This Paleo & Keto Gingerbread Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting is ultra-soft, moist, and tender with all the warm spices of fall and ginger without being overpowering. No one will ever guess it's gluten-free & low-carb.
This Paleo & Keto Gingerbread Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting is sure to impress and is a fun spin on my Classic Keto Vanilla Cake.
It has an ultra-soft and tender crumb with the warm spices of fall and ginger without being overpowering.
If you're having guests or taking dessert to a party, this cake is gorgeous, feeds a lot of people, and is sure to impress!
No one will ever guess it's gluten-free, low-carb, grain-free, & Paleo. And it can even be made dairy-free too!
Sweetening the cake
For the sweetener in the cake, I use Besti Monkfruit/Erythritol Sweetener or Lakanto Brown Sweetener which are both Keto friendly and have a great taste. However, any erythritol-based sweeteners will work.
If you use a white sweetener (such as Besti), simply add some molasses to the wet ingredients for a deep, caramel taste.
If you’re worried about adding molasses to a Keto recipe, keep in mind that molasses is considered a low glycemic sugar. One teaspoon only adds 5 carbs to the entire batch!
It’s also rich in vitamins and minerals such as iron, chromium, magnesium, calcium, vitamin b6 and more!
Low-carb 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.
Sweetening the frosting
To sweeten the frosting, I prefer to use powdered monk fruit with allulose or pure powdered allulose. It tastes just like powdered sugar and results in a super-smooth texture.
I don't recommend erythritol or erythritol blends for frostings because there might be a slight cooling-like aftertaste and they don't completely dissolve.
If using pure allulose, keep in mind that it's only 70% as sweet as other sweeteners. Because of this, you'll need to add an extra ⅓ cup.
As a special gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
Easy instructions
Start by whisking together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. This includes blanched almond flour, coconut flour, sea salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
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 some room temperature 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 some non-dairy milk, vinegar, pure vanilla, molasses (if using).
Beat the wet ingredients into the dry. The batter will be slightly thick and lumpy, but this is fine.
Baking the gingerbread cake
Pour the batter into 2 parchment-lined, greased, 8-inch cake 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 the top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the keto gingerbread cake to cool completely and frost with Keto Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below) or Dairy-Free & Paleo "Cream Cheese" 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's 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!
- Completely cool cake layers before frosting. If you try to assemble or frost the 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. 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, Besti, or Arrowhead Mills. These are the 2 brands I know will work.
- To get the butter room temperature, I love this tutorial on How To Soften Butter Quickly from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
- 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!
Have you made this recipe?
If you’ve tried this Paleo & Keto Gingerbread Cake or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Keto Gingerbread Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting {Paleo}
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Blanched Almond Flour - finely ground
- ⅔ Cup Besti Coconut Flour - Bob's Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills will also work
- ¾ tsp. Sea Salt
- 2 tsp. Baking Powder*
- ½ tsp. Baking Soda
- 1 Tbsp. Ground Ginger
- ½ tsp. Ground Cloves
- 2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- ¾ Cup Grass-Fed Butter (or non-dairy butter) - softened
- 1 ½ Cups Brown Lakanto Sweetener - or any erythritol-based sweetener, if using a white variety, add up to 1 Tbsp. molasses to the wet ingredients (or coconut palm sugar for Paleo)
- 7 Large Eggs
- 3 Large Egg Whites
- 1 ⅓ Cup Non-Dairy Milk - cows milk dairy has lots of carbs!
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Pure Vanilla
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting (For Paleo, See Notes Below):
- ½ Cup Grass-Fed Butter (or non-dairy butter) - room temperature (see notes below for room temperature butter)
- 8 oz. Block Cream Cheese - do not use cream cheese from a tub or it will turn out runny!
- 1 Cup Powdered Monk Fruit/Allulose Blend - see notes below
- 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla
- 1 pinch Sea Salt - optional, if frosting tastes too sweet
- Non-Dairy Milk, Heavy Cream, or Coconut Cream - to thin frosting as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper and grease with oil.
- Set out butter to bring to room temperature. See the link below for a quick way to bring to room temperature. Then, 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, baking powder, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. 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, vanilla, and molasses (if using).
- Turn mixer to low and beat in the dry ingredients until combined.
- 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.
- Cool completely before frosting. Frost with Keto Cream Cheese Frosting (below) or Dairy-Free & Paleo Cream Cheese Frosting (link in notes).
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the room temperature butter and cream cheese to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly beat in the powdered sweetener until thick and creamy, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
- Beat in the vanilla until incorporated and a pinch of sea salt if it's too sweet. Thin with non-dairy milk and thicken with additional powdered sweetener if needed.
