Vanilla Keto Cake Diabetic-Friendly
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 07/31/2019 - Last updated on 06/23/2023
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This Almond Flour Vanilla Keto Cake is the most delicious, moist, and buttery diabetic-friendly birthday cake.
Plus, this vanilla keto cake has a dairy-free option, is gluten-free, and is made with only 6 ingredients in 1 bowl!
So keep reading to learn how to make the ultimate low-carb cake.
Is it your birthday, or do you need to make a keto-friendly cake for a friend on a low-carb diet?
This easy keto birthday cake recipe is exactly what you need.
What’s A Keto Vanilla Cake?
This keto sponge cake is a simple but super tasty sugar-free vanilla cake that is also gluten-free and diabetes-friendly.
Because it is made with low-carb flour and no all-purpose flour, it comes with very few carbs: only 3 grams of net carbs per slice!
If you follow the keto diet, this won’t hurt your macros, and you will stay in ketosis!
How To Make Keto Vanilla Cake
This is the perfect recipe for keto diet beginners, probably as easy as using a keto cake mix.
It is definitely a no-fail keto birthday cake recipe made in 1 bowl with only 6 simple ingredients.
Sugar-Free Vanilla Cake Ingredients
Let’s see what you need to make this moist and buttery sugar-free vanilla cake.
- Almond Flour – I recommend fine almond flour for this Almond Flour Vanilla Cake rather than almond meal. Almond meal would work as well, but the cake would be less moist. Find other recipes with almond flour.
- Eggs – this recipe is not vegan friendly. For a vegan cake, try my keto vegan mug brownie.
- Sugar-free crystal sweetener – I love Monk fruit, but erythritol or xylitol are great options as well. Check out my review of keto-friendly sweeteners for alternatives.
- Coconut oil – or any oil with a light taste will work very well here. Avoid vegetable oils. They are not keto. Good options are almond oil, flaxseed oil. If you are using melted coconut oil, make sure it is not burning hot when you add it to the cake batter. Hot oil will cook the eggs.
- Baking powder or half the amount of baking soda, meaning 1/2 teaspoon.
- Vanilla extract. Find all my recipes with vanilla extract.
Making Almond Flour Cake
Usually, keto cake batter made with almond flour sticks a bit more to cake pans, so it is crucial to use a non-stick high-quality, aluminized pan.
It may sound expensive to invest in a high-quality pan, but they last for years. The one below has been in my kitchen for 7 years, and none of my cakes stick to it.
Pan choice
I am using a 9-inch springform cake pan with a non-stick coating and a ridged texture at the bottom.
If your pan doesn’t have a ridged texture, your cake may stick slightly at the bottom. To prevent your keto cakes from sticking to the pan, I recommend a double-greasing method.
First, grease the whole pan, bottom, and sides with butter or coconut oil.
Then, cut out a piece of parchment paper, the same diameter as the pan, so in a 9-inch circle.
Place the piece of parchment paper at the bottom of the pan. It will stick to the pan since you grease it before. Finally, grease the whole pan again, including the paper.
This 2-step greasing method will ensure that your keto cake does not stick to the pan.
Making A Layered Cake
You don’t have to make a layered keto cake, but it does look more like a classic birthday cake if you do.
You can follow the keto vanilla cake recipe and serve this delicious almond flour cake in 30 minutes.
It is a good sugar-free vanilla cake to enjoy plain or with the vanilla buttercream frosting recipe provided.
I recommend making the layers and frosting, though, to have a lovely light and fluffy keto birthday cake.
To make the layers of this diabetic cake, I recommend baking 2 small vanilla cakes instead of slicing a bigger one. It means you repeat the entire low-carb cake recipe 2 times.
This is the best way to create a lovely keto sponge cake with even layers and a decent cake height.
Tip 1: Make the vanilla cake recipe provided two times
I know it is tempting to double up the recipe to save time and then divide the batter in half.
It would work, but I’m not too fond of this technique because it is challenging to halve the batter perfectly. Often, you end up with a layer thicker than the other.
Tip 2: Bake one almond flour cake at a time
Never bake two cakes at the same time in your oven. It will impact the baking time too much, and the baking will not be consistent.
There is always one cake that burns and one that is not cooked. So take the time and bake them separately.
Tip 3: Level the cake layers before frosting
Your sugar-free birthday cake will come up with a small bump on top.
Fully cool the cake, then use a knife or a cake leveler tool to remove that bump and create 2 flat cake layers.
This will make it much easier to frost them later on.
