THE BEST KETO CHOCOLATE CAKE
Most people who follow a ketonic diet have given up on desserts and cakes in everyday life. However, if you are hosting a dinner party and need a Keto dessert that will impress your dinner guests, this pretty Keto Chocolate Cake will be perfect! The recipe is based on the Decadent Chocolate Gateau Garash, which I have written about in the past.
This wonderful and low-carb chocolate gateau looks and tastes fantastic. Recently I made it for a dinner party, as I was on a Keto diet, and I must report, it went really well with my guests.
HISTORY OF THIS CAKE.
The Keto chocolate cake is based on the Bulgarian gateau Garash, which is a rich cake with layers of meringue and chocolate ganache.
The original recipe for the gateau Garash was developed by the Austro-Hungarian pâtissier Costa Garash in the late 1880s while working as a restaurant manager for one of the most prestigious hotels in Bulgaria. The gateau Garash was presented for the first time as a dessert at one of the official dinners organised for the Bulgarian Prince Alexander Battenberg.
It was pretty easy to convert the original recipe for gateau Garash into this Keto recipe because the original cake does not contain flour.
HOW TO MAKE KETO CHOCOLATE CAKE?
📋 INGREDIENTS IN MY CHOCOLATE CAKE
Eggs: We need eggs for the meringue cake base. Source the best quality fresh free-range eggs. The ganache in the original recipe contains double cream and chocolate, but in this recipe, we make the ganache with the leftover egg yolks.
Cream: Use fresh double cream in the ganache.
Cocoa Powder: If you use good quality fine dark cocoa powder, the taste will taste almost like real chocolate.
Sugar Replacement: The sugar in this recipe is substituted with a sugar sweetener. You can use powdered Stevia or Erythritol for baking. I find that brown Truvia for baking and Pure Via Baker’s Secret work best with this recipe.
Chocolate: The cake is glazed with good quality 85% Dark chocolate.
Nuts: We need good quality well-dried walnuts for the cake base layer and crushed pistachios for decorating the cake.
📖 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
I am not much of a baker, but I find this Keto Chocolate Cake relatively easy to make following these steps:
Step 1: Prepare the CAKE meringuE layers
First, we need to make five thin meringue cake layers.
Start by whipping the egg whites with a hand mixer until they form soft peaks.
Place the walnuts and 2/3 of the Stevia in a food processor and process them to crumbs using the pulsing setting.
Carefully add small amounts of crushed walnuts to the whipped egg whites, while scraping with slow motions of your spatula from the bottom of your bowl to the surface to mix the nuts and sweetener into the whipped egg whites. That will let air into the mixture.
Divide the meringue mixture into five equal parts.
Prepare as many 20 cm cake baking tins as you have. I recommend using a tin with a removable ring (springform cake tins). It is easier to remove the meringue from them.
Brush the tins lightly with oil inside, on the walls and bottom, and line them with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper with oil as well.
Bake the meringue layers for 12 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them because they will become brittle. Separate the meringue carefully from the parchment paper while they are still soft. If you find it difficult to separate the meringue from the parchment paper, brush the paper with some water and peel it with the help of a sharp knife.
Place the meringue layers on a baking grid and let them cool completely.
Step 2: Make THE ganache
Melt unsalted butter on low heat on the hob or in the microwave.
Add the cocoa powder to the melted butter and whisk continuously for a few minutes to blend them.
Process the left 1/3 Stevia in a food processor to a fine powder.
Place the egg yolks in a clean bowl. Whisk the yolks and the powdered Stevia for a few minutes until thick foam forms on top, then add the blended butter and cocoa powder to the mixture.
Add the sour cream and continue whisking the mixture in your mixer until all the ingredients are combined. That will take another couple of minutes.
Leave the ganache to cool down for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Assemble the Chocolate Cake
Divide the ganache into five equal parts.
Place the first meringue layer on a swivel plate, or a large plate, and spread one part of the ganache over the meringue layer evenly with a cake knife.
Place the second meringue base layer over the ganache and spread another part of the ganache on top. Continue assembling the cake in this manner until you have used all meringue layers.
Spread the last part of the ganache thinly to cover the whole cake on top and the sides.
Place the assembled cake in the fridge to chill for 3-4 hours.
Step 4: Make the glaze for the cake
Melt the dark chocolate over a water bath or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave. Then, add olive oil or butter to the chocolate to make the cake glaze thinner and shiny. Leave the glaze aside to cool down for a few minutes.
