This Keto Vanilla Cake has an outstanding vanilla flavor with a super soft and tender crumb. No one will ever believe it's low-carb, keto, gluten-free, and gluten-free! It makes a gorgeous 2 layer cake or a batch of deliciously moist and tender cupcakes.
This Classic Keto Vanilla Cake has a simple list of ingredients that mix together beautifully to make a perfect cake!
In fact, it has such a rich flavor and soft and tender crumb that no one will believe it's low-carb and gluten-free!
It uses a combination of almond and coconut flour for a perfect texture and taste.
The almond flour has a very mild yet buttery taste and gives the cake a delicate and tender crumb, while the coconut flour makes it extremely soft and moist.
This cake recipe is very similar to a yellow cake, but with 2 differences.
First, it has a stronger vanilla flavor than a traditional yellow cake.
And second, it calls for part egg whites instead of whole eggs to give it a slightly lighter, fluffier texture.
It's is also super versatile! The batter is strong enough to make shaped cakes, multi-layers, or cupcakes.
This keto vanilla cake (or cupcakes!) is also classy enough for an anniversary party or wedding celebration and unassuming enough for dessert after a simple family dinner.
Baking powder and baking soda
I like to use both baking soda and baking powder when making cakes. This is because baking powder gives added leavening and helps keep the cake from falling after an initial rise in the oven.
Also, using only baking powder can sometimes lend a bitter aftertaste. By using both, we can use less baking powder to ensure there's no aftertaste.
Homemade buttermilk
In a small bowl, set out some milk or non-dairy milk on the counter with 1 tsp. of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar and set that aside also. This is basically a homemade buttermilk mixture.
It will give the cake an extra moist and delicate crumb and will also react with the baking soda to help the cake rise.
The sweetener
For the sweetener, I recommend a granulated erythritol-based sweetener, such as Besti Erythritol or Besti Monk Fruit Erythritol Blend. They're both keto-friendly and have a great taste.
Granulated Swerve or Lakanto Sweetener (popular erythritol-based sweeteners) will also work.
Keto sweeteners take a little longer to incorporate into the butter. When creaming the two together it may take a little longer than usual, up to 5 minutes until it's light, fluffy, and well incorporated.
*Note- Unlike Swerve, which can be used as a 1:1 sugar substitute, Besti Erythritol is only 70% as sweet as sugar so if you decide to use this sweetener you'll need to use an extra ⅓ cup + 2 Tbsp.
🔪 Easy instructions
Start by whisking together some almond flour, coconut flour, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Break up any clumps with your fingers then set aside.
Also, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water to come to room temperature. If the ingredients are cold it can prevent the flours from mixing properly and can interfere with how the cake rises.
Creaming the butter and sweetener
Then, cream together some room temperature butter and sweetener until well incorporated and soft and fluffy.
To get the butter room temperature, I love this tutorial on How To Soften Butter Quickly from Sally's Baking Addiction. I prefer to use grass-fed butter, but non-dairy butter will also work.
After that, beat in the eggs one at a time. Instead of using only whole eggs, I added in some egg whites to make the cake a little lighter and fluffier.
It may seem like a lot of eggs, but that's the nature of coconut flour - it requires lots of eggs. The eggs provide structure, moisture, and richness. And the 3 extra egg whites make the cake extra light and airy.
Once the eggs are well incorporated, beat in the milk mixture and add the pure vanilla.
Slowly beat in the dry ingredients. The batter will be slightly thick and lumpy but this is fine.
🍰 For cake
For keto vanilla cake, divide the batter into 2 parchment-lined and greased 8-inch baking pans. Please don't skip the parchment paper! If you skip the parchment paper you will have trouble with the cake sticking.
Bake at 350 degrees for around 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
🧁 For cupcakes
For keto vanilla cupcakes, divide the batter into 24 lined baking cups, only filling each cup between ½ and ¾ full.
If the cups are too full, they will have crisp edges and a dome making them hard to frost. We want the tops to be pillowy soft all the way across and fairly flat for easy frosting.
Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes. I recommend baking all the 24 cupcakes at the same time instead of in 2 batches.
Since these cupcakes use baking soda as a leveling agent that starts working as soon as the wet and dry ingredients are mixed, it's best to bake them all right away.
Frosting
Once cooled frost with Keto Chocolate Frosting, Keto Cream Cheese Frosting (doubled), or my Vanilla Keto Buttercream Frosting.
If you need a little help with the frosting, check out my easy, step-by-step tutorial on how to frost a naked cake or a semi-naked cake!
It a gorgeous rustic and chic style that looks difficult, but the tutorial will make even the most cake decorating challenged person able to master it!
💭Top tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. If the ingredients are cold it can prevent the flours from mixing properly and can interfere with how the cake rises.
- Line the pans with parchment paper. If you skip the parchment paper you will have trouble with the cakes sticking to the pans so don't skip it! To line the pans with parchment paper: 1) Place the pans on a large sheet of parchment paper. 2) Trace the bottom of the pans with a pencil. 3) Cut the parchment paper using the lines you traced. 4) Grease the pan, place the parchment paper in the pan, then grease the parchment paper. This will ensure easy removal and the cakes will slide right out.
