protein powder, almond milk, granular erythritol, and PAM for the pot (which I don’t normally use). Maybe the PAM couldn’t withstand the slow cooking. I also have a 6 qt Hamilton Beach cooker so I don’t know why it seemed undercooked. The optional chocolate chips maybe?
tk says
Bonnie, I use coconut oil for the sides of the slow cooker and parchment over the oil on the bottom. This makes it easy for the cake to come out in one piece beautifully.
Now that I’ve over-cooked these cakes twice, I’ve come to the decision that I need to cook it for 4 hours in the slow cooker (average sized cooker), then turn it off, take the lid off, take the crock out and let it cool for a half hour. After that I put a plate on top, turn the whole thing upside down and the cake slides right out!
Carolyn says
Huh…okay so same slow cooker? Or maybe a different model that’s not as hot. I’ve never used anthony’s almond flour so I can’t say if that’s the issue. I doubt it’s the pam and it’s definitely not the chocolate chips because I used them in mine.
Carolyn says
It does sound like your slow cooker is less hot than mine, so yes, perhaps a little undercooked and more like “pudding cake”!
Lori Clover says
Is there an alternative to using whey protein powder? I’m allergic to whey. This recipe looks delicious, I hope to try it if I can figure out how to replace the whey! Thank you for sharing your tips and recipes!
Carolyn says
Sure, you can use hemp protein or powdered egg whites.