Sugar Free Keto Vanilla Cake Recipe (Gluten Free)

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Sugar Free Keto Vanilla Cake Recipe (Gluten Free)

It is the base for so many of my creations and is my version of a classic yellow cake you will want to make anytime you need a dessert for a party!

This sugar free keto vanilla cake recipe is gluten free and can easily be made dairy free with an easy substitute of unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk and still result in a tender crumb!

I have used this recipe for the base in my Keto Strawberry Shortcake Roll with great success!

The cake batter is versatile enough that you can change the flavor with just a few changes of additions like adding in a box of Simply Delish Naturals Butterscotch Pudding to make my Keto Butterscotch Caramel Cupcakes, or go with a strawberry pudding for a Keto Gluten Free Strawberry Cake.

This time I will show you how to make this classic cake into cupcakes and also into a two layer cake with the most fluffy texture!

I made this vanilla keto cake for my daughter’s birthday and frosted it with a chocolate version of my Easy Gluten Free Buttercream Frosting for the classic vanilla birthday cake with some chocolate!

Since I started baking sugar free vanilla cake recipes with this recipe I have had only compliments from everyone that it tastes just like the real thing!

The sweet vanilla flavor is the perfect base for turning this diabetic cake into the perfect keto birthday cake with a few simple ingredients and sugar free sprinkles!

I will show you how sugar free baking really is not that difficult and you can keep your blood sugar levels in check and still enjoy a slice of sugar free keto vanilla cake!

It contains only 20g total carbs for a two layer cake.

Since it is so rich, I cut it into 10 slices which result in only 2g net carbs per serving!

Let’s make this easy keto birthday cake recipe with no added sugar in a flash for your next celebration or just because!

What you will need to make this easy classic vanilla cake!

• Bob’s Red Mill Coconut Flour
• Heavy Cream (or Coconut Milk)
• Sugar Free Liquid Sweetener (sugar free maple syrup or sugar free honey substitute)
• Coconut Oil; melted (or salted or unsalted butter)
• Large Whole Eggs
• Large Egg Whites
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Sea Salt
• Vanilla Extract

Let’s make this fluffy vanilla cake!

This recipe makes two cake layers.

If you want to cut the recipe in half, just bake in one round 8 inch cake pan, or 12 cupcakes.

Preheat to 350 degrees F and grease two 8-inch cake pans.

Two 9 inch springform pans would work too, it just won’t be as tall of a cake but it will work.

Your bake time will be a little bit less, you just have to watch it closely.

I prefer to take the time to cut out a piece of round parchment paper to fit into the bottom of the pan.

I will grease the pan, add parchment, then grease that!

You will thank me later when your cake slides right out later after cooling!

Now in a large bowl of an electric stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or a hand mixer add in the melted coconut oil and liquid sweetener you chose.

For this one I chose to use Natures Hollow sugar free honey substitute or this vanilla syrup by RxSugar.

I also use this sugar free honey substitute in my favorite muffin recipe!

Whip them together very well to incorporate air into them.

Each step incorporates air into the batter and results in a very light cake in the end.

In a medium bowl, whisk up the egg whites until they are broken down and frothy.

Now add in the large eggs one at a time mixing well after each, followed by adding in the frothed egg whites.

Finish adding the rest of the liquid ingredients to the egg mixture

Let it mix on low as you measure the dry ingredients in a small bowl.

It is important to mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding them to the wet ingredients because coconut flour tends to clump and its difficult to get out clumps with the mixer.

Add the coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk until it is clump free.

While the mixer is on low speed, slowly add 1/3rd of the flour mixture to the large mixing bowl.

After the last third of the dry ingredients has been added, stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.

This is very important so you will get all of the ingredients properly mixed.

Now you will mix the cake batter at medium speed to incorporate more air.

Then turn the mixer off and let the batter sit for a good one minute or two to thicken up.

Add the cake batter to the pre-greased prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick or cake tester tests clean out of the middle.

If your oven runs hot, set it for about 20 minutes then check with a toothpick in the center.

When you use round cake pans it is important to make sure the center is cooked.

You can also add a metal frosting flower tip maker in the middle before baking.

This helps generate heat to the middle of the cake and provide an even cake rise so the top will not sink once pulled from the oven.

If for some reason the top of the cake is getting too brown before the center is fully cooked, put a loose piece of aluminum foil over the top.

This can work as a helpful tip in any cake baking situation where the top is getting too brown but it needs to bake a little longer.

You can always put it back in for a few minutes after the cake bakes but you cannot “UN-bake” something if it has baked to long!

You are looking for a golden brown top like this!

Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes before flipping over to a wire rack to cool completely.

Letting this cake cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge overnight helps to prevent sogginess and creates the perfect cake texture you want!

Now after it is cooled you have three different options to choose from.

The first option is to immediately frost it and serve it.

I did this with my cupcakes I made from making this a single low carb birthday cake recipe.