Assembling Keto Vanilla Cake
First, make sure your low-carb cake layers are cool at room temperature to prevent the frosting from melting.
Then, I recommend using a turning table and icing spatula. You can use the frosting below or use any of my other frosting recipes:
- Keto Chocolate Frosting
- The Cream Cheese Frosting from my Keto Carrot Cake Muffins Recipe.
Add a tablespoon of frosting to the center of the turning table and place the first cake layer on it.
This frosting is not cream cheese frosting, and so it will act like glue and stick the cake to the table.
Next, add 1 cup of frosting to the middle of the cake. Spread the frosting with an icing spatula turning the table at the same time to spread evenly.
The frosting will fall on the sides, and that is ok. Finally, add the second cake layer and repeat this process until you have covered all the top of the cake. Use more frosting to cover the edges.
I hope you enjoyed my 36-year-old diabetic birthday cake recipe. Happy birthday to you if you try this recipe for your birthday today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Almond Flour have carbs?
Yes, Almond Flour does contain some carbs but far less than all-purpose flour. It gives about the same texture to baked goods as regular flour though.
What can I use instead of Almond Flour?
If you don’t have almond flour or are allergic to almonds, you can use Sesame Seed flour. It’s also keto-friendly and bakes similarly.
You can also use all-purpose flour, but it wouldn’t be keto-friendly.
Can I use stevia instead of erythritol?
You can’t use pure stevia extract as Erythritol provides both sweetness and texture to this recipe. You need something that brings a sugar-like texture.
A stevia and erythritol blend works. Allulose would also work.
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
No, this vanilla cake wouldn’t work with coconut flour instead of almond flour as coconut flour is 4 times more water-absorbent.
It would make the cake very dry and gritty and would alter the flavor.
Can I Add Chocolate To The Batter?
You can add chocolate, but I recommend instead making my Keto Chocolate Cake.
More Healthy Cake Recipes
If you love this low-carb birthday cake recipe, I recommend you also try my other healthy cake recipes or my diabetic cake recipes:
Or browse all my recipes in the low-carb cake recipes category
Is this keto sugar-free vanilla cake recipe too large for you? Then, try my keto vanilla cupcake recipe instead
Also, don’t forget to share a review or comment below! I love to hear your feedback on my keto recipes
Did You Like This Recipe?
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Keto Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 4 large Eggs
- ½ cup Granulated Sweetener Monk Fruit or erythritol
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil melted or melted butter
- 2 cups Almond Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
Vanilla Buttercream frosting
- 1 cup Unsalted Butter soft, out of the fridge for 4 hours (5.3 oz) – or vegan butter.
- 1 ½ cups Powdered Erythritol
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2-3 tablespoons Heavy Cream or coconut cream
Instructions
Vanilla cake
- Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F). Grease a 9-inch round springform pan with coconut oil or butter. Cut out a piece of parchment paper into a 9-inch circle and stick it to the bottom of the pan. Grease the paper and pan sides again. These steps prevent the cake from sticking to the pan. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs with sugar-free sweetener, oil, and vanilla. Process as if you whisked a breakfast omelet. It should not take more than 30 seconds to 1 minute, all you want is to combine the ingredients.
- Whisk in almond flour and baking powder and whisk until evenly combined.
- Pour the vanilla cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes in the center of your oven. The fan-bake mode is ideal if you have one. Otherwise, use the regular mode. Your cake is cooked when a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean or with few to no crumbs on it.
- Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then release the cake on a cooling rack. Cool for 1 or 2 hours before adding the frosting, or enjoy plain.
- Note that this is a gluten-free cake. It doesn't rise much. You should expect a small bump raise in the middle, not more. The recipe is made to create flat cake layers to make a layered birthday cake.
Layer vanilla cake
- Repeat the vanilla cake recipe one more time to create a second vanilla cake.
- Make sure you clean, dry, and grease again the cake pan before baking the second cake.
Light and Fluffy Buttercream frosting
- Add the soft butter cubes and vanilla to a stand mixer. Make sure you use the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until it forms a pale, smooth, and fluffy butter.
- Reduce to low speed and gradually add the sugar-free powdered sweetener, half a cup at a time. When all the sugar-free sweetener has been added, mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until it forms a fluffy cream.
- Add cream and keep whisking for 1 minute to incorporate.
- Spread the frosting between the 2 cake layers and on sides using an icing spatula. Watch my video to learn how to frost your layer cake easily.
- Place the cake in the fridge for 2 hours to set up the frosting if desired.
