Keto Apple Cake is moist, easy to make, and incredibly delicious. Perfect for all the parties and gatherings you have planned. Tangy Granny Smith apples, fluffy cake, the ideal amount of cinnamon and no refined sugar added, this almond flour apple cake is going to be a hit. It’s gluten-free, grain-free, low carb, and keto-friendly.
This is one cake recipe that you may even want to eat for breakfast! I mean...it has apples in it, so why not? It’s certainly good enough to start the day with. I can’t help it; this soft, fluffy almond flour apple cake calls my name.
Now that I am sharing this sugar free apple cake recipe with you, I am confident you will enjoy making it every once in a while. If you miss eating apples since going keto, trust me, many people can relate. I think most of us think that once you start a low carb lifestyle that you will never get to enjoy the flavor of apples again. Thank goodness that isn’t true.
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You simply need to be careful and smart with how you go about making it. This recipe calls for 2 cups of apples and makes 18 large servings. So basically, this means each piece is going to be 4.3 Net Carbs. As you can see it’s not going to completely ruin your carbs for the day! As a matter of fact, it’s pretty easy to incorporate a gluten free keto apple cake or my apple cider donut cake into your diet from time to time.
Ingredients Needed
When you bite into this sugar free apple cake, I am certain you’ll be so glad you made it. It’s pretty low-key, and there aren’t a ton of ingredients or directions.
Cake Ingredients:
- Almond Flour - Don’t use just fine almond flour; it’s best to combine it with coconut flour. Using the two flours together helps balance the oiliness of the almond flour. If you want a bit of a heartier texture you can use almond meal.
- Coconut Flour - You’ll just need ½ cup of coconut flour to get the best texture.
- Coconut Oil - Use refined coconut oil, so it doesn’t taste like coconut. Butter flavored coconut oil works well too.
- Sour Cream - Substitutions would be Greek yogurt or even cottage cheese.
- Joy Filled Eats Sweetener - I use a combination of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia in my low carb recipes. I find that this combination tastes the most like sugar while being economical because you use half the amount of most other sweeteners.
- Eggs - If you want to lighten this up a bit you can use all egg whites.
- Vanilla - Vanilla extract is a must when baking to highlight the other flavors.
- Baking Powder - A leavening agent to help the cake rise. Look for aluminum-free baking powder.
- Salt - A pinch of salt enhances the other flavors of the keto apple cake.
Apple Cinnamon Filling:
- Granny Smith Apples - Using fresh Granny Smith apples gives you a tart and delicious flavor. They are my favorite to bake with, especially for this sugar free cake. Or you can sub in jicama using this method.
- Brown Sugar Sweetener - You can use commercially packed brown sugar sweetener, or you can make your own by mixing 1 teaspoon of molasses into 1 cup of sweetener.
- Butter - It will need to be melted for the best results.
- Almond Flour - I add a little bit into the filling to balance some of the moisture
- Cinnamon - A must for any apple recipe!
How To Make Sugar Free Keto Apple Cake
There are only 4 steps to make this low carb keto apple cake, and they are all super simple. This reminds me of an apple cider cake or a decadent apple coffee cake to serve for brunch!
Step One: Warm the oven to 350 degrees F. and prepare a baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray.
Step Two: Combine the flour, coconut oil, sour cream, sweetener, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Spread evenly in the 9x13 inch casserole dish or cake pan.
Expert Tip: The batter is going to be super thick, and that is normal.
Step Three: Mix together the apples, brown sugar sweetener, melted butter, almond flour, and cinnamon.
Spread the sugar free apple mixture on top of the cake batter.
Step Four: Bake the almond flour apple cake for 40 minutes or until it’s firm to the touch. You can insert a toothpick in the center to test doneness. It should come out dry when done.
Can I Use Different Apples in Keto Apple Cake?
Yes, you sure can. I am a fan of Granny Smith in general for baking because they hold their shape, so that’s usually what I reach for. They are also one of the lowest carb apples. There isn't too much difference in the amount of carb in an apple so you can really just use the ones you prefer.
However, there are many other varieties of apples that would work well in a low carb apple cake. The biggest thing you need to consider is choosing something that won’t just turn to mush as it bakes. Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Honey Gold, and Gala are all great choices too.
Can I Leave The Peels On The Apples?
No, the peel won't soften enough and will leave the cake with an odd texture so it’s a good idea to remove the skin. It only takes a few extra minutes and will give you a much better low carb grain free cake in the end.
How Many Carbs in an Apple?
There are 25 carbs in an apple and 4.4 grams of fiber.
This brings us to the next question...
Are Apples Keto?
Not really. And definitely not in large quantities. BUT I believe that small amounts of fruit can be eaten in moderation. This recipe uses 2 cups of apples which is about 2-2.5 apples divided between 18 pieces. That means that each piece has approximately ⅛th of an apple. This is enough to get that apple flavor and texture with minimal carbs. I use the same logic with my keto apple muffins.
