This light and fluffy keto chocolate angel food cake is an impressive sugar free dessert. It is surprisingly much easier to make than it looks. The chocolate orange ganache is not overly sweet with just a hint of citrus flavor.
Why this Angel Food Cake is just so good....
- This cake was tested multiple times to get the taste and texture just perfect. I was worried that the extra cocoa powder would make the cake drier so I attempted to use sugar free chocolate syrup in the batter. Ugh, it deflated the egg whites and made a runny mess! So a few tweaks and optional ingredients later, this delicious cake was made.
- I love the soft, spongey texture of this cake. It is so low calorie that a slice a day won't make much of a difference if you are counting carbs and macros. Yet it satisfies all chocolate cravings for sure.
Ingredient Notes
- Egg whites, lots of egg whites! Room temperature, to create a nice, fluffy cake.
- This recipe includes a bit of arrowroot powder to lighten the almond flour in the batter. It is a low carb substitute for cornstarch that is used in many angel food recipes.
- My Keto Angel Food Cake is very popular but I wanted to try a chocolate cake, not a cocoa cake. Through trial and error, I found that a bit of espresso powder and chocolate extract deepened the chocolate flavor of the cake. I know many people don't have these ingredients in their kitchens so they are optional. The angel food cake will still be delicious, but if you do use them, the chocolate flavor will be much enhanced in the cake.
Baking Tips
- Use room temperature egg whites and try to avoid getting any yolk in the bowl.
- Powdered sugar will create a smooth batter without any grittiness from granulated sugar.
- Make sure you fold in the flour mixture by hand, don't use the mixer you will deflate the egg whites. Just use a spatula to turn over the beaten whites, turn the bowl a bit and keep gently folding over until the flour is fully mixed in. No need to press down on the egg whites, just a little patience and you will have a fluffy cake.
- Do not grease the pan or it will prevent the cake from rising.
- The angel food cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean. The top of the cake will be browned and feel dry to the touch.
Step by Step Directions
- Combine the sifted almond flour, arrowroot and salt in a small bowl.
- Beat the egg whites in a mixer on high speed until frothy. (The egg whites won't be creamy yet.)
- Beat in cream of tartar, powdered sugar and extracts. Continue beating, add the cocoa powder and espresso powder, if using.
- Stop beating the eggs when they form soft peaks.
- Gently hand mix in the flour mixture.
- Pour into ungreased pan and bake for 35-40 minutes in a 325°F. oven until browned on top and dry to touch.
- Turn cake upside down on cooling rack until cake is cooled, about an hour. Use a metal spatula or butter knife to gently swirl around the inner and outer edges and bottom of cake to loosen.
- Combine heavy cream and sugar free chopped chocolate bar. Heat in microwave in 30 second intervals until very hot, but not boiling.
- Let chocolate sit for a minute in the hot cream to melt. Then stir until smooth. Add one tablespoon orange juice if you'd like a little citrus flavor added to chocolate.
- Drizzle over top of cake. Use a metal spatula or butter knife to smooth the top. Some of the ganache will drip down the sides of the cake.
FAQ
Cream of tartar is used to stabilize egg whites and acts as a leavening agent (helps cakes rise). According to Wikihow you can substitute white vinegar, 1:1 ratio for the cream of tartar. So for this recipe, you would add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar to the egg whites while they are beaten. I would also add just a bit more sugar substitute, perhaps a tablespoon, to counteract the bitterness of the vinegar.
You can, but in my opinion the cake won't rise as high and the texture won't be as soft. I experimented with this for my Keto Angel Food Cake.
I always use my angel food cake pan with little metal "feet" around the edges. It is a definite improvement from my old fashioned way of turning over the pan and letting it balance on top of a soda bottle. We cool the cake upside down because you don't want the cake to collapse into the pan. And while gravity will help maintain the cake's rise, don't risk it tumbling to the floor!
If you try this recipe, I'd love if you gave it a 5 star rating! This tells me what you enjoy and would like to see more of. 😊
All dessert lovers, try some of my favorites and let me know what you think.
Print
Keto Chocolate Angel Food Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This soft and fluffy keto chocolate angel food cake is a dessert lover's dream! It is topped with chocolate ganache flavored with just a touch of citrus. It's not overly sweet or too rich. Enjoy a slice after your meal or as afternoon snack.
Ingredients
- 12 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar *
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar substitute *
- ¾ cup fine almond flour, sifted
- 2 tablespoons Arrowroot powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons chocolate extract *
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon espresso powder *
Ganache:
- 3 oz. sugar free chocolate bar, chopped. *
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Sift almond flour and combine the arrowroot and salt in a small bowl.
- Into a mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed until frothy, takes just about a minute.
- Beat in the cream of tartar, slowly adding the powdered sugar, extracts and cocoa powder. Continue beating until whites form soft peaks.
- Take bowl off mixer and mix the flour mixture by hand. You will fold over the dry ingredients to gently mix into the whipped egg whites. Turn the bowl and continue folding until all dry ingredients are mixed.
- Pour batter into the ungreased pan, smooth the top and bake for 35-40 minutes. A toothpick should not be wet when used to test cake. The top of cake should be browned and feel dry to touch.
- Turn cake upside down to cool. When cool, use a metal spatula or butter knife to loosen around the center and edges of cake. Remove from pan.
- To make ganache: chop chocolate bar and put in a glass bowl with heavy cream. Heat in 30 second increments in a microwave. The cream should be very hot, but not boiling.
- Let chocolate sit for a minute to melt and stir until smooth. Add one tablespoon orange juice and stir to combine.
- Drizzle over top of cake and use a spatula or butter knife to smooth the top. The ganache will drip down the sides of cake.
Notes
*For best results, use fresh, not carton egg whites.
*If you don't have cream of tartar, try 2 teaspoons white vinegar as a substitute. You may want to add a extra tablespoon of sugar to balance the bitterness of vinegar.
*I used a combination of Monkfruit and Swerve powdered sugars. I like to combine types and brands and find that I get a truer sugar flavor without an aftertaste.
*The espresso powder and chocolate extract were found on Amazon and are optional to the recipe. But if you can get them, I do recommend using in this recipe for a deeper chocolate flavor.
*After 2 days, store cake in the refrigerator. You can refresh it in microwave for 15 seconds. Leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months in airtight container.
Keywords: low carb sponge cake, keto, low calorie dessert
Cathy says
Fantastic recipe. I used 1/2 tsp xanthum gum in place of the arrowroot powder. I added a 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar to the almond flour. I added chocolate extract and espresso powder as you suggested. For icing, I melted a stevia-sweetened chocolate bar and pour it over the cake. It turned out great!
Deb Belsha says
So happy you liked my recipe and I'm glad those changes worked for you. Gluten free and low carb baking can be tricky right?
Cathy says
Yes, but it's so worth it. I love baking healthy cakes. I'm on instagram as cathyscakesalon. I'm making your recipe again right now. Tomorrow I'll post a photo.
Lynn says
This was easier than I thought. I didn’t use any orange but it was do good!
★★★★★
Deb Belsha says
Glad you liked it!