Black Velvet Cake (Keto)

5 from 2 votes

Black Velvet Cake (Keto)

This Black Velvet Cake is the perfect cake for Halloween! This rich, moist and decadent cake is made with dark black cocoa powder for a spooky look, without any weird junk. This layer cake is delightfully delicious, gluten free, and keto friendly!

Prep Time25

Cook Time50

Cooling time30

Total Time1 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 366kcal

Author: Briana

Ingredients

For the cake:

192 grams granular erythritol (1 cup)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
4 whole eggs, room temperature
224 grams almond flour (2 cups)
28 grams coconut flour (¼ cup)
90 grams black cocoa powder (¾ cup)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
120 milliliters strong brewed coffee, room temperature
300 milliliters whole milk
30 milliliters apple cider vinegar, divided (2 tablespoons)
15 milliliters vanilla extract (1 tablespoon)

For the frosting:

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (2 blocks)
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
144 grams powdered erythritol (1 cup)
15 milliliters vanilla extract (1 tablespoon)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
135 grams black cocoa powder
180 milliliters heavy whipping cream (added slowly to thin the frosting)

Instructions

Make the cake batter:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray four 6 inch round cake pans with baking spray and set aside. Start by combining 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with the milk and allowing to sit for 10 minutes to create a homemade buttermilk.
Beat together butter and sweetener at medium speed, gradually increasing the speed for a few minutes to combine well. Mix in eggs one at a time until the mixture is well combined.
Slowly sift in your dry ingredients, mixing on low speed and incorporating gradually. Add in the coffee, homemade buttermilk, remaining apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until well combined. Make sure to scrape the bowl to ensure everything is well incorporated.

Bake the cake layers:

Divide the cake batter evenly and place into the four greased cake pans. We find this is about 325 grams of batter per pan.
Bake for 42-52 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes in the pans, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Once cool, you can trim the excess from the tops of the cake layers to create even layers if desired.

Make the frosting:

To make the frosting, mix together cream cheese and butter on medium speed with a hand mixer or stand mixer until completely combined. This should take about 2 minutes.
Gradually add in the kosher salt, vanilla extract, black cocoa powder and powdered sweetener, mixing on low speed to combine, then gradually increasing the speed to whip together.Pour in heavy whipping cream in a slow stream to incorporate until desired texture is reached. Make sure to give the bowl a good scrape and mix one more time for a few seconds to ensure there are no pockets of unmixed frosting.

Frost the cake & decorate:

After the cake has cooled completely, frost the cake! Now all that’s left to do is decorate, and dig in to this lovely cake!
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days in a covered, airtight container. If refrigerated/made ahead of time, allow to sit out at room temperature for at least one hour before serving for the best texture. This cake can be wrapped well in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

Black cocoa powder can be substituted for Dutch process cocoa powder 1:1.
Do not substitute coconut flour for almond flour, they are not a 1:1 swap.
Xanthan gum will help keep the cake from crumbling but is not 100% necessary.
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature before making the cake for best results.
Do not omit homemade buttermilk and apple cider vinegar. The acid is needed in this recipe.

Nutrition