A heavenly keto Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. This is the low carb grain-free dessert that will blow the skeptics’ minds! Layers of white chocolate mousse, dark chocolate mousse and grain-free chocolate cake.
The other day at Crossfit, I happened to mention to a woman that I write a low carb food blog. Her reaction is one you’ve surely seen and heard before when you tell folks you follow a low carb diet. “Oh, I don’t think I could ever do low carb, I like food too much”. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, because I’ve heard that one countless times. People think this way of life is all about deprivation and resisting temptation and basically denying myself anything tasty. I could have ignored the whole thing but something in me cracked. I looked at her and smiled sweetly and said “Oh yes you could, because I can make all your favourite foods low carb. I am THAT good”. Cocky of me, to be sure, but it’s a growing conviction I have that almost any food or recipe can be turned into a low carb meal. You just have to be on the look out for the ways to make it work.
Those ways and means don’t always present themselves immediately. You may find yourself staring longingly at high carb recipes, thinking you don’t stand a chance in ever making them into keto friendly. So you move on to other things, but that one certain recipe idea stays with you. You may even take a little stab at it with one method that results in failure. So you move on again, thinking it’s out of reach. And then you’re just perusing Pinterest one day and BAM! There is it, the solution staring you in the face.
I had seen these gorgeous triple chocolate mousse cakes many a time and had eyed them longingly. Like this gorgeous mousse cake from Crunchy Creamy Sweet, and this divine Layered Mousse Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake. I knew I could do the cake part easily, and I have chocolate mousse down pat. I have both a traditional low carb chocolate mousse recipe that involves whipped egg whites as well as a super easy keto blender mousse recipe, both which would work in a cake like this. What I didn’t have was the white chocolate mousse part, because really good low carb white chocolate is a tricky one. There is this xylitol-sweetened white chocolate from KZ Clean Eating but I’ve tried to bake with it before and it doesn’t melt very willingly. It ends up quite thick and it really did NOT work well in my first mousse attempt. It’s also very expensive!
So it wasn’t until I tackled low carb white chocolate mousse in a completely different way, using a cheesecake-based recipe, that I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I didn’t need pre-made white chocolate, I could just use straight cacao butter. When the mousse worked out so well, I knew it was time to make the cake. And oh, what a heavenly cake it was. So creamy and good, absolutely one of those cakes where no one will know it’s low carb and gluten-free.
If you’re interested in making the pretty chocolate crackle on top, follow this easy recipe for Chocolate Shards from That Skinny Chick Can Bake. I did it with 2 ounces of Lily’s dark chocolate and used about half of them on the cake. I tried it with the white chocolate from KZ Clean Eating but again, it didn’t melt very well so there’s only a few of them my cake.
Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 293 Calories from fat 233 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 25.94g | 40% |
| Cholesterol 108mg | 36% |
| Carbohydrate 6.03g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 2.55g | 10% |
| Protein 6.32g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
A heavenly keto Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake. This is the low carb grain-free dessert that will blow the skeptics' minds!
Ingredients
Cake Layer
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp coconut flour
- 3 tbsp unflavoured whey protein powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules (optional, enhances chocolate flavour)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup water
Mousse Layers
- 1 recipe Blender Chocolate Mousse
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- Double recipe White Chocolate Mousse
Instructions
Cake Layer:
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease a [9-inch springformhttp://amzn.to/2osO1eI] pan well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut flour, whey protein, baking powder, instant coffee and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter with sweetener until well combined. Beat in eggs, vanilla extract. Beat in half of the almond flour mixture and then beat in the water. Add remaining almond flour mixture and beat until fully combined.
- Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake 30 minutes or until just firm to the touch. Remove and let cool completely.
Chocolate Mousse Layers:
- Follow the directions for the Blender Mousse recipe, adding the xanthan gum in to the blender with the chocolate, cocoa powder, and sweetener. This will help set your mousse a little more firmly.
- Pour the chocolate mousse mixture over top of the cooled cake in the pan and chill at least 2 hours, until set.
- Follow the directions for the white chocolate mousse (times 2!) and spread over the chilled chocolate mousse layer. Chill again for an hour or two, until firm.
To serve:
- Run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan before loosening the springform sides. Decorate with shaved chocolate or chocolate shards, if desired.
- Cut into slices with a heated knife (heat under hot water).
Recipe Notes
Serves 16. This is a big, rich cake! Each serving has 3.48g NET CARBS.
Food energy: 293kcal Total fat: 25.94g Calories from fat: 233 Cholesterol: 108mg Carbohydrate: 6.03g Total dietary fiber: 2.55g Protein: 6.32g
I loved the story about the comment at Crossfit. I get that all the time, too. The only thing I haven’t really figured out a low carb option for is corn chips. I know we can use pig skins but they feel gummy in my mouth and have so much protein that it throws off my macros. Plus, you can’t really break them out of your purse at a Mexican restaurant! I don’t crave sugar much anymore after 6 months eating keto/low carb, but I sure do miss corn chips. Oh, and I LOVE your recipes!! I found you a while back and you have quickly become my very favorite low carb blogger. Your recipes taste great and don’t use tons of ingredients that are hard to find or crazy expensive. Oh…and did I already mention that they taste great?!
