Easy Keto Chocolate Flourless Cake

Q: How do I make the sugar-free chocolate ganache?

To make the chocolate ganache, simply take 1/4 cup of heavy cream and heat it until it just begins to steam in the microwave (about 30-45 seconds). Pour the hot heavy cream over 1/4 cup of sugar-free chocolate chips. Wait 5 minutes and then stir until all the chocolate melts. For a thinner drizzle, use less chocolate or more heavy cream.

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This dark, rich, and deliciously moist easy Keto Chocolate Flourless cake is naturally gluten-free. With one single bowl, no special tools, no decorating, or assembly required, this sugar-free chocolate cake is so EASY. With its fudge-like texture, it satisfies even the biggest chocolate craving!

a slice of keto chocolate flourless cake made without nuts served on a plate with flower decorations

Easy Chocolate Keto Dessert Recipe

Are you looking for a quick and easy chocolate keto dessert recipe that will not take up all your holiday baking time?

Well, then I just may have the perfect recipe for you!

As you can tell from my Keto Chocolate Cookie Dough Cake, Easy 4-Ingredient No-Bake Keto Chocolate Mousse Cake, Keto Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake Filled with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting, and even my Keto Homemade Chocolate Fudge Recipe (and so many more!), I LOVE chocolate!

So, it was time that I officially created my own gluten-free flourless cake recipe. Filled with dense, creamy chocolate, this easy keto chocolate flourless cake will only take minutes to put together. With so many things to get ready for the holidays, this sugar-free chocolate cake is one that can be done (start to finish!) in under 1 hour!

*Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking website

Why You Will Love This Keto Cake

Here are just a few of the key reasons why you will love this keto chocolate flourless cake. Also, I have included the minor changes from the original recipe found on King Arthur's website as well as some suggestions on how to modify this keto cake to suit your taste.

Skill Level - This keto chocolate dessert recipe is perfect for even the most novice baker since all you need is a bowl, microwave, and a spoon!

Texture - Transforming the original recipe into a gluten-free flourless cake resulted in a slightly dry cake. By creating steam in the oven (all you have to do is add boiling water to a pan and place it on the bottom rack of your oven!), this flourless chocolate cake stayed nice and moist without a hint of dryness!

Taste - Mr. Grumble's and I do not care for overly sweet desserts so I opted for using dark chocolate and only ½ cup of sweetener. However, if you prefer sweeter keto desserts, you can use semisweet or milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate and you can also add an additional ¼ cup of sweetener if you wish.

a sugar-free flourless cake on a cake stand wtih chocolate sugar-free ganache drizzled over the gluten-free chocolate cake. Flowers adorn the cake as decorations

Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake Ingredients

Although you can find several different types of sugar-free chocolate cake on the web these days, I have tried them all and have tweaked, modified, and adapted the recipes to create a nut-free keto dessert recipe that I am sure you will love!

Chocolate and Butter: This recipe starts with some sugar-free chocolate and a stick of butter. If possible, it is better to use a sugar-free chocolate bar than chocolate chips. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers that prevent them from melting into a super creamy consistency. You need 6 ounces for this recipe (I used 2 Lily's Dark chocolate bars). Please see below for sugar-free chocolate replacement in the FAQ section
Eggs: Make sure that the eggs are at room temperature. The eggs act as the flour in this recipe as well as create the moist and fudgy texture we are looking for and also help the sugar-free chocolate cake to rise. Make sure that you use large or extra-large eggs.
Almond Milk - This is an ingredient that I added that is not in the original recipe by King Arthur. I find that the unsweetened almond milk added some extra moisture to the cake and created a perfectly dense and fudgy flourless cake.
Sweetener, Vanilla Extract, and Salt: These ingredients help to add sweetness to the cake as well as round out the flavours.
Espresso Powder: Espresso powder deepens the chocolate flavour without imparting any coffee flavour. You should be able to find espresso powder in the coffee aisle of the grocery store. If not, you can omit it.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Because we’re not using baking soda, you can use either Dutch-process cocoa powder or natural cocoa powder in this recipe. Cocoa powder also helps take the place of flour. I LOVE black cocoa powder but since it is expensive, I used a combination of black and regular unsweetened cocoa powder.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Nut-Free Keto Dessert Recipe Instructions

This recipe requires a bowl a whisk or a spoon and a 6-inch cake pan.

top view of a mixing bowl with melted butter and melted sugar-free chocolate whisked together with a metal whisk.

Melt chocolate and butter together and stir until all the chocolate has dissolved.

top view of melted sugar-free chocolate and butter with keto sweetener, vanilla, salt and espresso powder in the bowl before being whisked.

Whisk in the sugar, espresso powder, and vanilla into the melted sugar-free chocolate mixture.

top view of a mixing bowl with a whisk. 3 eggs are being added to the keto flourless chocolate cake batter

Add the eggs and whisk until fully incorporated about 1 minute.

keto flourless chocolate cake batter in a 6-inch baking dish before being placed in the steam oven to bake.

Bake in the steamy oven at 375 degrees F. for about 25-30 minutes.

top view of baked keto chocolate flourless cake

Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the spring form pan by flipping it onto an additional piece of parchment paper.

Top Tip

Do not overbake this cake or it will turn out dry. To test the cake, insert a thermometer in the center of the cake. The cake is baked when the instant-read thermometer measures between 195 degrees F. and 200 degrees F.

a view of the inside of a keto chocolate flourless cake with a flour on the top

How do I make the sugar-free chocolate ganache?

To make the chocolate ganache, simply take ¼ cup of heavy cream and heat it until it just begins to steam in the microwave (about 30-45 seconds). Pour the hot heavy cream over ¼ cup of sugar-free chocolate chips. Wait 5 minutes and then stir until all the chocolate melts. For a thinner drizzle, use less chocolate or more heavy cream.

Can I use 100% unsweetened chocolate?

Yes. However, you will need to add an additional sweetener to the recipe to make up the difference. You can also use 88% dark chocolate if you can not find sugar-free chocolate. 88% dark chocolate has only 3 grams of sugar per serving.

Why did my cake turn out dry?

If your cake turns out dry, this could be due to either over-baking the cake, not using a steam oven, or if your eggs are too small. I have recently noticed that my "large" eggs seem to be getting smaller. If you are wondering about the size of your eggs, you can weigh them. For this recipe, you will need about 5-6 oz of eggs. Always round up in the recipe and do not round down.

How do I store this keto chocolate cake?

You can store this keto cake at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this cake for up to 3 months.

How can I make this recipe without using sugar-free chocolate chips?

As I was experimenting with this recipe, I ran out of sugar-free chocolate and found that using 6 oz of Ghiradelli 100% unsweetened chocolate bar and adding ¼ cup allulose with 1 cup erythritol sweetener created the most AMAZING chocolate cake. Feel free to taste the mixture and add additional sweetener.

Can I make this into a layered cake?

I have made this cake using 2-6 inch cake pans and baking the cakes for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 195-200 degrees F. Add some Keto Espresso Mascarpone Frosting, Keto Cookie Dough Frosting or Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting for a super decadent dessert!