Easy Keto German Chocolate Roll Cake

This Easy Keto German Chocolate Roll Cake combines a light chocolate sponge cake, stuffed with a sugar-free coconut pecan frosting. Top it with either a coat of silky-rich ganache or a dusting of sugar-free powdered sweetener.  This low-carb and sugar-free roll cake is easy enough for even the newest keto bakers!

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Keto Chocolate Cake Recipe

After successfully creating this Easy Keto Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake Filled with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting, I new that many more keto chocolate desserts would be easy to create!

This Keto German Chocolate Roll Cake is mess-free and has the best soft pillowy cake texture filled with a rich and creamy keto coconut pecan frosting.    With only a handful of everyday ingredients, you too can create this wonderfully moist and perfectly spongy sugar-free roll cake!    

PS - Make sure you check out my Keto Red Velvet Roll Cake, my Keto Banana Swiss Roll Cake as well as my Easy Keto Pumpkin Roll recipes!)

Why are Swiss Roll Cakes so intimidating?

Are you one of the millions of people that are intimidated by Swiss roll cakes? If so, this keto German cake recipe will show you just how easy it is to make this keto chocolate cake.

What makes this recipe so EASY is that instead of inverting the baked cake onto a large towel that has been dusted with powdered sugar, you are going to omit the use of a towel and simply use an additional piece of parchment paper.

Once the keto roll cake has been flipped over and left to cool for about 5 minutes, you will be using the parchment paper to roll the cake into a perfectly cylindrical roll. Then, once the cake has cooled, you can easily unroll the cake, spread the gooey keto coconut pecan frosting over the chocolate sponge and roll it back up.

No messy towels, no extra laundry - EASY PEASY!!

Why you will LOVE this Keto German Chocolate Roll Cake

• it is gluten-free and sugar-free
• it only has a handful of ingredients
• it is foolproof and will not crack
• you can slice it as thin or as thick as you like
• the flavour combines a light and chocolaty sponge cake with a rich and creamy coconut pecan filling - A match made in heaven!

Keto German Cake Ingredients

Here is the basic list of ingredients you will need to make this keto German chocolate cake roll:

• Eggs - This keto cake recipe calls for 4 large eggs. If you are unsure of the size of your eggs, make sure that you weigh them. You will need 200 grams of eggs. If you end up with slightly more egg, don't worry about it but do NOT use less than 200 grams or else the cake may crack.
• Sweetener - The BEST sweetener for making any sugar-free roll cake is WholeEarth Allulose Baking Blend. For a fool-poof roll cake, you must use this sweetener. If you can not find this sweetener (you can buy it on Amazon), you can use a different sweetener but your cake may crack slightly.
• Greek Yogurt - Since keto cakes use almond flour, the Greek Yogurt provides the extra moisture necessary for these types of flours to produce a tender and moist cake. You can use sour cream instead, if you wish.
• Flour Ingredients - A combination of almond flour and plain egg white protein powder are used. The egg white protein powder gives the cake the added structure it needs. You may be able to replace this with whey protein powder the cake will be slightly drier and may have a tendency to crack a little. My favourite brand of egg white protein powder is by Naked Nutrition.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - As for the cocoa powder, I have made this sugar-free roll cake with Hershey's cocoa powder.

Keto Coconut Pecan Frosting Ingredients

Here is a list of the iconic coconut pecan frosting that is necessary to officially call this a keto German cake!

• Sweetener - Once again, I used allulose since it dissolves really well. Also, since there are only 2 people in my household, I oftentimes like to freezer my desserts into individual pieces. Allulose can be refrigerated as well as frozen without becoming grainy.
• Butter - I used unsalted butter to create the creamy and fluffy texture for this keto cream cheese frosting.
• Heavy Cream - I used full-fat cream cheese but I am pretty sure any cream cheese would work.
• Pecans and Coconut - I like to quickly toast both my pecans and my coconut to achieve a deepen flavour profile but you omit this step if you wish.
• Xanthan Gum - To make this keto coconut pecan frosting ridiculously easy, I used xanthan gum instead of cooked egg yolks to create the gooey texture we all love.