Storage
- You can make this cake 24 hours before, store it in an airtight cake box in the fridge to prevent the frosting from drying.
- Store leftover for up to 4 days in the fridge or freeze in ziplock bags. Defrost the day before at room temperature.
Notes
- A simple one-layer vanilla keto cake will have 3g of net carbs per slice.
- A double-layer cake will have 6g of net carbs per slice.
- A triple-layer cake will have 9g of net carbs per slice.
Tools
Getting Started What Is Keto? Macro Calculator Sweetener Converter Meal Plans Recipe Ebooks Intermittent Fasting Keto Fruits Keto Vegetables Keto Flours Fighting Keto Flu Healthy SweetenersWant My Kitchen Equipment?
About The Author
Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook and many ebooks, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
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Disclaimer
The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only.
The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized.
You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.
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Can you make this recipe into cupcakes?
I halved the recipe and made four cupcakes, they did rise. I’m not sure if I really like this recipe yet. I think it might be a good base recipe to add some kind of flavor to, it was a little bland for me.
You mentioned you halved the recipe and then bake it as cupcakes. This is lots of changes, this recipe is for a gluten free layer cake, therefore it not fluffy or high raising as cupcakes. For fluffy keto cupcakes try my recipe here. Enjoy, XOXO Carine
I guess it will work but it won’t raise. I would rather recommend my keto lemon cupcake recipe and rePlace lemon juice by unsweetened almond milk if you prefer a vanilla cupcake favor. Enjoy the recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine
Looks real good can’t wait to have some.
Will likely make another for anyone else that might want some.(not sharing ????)
Great idea! Enjoy the cake, XOXO Carine
Hi Carine!
Thanks for the amazing looking recipe. My (Quarantine) birthday is this week and this looks like the best low-carb birthday cake recipe I’ve found on the web. Just wondering though, have you ever substituted the almond flour for coconut flour? Would this work/be possible? Thank you in advance!
First, happy birthday to you! I am glad that my recipe will bring a bakery style cake to your home during this long quarantaine. Unfortunately, you can replace 100% of almond flour by coconut flour in a recipe. Coconut four contains 4 times more fiber and it is highly liquid absorbent. Usually you need way less coconut flour in a cake recipe and more liquid to achieve the similar cake texture. If you are keen to try a coconut flour cake for your birthday, I recommend my keto coconut cake recipe. You can also make a 2 layer cake with the recipe. Enjoy and take care, XOXO Carine
Thank you so much!!
I made this recipe more than 10 times already! My family loves it and ask for more cake! Absolutely delicious, thank you for sharing
Thank you so much !!! I am so happy your family enjoy the cake recipe too. Enjoy all the recipes on the bog, XOXO Carine
tried with the almond meal but cake didnt cook after 30 mins of baking..looked cooked from outside but the inside was still wet…probably needed 10 mins more.
Yes, if a cake is still moist inside you must cook it longer, add 10 minutes burst, check with a skewer inserted in the center of the cake. If it is wet it needs more baking. Also, this happens because you used almond meal. Almond meal is coarse and don’t absorb liquid as thin almond flour. That is why the recipe calls for almond flour. I hope it gets better next time. Take care, XOXO Carine
Hi! Is the net carb count here with or without the frosting?
The net carbs is wihout the frosting but since the frosting is pure fat and sugar alcohol and both don’t add carbs it won’t change the math, XOXO Carine
You are fantastic!
I can’t seem to find vanilla anywhere with this pandemic on, but I’m eager to try making this with a flax egg or alternative to make it vegan. I’ll let you know when I do
Hi TMI ,
Did u try with flax egg n did it come out good? I can’t use egg n wondering if it worked
With flax egg , as it looks like not possible with flax egg ??!!
This recipe doesn’t work with flax eggs unfortunately. Any keto cake recipes that use more than 3 eggs won’t work with egg replacement simply because the keto flours doesn’t have starch and without eggs the batter won’t hold. Enjoy the recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine
This recipe doesn’t work with flaxegg so I don’t recommend you try this. The flour won’t hold at all! Take care, Carine
What size pan did you use for the vanilla birthday cake?
Thanks
Barbara
Hi Barbara, the recipe instruction tells you the size pan in the first row. Mine is a 9 inches round pan Enjoy the cake, XOXO Carine
Hi! I have just tried this recipe buy the dough came out very very tick and the cake seems It Is not cooked. It Is far from being soft ☹️ any advice?
