Sugar Free Keto Chocolate Ricotta Cake. 2g carbs per slice and perfect if you’re looking for a quick and easy cake recipe.
This NUT-FREE cake is moist and delicious, yet sugar free, grain free, gluten free and very low carb, making it a perfect ketogenic dessert. It is one of the easiest cakes I’ve ever made, with all ingredients going into one bowl, so there is even less washing up to do afterwards.
Having tried numerous versions of the same recipe, using different flours, the winner, hands down, has to be the one with lupin flour.
Although it is often described as a bean because it kind of looks like one, lupins are actually seeds, obtained from the lupin plant. The plant grows in abundance all over the Mediterranean region and is wildly cultivated for crop rotation as well as for the food industry. Yes, it’s a legume, but it has a unique carbohydrate profile that makes it absolutely suitable for the keto lifestyle.
Lupin is a Super-Food
If you ever visit Italy’s grocery stores, you will have no difficulty finding jars of yellow lupins preserved in brine, a bit like olives. Lupin beans have a waxy inedible coat that you discard before eating the soft middle part. You just put them in your mouth, break the husk and spit it out, leaving you to savour the pulp. Italians love munching on these. I am not too keen, to be honest, as I find these yellow lupins to be dry and bland in flavour. They are also expensive to buy and don’t last more then a few days once the jar is opened. Having said that, they are a very healthy snack: ask any old Italian lady and she will sing the praises of lupin for all sorts from curing gout to keeping headaches at bay.
The flour is obtained from the white, or sweet, lupin plant variety and is GMO free. It has a high content of protein and fiber, a very low Glyceaemic index and very few carbs, which is unusual for a flour derived from a legume. Before you rush to buy lupin flour, however, you need to consider that it is a leguminosae belonging to the same family as peanuts and soybeans, so if you have an allergy to these you may also have an allergy to lupin.
Where to find Lupin Flour
In the UK, you won’t find lupin flour in ordinary stores or even in health food shops. In fact, mention lupin flour and virtually everyone will say they’ve never heard of it. It is a real shame, because its health benefits are pretty amazing, it is inexpensive and it is very versatile in cooking.
The recipe below includes links that will take you directly to the lupin flour I use.
How to Make my Sugar Free Keto Chocolate Ricotta Cake
Ricotta, unsweetened cocoa, lupin flour, butter, eggs, erythritol and stevia, salt and baking powder. That’s it. All in one bowl. Mix. Bake. Done. It really is that simple!
Whether on its own, or with a scoop of fiordilatte sugar free ice cream, whipped cream, or warm custard, I’m sure you’ll find this cake a delight.
Enjoy!
- Yield: 9
- Serving: 9
- Calories: 187
- Fat: 15.5g
- Net Carbs: 2g
- Protein: 7g
- 250g ricotta
- 120g erythritol (for U.S. option, click HERE)
- 1 tsp pure stevia powder (for U.S. option, click HERE)
- 3 very large eggs (or 4 medium)
- 100g melted unsalted butter
- 40g lupin flour (for U.S. option, click HERE) (world-wide delivery option HERE - use code QUEENKETO5 for discount at checkout)
- 70g unsweetened dark cocoa (U.S. option HERE)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch of fine Himalayan pink salt (U.S. option HERE)
- a sprinkle of Sukrin icing 'sugar' - U.S. alternative HERE (or make your own)
- melt butter and set aside.
- pre-heat oven to 160°C fan/180°C static.
- using a hand held whisk, mix ricotta and sweeteners.
- add whole eggs one at a time and continue to whisk until very smooth.
- incorporate melted butter and whisk again.
- add sifted flour, sifted cocoa, sifted baking powder and salt, mixing with a spoon as the mix will become quite thick.
- butter a 20cm x 20cm silicone mould or similar oven bakeware.
- transfer cake batter into mould, flatten with a spoon or spatula and bake for 30 mins.
- allow the cake to cool down completely, sprinkle some icing 'sugar' on top and serve.
The only way to ensure accurate measurement of ingredients is with Metric Kitchen Scales. Click HERE for the ones I use (UK Link). For U.S. option click HERE.
Your feedback matters to me! Please leave a comment below. If you try this recipe, you’ll make my day by sharing a photo on social media with the hashtag #queenketo. Thank you! 🙂
Can i substitute ricotta with coconut yoghurt ?
Yoghurt has a different consistency, so I would say no, but you could always test it and see how it turns out.
Wow! Just wow! I’m not a fan of almond / coconut flavours so someone suggested I try lupin flour (what?). Turns out it’s relatively well known in Italy where I live, so I bought some to try. I am blown away by how good this cake tastes!! I made half the amount (why?! now I have to make more!) and used just 30g of sweetener but added a small amount of vanilla essence. Rather than 1 cake I made 7 muffins from the mixture, baking for 25 mins. Amazing taste and texture! You wouldn’t say it was ‘keto’, tastes like a normal chocolate cake. Thanks you so much! Do you have any other recipes?!
Thank you! Just type ‘lupin’ in the search box and you’ll see what comes up.
Link to US measurements is broken and takes to amazon or something sales.
Hi, can’t find a broken link. Can you be specific? Thanks.
Very good recipe. It was actually my very first try at baking with lupin flour … the cake turned out nice and moist and very chocolatey – thanks for the recipe, I will save it and make it again!
Note – I used brown Swerve sweetener and melted it along with the butter in the microwave which seemed to help getting it mixed well. I then whisked that mixture with the cheese and then whisked in the eggs.
Thank you for the feedback and tip, Sharon, glad you liked it.
Would I be able to use almond or coconut flour, instead of the lupin flour?
Probably. I’d use same amount of almond flour, but only 1/3 coconut flour. Just guessing, though. I haven’t tested either option in this cake.
As someone who is not comfortable baking, cakes are not my forte. However, I needed cake last night so I made your Chocolate ricotta cake.
Thank you so much for this recipe, you’re absolutely right.. it was so easy and idiot proof for a non-baker like me. It was delicious.
Thank you for your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed it!