If you would like an even lower carb option you can make this keto apple cake with jicama instead by using the method I use in my Keto Apple Crisp.
Can I use a Bundt Pan?
I haven't tried this recipe in a bundt pan but I don't see why it wouldn't work provided you grease the pan really well. I would put ⅓ of the batter, then the filling, and then the rest of the batter and gently swirl it a bit. A low carb apple bundt will take longer to bake. My guess is 45-50 minutes at 350.
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup refined coconut oil melted
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Apple Cinnamon Filling
- 2 cups granny smith apples peeled and chopped
- 1 cup brown sugar sweetener
- 6 oz butter melted (1.5 sticks)
- 2 tablespoon almond flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Mix together all the cake ingredients. Spread in the prepared pan. This is a VERY thick batter.
- Mix together the filling ingredients. Spread on top of the cake batter.
- Bake at 350 for 40 min or until the cake is firm to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out with a few moist crumbs when it is done.
Notes
Nutrition
Veena says
I made this today. It was so moist and wonderful!
I used molassess instead of a sweetner directly and it was sooo good.
Thank you Taryn.
Janet N says
Delicious!!! Made for Diabetic husband. Of course I had to sample a piece or two!!
And I forgot to add the vanilla but it’s still so good! Can’t imagine how the vanilla could make it any better but I’ll be sure to add it next time!!
Cary says
The ingredients looked wonderful in this recipe, so I gave it a whirl. But the end result was not to my liking. I didn't care for the texture. After putting the topping on, it saturated the cake and was soggy after baking... I even left it in the oven a bit longer hoping the cake would firm up more... I'm thinking it was way too much butter. I followed the recommendation to mix the sweeteners but didn't care for the aftertaste. I will likely not make this again and keep looking for another option for a keto apple cake recipe.
Taryn says
I'm sorry you didn't care for it. This recipe normally gets great reviews. It does take awhile to find a sweetener you like. I would encourage you to keep trying blends until you like one. The aftertaste is most likely from erythritol.
Ivy says
Delicious. I used 4 oz vegan butter for the topping, 4 vegan aka flax eggs and my own keto flour mixture. So, so good. For my keto flour, use equal parts vital wheat gluten, oat bran and almond flour. Thank you for the great recipe.
Alicia says
Wow, this tasted like the real deal, we loved it! This is the best dessert recipe ive tried and ive been dabbling a lot. I’m thinking of trying it in muffin cups to make it easier to potion & freeze. My serving scoops were bigger than a serving im pretty sure, ha!
Pat Smith says
this was absolutely delicious. it was so nice for something to turn out and not taste sugar free. I will be making this again. Thank you for the recipe. I will be trying more of your recipes. love it💖
Janet says
this is apple crack!!
definitely making this again (and again!)
have you ever made this using an egg substitute? l have a vegan DiL and would love to serve this for T giving. thoughts on best way to go with this? NRG egg replacer, extra applesauce, flax seed...?
Taryn says
I haven't tried an egg sub, sorry! Maybe someone else will chime in.
Ivy says
Flax eggs work great.
Taps says
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but it really has no place on a keto diet. One medium apple has more than 20 g of net carbs — enough to blow someone's entire carb allotment for the day. Making this delicious but NOT KETO.
Taryn says
Did you read my blog post? I talk about this extensively. Please scroll up a bit and read the section titled "Are Apples Keto?"
Shawn Titus says
I'm impressed by how easy it was to make this dessert. I made a slight change by reducing the amount of butter called for. I just couldn't bring myself to using that much butter. The cake was somewhat dry therefore I don't know if not using the full serving if butter contributed. I made a paleo caramel sauce to drizzle on too. Otherwise it was delicious. 😋
Taryn says
Hi Shawn, if it was dry I would definitely recommend trying with the amount of butter listed.
Joyce says
I use eggplant in place of apples. Have you tried this
Taryn says
I have not. This is actually the first I've heard of using eggplant for an apple sub! I'll have to add it to my list.
D'Ann Swain says
It was easy to 1/2 the recipe for a smaller cake! I also used my sugar mix substitute. I make large batches of it and keep it in a airtight container. You can find my sugar substitute recipe o my website under, "Just say no to crack" swainholisticsolutions.com
Thank you for a really tasty cake with common ingredients for a person living low carb/sugar and low gluten!
Your directions were very well written as well.
Lisa G says
Absolutely delicious! My picky son and husband gobbled it up!
Debbie says
If I want to use either honey or maple syrup or coconut sugar for sweetener, will that substitute well? I love your recipes but cannot eat the sweetness that you use!
Taryn says
Coconut sugar would be the best option of those three. I have not tested this with a liquid sweetener.
Susan A says
My husband and mother-in-law loved this cake. I'm now going to try it in a bundt pan as someone suggested, putting the topping in first, and then swirling a little topping thru the cake (as you suggested). My pan is silicone so it probably won't stick but I'll use some butter flavored Pam and and a little dusting of almond flour just to be sure, as you mentioned. Thank you for the recipe!