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Keto Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

Easy
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Made Simple with our Favorite Low Carb Cake Mix!

We adore our Vanilla Bean Cake Mix. It’s made with wholesome ingredients, like almond and coconut flours, and then sweetened with our superfood monk fruit sweetener. Add just a couple ingredients to the mix, and you have a healthier, keto vanilla cake made in minutes!

Often, we use this cake mix to make cupcakes. A few weeks ago, we were inspired to turn it into a layer cake. The soft, vanilla-bean studded cake was absolutely perfect layered tall with a sugar free vanilla buttercream.

Our baking mixes are so simple to prepare, even kids can make them!

If you love our Vanilla Bean Cake Mix as much as we do, you can also get creative and try these low carb dessert recipes:

  • Cranberry Bliss Bars
  • Keto Vanilla Bean Mug Cakes
  • Keto Apricot Bars
  • Keto Birthday Cupcakes

How to make

Step 1

First, prepare 2 8-inch cake pans by first generously greasing them with coconut oil, and then using about a tablespoon of the cake mix to coat them, ensuring the coconut oil and cake mix spread along the bottoms of the pans as well as up the sides. Cut out two pieces of parchment paper to line the bottoms of the pans. Set the pans aside.

Step 2

Prepare the cake batter by adding 1 cake mix, along with coconut oil and eggs. Stir to combine, and then fill 1 cake pan. Repeat with another Vanilla Bean Cake Mix and fill the 2nd cake pan.

Step 3

Next, add the cake batter to each of the prepared cake pans, and bake the cakes.

Step 4

When the cakes are finished baking, allow them to fully cool. I like to pop them in the refrigerator, covered, for about an hour before I remove the cakes from the pans, just to be sure they come out in clean layers. Almond and coconut flours are more fragile than wheat flours, so use a knife to loosen the cakes from the edges of the pans, and then gently slide the knife under the cake to pop it out.

Once the cakes are removed from the cake pans, use a large bread knife to cut the domed top of each cake off. This will allow them to sit flat against each other when you layer the cakes. You can skip this step if you are only making a 1-layered cake.

Step 5

The next step is to make a sugar free vanilla buttercream. First, using room temperature butter, beat the butter until it is very soft. If you are in a cold climate, you might want to warm up your mixer bowl before beating the butter to make sure it doesn’t harden once t hits the cold stainless steel bowl. If the butter isn’t softened, it won’t make a smooth frosting. Add the powdered ZenSweet Monk Fruit Sweetener and vanilla extract, and continue beating. Add 1-3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream until desired thickness is reached.

Step 6

Place 1 cake round on a plate or cake stand, and then add a generous layer of frosting. Add the other layer, and then top the cake and spread the sides with a very thin layer of frosting. Once this layer is on, you can add the rest of the frosting and spread it evenly over the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with berries or sprinkles, as desired!

CONTINUE STEPS

Did you try this recipe? We’d love to see it!

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Keto Vanilla Bean Layer Cake

  • Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
A delicious keto vanilla cake, made with our nutritious coconut and almond flour based mix. Be sure to frost this with plenty of sugar free vanilla buttercream! Check the notes section below (or the blog post) for ideas on flavor variations!

Ingredients:

  • 2 bags ZenSweet Vanilla Bean Cake Mix
  • 6 eggs
  • 2/3 cup oil coconut, avocado, or light olive oil
  • 2/3 cup water

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

  • 1 cup grass-fed butter softened
  • 2 cups Monk Fruit Sweetener powdered*
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1-3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350º F.
  • Grease 2 8-inch cake pans with softened coconut oil or avocado oil, and then sprinkle both pans with a couple teaspoons of the cake mix. Swirl the pans around to make sure the bottoms of the sides of each pan are well coated. Cut a circle out of parchment paper and place it in the bottom of each pan.
  • Into a medium sized mixing bowl, add 1 cake mix. Add 3 eggs, 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup oil (or the oil, water and vinegar if making the vegan version – see directions on the back of the cake mix). Mix the ingredients into the cake mix to form a smooth batter.
  • Pour the cake mix into 1 of the prepared cake pans.
  • Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the second cake mix.
  • Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes. If necessary, add foil over the cake pans around 20 minutes to prevent over browning. However, the tops of the cakes will be sliced off for a layer cake, so this isn't necessary all of the time.
  • Allow the cakes to fully cool before attempting to remove them from the pans. Once the cakes have cooled, cover them with foil and refrigerate for an hour for the best results. Use a butter knife to loosen the cakes from the sides of the pans, and then use the knife to gently slide under the cakes and pop them out.
  • Use a large bread knife to slice the domed top off of each layer of the cake.
  • Spread 1/3 of the frosting on top of one layer, and then add the second layer. Apply a very thin layer of frosting over the top and down the sides of the cake, and then once that is applied, use the rest of the frosting to add a thicker layer over the cake. Decorate with sprinkles or berries, as desired.

Vanilla Buttercream

  • Add the ZenSweet Monk Fruit Sweetener to a blender, and process to form a fine powder.
  • Add softened butter to a mixer bowl, and mix the butter until it's very soft. If your mixer bowl is cold, it helps to warm the bowl prior to adding the butter so the butter doesn't harden while it's being mixed, especially if you're doing this in cold weather. The butter must be soft in order to create a smooth frosting.
  • Add the powdered ZenSweet, vanilla, and a pinch of salt to the bowl, and mix to combine. Thin the frosting with 1-3 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream until the desired texture is reached.

Notes:

Make a Keto Vegan Vanilla Cake: Our Vanilla Bean Cake Mix is easy to adapt to make a vegan cake. Instead of the ingredients shown above, use water, vinegar, and oil. Substitute a vegan butter spread for the butter in the frosting. These instructions are listed on the back of the Vanilla Bean Cake Mix bag.

Make a “Funfetti” Cake: You can use regular or sugar free sprinkles to make this a funfetti style cake, similar to what we did here with the cupcakes. After preparing the cake batter, stir in 1/2 cup of sprinkles. Be sure to top the cakes with plenty of sprinkles, too!

Make a Strawberry Cake: Freeze dried berries are a great way to add some fruity flavor to cakes without adding excess moisture, which will result in a soggy cake. Add 1/2 cup of freeze dried strawberries to the cake batter (for each cake), and the prepare the cakes the same as you would otherwise. Freeze dried raspberries work too!

Make a Spice Cake: Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, and some freshly grated nutmeg to each cake, along with 1-2 tablespoons of orange zest.

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