This Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake Recipe is soft and pillowy, topped with a decadent cream cheese frosting and pecans. With the perfect moist crumb, this low carb, keto red velvet cake is as good as the original. With no butter or oil, this diabetic-friendly, keto cake gets its silky texture and heavenly flavor from healthy, gluten free ingredients.
Trending now: Keto Plum Cake.
Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake Recipe Reviews
Not that I want to brag, but my neighbors in San Francisco love this cake:
This is saying a lot, but this cake may be your BEST yet! My 7-year-old granddaughter also proclaimed it to be the yummiest cake ever! – Larry in San Francisco
I am really struggling now with which one is my favorite – the Chocolate Kahlua Cake or this one! This one is sooooo good! – Dolores in San Francisco
Whether you’re on a keto, low carb, sugar free, diabetic or gluten free diet, or just enjoy healthy cakes, this Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake is a must-try showstopper cake with a secret ingredient.
Popular now: Scrumptious Vegan Pumpkin Tart in an extra flaky crust.
Pro Tips to Make the Perfect Keto Red Velvet Cake
Beetroot Powder vs Red Gel Dye
To imbue the keto cake with its traditional crimson color, you have two options: Beetroot powder or a flavorless red dye or gel such as AmeriColor Super Red Gel Dye.
There is however one problem with the natural method: Beetroot powder fades during the baking process, since leaveners such as baking soda and baking powder react negatively with beetroot powder, causing the vibrant magenta color to fade to brown.
There is however a solution: You can omit the leavening agent. Then to give your cake some rise and fluffiness, you can instead whip the egg whites and fold them into the cake.
But I opted for the easier method which is to use red food coloring or red gel dye. But not all dyes are created equal. I tried dying this cake once with red food coloring from the supermarket but it faded during baking.
Then I ordered AmeriColor Super Red Gel Dye which is more concentrated and gave the keto red velvet cake the beautiful red color you see in the photos.
Option 3 is, of course, the no dye approach. The sugar free cake has the same amazing flavor whether or not it’s red.
Use Quality Cocoa Powder when Making This Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake Recipe
This is a unique, light chocolate cake which only contains 2 tablespoons of non-Dutched cocoa powder, so use a quality cocoa powder.
Use Avocados Instead of Butter for Pillowy Softness
I rarely use butter in my cakes anymore, because avocados aren’t just a lot healthier. They also make keto cakes incredibly moist, tender and silky which is exactly the type of texture we’re going for in a sugar free red velvet cake.
Prep Your Cake Pan Properly
Line 2 nine-inch cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides, so the cakes release easily.
Or make Keto Chocolate Bundt Cake.
Ingredients for Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake
The Keto Red Velvet Cake Batter
- Almond flour – Naturally gluten free, opt for blanched or super-fine almond flour, not almond meal.
- Cocoa powder – unsweetened, non-Dutched cocoa powder.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Avocados – You can’t taste the avocados which make the cake very soft and moist.
- Granulated sweetener of choice – To make a low carb, keto cake, you can use a zero-calorie, zero-carb sugar replacement such as monk fruit.
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Apple cider vinegar
- Low-fat buttermilk or unsweetened almond milk – You can also use unsweetened almond milk but the cake is traditionally made with buttermilk.
- Flavorless red food gel – I found that concentrated red food gel doesn’t fade during baking. You can also omit the dye!
The Sugar Free Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese – regular or low-fat
- Vanilla
- Butter
- Milk (dairy or non dairy) or heavy cream
- Powdered sweetener of choice – such as zero calorie monk fruit sweetener. If you have a good blender, you can also pulverize granulated sweetener and make powdered sweetener.
The Nut Topping for Diabetic Friendly Red Velvet Cake
- Pecans – are typically sprinkled on top of this soft, pillowy keto cake.
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting tastes great on Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake.