I guess you mean ‘thick’, this could happen if you used almond meal or a coarse almond flour. However this won’t impact the baking. This cake has lots of eggs and will cook and set very well after 30 minutes max 40 minutes baking. I recommend using thin almond flour, large eggs and bake untiL a pick inserted in the center of the cake come out clean.
Can u add surface free pudding mix to recipe vanilla cake? And how would you do that??
I am not sure what you mean by “surface free pudding mix”. I don’t buy any premade mix so I am unsure how you can add this into this cake recipe I am sorry. Take care, XOXO Carine
Hi! I was just wondering what the serving size is (I know one slice) but about how big or how many ounces would that be ?
The nutrition panel is for one slice for a one layer cake cut in 12 even slices. To cut a cake in 12 even portion, start by cutting the whole cake into 3 third. Then divide each third in half, then havlves each halves. It will result in 12 slices/serve. Enjoy the cake. XOXO Carine
Yummy cake but carb manager has it at 12g total carbs per serving. Would just have a smaller slice if you’re counting total carbs instead of net carbs.
Of course! on a keto diet you count net carbs, not total carbs simply because net carbs are not assimilated by your body and won’t impact your blood sugar level. Net carb excludes suga alcohols and fiber and that is what you should look at if you are on keto low carb diet. Enjoy the cake. XOXO Carine
Fantastic cake! I used Monk fruit as the sweetener and baked in a 9 in. Square dish. Topped it with lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream – delicious!
That is amazing ! Thanks for the lovely review, XOXO Carine
To make this vegan, I was thinking about using flaxseed eggs (1 tbsp flaxseed, 3 tbsp water) in place of the eggs. Do you have an idea of how this will effect the cake? Thanks!
I am sorry, the recipe doesn’t work with flax egg. To make the recipe vegan you will have to use a different flour, add starch from arrowroot flour or tapioca flour but the recipe won’t be low carb anymore. Enjoy the blog recipes, plenty are keto vegan but not my cakes sorry. XOXO Carine
Hi, this recipe looks amazing! I just don’t have a powdered sugar because I haven’t been able to find one, what do you recommend doing instead?
This will be the VERY FIRST keto anything I make. So excited! But I was wondering why the frosting calls for vanilla essence instead of extract. Could I just use extract as well?
Thanks!
Yes sure vanilla essence or extract work the same. In some countries, the extract contains sugar that is why I am using essence in New Zealand. Enjoy the cake, XOXO Carine
To make powdered sugar free crystal sweetener, add the crystal sweetener in a blender and pulse 30 seconds on high speed. It will create an excellent powdered sugar without going to the store! Enjoy, Carine
I just tried it it’s so good!! Thank you!
Thank you ! Enjoy the recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine
So excited to try this recipe and was wondering if you could use coconut sugar in the batter instead of the other suggested ones?
Sure, coconut sugar is not diabetic friendly but the recipe will work with it, same amount. Enjoy! XOXO Carine.
This recipe is fantastic! I made on layer and some buttercream to test this out before making it for my husbands birthday. It is incredibley delicious. It’s a rougher crumb due to the almond flour, but still so flavorful and just the right amount of sweet. I am going to make two layers, and fill the middle layer with keto strawberry jam and buttercream on the outside. Thanks for the great recipe!
I love your filling idea, you should try my keto chia seed jam recipe to marry with this buttercream! Happy birthday to your husband, XOXO Carine
Delicious, easy cake! I added some monk fruit macerated raspberry filling to the middle layer, yummy!
Thank you sooo much for this recipe! My mom has been going keto for a while and it is very hard to find good cake recipes. It turned out perfectly! She loved it! Texture is everything to her and this cake was spongy and light. It is really good with homemade whipped cream on top too. Thanks again!
Thank you so much and happy birthday to your mum. XOXO Carine
Thank you ! Your filling looks delicious. Enjoy the recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine
Hi, made this cake today and it was fantastic. Even my daughter who usually doesn’t like anything with almond flour liked it. Has a real cake like consistency which for me isn’t usually the case when baking keto cakes. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much! I am so glad you can share the cake with your daughter. Enjoy all the keto cakes recipes on the blog, XOXO Carine
Me and my son made this cake, the diabetic cake today for my birthday and OMG it was out of the ball park delicious!!! Will be making the other recipies!
Thnaks for the lovely comment and happy birthday to you! Enjoy the diabetic friendly recipes on my blog, XOXO Carine
Just baked it and it turned out perfect!!
Can’t wait to have it with my tea!
Thank you kindly ????????
Thanks so much! Take care, Carine