You’re going to love this low carb Texas Sheet Cake recipe. This delicious keto chocolate cake stays true to the original, with a boiled cocoa frosting. You won’t believe it’s sugar-free! Now with an instructional video.
The creation of this Texas sheet cake recipe was a foregone conclusion. Pre-ordained. Written in the stars. Fate, destiny, kismet. It was an absolute inevitability.
From the moment I published my low carb Peanut Butter Sheet Cake, I had readers requesting one of the traditional chocolate variety. Texas sheet cake seems to speak to something deep within the collective American psyche. And I got requests from all over the country, so it’s not as geographically limited as the name might suggest.
It’s a well loved American classic and I simply can’t argue with that. So you know I had to give it a go!
How To Make Keto Texas Sheet Cake
However, it’s hard to stay true to a classic when working with a completely different set of ingredients. Almond flour is not the same as wheat flour and my low carb sweeteners are not the same as sugar.
But this non-Texan, non-American resident alien did her best. I researched Texas sheet cake recipes for several days before even attempting to de-carbify this iconic dessert.
See, with the peanut butter version, I was straying far enough from the original concept to just do what I wanted with it, tradition be damned. Basically, it was a delicious grain-free peanut butter cake with a delicious sugar-free peanut butter frosting.
But if I was going to attempt a real Texas sheet cake recipe, I wanted it to be as close to the original as possible, and yet still without gluten or sugar. Tricky, that! I could easily have just relied on any one of my low carb chocolate cake recipes and then simply spread it with chocolate frosting, sprinkled it with pecans, and called it done.
Instead, I tried to take some main tenets from the traditional recipes and apply them to my low carb ingredients. Such as bringing the butter, water, and cocoa powder to a boil before adding it to the flour mixture for the cake, an unusual step that I had never done in any other cake recipes.
And also to stay true to the original, I poured the warm frosting over the warm cake, instead of letting it cool as I would any other cake. This makes something of a marriage between the frosting and the cake so that the cake is extra moist.
Again, not something I would do with any other cake recipe. But it worked beautifully.
The final result? Oh, kids, do you even need to ask? From Anchorage to Miami and everywhere in between, low carb dieters can now enjoy real Texas sheet cake. Maybe even some of my fellow Canucks will give it a go!
Tips for making Low Carb Texas Sheet Cake
Grease the pan well: And then do yourself a favor and grease it again. This is what I call double greasing and it helps my low carb cake recipes release more easily. I do a solid fat first, like butter, really working it into the creases. Then I spray with coconut oil or avocado oil spray.
Use a rimmed baking pan: Sheet pans or jelly roll pans come in various sizes. The one I used for this Texas sheet cake recipe is 10×15, which is a slightly unusual size. It’s okay to use an 11×17 pan too, but your cake will be thinner and will bake a little faster.
Protein powder: yes, it’s necessary. No, you can’t skip it. It’s part of what helps the cake rise and hold its shape. However, you can use egg white protein or hemp protein. Please do not try collagen, it will make the cake very gummy.
Pour the glaze over the cake while it’s hot! This is part of the charm of Texas Sheet Cake, the way the cake and glaze come together and are almost melted into each other. You can let the cake cool a bit but the glaze needs to be quite warm as you pour it over.
Let it cool to room temp: You don’t need to refrigerate the cake, just let it cool and the frosting will set.
Have some friends over and enjoy!
More Keto Sheet Cake Recipes
There’s also a fabulous Tiramisu Sheet Cake in my best-selling Easy Keto Desserts Cookbook!
Texas Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¾ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ⅓ cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup water
Frosting:
- ½ cup butter
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 10x15 inch rimmed sheet pan very well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Break up any clumps with the back of a fork.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, water, and cocoa powder, stirring until melted. Bring to a boil and then remove from heat. Add to the bowl.
- Add eggs, vanilla extract, cream and water and stir until well combined. Spread in prepared baking pan.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until cake is set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Frosting:
- In another medium saucepan, combine butter, cocoa powder, cream, and water. Bring to a simmer, stirring until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Add powdered sweetener ½ a cup at a time, whisking vigorously to dissolve any clumps. Whisk in xanthan gum.
- Pour over warm cake and sprinkle with pecans. Let cool until frosting is set, about 1 hour.
Video
Notes
Sally says
Unbelievable! So moist and delicious! You are a culinary genius! Your recipes make us so happy! Thank you so much.
Vicky Davis says
I’m not a fan of whey protein; do you have recommendations for a specific brand of egg white or hemp protein powder?
Gabriele says
I really want to try this, but I wonder if my monk fruit/erythritol blend would work.
And I was also wondering if raw cacao powder can be used instead of baking cacao.
Thanks
Carolyn says
The sweetener will work fine, but the cacao can make it lighter and a lot less chocolatey. It may also not mix in as well.
Anita says
not sure what I did wrong… but this didn’t turn out wellY at all for me… the frosting was gritty…. and I did use the swerve confectioners sugar…I was so disappointed
Kat says
I get a lot of cooling taste from swerve, can I use powdered Allulose instead for the frosting?
Carolyn says
If you can, try using half of each. The problem with all allulose is that it will make the frosting so gooey, it won’t set properly.
Bobbi says
Thank you for your great recipes. Is there any reason I couldn’t use chocolate flavored whey protein if I don’t have vanilla?
Carolyn says
Go for it! That works perfectly!
Sue says
Hello, can you use Equip protein powder?
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Sherri Wolters says
what can you use in place of swerve sweener for the cake, I do ha e powdered swerve and brown sugar also ii have allulose
Carolyn says
You can use the powdered Swerve in both the cake and the glaze!
Angela says
How long can this cake stay at room temp or must it be kept refrigerated?
Carolyn says
Should be good in a covered container for a few days.
Gail O says
I made this for a BBQ party and man was it great! Everyone loved it! It is definitely a keeper. Will be making it again. It is so wonderful for parties. Next time I will double the recipe so I get to keep some for myself!
Kim says
Thanks for the recipe! It was easy to make and turned out perfectly.
Debbie says
Hi I love your videos. For the Texas sheet cake can I use egg white protein instead of whey protein.
Thanks
Carolyn says
Yes, that should work fine!
Melanie Colvard says
Amazingly Delicious
Sherry Branch says
I used this recipe as the base for a lower carb version of my daughter’s favorite birthday cake: Dr Pepper Cake! It was fantastic! Daughter is 30 weeks into high-risk pregnancy, and needs to keep blood sugar stable. For all of the water, I subbed the DP made with real sugar (not keto, but a critical part of this cake), and used half granular and half brown Swerve. Forgot to add a bit of cinnamon; next time! Since my pan is larger (11 x14) I did 1.5x recipe. It was perfect amount! The cake was a hit, even with family that doesn’t avoid sugar, and my daughter’s blood sugar was completely stable! Thank you for creating such great recipes, Carolyn!
Jlizz says
Made this to share at a funeral. I took a tiny piece first to make sure it tasted good. I almost didn’t take it. I wanted eat it all myself. You really captured the heart of a Texas Sheetcake! I did have a conundrum one pan to small, one pan to big. I went with the bigger pan, so it was thin. but oh so good. The next time I make this I will not put as much butter in the frosting. once the cake cooled it looked greasy in spots. I just dabbed them with a paper towel.
This may have happened because my sweet hubby was trying to help me out while making the frosting. He never cooks, but cleans up the kitchen happily. I had planned make this in the afternoon, but our electric went out for over five hours. Then it was the dinner rush and cleanup, then the cake.
Thanks for all your great recipes!
Jlizz