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This chocolate fudge cake is ridiculously easy and so good! It’s quick to make, lower in carbs than traditional cake recipes, and keto-friendly. Definitely a dessert that all chocolate lovers can enjoy. This cake is best served warm, topped with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.
Guilt-Free Chocolate Fudge Cake
My chocolate fudge cake is a moist, airy, and fudgy chocolate cake recipe. Made from a handful of ingredients, including chocolate, butter, almond flour, and eggs, it’s like a cross between a chocolate soufflé and a flourless chocolate cake. It’s lower in carbs than, say, a chocolate olive oil cake and perfect if you’re following a keto or low-sugar diet. Instead of slicing, I scoop the warm cake right out of the baking dish, and dollop whipped cream or ice cream on top.
A Sugar-Free Dessert
I started making this chocolate fudge cake recipe the year my husband, a chocoholic, went on a nearly no-sugar diet (the nerve!). As a result, I originally made this cake with a stevia baking blend, but you can swap that 1:1 with granulated sugar if you’re not making a sugar-free cake.
Ingredients Needed to Make This Cake
Ready to get started? Here are the ingredients in this easy chocolate fudge cake. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the complete recipe with exact measurements.
- Butter – Cut into cubes. I recommend unsalted butter.
- Chocolate – You’ll want to use a good-quality unsweetened baking chocolate, or semi-sweet if you don’t mind the sugar. Avoid chocolate chips, as they have a waxy coating that keeps them from melting smoothly.
- Heavy Cream – To melt with the chocolate. Lower-fat options won’t blend as well.
- Vanilla – Use real vanilla extract or vanilla paste.
- Cocoa Powder – Unsweetened natural cocoa powder, or Dutch-processed if you’d rather a fudgier cake.
- Almond Flour – My preferred gluten-free flour substitute. I haven’t tested this cake with other gluten-free flours or all-purpose flour.
- Eggs – Bring the eggs to room temperature before you start, so they combine smoothly with the other batter ingredients.
- Stevia Baking Blend – Grab a baking blend and not pure stevia, which is very strong. Feel free to substitute your preferred baking sweetener.
You’ll also need a rimmed sheet pan and boiling water to make a water bath, as well as whipped cream or any toppings you’d like for serving.
Quick Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. Take the eggs and cream out of the fridge about 20 to 30 minutes before you begin. Room temperature ingredients help everything mix into a smoother batter.
- Measure accurately. Spoon the almond flour into your measuring cup, then level the flour using a spatula or butter knife to ensure you are using the right amount.
- Bake in a water bath. The water bath helps the cake bake evenly, like a cheesecake, and gives this chocolate fudge cake its gooey, fudgy center.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. If you don’t have an oval baking dish, you can bake this cake in an 8×8-inch square pan or a 9-inch round pan. The baking times may vary a bit depending on the type of pan you use.
Made as is, this chocolate fudge cake is gluten-free, sugar-free, and keto-friendly.
I recommend keeping the cooled cake in an airtight container or cake carrier in a cool, dry location at room temperature for up to 2 days. It still tastes great! Or, store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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Chocolate Fudge Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 2 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs
- ⅔ cup stevia baking blend, or your choice of sweetener
- Whipped cream, for serving (optional)
- Mint leaves, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 2-quart oval au gratin dish and set aside.
- Melt the chocolate. Combine the butter and chopped chocolate in a saucepan; set over low heat and stir until melted. Set aside to cool.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and vanilla.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, cocoa powder, and salt; whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
- Beat the eggs. Place the eggs in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment and beat on high speed for 1 minute.
- Add sweetener. Gradually add in Stevia/sweetener and continue beating on high speed for 5 minutes, or until thick and pale yellow.
- Make the batter. Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add in the melted butter and chocolate mixture. Mix until combined. Gradually add in the almond flour mixture; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Set the mixer at medium speed and slowly add the heavy cream mixture; continue to beat for 1 minute, or until thickened.
- Fill the pan. Transfer the cake batter to the previously prepared baking dish.
- Make a water bath. Fill a sheet pan with 1 ½ cups of boiling water. Set the baking dish in the water bath.
- Bake. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cake is set, puffed up, and has reached an internal temperature of 160ºF in the center. Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand 10 minutes. The cake will deflate as it cools.
- Serve. Scoop out the cake into serving bowls. Optionally, garnish with whipped cream and mint leaves.