It made 24 mini cupcakes, or 12 regular cupcakes.

The second option is to put it in the fridge overnight, then frost the next day.

When you chill it overnight, it gives the best sugar-free cake a wonderful texture and turns it into one moist vanilla cake!

The coconut flour absorbs more of the moisture and locks it in!

The third option is to freeze it.

You can successfully freeze the baked cake or cupcakes up to one month without any issues.

All you need to do is thaw it out at room temperature for a few hours then frost.

This is the best way to plan ahead for any special occasion you have coming up that you are baking a sugar-free birthday cake for!

Out of all of the low carb cake recipes I have tried in my time of following a low carb diet, this is the only keto cake recipe that really holds up well to freezing!

The best part about getting to make your cakes ahead is to save time!

When I am the hostess of a birthday party for my kids, I am the one running the whole show so having more things checked off of my list really sets my mind at ease!

Any leftover cake must be kept in the fridge in an airtight container to prevent early spoilage.

It will keep up to 5 days in the fridge or freeze it wether frosted or not.

Tips, substitutions and FAQs

• This recipe uses coconut flour as the base. It is not able to be substituted with any other flour or all purpose flour as the recipe reacts uniquely with the moisture added in, such as the liquid sweeteners and the eggs. If you use almond flour or almond meal instead of coconut flour you will end up with a soggy mess. If you are looking for an almond flour cake recipe, check out my Tropical Cake Recipe or my Keto Toffee Coffeecake Recipe.
• If you need a dairy free cake, substituting in coconut milk for the heavy cream is the only substitute needed. If you use a different milk such as unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk, it will still turn out!
• Using the liquid sweetener is the way to add in moisture without making the cake soggy. If you only have sugar substitutes like monk fruit sweetener, you can turn it into a liquid sweetener when you follow my recipe for making my Keto Mock Maple Syrup. Choose to use the maple extract or substitute in with some vanilla extract if you do not want the maple flavor.
• You can add fresh berries into the batter to make a berry cake. Make sure you toss the berries in some coconut flour BEFORE adding to the batter so they do not sink to the bottom while baking.
• You can easily substitute in a few tablespoons of sour cream instead of the coconut milk if you want.
• Alternative sweeteners can be used instead of the liquid sweetener called for. Keep in mind that this will reduce the moisture content so it needs to be replaced. For example, you could use coconut sugar in place of the liquid sweetner, but would need to add in 2 tablespoons of additional cream to make up for the missing moisture.
• This recipe will work as a bundt cake, you must take an extra step when greasing the pan though. After greasing the bundt pan, add in 3 tablespoons of coconut flour to the pan. Now tilt and gently knock the sides of the bundt pan to get it into all of the nooks and crannies. This helps to ensure that your cake comes out clean from the bundt pan. I highly recommend using a silicone bundt pan if possible as the baked goods I bake in silicone always come out without a problem.
• You can make this cake extremely yellow when you choose to use farm eggs. Farm eggs, or organic eggs from the store have richer egg yolks which gives you the rich yellow color naturally.
• If you want to stay away from coconut oil or butter, you can easily substitute in some extra virgin olive oil with great results.
• Add more intense vanilla flavor when you add in one scraped vanilla bean pod. The little flecks of the vanilla bean add so much depth of vanilla flavor it makes the perfect vanilla sweet treat!
• Turn this cake into a keto chocolate cake when you replace 1 tablespoon of the coconut flour with 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder. It is a mild chocolate flavor when you do this. I would recommend going with my Low Carb Chocolate Cake for a richer chocolate flavor.
• There is no way to turn this into a vegan vanilla cake because the coconut flour needs the structure of the eggs to hold it together so it does not turn into a crumbly mess.
• If you are wanting to bake this in a large sheet pan, just add all of the batter to a 9×13 pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. This is a great idea if you are making a large wedding cake since a sheet cake is easier to transport and also serve up to a crowd versus a two layer cake.

What kind of frosting recipes are best for keto desserts like this?

My go-to frosting recipe is my Easy Keto Buttercream Frosting because it uses only a minimal amount of powdered erythritol and a little bit of cream cheese to add to the creamy, thick consistency.

You can make this vanilla when you choose vanilla protein powder, or turn it into chocolate when you substitute cocoa powder for the protein powder and chocolate chips for the white chocolate chips.

I chose to make up one batch of the vanilla and a double batch of the chocolate for my two layer birthday cake I made here.

If you are making a double layer cake like this recipe, you will need to double the frosting recipe to have enough to frost the sides, middle and extra for decorating.

You could get by with a single frosting recipe and only frost the middle and top generously.

Turn this into a cream cheese frosting when you reduce the butter by 2 tablespoons and add in more cream cheese.

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If you love cast iron as much as I do, then you would absolutely LOVE my 2nd cookbook “Chaffles Cast Iron and The Crock” !!