Other Frosting & Topping Ideas for This Keto Red Velvet Cake Recipe
- Chocolate-avocado frosting – Turn your sugar free red velvet cake into a chocolate frosted keto cake. You won’t regret it! I absolutely love frosting this cake with chocolate avocado frosting.
- Cream cheese avocado frosting – Naturally green, this is another fun option which gives the cake a gorgeous holiday look.
- Berries – Jewel-toned raspberries and strawberries add even more color and punch and complement the chocolate and cream flavors.
Or try our keto version of the viral NYT Cranberry Curd Tart.
How to Make This Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake Recipe
This is a summary of the steps, so please see the recipe card below for the full instructions.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Mix the almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
- In a separate bowl, add the avocado purée and granulated sweetener and mix well.
- Add the vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the buttermilk.
- Add the red food gel and mix well.
- Then gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix.
- Pour keto red velvet cake batter into prepared cake pans and bake.
- Cool & flip.
- Frost & decorate your sugar free red velvet cake.
Frequently Asked Questions about Red Velvet Cake
It isn’t clear but it appears to date back to the 19th century. The Washington Post, for example, writes: “Red velvet has been on the menu at Stein’s Bakery in Dallas since it opened in the early 1860s, according to baker Juan Alvarado, whose family purchased Stein’s in 2002.”
It is made with non-Dutched or non-alkalized cocoa powder which gives the cake a light chocolate flavor and a crimson hue.
It has a unique, light chocolate flavor.
No, it has a lot less chocolate than a regular chocolate cake.
Yes, sifting the dry ingredients removes lumps and makes the cake fluffy.
Use a digital kitchen scale and weigh each filled cake pan.
Since the 1800s, cocoa powder has been added to cakes to soften the flour and give cakes a finer texture. These cakes came to be known as velvet cakes.
In the 1920s, the Adams Extract Company in Texas was one of the first companies to produce red food coloring and attach a tear-off recipe card for the cake. Then, in 1943, it appeared in The Joy of Cooking. In the 1950s, it was also popular in NYC’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel which claims to be the cake’s birthplace.
Not necessarily, some recipes call for beets but it isn’t clear whether beets were initially used in the cake.
Yes, red velvet cake is traditionally topped with chopped pecans.
What to Serve with Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake
- Berries – I love topping this cake with strawberries or raspberries.
- Pinot Noir – If you’re a wine drinker, Pinot Noir brings out the chocolate undertones in keto red velvet cake.
You may also like Keto Chocolate-Walnut Cookies.
Tools Needed to Make Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake
- 2 nine-inch cake pans
- An electric mixer with two beaters or stand mixer with paddle attachment
How to Store Keto Red Velvet Cake
Diabetic-friendly red velvet cake is easy to store.
Refrigerate Keto Red Velvet Cake
Refrigerate covered keto red velvet cake in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freeze Keto Red Velvet Cake
Freeze diabetic red velvet cake in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Want More Healthy Recipes Like This?
Here are some other delicious low carb, diabetic cake recipes to enjoy!
- Chocolate Keto Bundt Cake
- Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
- Healthy Carrot Cake
- Keto Coconut Cake
- Orange Angel Food Cake
- Rum-Buttered Almond Cookies
- Sugarfree Pecan Pie
- Vegan Chocolate Tofu Pie
Recipe Card
Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake Recipe (Keto)
Equipment
- 1 Electric mixer with 2 beaters or stand mixer with paddle attachment
- 1 Immersion blender or regular blender – to puree the avocados
- 2 9-inch nonstick cake pans
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 3 Cups Almond Flour (290 Grams)
- 1¼ Cups Granulated Sweetener of Choice – I use 245 grams of monk fruit.
- 2 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
- 3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1⅓ Cups Pureed Avocados (282 Grams) – I have only made this cake with pureed avocado and it always turns out great. You cannot taste the avocado. Avocado gives cakes a very soft, velvety texture.