Equipment
Notes
- Scoop this cake straight out of the baking dish and serve it as is, or add a tablespoon of low carb whipped cream on top.
- This chocolate fudge cake tastes best while still warm.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Chocolate Fudge Cake
You can make this cake with a stand mixer or a handheld mixer, but you will need one or the other to really whip the eggs. Like a soufflé, this fudge cake rises in the oven and settles as it cools down afterward.
NB: All ovens bake differently, and some run hotter than others. Check the cake at 20 minutes and go from there. You want the center of the cake to still be a little gooey when it comes out of the oven.
Melt the chocolate. First, melt butter with chopped chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth.
Mix the wet and dry ingredients separately. Next, whisk the heavy cream and vanilla in a bowl. Separately, mix the almond flour with cocoa powder and a pinch of salt.
Beat the eggs. In your mixer’s bowl, beat the eggs on high speed for about a minute until they’re light and fluffy. Add the stevia (or sweetener), continuing to beat the mixture on high until it’s thick and pale.
- Make the batter. Now, slowly mix in the chocolate mixture, followed by the dry ingredients, and then the heavy cream mixture. Beat for another minute until the batter thickens.
- Bake in a water bath. Pour the chocolate cake batter into a greased oval baking dish. Then, set the cake on a sheet pan and pour boiling water around the baking dish. Bake the cake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes, checking it after the first 20 minutes. This cake is done baking when it’s set and puffed up, with an internal temperature of 160ºF.
- Cool. Take the cake out of the water bath, and let it cool on the counter for at least 10 minutes before serving. The cake will deflate as it cools. Like my avocado chocolate mousse and zucchini brownies, this chocolate cake makes a delicious Valentine’s Day dessert topped with whipped cream and mint leaves!
Apparently my oven is too hot, because I baked this less than 35 mins, and there was no gooey in the bottom of the pan. But the taste was fabulous! Made this for Thanksgiving for our family who has one gluten free person and several diabetics. So this was a big hit! Next time I will check it at 20 minutes, and then go from there.
Glad to hear it was a hit! Checking it at 20 minutes next time is a good idea to get that perfect gooey texture! Thank YOU! 🙂
Thanks
This was pretty easy to fix and soo soo delicious! The silky texture is to die for. It is also super rich so we had smaller pieces…more for later. Yum! I used Sukrin Gold for sweetener and you can hardly tell that the cake contains a sugar substitute. I don’t have a stand mixer but my electric hand mixer worked just fine using the same mix speeds and duration.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Could I use a different pan? I onky have spring form, round, cake pans, and pyrex.
I just made this and they loved it. It was actually rich enough we had smaller portions, bonus…less carbs. Question: can left overs be stored and what would be the best way?
Hi!! I have left this cake covered on the counter for 2 days and it was still good. 😀 I would suggest keeping the cake in an airtight container (or on a stand, covered with a cake dome) in a cool, dry place for a day or two, and in the fridge for up to 5 days.
I made this today and it didn’t puff up in the center… Is it supposed to? I’m new to using these ingredients. The toothpick came out clean, so I’m assume it was done.
Unfortunately we do not have unsweetened bakers chocolate in Germany… Do you have suggestions how I could sub this? I would love to try this recipe!
I made this cake today and added the receipe to the My Fitness Pal app and it did NOT come up as only 9 grams of carbs! It was more like 31! Not sure how you came up with the only 9 grams?
Hi!
Did you plug in the amount of servings? I just used two other calculators to make sure I was getting the correct amount and on both it’s coming up as 7.3 grams of carbs.
Any chance that you e tried this with another type of flour with good results? We’ve got a bit allergy in our home which precludes the use of almond flour, but this looks ah-mazing! Wondering what flax meal/coconut flour blend might be like? I’d love your two cents!
*nut allergy (wow, I should proofread…)
I made this using pumpkin seed flour that I made myself in a food processor as I didn’t have almond meal. Turned out great! I would say I prefer it after being stored in the fridge though. Hot out of the oven, it was liquidy inside, so I even put it in an extra 10 minutes. After being in the fridge, it’s very nice and fudgy.
Recipe looks Great! I followed it in detail and for some reason my mix would not thicken):
Just made this, looks amazing but not really the nicest cake… guess that’s ‘diet’ cake for you! Thankyou for your great instructions, they were perfect, it cooked perefcto to!