I know, I know. Sugar-free chocolate cake sounds like a crime. No one in their right mind would willingly eat a sugar-free cake, right? Wrong!

Sugar-free does not mean the cake won’t taste sweet. There are tons of natural sweeteners and sugar substitutes that can make the cake sweet and tasty without the need of adding white sugar. 

Below the three recipes, I’ll dish on some sugar substitutes.

Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe

In this post, I’m sharing three sugar-free chocolate cake recipes that will blow your mind! You may also be able to eat some of these new recipes on a keto diet. 

1. Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe With Zero Calorie Sweetener

My first sugar-free cake recipe features 0 calorie sweetener. Feel free to use any of your favorite brand’s sweeteners here. This cake is simple and gives the authentic flavor of a chocolate cake that we all love. 

For this first great recipe, you will need two 9” cake pans because this is a layer cake. These are my favorite on Amazon for just less than $25.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Assembly Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 15

Cake Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups zero-calorie sweetener
• 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (you can also use almond flour or coconut flour)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs (room temperature)
• ½ cup canola oil
• 1 cup freshly brewed strong hot coffee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 ounces sugar free chocolate pudding (1 large box)
• 8 ounces whip cream

Baking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (or 180 degrees C.)
2. Put flour, cocoa, zero calorie sweetener, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl and mix well.
3. In an electric mixer, add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and eggs together. While the mixer is running, slowly add the dry ingredients. Make sure the mix is smooth and there are no lumps in the batter. 
4. Grease two 9 inches cake pans. You can also use parchment paper if you’d like. Then, pour the cake batter into both of the cake pans equally. Let them bake for 25 minutes.
5. After the baking time is over, take the two cakes out and let them cool on a rack to prepare for frosting.

Frosting Directions

1. Using a hand mixer, soften the cream cheese until it is creamy.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar-free pudding mix and milk.
3. Now, add the pudding mixture into the cream cheese one spoonful at a time. Keep beating as you do this.
4. Finally, add the whipped cream and fold it in.
5. Let the cream cheese frosting mixture chill before you assemble the cake.

Assembling the Sugar Free Chocolate Cake

1. Smooth the top of the cake layers so they are flat.
2. Place one layer on a plate, and add 1 to 1 ½ cups of frosting.
3. Put the second layer on top and frost the top and the side.
4. Chill the cake before serving and enjoy!

2. Sugar-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe With Maple Syrup

You don’t have to be a Canadian to love maple syrup. If you can’t start your day without pancakes with maple syrup then this easy recipe is for you. This keto cake recipe also uses a sugar substitute.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Assembly Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 12

Cake Ingredients

• 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 extra-large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 tsp. baking soda
• 2 cups freshly brewed hot coffee
• 4 cups granulated sugar

Frosting Ingredients

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 6-8 cups sweetener
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple extract

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C.
2. Put flour, cocoa, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Now combine vanilla, buttermilk, eggs, and oil in another bowl.
4. With the mixer on low speed, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix till the batter is smooth and free of lumps.
5. Oil four 8 inch cake pans and put the parchment paper in them.
6. Transfer the cake batter to the cake pans and bake for 40 minutes of cooking time.
7. When the baking time is over, remove the cakes from the round pans and let them cool on a rack.

Frosting Instructions

1. First, put the butter in a mixer and beat on medium speed until it is fluffy.
2. Second, add the sweetener and mix well.
3. Add maple syrup, vanilla extract, and maple extract into the mixture and combine.
4. Mix for about five minutes to ensure the frosting gets fluffy.
5. Let it chill before frosting.

Assembling the Sugar Free Chocolate Cake

1. Smooth the top of the cake layers so they are flat.
2. Place one layer on a plate, and add 1 to 1 ½ cups of frosting.
3. Put the second layer on top and frost the top and the side.
4. Chill the cake before serving and enjoy with fresh berries!

3. Sugar-Free & Fat-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe

Trying to get in shape but can’t stop craving chocolate cake? Don’t worry, we all have been there. This low-carb cake recipe won’t change your life, but it will calm your sweet tooth down without ruining your diet. 

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 25 minutes 

Assembly Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 8

Cake Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup granulated sweetener
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 6 tbsp unsweetened applesauce

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar free powdered sugar or powdered coconut sugar
• ½ cocoa powder
• ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
• ½ cup granulated sweetener
• Few drops of vanilla extract

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, granulated sweetener, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
3. Now, add apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, and unsweetened applesauce and mix them all together well. If the batter is too dense, add the water.
4. Now, grease one 8 inch cake pan or put parchment paper on the base of the cake pan.
5. Transfer the batter to the cake pan and let it bake for 25 minutes.
6. After the cooking time is over, take out the cake from the pan and let it cool on a rack.

Frosting Instructions

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the vanilla extract and milk until the frosting looks shiny.
3. For a thinner frosting, you can add more milk.
4. Let it chill before decorating the cake.

Assembling the Sugar Free Chocolate Cake

1. Smooth the top of the cake layers so they are flat.
2. Place one layer on a plate, and add 1 to 1 ½ cups of frosting.
3. Put the second layer on top and frost the top and the side.
4. Chill the cake before serving and enjoy!

What can Replace Sugar in Baking?

When it comes to baking, baking a cake without sugar sounds impossible. But, there are a few ingredients that you can substitute for sugar in chocolate cake or any other cake of your choice – Valentine’s day cake, Birthday cake, Strawberry cake, traditional cake, etc. 

The sugar substitutes for the cake to have a sweet taste are:

Honey

You can use ¾ cup of honey to substitute 1 cup of sugar. Honey taste varies from brand to brand, so don’t forget to taste it before baking.

Maple Syrup 

Maple syrup is a concentrate of maple trees and it has a unique taste. For every 1 cup of sugar, you can use ¾ cups of maple syrup.

Fruit Concentrate

Fruit concentrate not only gives the sweetness of the cake but also enhances the flavors. You can use ¾ cup of your favorite fruit concentrate to substitute 1 cup of sugar.

Molasses

Molasses is a by-product of sugar and is safe to use in baking and cooking. You can use ⅓ cup of molasses for every 1 cup of sugar.

Stevia

Stevia is a natural sweetener extracted from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant. This also comes in the form of liquid sweetener.

Xylitol

Xylitol is a sugar alcohol and tastes similar to white sugar.

Erythritol

Just like Xylitol, Erythritol is also an alcohol sugar. However, it has fewer calories.

Monk Fruit Sweetener

This sugar substitute is a monk fruit extract and has natural sugars like glucose and fructose.

For more information on the sugar to sweetener ratio for baking, check out this guide.

There are sugar-free sweeteners everywhere, so chances are I might have missed your favorite sweetener. Find me on Instagram at @ChristinaAllDay and let me know the sweetener you swear by. 

Also, don’t be afraid to throw in some ground almonds, use egg whites instead of whole eggs, or serve with ice cream and fresh strawberries. If you try any of these sugar-free cake recipes don’t forget to share the pictures of your cake.