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla
- 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- ½ Cup Low-Fat Buttermilk or Unsweetened Almond Milk (125 ml)
- 1-2 Teaspoons Red Food Gel – I recommend making the cake with AmeriColor Super Red Gel Dye. I’ve tried regular grocery store food dye, but it requires a large amount to achieve the desired color, often leaving an aftertaste and fading during baking. With AmeriColor gel, a small amount delivers vibrant color, and I’ve never noticed any aftertaste.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 Ounces Cream Cheese
- 4 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 8 Tablespoons Butter
- 6 Tablespoons Milk or Heavy Cream
- 1 ½ Cups Powdered Sweetener of Choice
Topping
- ½ Cup Chopped Pecans
- Strawberries or Raspberries (Optional)
- Pipe Keto Whipped Cream on Top of the Cake or Serve It on the Side.
Instructions
- Line 2 cake pans with parchment paper and grease sides.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180℃).
- Mix almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt.
- In a separate bowl, add the pureed avocado, granulated sweetener, eggs, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, low-fat buttermilk, red food gel, and mix well.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet and mix.
- Pour batter into 2 prepared cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes at 350°F (180℃).
- Remove from oven and allow to cool 15 minutes in pan before flipping.
- Let the cakes fully cool.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Put the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Topping
- Top with chopped pecans and strawberries or raspberries, if desired.
- You can also pipe Keto Whipped Cream on top of the cake or serve it on the side.
Notes
Did you try this recipe? Let me know @cathyscakesalon or tag #cathyscakesalon.
This is absolutely delicious. can’t wait to try your other recipes.
This Is the Best Red Velvet cake I have ever tried in my life. No joke !! it’s not only Super delicious ? ?but, healthy as well. for those of you who haven’t tried Cathy’s Cakes I recommend trying it and you’ll be blown away !!!! How great they are.
Thanks so much for your feedback. I really appreciate it. Glad you love the cake!
I made this for my sister’s birthday and we absolutely loved it. So delicious. The frosting is great with low fat cream cheese too. Did all monk fruit!
Maybe the best Red Velvet cake I’ve ever had! So moist and flavorful.
I served it to my family over the holidays and no one could believe it didn’t have sugar or normal flour in it. Blows away any other gluten free dessert.
Thanks for letting me know. Glad you love it too!
I really do not like the taste of avocados. Can you taste it at all in the cake? Is there something else I could use?
You can’t at all taste the avocados. Avocados simply make cakes very soft and moist. I haven’t tried replacing the avocados with anything else, so I can’t make any suggestions.
Dear Cathy
I tried this recipe for the first time yesterday and was really impressed with the result. The cake turned out great, like a dense, rich red velvet cake. I will definately be trying your other cakes. Thank you
Thanks for letting me know, Sam. I love that red velvet cake recipe. You might also enjoy my carrot cake or coconut cake.
Mine was really salty tasting, but otherwise wonderful. I love how moist it is. The ingredients say 1 tablespoon of baking soda, should that be teaspoon?
I’m sorry that happened. The ingredients are correct and it isn’t a salty cake.
I think the culprit is probably the food coloring. Food coloring can leave an aftertaste and it sometimes contains sodium.
I recommend making the cake with AmeriColor Super Red Gel Dye.
I’ve tried regular grocery store food dye, but it requires a large amount to achieve the desired color, often leaving an aftertaste and fading during baking. With AmeriColor gel, a small amount delivers vibrant color, and I’ve never noticed any aftertaste.
Can this be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze it in an airtight container for up to a month.
Can this be made into 3 8 inch cake layers?
I haven’t tried that, so I don’t know. If you try it, let me know how it goes.
Can leave out the red dye?
Yes, of course.
Hello Cathy your recipe is delicious. I made this cake for my husband’s birthday and my family preferred this cake over the store bought one ! Question can this recipe be turned into cupcake, if so do you happen to know how many it would make ? Thank you 😊
Glad you enjoyed it! I actually haven’t tried making this as cupcakes yet, so I’m not entirely sure how many it would yield. If you give it a shot, let me know how they turn out!