Keto Brownie Cake is a deeply rich with two layers of fudge brownie, adorned with chocolate ganache. This incredibly decadent dessert is sugar-free, grain-free, and absolutely divine!
This one goes out to the one whose love for brownies runs so deeply he/she would choose them over cake every single time.
You know who you are.
If you made my Death By Chocolate Keto Brownies, you already know what we’re about to get into.
I took that brownie recipe and doubled it to create a chocolate layer cake that is engineered for those who love brownies over cake, and simply can’t get enough chocolate.
Backed by a double batch of my Dairy-Free Chocolate Ganache.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d never turn down a slice of The BEST Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake, my sultry Paleo Triple Chocolate Cake, or my Flourless Keto Chocolate Cake.
But sometimes a girl just wants a double dose of brownies. 😉
Let’s discuss the ingredients!
Ingredients for Keto Brownie Cake:
For the Brownies:
Unsweetened Baker’s Chocolate: The ingredient that makes these brownies so remarkably rich! You’ll need to pick up unsweetened chocolate bars, which you will find in the baking aisle. I buy the Guittard brand, which comes as three 2-ounce bars to a box. Because we need 8 ounces of chocolate, you’d need two boxes if you go with the same brand.
Butter: Adding fat and moisture to get all of the chemical equations correct, and bringing the fudge to the fudge brownie, butter is a key ingredient here. You can also use ghee or melted coconut oil if you’d like.
Almond Flour: Keeping the brownies grain-free and low-carb, we need a small amount of almond flour to help bring volume to the brownies.
Instant Coffee Granules (or instant espresso): Adding instant coffee or instant espresso to brownies or chocolate cake brings an unparalleled depth of flavor. While I love what it brings to these brownies, this ingredient is optional, so don’t worry if you don’t have it on hand.
Sugar-Free Brown Sugar: Used to sweeten the brownies, I use sugar-free brown sugar. If you don’t have any on hand, use your favorite sugar-free granulated sweetener. Both work great! If you aren’t keto, use coconut sugar for a paleo option or regular cane sugar for regular grain-free brownies.
Sea Salt: A little salt makes a world of difference in turning up the volume on each individual flavor and also bringing all of the flavors together into one cohesive unit. Don’t skip the sea salt!
Eggs: Used to keep the brownies held together, to help them to rise, and to add moisture and fat content to the batter. It is best if you bring them to room temperature before baking the brownies, but no worries if they are still cold before you add them to the batter.
Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips: While the brownies are already insanely rich as is, you can level them up even further by adding chocolate chips to the batter. Optional, but recommended.
For the Ganache:
Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk: Used to create the lusciously creamy yet sturdy ganache, which is perfect for pouring or spreading, full-fat canned coconut milk is an amazing tool to make ganache dairy-free. If you aren’t dairy-free, use heavy cream but just be sure you don’t bring the ganache to a boiling point.
Sugar-Free Dark Chocolate Chips: Choose your favorite sugar-free chocolate chips or chunks for melting. If you aren’t keto, use any chocolate chips you like.
Butter – or ghee or coconut oil: Used to obtain that glossy finish that makes a ganache so beautiful! Plus, it adds a bit of depth of flavor. You can also add a sprinkle of sea salt to enhance the flavors here.
The ganache can be used while it is still warm to pour over the brownies for that drippy naked cake look, or you can allow it to cool for 1 hour on the counter (or 15 to 20 minutes in the refrigerator) for a spreadable consistency.
Depending on how you want to decorate your brownie cake will determine how long you let the ganache set up.
I simply make the ganache before baking the brownies to ensure it reaches a spreadable consistency by the time the brownies are out of the oven and cooled.
Let’s bake this thing!
How to Make Keto Brownie Cake:
Make the Ganache:
Add all of the ingredients for the ganache to a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well-combined. Remove from the heat.
Allow the ganache to cool for at least 1 hour at room temperature, until it is thick and spreadable. You can also transfer it to the refrigerator and stir it every 10 minutes until it has thickened but is not solid.
Note: if you want the ganache runny for that dippy poured look, simply prepare the ganache after making the brownies and pour it while it’s still warm.
Make the Brownies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two 6-inch spring form cake pans with parchment paper.
Chop the chocolate bars into small pieces and transfer to a medium-sized saucepan along with the butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until completely melted and creamy.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, almond flour, sugar-free sweetener, espresso powder and sea salt until very well combined.
In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk the two eggs very well until completely combined. Pour the beaten eggs into the saucepan with the brownie mixture and mix well until very well combined. Note that the brownie batter will look grainy and greasy. This is normal!
Stir in the chocolate chips (if adding) until combined.
Divide the brownie batter between the two baking pans and smooth into an even layer. Bake both at the same time for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the brownies are very bubbly around the edges. Note: they will not look cooked, but they are!
Allow the brownies to sit and cool completely. The butter will reabsorb and after a couple of minutes, they will look like normal brownies.
Compile the Brownie Cake:
Once the brownies are cool, release them from the springform pans.
Place one of the brownie cakes on a cake stand (or serving plate of choice) then spread a generous amount of ganache over the top.
