Keto Savoury Breakfast Sponge Cake. NUT-FREE. 2.8g net carbs. Easy. Versatile. Extremely satisfying.
Quick grab-and-go breakfast or lunch ideas are pretty scarce in keto land. Sweet, Italian-style morning food isn’t an optimal choice, even if sugar-free and low-carb. A British-style cooked breakfast is great if you have time, but what if you don’t? Maybe you have children to get ready for nursery or school before heading off to work. Perhaps you work on an on-call basis, meaning you have to dash off at short notice, with no time for food. Or it might be the case that you always over-sleep and then find yourself in a hurry, wishing you could just munch on something on the way. Or maybe you simply fancy a change.
If any of those circumstances resonate with you, you’ve just found the perfect solution.
This is a clean keto, grab-and-go savoury option that you cannot overlook. Even if you’re not a breakfast person. Because you can have it for lunch instead 😀
How to Make Keto Savoury Breakfast Sponge Cake
The world is your oyster when it comes to fillings, but I kept it classic with cheese, ham and olives. I used a thick cut honey cured ham from Aldi’s. With fewer calories, less fat and zero carbs it was a no-brainer. Whatever type of ham you opt for, it has to be the cooked type, not raw cured (like Italian prosciutto di Parma, prosciutto crudo, Tyrolean speck, Spanish jamón serrano or iberico, etc.). These raw hams are far too dry for this recipe and won’t work well.
Emmental is a great cheese that melts beautifully and is mild yet full of flavour. Cheddar-type cheese won’t work the same, so get yourself some Emmental if at all possible (all U.K. stores sell it). Readers over the ocean who can’t get Emmental can use an easy-melt alternative.
Black olives differ in carbohydrate content depending on the liquid suspension they’re in. Check the label and choose wisely. I used Sainsbury’s Pitted Black Olives.
Lupin flour provides the main bulk for the dry ingredients, so make sure you’re not allergic to peanuts or intolerant to legumes – just to be on the safe side.
Either Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano will be fine for this particular recipe.
If you prefer, you can use high-oleic cold-pressed sunflower oil instead of MCT oil, with an identical result. Butter won’t work as it will make the cake… too ‘cakey‘.
The process is exactly the same as if you were making a sweet cake. And super easy.
Enjoy!
- Yield: 6 servings
- Serving: ⅙th slice
- Calories: 467
- Fat: 36g
- Net Carbs: 2.8g
- Protein: 29g
- 150g thick-cut ham
- 200g emmental cheese
- 50g pitted black olives
- 4 large eggs
- 100g MCT oil (U.S. option HERE) or high-oleic cold-pressed sunflower oil (U.S. option HERE)
- 150g lactose-free whole milk
- 50g Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano
- 1.5 tsp fine Himalayan pink salt (U.S. option HERE)
- 12g (1 TBSP) baking powder
- 80g lupin flour (U.S. option HERE)
- 20g fine coconut flour (U.S. option HERE)
- cut ham and cheese into small cubes and the olives into halves (or quarters if large); mix and set aside.
- pre-heat oven to 180°C static.
- whip eggs into a large mixing bowl; add salt, MCT oil, milk and Parmigiano/Grana; whisk a little more to combine.
- incorporate sifted flours and baking powder, then add ¾ of the ham-cheese-olives mix.
- pour the batter into a 22-23cm (8-9") round silicone cake pan (U.S. option HERE), then scatter remainder of ham-cheese-olives mix all over the top.
- bake 45 mins.
- leave to cool completely before un-moulding.
Keep refrigerated and enjoy either cold, or warm after a short blast in the microwave.
The only way to ensure accurate measurement of ingredients is with Metric Kitchen Scales (U.S. option HERE).
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Hi Antya, I made this for dinner last night with a side of roasted green beans. Absolutely delicious! The only change from yours was I substituted the ham for chorizo (since that’s what I had) and added some roasted peppers and red onion. I’d like to try it next time using goats cheese and maybe some spinach. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hello Sarah! Those swaps sound delicious!
It is a very customisable recipe, so yes, goats cheese and spinach will be wonderful.
Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your ideas.
Could I use some type of olive oil instead of MCT or sunflower oil? A neutral tasting one, not Extra Virgin.
Yes Eric, you could. Olive oil will just make the sponge a little more dense, rather than fluffy.
This ‘cake’ is too good to be a mere breakfast.
I used gruyere, black olives and Weisswurst combo and the outcome is PHENOMENAL. I don’t know what my oven did in that 45 minutes. You do realize that when the slight earthiness of lupin flour and the sweetness from coconut oil combine together, they create a sort like umami-flavour.
Love you, Antya, for this stunning recipe. This is not only a grab-and-go, it’s dynamite.
Well, You’ve just brightened up my day, Lucia. Thank you for your lovely comment!
I just discovered lupin flour because someone on reddit linked to your yorkshire pudding recipe in r/ketomealprep. I made this recipe instead and it’s amazing! So good it’ll become a regular in our weekly cookup rotation. Thank you! I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
That’s lovely, Sonya. Thank you for your feedback!
Hard to find lupin flour, what can I use instead? Thanks.
Maggie, if the lupin flour indicated in the recipe link is out of stock, try this one: https://amzn.to/3mCz0Gq
And if you don’t care about the extra carbs, you could use chickpea flour instead.