Step 5: GLAZE & Decorate the cake
Start pouring the chocolate glaze slowly into the middle of the cake and lean the cake in different directions to cover it evenly in chocolate.
Apply the glaze to the cake over a large piece of parchment paper. It is runny and will be dripping down.
Place the glazed cake inside the fridge for at least 30 minutes, then decorate the cake.
Traditionally, gâteau Garash is decorated with coarsely ground pistachio, green-coloured shredded coconut or coarsely ground walnuts. You can arrange strawberries as a centrepiece on the top of your cake. They contrast beautifully with the dark brown shiny background of the chocolate glaze.
🍲 SERVE Keto CHOCOLATE CAKE
Some time ago, I read an article from a professional baker suggesting not to keep cakes in the fridge. When I made this gâteau for the first time, I left it at room temperature during the day. Even though it was only 20 degrees in the room, the cake started to melt and was falling apart when I was trying to cut it. Therefore, I recommend, always keeping this cake in a cool place or leaving it in the fridge for at least 15-20 minutes before cutting it.
To be able to cut the cake in straight and even slices, soak a large sharp knife in hot water for 5-6 minutes, wipe it dry and then slice the cake with it. That way the chocolate glaze will not crack.
Serve small slices of this decadent cake because it is very rich.
Enjoy! 👨🍳👨🍳👨🍳
PIN IT FOR LATER!
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Best Keto Chocolate Cake
Equipment
- 5 20cm baking springform tins or any cake baking tin with a removable ring or bottom
Ingredients
- 9 eggs
- 230 g unsalted butter
- 9 tablespoons fine dark cocoa powder
- 300 g walnuts
- 150 g powdered Stevia sweetener
- 100 g sour cream
- 200 g good quality 85% dark chocolate
- 2 tablespoons olive oil with mild flavour
- 100 g ground pistachios or shredded coconut for decoration
Instructions
Make the meringue cake layers.
- Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F.
- In a large bowl, whip all egg whites to soft picks. That is easy to do using a mixer on low speed. Keep the yolks for later.
- In a food processor, process 2/3 of the Stevia and all the walnuts to fine crumbs.
- Add gradually small amounts of the ground walnuts with Stevia to the whipped egg whites while stirring the mixture with slow movements of your spatula from the bottom of the bowl to the surface to let air in. When all the ingredients are incorporated, divide the mixture into five equal parts to make five meringue layers.
- Brush the inside of each cake tin with oil, then line them with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with oil and pour one part of the meringue mixture into each baking tin. Place the cake tins in the middle of the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Peel the parchment paper carefully from the meringue while still warm. If the parchment paper is hard to remove, brush it with water and use a sharp knife to peel it from the meringue. Place the meringue bases on a cooling grid and let them cool down completely.
Make the ganache.
- Melt the butter on the hob or in the microwave. Carefully whisk the cocoa powder with the melted butter until combined.
- Process the last 1/3 of Stevia into a fine powder using the food processor. Place all egg yolks into a clean mixing bowl and add the powdered Stevia. Whisk the mixture for 4-5 minutes until thick foam forms on top.
- While whisking continuously, gradually add the cooled blended butter and cocoa mixture with the egg yolks.
- Add the sour cream to the mixture. Continue whisking until all the ingredients are combined. Leave the ganache aside to cool. When the ganache has cooled completely, divide it into five equal parts.
Assemble the cake.
- Place one meringue layer on the bottom of a large plate or a cake stand. Using a cake knife, spread evenly one part of the ganache over the meringue. Place another meringue layer on top of the ganache and apply the second portion of the ganache on top. Repeat until you have used all meringue layers and finish by applying the last part of the ganache thinly on top and the sides of the cake.
- Place the assembled cake in the fridge for 3-4 hours.
Make the cake glaze and apply it to the cake.
- Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt it in a water bath or a microwave.
- Pour the olive oil with the melted chocolate and stir to combine. Leave the cake glaze to cool down for 10-15 minutes.
- Take the cake out of the fridge and place it on a cooling grid. Cover the area under the cooling grid with a large piece of parchment paper, then pour the glaze into the middle of the cake. Start learning the cake on all sides to spread the glaze evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Place the glazed cake in the fridge for another 30 minutes, then transfer it to a cake plate or a stand, ready to serve it.
Decorate the cake.
- Decorate the cake with crushed pistachios or shredded coconut. You can also arrange a few strawberries as a centrepiece on the cake.
