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
Blanca says
I just made it, it’s delish! My frosting layer is thinner than yours though, any idea why? I used powdered erythritol and ez-sweetz drops instead of swerve. Love your recipes!!!
Blanca says
Also, how should I store it?
Carolyn says
It can be on the counter for a day or two but should be refrigerated if it will be around longer than that.
Carolyn says
Oh and it’s thinner because of the drops…you need the powdered sweetener for bulk.
Raini says
Could I use a dairy free alternative instead of the heavy cream and cream? I have Califia Better Half. It is a unsweetened coconut cream and almond milk blend. Would it change the texture or consistency of the frosting and cake?
Carolyn says
Were we discussing this on my Facebook page? I think I answered you there, that it’s fine to replace the cream but you still need a dairy-free cream cheese for the frosting.
Sharon L says
I would like to make this but for ease of travel to a reunion could I use a 9×13 pan and if so what modifications?
Thank you
Carolyn says
I am sure you could use it and it would need to bake for longer but I don’t know how long. Start with 15 minutes and check every so often after that.
Sharon L says
Thank you
Laura T says
I just had been reminded about Texas sheet cake by a post somewhere. So glad you made this recipe. My late DH loved it, and I like it myself, so this is very welcome.
Jules says
Can I use all coconut flour or a combo of coconut & regular APF? I’m out of almond flour & protein powder.
Carolyn says
I would not use all coconut flour, it would not be good. Not sure about all purpose…I’d maybe suggest looking at conventional cake recipes.
Colleen says
Yum – so delicious! I need to take a couple of cakes to a retreat this weekend. Do you think it would be ok to make ahead & freeze?
Carolyn says
I would freeze without the glaze and add that when you are there, if you can.
Jerry says
I want to use Swerve in my regular recipes. The package says it measures cup for cup like sugar. Have you found this to be true?
Carolyn says
Yes, it is true. I will say, though, that I tend to use less of it than I would sugar. But my tastes have changed now that I’ve gone sugar-free so I like things LESS sweet.
CarolClark says
Got to try this.
Rochelle says
1/2 C water and 1/4 C water for the cake?
Rochelle says
In the cake part, you have two separate water amounts, but I didn’t catch any separation in the directions. Am I missing something?
Carolyn says
Yes, I think you are missing something because water is mentioned twice in the instructions. The first 1/2 cup gets boiled with the cocoa powder, the other 1/4 cup gets added to the final batter. Hope that helps!
Jackie says
The whey is there something to replace it with. I am following wheat belly and whey is not compliant. Thanks.
Vicki says
If my whey protein powder is vanilla (Jay Robb), would it work to use that and simply reduce the vanilla extract by half? Not sure where to find Swerve, but will check. 🙂 I have Truvia but not sure how it “translates.”
Carolyn says
Yes, the vanilla protein powder would be fine. I am not sure what to say about the Truvia, I don’t really use it. I think it’s sweeter than Swerve (Swerve measures like sugar).
Vicki says
Thanks! I’ll start with half and taste the batter. 🙂 I’ve always made an amazing Texas sheet cake (my great-aunt’s family recipe–I can’t take any credit!) so I’m looking forward to being able to make this version that I can eat now.
PDXGirl says
I just ate the last piece and am sad. I can’t believe how good this was. I will be making it again, I think I’m going to use the peanut butter frosting next. Chocolate and PB are my fav.
I sent food network an e-mail about you, and they actually responded and said you need to contact a production company due to legal reasons. However they did look at your blog which I gave them. I know this because they referred to you as Ms. Carolyn and I did not give them your name. I hope you choose to look into further. On behalf of the 29.1 MM T2 in the US, we need you!!!
Carolyn says
Okay, you are the sweetest! Thank you!
Karen Bartholic says
Hey there! Would I be able to use the THM baking blend instead of the almond AND coconut flour, or just the almond flour, and then also use coconut flour? Thank you so much!
Carolyn says
I didn’t test this recipe with THM blend…I think you could sub it in for both flours but you may find you need a little more oil or liquid because THM baking blend is rather dry.
Peggy says
Would this work if you leave out the protein powder?
Can something be substituted for it?
Thanks,
Peggy
Carolyn says
Protein helps it rise and hold its shape, just like gluten (which is a protein). So if you leave it out, it may be denser. It won’t be such an issue with a recipe like this, though, where it’s spread out in a pan.
Darlene says
Hey Carolyn!! I just made this cake and I wanted to let you know that it turned out perfect. I DID poke holes in it cause I wanted the chocolate to run down inside and after it cooled it set up just right for my preference. It’s not hard, but not runny. Just right. The sweetness is perfect and when I cut it with a fork you can hear the moist little swish that it has!! My grandbabies are gonna have a happy time when they get home!! Thank you! They have been ordered to follow a low carb diet by their doctor and this gives them something to look forward too, as their mom leaves the sweets up to me for them, most of the time. She’s gonna like this too. With her work schedule, its hard to find alot of time to bake sweets.
Carolyn says
Yay, I am so glad you like it and I hope the grandkids like it too!
Melanie says
This cake turned out awful. The equivalent of three cups of flour to less than one cup of sugar and only three tablespoons of cocoa powder resulted in a cake that tastes like almond flour and protein powder. I tasted one piece and threw the whole thing in the trash.
Carolyn says
I’m sorry you didn’t love it but as most people do, I think it’s a very solid recipe. 🙂
pdxgirl says
Good Morning,
I have a few questions, as I am new to this whole low carb baking.
1) almond Flour does it need to be fine ground? The almond flour I have is not
2) Swerve I have just the xylitol is that ok to use?
3) Unflavored whey protein, what is it, where do I find it, can substitutions be used, if so what?
4) Powdered, can I grind the granulated, if so how do I measure it.
Thank you!
Carolyn says
yes, your almond flour should be finely ground for this recipe. Xylitol is fine for the cake but your icing may not set if you use that. Whey protein powder is available in many places in the health food aisle, also on Amazon. If you can grind your sweetener, measure it after it’s ground.
Julie says
I would love to try this cake, but my husband is allergic to coconut. Any suggestions for a replacement flour?
Carolyn says
Another cup of almond flour would work.
Shannon Harvey says
Hi! I made just the icing tonight to put on a different cake I had made. My icing tasted wonderful, but it did not set up (harden) like it’s supposed to do. I even put it in the refrigerator and then freezer (for only 15 min.) but it never did. It looked just fine and like I said, tasted great, but I was sad it didn’t look like yours or regular Texas Sheet Cake icing. I did half the recipe as my cake was smaller. And I did not have Swerve, but used another brand of Erythritol/Stevia/Xylitol blend. Any suggestions for next time? Thanks so much!
Carolyn says
It’s either the sweetener or your cocoa powder that’s at fault here. I suspect the sweetener because I have found that xylitol is more hygroscopic, meaning it attracts more moisture, than erythritol so glazes and frostings don’t harden.
Holley says
Made this tonight seems that my frosting didn’t set up, still pretty liquid. I put it in the fridge in hopes that it will set over night, any idea why that happened?
Carolyn says
I am going to take a stab and say maybe your cocoa powder is the issue? What brand?