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
norma says
this sounds wonderful. I have one of those crock pots that are like a cake pan. any idea how long I would cook this?
thanks.
Carolyn says
Is it 9×13? If so, I imagine it would be 2 hours. Not positive so you may want to keep your eye on it.
Tory says
Tried this twice over Christmas. Served it once with a Brandy/Rum Hard Sauce and once with lightly whipped cream. A real keeper either way!!
Carolyn says
Oh hard sauce would be fabulous on the cake. I may have to do that!
Tory says
You’ll love it, Carolyn. Trust me! 🙂
Donna says
WOW this recipe is truely amazing. My hubby who is not a low carver even loved it! He’s tried another recipe like this I’d tried before and didn’t even eat a spoonful, this time however I couldn’t stop him from eating… thank you restoring my faith in baking a low carb way as I was starting to lose faith after a few fails
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Sofia says
I actually turned this into a mug cake it and was delicious. I halved the recipe and left out the protein powder just because I don’t have any, and filled about 1/3 of the cup. I cooked it for about a minute and a half and it was still a little fudgey. There is a good amount and batter leftover.
Carolyn says
Sounds delicious!
Ls says
I used my InstaPot on the SlowCooker setting— fabulous!! It was messy to get it out, but the flavor, texture and moisture were fantastic! Also, I used Xylitol instead of Swerve, it was great! Tank you so much for this recipe 🙂
Nichole says
I just made this, made just a couple substitutions – used Splenda as the sweetener (and added a touch more than the recipe calls for, as it didn’t taste sweet enough for my taste being the sweet toother that I am), used chocolate whey protein (because that’s what I had on hand), Special Dark cocoa, and 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1/4 cup water mixed together instead of the almond milk. I also added a touch more cream when I added the extra Splenda to help balance the dry / liquid ratio. OMG! This is one of the very best low carb desserts I’ve ever made! Super delicious – rich, chocolatey, creamy, amazing! I originally used the heavy cream since I didn’t have any almond milk but I think I will continue to use watered Dow cream in the future, as I think that made it extra creamy and rich…..what a happy accident 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Carolyn says
So flat it worked out so well!
Jessica says
Literally, I have been so sceptical about keto baking after trying out a few failed recipes but this cake is amazing and you have restored my faith that I can stick to a low carb diet as one of the only things I really missed was cake! when cut up they are actually like really nice little chocolate brownies.
THANK-YOU!!!
Carolyn says
You are most welcome, Jessica. I agree, dessert is the key to being able to stick it out for me, so yay you found something you liked!
Kim says
This sounds amazing!! What does the protein powder do for the cake? I saw someone said they used gelatin. Can beef gelatin be used?
Carolyn says
No idea if the gelatin would work as I haven’t tried it. A dry protein helps the cake rise and hold its shape.
Kira says
I used a 3.5 qt oval “hook-up” crockpot. It’s about 11″x8.75″, so is big, but shallow. I made the full recipe. It came out beautifully. I stopped right at 2.5 hours. It’s actually very cakey. Next time I may go less to get that pudding cake texture. It was still moist, but definitely needed whipped cream both for the moistness and to cut the chocolate (very rich!). The flavor is nice and chocolatey. I did add a tbsp of instant coffee (I stole that from a few other of your chocolate cake recipes).
I wonder if the “hook up” crock pot runs a little hotter. I was expecting to need to cook another 30-69 minutes since I only used a 3.5 qt, but if anything, it could have gone a touch less time.
Another success! Thank you!
Carolyn says
I am not sure what kind of crockpot that is but I am glad it worked!
Lilyana says
My husband is allergic to almond– is there a substitute for the almond flour?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
Your best bet is sunflower seed flour.
Bob says
Hi Carolyn, I have made many of your low carb desserts with great success and have LOVED all of them with the exception of this Crockpot chocolate cake. I found it to have very little flavor and almost no sweetness. Oh well, one thumbs down among the 10 or so other desserts I have made and found to be incredible!
Carolyn says
Wow, I am surprised. This is one of our favourites. Ah well…
Bob says
trust me, you have provided me with some of the most incredible low carb recipes I have ever had. A really big help for a Diabetic with a sweet tooth. Thank you so much!!!!!
Jana says
Holy cow! Made this in my 3 qt, cooked for 2 hours on low and am eating it as lunch because I’m a grown up and I can 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!
Carolyn says
It’s good being a grown up 😉
Brenda Pali says
I just put this in my crock pot and can’t wait to try it!
I’m new at this low carb healthy cooking thing. Lol. So I have 2 questions about this recipe.
1. I used trivia baking blend, was that the correct thing to use?
2. I’ve never used whey protein powder before. I didn’t want to buy a giant container of the stuff, so I used a packet of Ray Robb’s whey protein, vanilla flavored. It looked like it was a sample packet to use to make a single shake or something. I know your recipe said unflavored, but was what I used basically the right thing?
Carolyn says
I am not sure, I’ve never used the Truvia baking blend but if it measure like sugar than it should be fine. The packet of whey protein should be just fine!
Jennifer says
Finally got to make this cake today!! I believe it is the BEST chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten, and definitely the best CAKE I’ve ever made!!! I have a 5 qt. crockpot and cooked it for 3 hours and it was moist and delicous! I didn’t put a thing on it! Thank you so much for all your recipes!!
Carolyn says
I love hearing that, Jennifer!
Melinda says
I really appreciate all of your recipes! Thank you so much!
Melinda says
I made this cake today and mine cooked in 2 1/2 hours and came out fine. It was a little bitter or just not sweet enough. I used Swerve and canned coconut milk. Also it seemed a little course like It had nuts in it. Was this because I used Bob’s almond meal/flour? Should I add more Swerve or something else. I think it would be wonderful if it was a little sweeter. Maybe I should just put icing on it????
Carolyn says
Sweetness can be such a personal thing so sounds to me like you really need a bit more of that. And yes, Bob’s might be a little coarse for this recipe. Maybe try adding this chocolate sauce for a sweeter treat. Or sweeten some whipped cream. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2015/01/the-best-low-carb-hot-fudge-sauce.html
stephanie says
This was SO GOOD! My daughter wants something like this in a vanilla cake, or something we could add flavorings to like banana (extract). I am terrified to waste the ingredients and experiment. How could you turn this into a vanilla cake? We use vanilla whey protein powder in any case.
anita says
Made this for Mother’s Day. When I tried to flip it, it fell apart (sad face), but omigosh was it tasty. I whipped something else up real quick for dessert at Mom’s and kept this for myself. Have been eating it with some butter melted over it all week for breakfast. Yum! Next time, I would just cut it from the slow cooker instead of trying to flip. So delish!
Carolyn says
I simply cut mine out of the pan, I never tried to flip it out.
Carole says
This may sound dumb but how do you get this our of the crock pot?
Carolyn says
I didn’t. I cut it in the crockpot like snack cake and served it from there. But you can line the crockpot with parchment and lift it out if you want.
Brooke says
Hi There! Any chance that you can make this without a slow cooker? I don’t have one, eek!
Carolyn says
Yes, you can bake it in the oven at 350F. I recommend covering in foil to keep as much moisture in as possible. Not sure how long but it will probably take at least 20 minutes in a 9×13 pan. I would check it frequently.