- Completely cool cake layers before frosting. If you try to assemble or frost the keto vanilla cake, even if it's the slightest bit warm, it will be a disaster! To ensure the cakes are completely cool after they come to room temperature I cover mine in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. It can be refrigerated up to one day before frosting.
- Refrigerate cake after frosting. After the cake is frosted, place it in the fridge for 1 hour. This allows time for the cake and frosting to re-set, as it were. It will also ensure clean slices without crumbs.
Looking for some variation?
Check out this Strawberry Lemonade Frosting from Tasteaholics, this Low Carb Vanilla Pastry cream from My PCOS Kitchen, and this Healthy Chocolate Fruit Dip from Whole New Mom. I think these are all great filling ideas to put between the two layers - so delicious!!!
You may also like my Gingerbread Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting! It's a fun variation of this recipe 🙂
If you’ve tried this Keto Vanilla Cake or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Keto Vanilla Cake Or Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ Cup Milk or Non-Dairy Milk
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar - or white vinegar
- 3 Large Egg Whites
- 7 Large Eggs
- 3 Cups Blanched Almond Flour - finely ground
- ⅔ Cups Coconut Flour - make sure it's light and soft, not gritty
- ¾ tsp. Sea Salt
- 2 tsp. Baking Powder*
- ½ tsp Baking Soda
- ¾ Cup Grass-Fed Butter or Non-Dairy Butter - room temperature
- 1 ½ Cup Keto Granulated Sweetener - see notes below, can slightly reduce for a less-sweet cake
- 1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla
Frostings (click links for recipes):
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For Cake: Line two 8 inch baking pans with parchment paper and grease with oil. For Cupcakes: Line or grease 24 baking cups and set aside.
- Set out butter to bring to room temperature. See the link below for a quick way to bring to room temperature. In a separate bowl, cover the 10 eggs with warm water and set aside so they come to room temperature.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Break up any clumps with your fingers.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the room temperature butter and sweetener until light and fluffy. It may seem crumbly at first but keep beating until smooth, up to 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula if needed.
- Beat in the eggs and egg whites one at a time, then the non-dairy milk, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Turn mixer to low and beat in the dry ingredients until combined.
- For Cake: Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 28 to 34 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and top is lightly golden. Since all ovens are different, check after 25 minutes to make sure it's not baking faster to ensure it doesn't dry out. For Cupcakes: Divide the batter into 24 lined baking cups, only filling each cup between ½ and ¾ full. If the cups are too full, they will have crisp edges and a dome making them harder to frost. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and tops are lightly golden.
- Cool completely before frosting.
Notes
- For grain-free baking powder combine 1 part baking soda, 2 parts cream of tartar, and 2 parts potato, arrowroot, or tapioca flour.
- Nutrition info uses Silk Unsweetened Cashew Milk and does not include frosting. Each serving is 1 cupcake or 1/24th of a double layer cake.
- Use room temperature ingredients. If the ingredients are cold it can prevent the flours from mixing properly and can interfere with how the cake rises.
- Line the pans with parchment paper. If you skip the parchment paper you will have trouble with the cakes sticking to the pans so don't skip it! To line the pans with parchment paper: 1) Place the pans on a large sheet of parchment paper. 2) Trace the bottom of the pans with a pencil. 3) Cut the parchment paper using the lines you traced. 4) Grease the pan, place the parchment paper in the pan, then grease the parchment paper. This will ensure easy removal and the cakes will slide right out.
- Completely cool cake layers before frosting. If you try to assemble or frost the keto vanilla cake, even if it's the slightest bit warm, it will be a disaster! To ensure the cakes are completely cool after they come to room temperature I cover mine in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. It can be refrigerated up to one day before frosting.
- Refrigerate cake after frosting. After the cake is frosted, place it in the fridge for 1 hour. This allows time for the cake and frosting to re-set, as it were. It will also ensure clean slices without crumbs.
- To check the size of your cake pan, cake pans are measured across the top, not the bottom. Do not measure from the outside edges, as you do not want to include the thickness of the pan. If you are not using an 8-inch cake pan, adjust baking times accordingly.
- A word of caution: not all coconut flours are the same! Some brands are much more absorbent than others. Because of this, I only recommend using Bob's Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills. These are the 2 brands I know will work. If you need to use another brand, I can't guarantee the results, but look for one that is soft and fluffy, not gritty
- To get the butter room temperature, I love this tutorial on How To Soften Butter Quickly from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
- For the sweetener, I recommend a granulated erythritol-based sweetener, such as Besti Erythritol or Besti Monk Fruit Erythritol Blend. They're both keto-friendly and have a great taste. Granulated Swerve or Lakanto Sweetener (popular erythritol-based sweeteners) will also work. Keto sweeteners take a little longer to incorporate into the butter. When creaming the two together it may take a little longer than usual, up to 5 minutes until it's light, fluffy, and well incorporated.