- Frosting is best eaten the same day, However, leftover frosting can be stored, tightly covered, in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
Notes
- For grain-free baking powder, combine 1 part baking soda with 2 parts cream of tartar and 2 parts starch (such as tapioca, arrowroot, or potato).
- For dairy-free and Paleo, use my Paleo Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe.
- 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 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.
- 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's 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!
- To sweeten the frosting, I prefer to use powdered monk fruit with allulose or pure powdered allulose. It tastes just like powdered sugar and results in a super-smooth texture. I don't recommend erythritol or erythritol blends for frostings because there might be a slight cooling-like aftertaste and they don't completely dissolve.
- If using pure allulose, keep in mind that it's only 70% as sweet as other sweeteners. Because of this, you'll need to add an extra ⅓ cup.
- As a special gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out these resources:
I have made this recipe several times. The first time came out amazing. I made a lemon curd (paleo), and put between the layers. However, the next time I tried, when I mixed in the eggs, it separated and looked curdled. Had to toss it. I tried again and everything worked out. $th time, curdled again. I didn't change anything, except the times it curdled, I used fresh eggs. Have you ever had this problem?
Oh no, I'm so sorry!! No, I usually use fresh eggs too but have never had this problem!! Are your eggs room temperature and are you beating the mixture after adding each one??
We have always eaten gingerbread with lemon sauce. Do yo think your lemon curd would work or do you have a lemon sauce recipe?
thanks
Hi DavetteB! I'm excited you want to make my gingerbread cake, but sadly, I don't have a lemon sauce recipe that I think would work 🙁 Keto lemon curd is definitely on my list of things to make though!
Sorry again!
-Cassidy
Hi, I recently found out I need to eat Gf, dairy free and egg free. Do you know if I could use an egg substitute like flax eggs or chia? What would you recommend? Thank you and these look great!
Hi Jamie! I'm sorry, but due to the number of eggs, I just don't think an egg replacement would work. Sorry!
-Cassidy
Just made this today while searching for something delicious to make on this snow day. It was amazing!! thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Just wanted to say that I made this and it were perfect! I know your comments say that the icing is best on the first day, but I put the icing on and stored in the fridge and enjoyed for 3-4 days until it was gone. I would let them set at room temp for a few minutes so the frosting could soften just a tad. This was the first time I've had "cream cheese" frosting in a long time and it was such a treat. Thanks for sharing!!!
Thanks for the nice comment Stephanie and the feedback about the cream cheese frosting staying good in the fridge!
I'm so happy you liked them 🙂
-Cassidy
These look great. I plan to share on FB today. They are also a featured post at Healing With Food Fridays for this coming week. The new link is open so please come back and share some more. We are glad to have you.
Thanks for sharing and featuring my recipe! ...I'll be back 🙂
-Cassidy
This looks amazingly good! It's gotten quite a bit of attention on my Facebook page this week!
Thanks Linda! I was wondering where all of that traffic was coming from! Thanks for sharing my recipe 🙂
xo,
Cassidy
Hi Cassidy
Just followed the link from a facebook friend and this looks yummy! But I'm allergic to almonds - could I replace the almond flour with something else? what would you suggest?
Thanks
Hi Huda,
I'm sorry about your almond allergy, almond flour is hard to replace. The only replacement I know of is sunflower seed flour, but haven't tried it myself. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
-Cassidy
Was wondering if you could use coconut flour instead of almond flour, we do not do nuts either in our house. Makes it very challenging.
Hi Sherrie!
Sorry, but coconut flour is completely different than almond flour and it cannot be substituted 🙁 The only substitution I know of would be sunflower seed flour, but haven't tried it myself. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
-Cassidy
Could you replace the almond/cashew butter with organic peanut butter in the Paleo frosting?
Hi Ronnie!
Yeah, you can replace it with peanut butter but it will lend a slight peanut butter taste even though it's a small amount 🙂 If you don't want to use almond, cashew, or peanut butter you can just omit that ingredient. The nut butter adds creaminess and depth of flavor but isn't crucial to the recipe.
Happy baking!
Cassidy
Those bars look simply amazing, Cassidy! I've got a roundup on gingerbread desserts coming up on All Gluten-Free Desserts soon. Can't wait to include these!
Thanks and happy weekend!
Shirley
Awe, thanks Shirley! I can't wait for your gingerbread roundup, this is the only gingerbread recipe I have!
..LOVED the cookie roundup! Thanks for including my grain free no-bake cookies 🙂
xo,
Cassidy
Oh this looks like a unique and yummy dessert! Thanks for sharing!
Do you think I could replace the shortening with coconut butter for the Paleo frosting?
Hi Sabrina, I just can't say for sure if you could sub the shortening for coconut butter without trying it. If you try it, you would have to soften it without melting it and it would probably lend a slight coconut taste. But if you give it a go let me know how it turns out!
-Cassidy