Place the other brownie cake on top then proceed to either frost the whole cake with ganache, until the whole surface is well-covered or simply pour the ganache on top for a drippy look.
Allow the cake to sit and set up until the ganache is fully dried.
Slice, serve, and enjoy!
I recommend heating the slices of brownie cake in the microwave until the ganache melts for the best flavor and texture.
Because the brownies are grain-free, they will crumble when you slice them. I’ve found heating them up not only optimizes their fudginess but also yields that gooey texture we all love in brownies. Just microwave a slice for 15 to 20 seconds!
And that’s it, my friends!
Our ticket to a fudge brownie cake that happens to be grain-free and sugar-free. I hope you love this one as much as we do!
If you’re looking for more keto dessert recipes, check out my Keto Cheesecake, Keto Pots de Crème, or Keto Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Keto Brownie Cake
Ingredients
Keto Fudge Brownie Cakes:
- 8 ounces baker’s chocolate *
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter or ghee
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups almond flour
- 1 cup sugar-free granulated sweetener
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee or instant espresso
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
Ganache:
- 2/3 cup full-fat canned coconut milk**
- 1 1/3 cup sugar-free chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp butter***
- Pinch sea salt optional
Instructions
Make the Ganache:
- Add all of the ingredients for the ganache to a saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well-combined. Remove from the heat.
- Allow the ganache to cool for at least 1 hour at room temperature, until it is thick and spreadable (versus melted and runny). You can also transfer it to the refrigerator and stir it every 10 minutes until it has thickened but is not solid. Note: if you prefer using warm ganache to create the drippy look, you can prepare the ganache after the brownies have finished baking.
Make the Brownies:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line two 6-inch spring form cake pans with parchment paper.
- Chop the chocolate bars into small pieces and transfer to a medium-sized saucepan along with the butter. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently, until completely melted and creamy.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, almond flour, sugar-free sweetener, espresso powder and sea salt until very well combined.
- In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk the two eggs very well until completely combined. Pour the beaten eggs into the saucepan with the brownie mixture and mix well until very well combined. Note that the brownie batter will look grainy and greasy. This is normal! Stir in the chocolate chips until combined.
- Divide the brownie batter between the two baking pans and smooth into an even layer. Bake both at the same time for 18 to 22 minutes, or until the brownies are very bubbly around the edges. Note: they will not look cooked, but they are!
- Allow the brownies to sit and cool completely. The butter will reabsorb and after a couple of minutes, they will look like normal brownies.
Compile the Brownie Cake:
- Once the brownies are cool, release them from the springform pans. Place one of the brownie cakes on a cake stand (or serving plate of choice) then spread a generous amount of ganache over the top.
- Place the other brownie cake on top of the first brownie cake. At this point, you can pour the still warm ganache over the top to create a drippy look OR use cooled ganache to spread over the full surface and sides of the cake.
- Allow the cake to sit and set up until the ganache is fully dried. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
OMG after months of the keto diet and zero snacking I decided it was time for a little *controlled* treat for Easter. I had 1 bar of 80% and 1 bar of 70%cacao, and figured it could not hurt too much and boy was I right. This decadent chocolate brownie cake is neither sweet nor dry. I loved the fact that I could not each more than 2 portions over the course of the day, so we froze them individually. It really defrosts easily. Completely forgot your suggestion to warm. I did however use a 7×9 tray as that is the best I had. Single layer cake with half of ganache icing. Sprinkled with pecans and what a treat!!! thank you so much, now on to those lemon bars and scones you made..:)
Love it! I’m so happy you made and enjoyed the recipe with your adaptations. I’ll have to try it with pecans as well! I hope you enjoy the lemon bars and scones as well! 😀 xoxox
This looks amazing-I have always loved making your desserts! The smallest size cake pan I own is an 8 inch-will this work for this recipe?
Hi Cindy!
You could try baking all of the brownie batter in your 8 inch pan, then allow it to cool completely. Slice it in half down the middle and then treat the recipe as though you had made it in two separate pans since you’ll now have two cakes. The layers will be much thinner, but it should work just fine. Just be sure the cake is completely cool before you slice it, as grain-free cakes are very delicate and fall apart easier than regular cake 🙂
As an alternative, you could just keep it one layer. If you go that route, you’ll only need about half the amount of ganache to frost it so you could halve the ganache recipe.
The bake time may be slightly longer for the 8-inch version. I would start with 22 minutes and work up from there 🙂
@Julia,
Have you tried freezing this cake for later?
I have! It thaws really nicely. We just take it out of the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature then slice off what we want and microwave the slices for 20 seconds or so. xo
This sounds divine! I do have one question: would this work with peppermint extract instead of vanilla? I love the combination of mint and chocolate.
Hi Lily!
While I haven’t tested the recipe using peppermint extract yet, I think it would taste amazing! I’m not exactly sure how much you would use…I would think 2 teaspoons, but I don’t have a huge amount of experience with it, so it may be best to use your best judgment in terms of the amount 🙂 I hope you love this! xoxox