This Keto Chocolate Pound Cake with a moist cream cheese swirl is completely over the top, and the best part is that it only brings 4.7 grams of net carbs per serving! If you are looking for a low-carb Easter cake recipe, this one is perfect for this occasion!
Ingredients and Substitutions
All you need to make the keto chocolate pound cake batter are:
- Large Eggs – At room temperature, bring them out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking the cake.
- Erythritol – Or any keto-friendly crystal sweeteners you love like allulose or xylitol.
- Almond Flour – I am using ultra-fine almond flour to avoid any gritty texture. Almond meal works as well, but the texture won’t be as moist and soft. Learn how to pick keto flours.
- Melted Coconut Oil – I don’t appreciate melted butter in this recipe simply because it requires a long baking time to set the cream cheese swirl. Therefore, since butter has a lower smoking point than coconut oil, it will start burning the cake on the sides and top after 40 minutes.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder – Or cacao powder if you prefer.
- Baking Powder – To give the pound cake its fluffy texture.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk – because regular milk is high in carbs. You can use any unsweetened dairy-free milk, like coconut milk, soy milk, or cashew milk.
- Vanilla Extract – For more flavor.
For the cheesecake filling, you need:
How To Make Chocolate Keto Pound Cake
This keto chocolate cream cheese pound cake is the easiest to make, even for keto beginners. If you crave a moist keto chocolate pound cake, this is for you.
Pour all the dry batter ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
Stir them with a silicone spatula until you have broken the lumps.
In another bowl, beat the eggs, crystal sweetener, and coconut oil.
Pour the egg mixture on top of the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, beat the cream layer ingredients
Pour some of the chocolate batter in a loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
Pour the cream mixture on top of the chocolate base.
Pour the rest of the chocolate batter to cover the creamy layer and bake at 350 °F (180 °C) for 55-65 minutes in total.
Combine the ganache ingredients in a small mixing bowl over medium heat (like on a bain-marie).
Pour the ganache on top of the pound cake.
Serving Suggestions
This is a perfect dessert, a treat to share on your keto diet with family and friends. With Easter just around the corner, I would say it makes a delicious keto Easter cake! I recommend adding a chocolate ganache on top of this cake to bring it to your Easter dessert table.
To make a keto chocolate ganache, melt on low heat:
This chocolate ganache brings out the chocolate flavors of the pound cake and makes it even more moist and delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, if you are looking for a dairy-free chocolate pound cake, skip the cream cheese filling. The pound cake will bake slightly faster, around 40-55 minutes in total.
Yes, you can use dairy-free cream cheese or lactose-free cream cheese for the center.
No, you can’t use any egg replacers in this cake recipe. You must use eggs, and it won’ work with vegan egg-replacer or flax eggs.
More Keto Chocolate Recipes
If you love low-carb keto chocolate cake and bread, I have plenty more recipes for you to try. Below I listed my favorites:
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Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C). Line a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan with a piece of parchment paper. Lightly oil the paper to make sure the pound cake doesn’t stick to the pan. Set aside.
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In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar-free crystal sweetener, melted coconut oil (or butter), vanilla extract, and almond milk. Ensure that your coconut oil is not burning hot, or it will ‘cook’ the eggs and create lumps. All your ingredients must be roughly at the same temperature. Think room temperature, especially the eggs and almond milk. Cold ingredients just out of the fridge will solidify the coconut oil, creating oil lumps.
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In a different large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and baking powder. Stir to combine the flours evenly.
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Pour the liquid ingredients onto the dry ingredients.
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Stir all the ingredients together with a baking spoon until it forms a thick cake batter with no lumps. Combine for at least 2 minutes to make sure the fibers from cocoa powder absorb the moisture.
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Set aside while you prepare the cream cheese swirl mixture.
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Add softened cream cheese, erythritol, vanilla, and egg in a large mixing bowl.
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Using an electric beater, beat until the mixture is fluffy and well combined – about 1 minute. Stop the beater, set aside the bowl.
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Pour roughly half of the chocolate batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan. Spread all the cream cheese filling evenly on top, avoiding the sides of the pan. The cream cheese batter is thick, so use the back of a spoon to spread it around – avoid touching the sides of the pan! Scroll up in the post to see the step-by-step pictures to guide you. Finally, pour the remaining chocolate batter evenly on top.
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Draw a knife through the batter and swirl from one side of the pan to the other. Repeat once in the other direction to form an 8 shape on top of the pound cake. This will create a ‘smile’ effect in your cream cheese layer. Don’t over-swirl, or all the layers will mix together.
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Place the loaf pan in the center rack of your oven and bake at 350 °F (180 °C), for 25 minutes.
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After 25 minutes, cover the loaf pan with a loose piece of foil. This will prevent the top from burning, and the middle will bake slowly. Keep baking for 55-65 minutes in total.
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This is a large, heavy cake, so don’t feel frustrated if it takes a little longer in your oven, be patient. To check the baking time, insert a pick in the center of the pound cake. If it comes out with little to no chocolate crumbs on it, it’s ready. Note that the cheesecake filling will stay soft and slightly jiggly like cheesecake, and that’s normal.
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Once baked, remove from the oven and let the pound cake cool for 1 hour inside the pan.
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Then, pull out the hanging pieces of parchment paper on the side of the pan to lift ou the pound cake out of the pan.
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Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. It is a thick pound cake, so allow at least 3 hours before slicing and eating. Be patient and add the chocolate ganache on the pound cake when it reaches room temperature, not before!
Chocolate glazing
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In a medium saucepan, over low/medium heat warm chocolate chips and heavy cream, stirring gently until it melts and becomes shiny.
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Drizzle over the cooled pound cake.
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You can place the cake for a few minutes in the freezer to set the glazing if too runny.
Storage
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Store your pound cake in the fridge in an airtight cake box for up to 3 or 4 days. Slice before serving to keep the cake moist.
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Slice the cake into slices before freezing. Freeze the cake in an airtight box, making sure the slices don’t overlap, or place a piece of parchment paper between each slice to make it easier to defrost individually. Defrost the slice the day before at room temperature, on a plate, don’t overlap the slices.
Serving: 1 sliceCalories: 295.3 kcal (15%)Carbohydrates: 8.2 g (3%)Fiber: 3.5 g (15%)Net Carbs: 4.7 gProtein: 8.3 g (17%)Fat: 28.2 g (43%)Saturated Fat: 13.2 g (83%)Trans Fat: 0.1 gCholesterol: 99.9 mg (33%)Sodium: 84.2 mg (4%)Potassium: 88.4 mg (3%)Sugar: 1.2 g (1%)Vitamin A: 375.8 IU (8%)Vitamin C: 0.1 mgCalcium: 77.3 mg (8%)Iron: 1.5 mg (8%)
About The Author
Carine Claudepierre
Hi, I’m Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook, and founder of Sweet As Honey.
I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I’m passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I’m also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.
I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet
Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!
All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.
Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.
I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!