Instructions for Keto Chocolate Cake

Step 1 - Prepare the pan and oven

• Line the bottom of a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang on the long edges, so that it’s easier to lift the cake from the pan when it’s done baking.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Step 2 - Whisk the eggs

• Whisk the eggs until you can see trails of eggs being left by the whisk. This will take about 5 minutes (Tip - your eggs must be at room temperature for whipping otherwise, you will not be able to incorporate enough air into the eggs and your cake will flatten)

Step 3 - Combine the remaining cake ingredients

• Add all the remaining ingredients together in a bowl. The mixture will be thick and somewhat dry.
• Once the eggs have been whipped, remove ⅓rd of the whipped eggs and stir them into the bowl with the greek yogurt (Tip - this does not need to be done carefully)

Step 4 - Fold in the remaining eggs

• Carefully fold the remaining eggs into the Greek yogurt batter. (Tip - Be gentle as to not deflate the eggs)
• Carefully spread the cake batter into the pan and smooth it into an even layer. 

Step 5 - Bake and Roll

• Bake it for about 12-15 minutes - the top of the cake should spring back when gently poked
• Remove the cake from the oven and carefully lift the cake from the pan
• Use an large off set spatula and run it between the cake and parchment paper to make sure that no part of the cake has stuck to the parchment paper
• Allow the cake to cool on the cooling rack for 5-7 minutes before flipping the cake onto a separate piece of parchment paper. Allow this side to cool for about 5 minutes before tightly rolling up the warm (NOT HOT) cake, using the parchment paper.
• Allow the cake to cool completely, rolled up in the parchment paper, on top of a wire cooling rack.

Step 6 - Prepare the keto coconut pecan frosting

• In a medium saucepan, add the chopped pecans and unsweetened coconut - heat on medium heat until the coconut just begins to brown. Remove immediately from the heat and transfer the ingredients to a bowl. Set the bowl to the side.
• In the same saucepan, add the sweetener, butter, egg yolks, and heavy cream. Stir to combine and bring the mixture to a low boil over medium heat. Stir constantly for several minutes until the mixture begins to thicken. 
• Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, and toasted nuts and coconut. Allow to cool completely before layering it on the cake.

Step 7 - Assemble the cake

• Once it’s cool, unroll the keto roll cake and discard the parchment paper.
• Spread the keto coconut pecan frosting all over the top of the keto chocolate cake and roll it back up into a log (without the parchment paper)
• Wrap the cake tightly back up using either the parchment paper or cling wrap and place it in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.

Sugar-free Roll Cake Tips

• You will need an 15 x 10 x 2-inch half-sheet jelly roll pan to bake this chocolate sponge cake.
• Grease the jelly roll pan to help the parchment paper stick to the pan
• Gently tap the pan against the countertop to expel large air bubbles. Air bubbles may cause the cake to break while rolling it later.
• It’s important to remove the cake from the pan fairly soon after removing it from the oven to stop the baking process. Over baked cakes are more likely to tear during rolling.
• Rolling up the cake while it’s still warm but not steaming from the oven makes it pliable, which helps eliminate huge cracks in your final rolled cake.
• To roll a tight cylinder, grip the tube of cake and pull back slightly. This tucks the cake into itself.
• Let the rolled cake cool until it is completely room temperature (usually a few hours.) As it cools, it will be “trained” to hold its shape when you fill it and re-roll, and also ensures that your filling won’t melt and ooze out the sides.
• Wrap it and refrigerate the cake after you’ve filled it and re-rolled it. You can serve Swiss roll cakes right away, but I recommend wrapping the cake tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerating it for at least an hour to allow the filling to firm up a bit so you get solid slices.
• Do NOT change any of the cake ingredients as this recipe has been tested exactly as written (you can replace the sweetener to suit your tastes or what you have on hand but see Notes for substitutions)
• Start by setting your timer for 12 minutes and then check on the cake - it should bounce back when gently poked.  If it does not bounce back, add an additional 2-5 minutes
• Make sure you grease your parchment paper VERY well - I actually use my fingers and spread the cooking spray all over the paper to make sure the cake will not stick.
• Make sure that you beat the eggs until you can see a trail left by the beater - this will really help the cake to rise
• Do NOT mistake baking soda for baking powder - this cake requires 2 teaspoons of baking POWDER
• Make sure the cake has fully cooled before trying to spread the frosting over the cake
• For the sugar substitute, I used WholeEarth allulose baking blend. It contains a small quantity of xanthan gum which helps to eliminate cracking.
• If you are unsure if your cake has stuck or not, simply use an angled icing spatula and carefully run it under the cake.

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