Low Carb and Keto Birthday Cake

Low-Carb/Keto Strawberry Birthday Cake
with Banana Whipped Cream Frosting

There are a lot of great keto recipes out there. But if we're being honest, there are some foods for which the "keto version" is, at best, a substitute for the real thing more so than a version of it. Birthday cake has always been one of those foods for me and my wife, until now!

Ok, to be fair, there is a bit of difference with this one. The cake was a little more dense and less airy than traditional birthday cake. However, it still had the taste of a good cake, with real whipped cream! I have some ideas for improving on the texture, which may be explored in a later post when I've had time to do some experimenting.  But for now, here's the recipe for a birthday cake I made that put a smile on my wife's face, and was very enjoyable to eat.

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Carbalose Flour*
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 Cup** Zero or Low Carb Sweetener
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Cup heavy cream
• 10 Eggs
• 1 Tsp strawberry emulsion or extract
• Butter to grease baking pan

*Carbalose Flour is a commercial product, which we've posted about before. We like it, but are in no way affiliated with the company that makes it (sponsorship, partnership, etc.). Regarding this and other products we link to: these are items we use, but we do not have any affiliation, or even affiliate links should you choose to purchase them via links we provide.

Banana Whipped Cream Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• Several drops of liquid stevia**
• Splash of Banana Extract (more or less to taste)

**Sweetener amounts can vary wildly depending on the product you use, and how sweet of a cake you prefer. We use 1/2 cup of Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener for the cake and liquid stevia for the icing, and like the way it comes out. Sweeteners vary in potency of sweetness, so feel free to experiment!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Grease small (approx. 1/8 sheet; I used a small Pyrex pan) baking pan with butter
   
3. In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients for the cake, plus sweetener, and mix until well combined
4. Add heavy cream and eggs and mix until batter is smooth
5. Add strawberry emulsion and mix until fully incorporated
6. Pour batter into pan and bake for 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
7. Remove from oven and let cool in pan to room temperature before removing from pan
8. In a clean mixing bowl, combine heavy cream, powdered Swerve and banana extract and mix with hand mixer until whipped cream reaches desired stiffness
9. Once cake is fully cooled (you can cool it beyond room temperature in the refrigerator if desired), frost it the way you like; I chose to cut the cake into two layers with some whipped cream in the middle, but this is entirely up to you

Serves 8. Approximately (our own calculation, feel free to calculate for yourself) 22 grams of net carbs for the whole cake, or a little under 3 per serving. Also contains an estimated 145 grams of fat in total, or 18 grams per slice.

Variations:

Of course, you can use any flavor extracts you prefer! You can also experiment with cocoa powder for a chocolate cake. The only limitations are your imagination and the extracts you find available! We look forward to hearing your creative takes and suggestions for this recipe in the comments.