- As a special gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI to give you guys 10% off! Simply enter the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
- Unlike Swerve, which can be used as a 1:1 sugar substitute, Besti Erythritol is only 70% as sweet as sugar so if you decide to use this sweetener you'll need to use an extra ⅓ cup + 2 Tbsp.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out these resources:
*Recipe adapted from Wholesome Yum's Keto Birthday Cake recipe
Hi Cassidy! I'm hoping to make this for my wedding cake. My plan is to use springform pans (so slightly higher layers). Do you think it could support two taller layers? Maxine
Hi Maxine, congratulations on your wedding!!!
While I think they will bake fine in springform pans, I don't think they'll give you higher layers. I think the only way to make higher layers would be to bake them in a smaller-sized pan, such as 6 or 7-inch pans. If you do this, though, you'll need to slightly increase the baking time. But without trying it myself I'm not sure of the exact baking times - sorry! I hope this helps and congratulations again!!!
XO,
Cassidy
I made this cake last week for my brothers wedding cake. It was a massive hit. I was a little worried when reading how many eggs to put in but I followed the recipe to a T and it was soooo tasty! Will definitely be making it again!
Oh my goodness I'm SO excited you made this as a wedding cake and everyone loved it!!! Thank you 🙂
-Cassidy
Hi, what other liquid could be used instead of milk? Would unsweetened almond milk or almond vanilla work ?
Yes, both of those will work fine! If you get the chance to make this, please come back and let me know what you thought!
-Cassidy
I'm going to be honest. I was a little skeptical. I'm a country girl and my grandma made the best cake EVER. So I wasn't sure if a keto version would even come close. But this recipe is AMAZING, delicious and moist. Would never know this wasn't made with regular flour. My mother in law even loved it and she's a tough critic when it comes to dessert. Definitely a keeper! I made it yesterday and it's almost gone. Thanks so much!
This makes me SO happy - thank you!!! I'm glad you and your mother-in-law both liked it so much 🙂
-Cassidy
Can I store left overs of the cake in the freezer? I'm sure there wont be left overs because it looks so yummy but just in case 🙂
I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure, but I'd imagine it would work fine 😀 I'm excited for you to try it, let me know what you think!
-Cassidy
Hi, thank you for the recipe. This was my first cake from scratch. It was simple for me and my fiancé to make together. I do have one question, how many servings are there for the 2- 8 inch round cakes and how many carbs? Since it is Keto, the carb intake would be very helpful to know. Thanks!
I found the carb and servings at the bottom. Thanks again!
I'm planning on making this for my daughter's 30th this weekend. Can it be made in a bundt pan, or must it be in 2 9 inch pans?
Hi Maria!
I've never tested this recipe in a bundt pan so I really don't know, sorry! If you try this recipe in a bundt pan please come back and let me know how it went!
-Cassidy
I have a birthday this Thursday and I made this cake for myself. I was a dessert freak who basically gave up sugar and went low carb 5 years ago. I have never tasted a low carb/sugar recipe this good. This cake is AMAZING! I made the vanilla keto buttercream frosting to go with it. Thank you for this delicious recipe - I can't wait until my health conscious daughters taste it on Thursday!
Wow Rebecca, THANK YOU!!! I'm so happy you like it 😍
Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I'm excited for your daughters to try it too!
-Cassidy
This cake was a smash hit!! I used my own Cream cheese buttercream frosting recipe. And it was amazing! Thank you!
Oh yes, I also used liquid eggs whites in place of actual egg whites.
Oh good I'm SO excited you liked it!! ...and thanks for letting me know that liquid egg whites work 🙂
-Cassidy
This cake is delish! After having gestational diabetes with my last baby, I have gone Keto and am loving the health benefits! I didn’t want to kiss my birthday cake, though, so my daughter made me this cake and we all LOVED it!! My daughter topped it with whipped cream (instead of frosting) and also added sliced strawberries and it was one of the best cakes I’ve ever had! Great work on this recipe!
I meant *miss* my birthday cake, lol!
I do that all the time, lol! ???
Oh YAY Emily, I'm excited y'all liked it - thank you!!! ...I'll have to try it with whipped cream and ?strawberries, that sounds amazing!!!
-Cassidy
Excellent. Probably the best cake ever. I've been searching for a medium texture not too sweet cake that would pair well with fruit. The fact that it was Keto only made it better. I'm going to try this cake for use with fondant for a wedding cake. I think this will work well.
Awesome Liz, I'm SO excited you liked it!!! I've been dying to try it with fondant - let me know how it goes!
-Cassidy
This turned out absolutely SCRUMPTIOUS!!!! I added butter flavored extract In addition to vanilla. You are a genius to create this recipe. I am so grateful!!!!
Thank you Susie, I'm SO excited you liked it!!! ...butter extract sounds yummy, I'll have to try that next time. Thanks for the tip 🙂
-Cassidy