Melissa try endurance crackers from oh she glows or these which I made out of a similar longing. Carolyn can probably improve this recipe (and Carolyn I hope you don’t mind my sharing, I’m shutting my website down soon but I love sharing ideas). I think these are very similar to tortilla chips but lighter. http://kimsclub.co.uk/?s=Chips&submit=Search
Question…..what is 3 tbsp cup of whey protein? 😊
Oops, supposed to just be 3 tbsp. Off to fix that!
Haha…thank you! I can’t wait to make it for my birthday in a couple of weeks!
Whole 30 ends for me on April 30. Guess what I’m making May 1st? =))
Good timing!
Oh how I’ve longed for someone to come up with a low-carb triple chocolate mousse cake! Always such an elegant and delicious dessert and fairly easy to make, but turning it into low-carb? You have my undying gratitude. 🙂
You are genius!!! Low carbers are so lucky to have your expertise—as this looks amazing!
This looks absolutely beautiful – you keep taking these recipes to a whole new level. Will be making soon. With regard to converting recipes to low carb – I notice you seem to have arrived at a combination of almond and coconut flour and whey protein powder to replace wheat flour in a recipe. Do you now have a standard combination which works cup for cup? I don’t know why I am asking this – you have posted more wonderful recipes than I could ever make. I just have a bit of the mad scientist in me and like to experiment sometimes. Thanks for posting the link for he shards too. I recall reading something in another blog about layering layers of chocolate with homemade ice cream so that when you scoop it out you get those shards that some commercial ice creams have. Would be great for mocha chip, my favorite.
Well I wouldn’t say that I have a set formula, because it depends on what the rest of the recipe is. I like to use mostly almond flour but I “cut it” with coconut flour sometimes to make it go further. So if I need to use 3 cups of almond flour, I end up using 2 cups almond flour and 1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut flour. But in terms of how that relates to wheat flour, you have to modify other parts of the recipe too. You can read more on that here: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2013/02/low-carb-basics-baking-with-almond-flour.html
Hi! Amazing recipe, maybe i will try it this weekend. I`m not a very experienced cook so silly question: can i use gelatin instead of xanthan gum? Can`t find it in my country.
You can but it could firm it up too much. Go lightly with it.
About how much plain gelatin would you use? I have a daughter that can’t have either gum, but gelatin could work, or konjac powder.
I’d go pretty light. If it’s Knox gelatin, maybe 1/2 the envelop at most. If it’s the Great Lakes grassfed gelatin, I wouldn’t do more than 1 to 2 teaspoons.
Is there any kind of protein powder I could sub for the whey? I’m allergic to milk. Would pea protein work? Thanks!
Any protein powder would work. Egg white or pea protein. Normally, I wouldn’t suggest pea protein as most brands are greenish and that could colour your cake. But in this case the chocolate cake would cover the colour.
If I dont have whey protein – will any protein powder work? Like Raw Roods unflavored? or does it need the whey?
Yes, any protein powder should be fine.
Hello Carolyn! I love your blog and your recipes. I made this recipe yesterday and allowed it to chill in the refrigerator overnight. Took a picture of it and cut a slice to have for breakfast. It is pure chocolate indulgence! I love it! It is so pretty and looks like it was so hard to make. I found it quite easy as your instructions are point on. Thank you for a great recipe. It is so hard to eat healthy, isn’t it!
Wonderful, so glad you like it!
Carolyn, your recipes are not only amazingly good, but most of your recipes are very easy–that’s another huge plus!
Thank you!
Awesome recipe! Made this last night for a dinner party. Unbelievably delicious. And so is your mini-carrot cake, which I made last weekend. Love all of your recipes and your blog. Your recipes are what we eat most often in our household. Thank you SO MUCH for creating them and sharing them with us. Have your cookbook pre-ordered. Your sausage with mushroom Marsala dish is our next try, for tomorrow night.
Thank you, Paula!
can I replace the – 3 tbsp unflavoured whey protein powder with something more common?
I’ve never heard of and don’t have any,,,
thanks 🙂
You can leave it out but it may not rise quite as well.
Will there be a mini version? Please say yes! I’m a party of one, so the mini cakes are the best thing ever – I can always share with the neighbour but I’d make this cake and keep it.
Possibly!
Hi Carolyn,
First, you’re a life saver. I love your recipes and look at your website almost daily.
I’ve made several of your recipes and they’ve always turned out great, but this cake didn’t. The cake layer is just so hard and not moist at all. Any tips for next time?
Hmmm, I did not find that. I wonder if yours got overcooked? How was the rest of the cake?
Made the cake on a whim. I should have probably removed the cake part when I first checked but it shook like jello when I checked it after 5 mn before the shortest baking time reqhired. Left it in for 10 more minutes. Upon eating it seemed dry. Otherwise the cake was easy to assemble and is good. I did my own macros for mfp and it came pretty close to the ones here which is refreshing. Most times the macros on recipes are way off.