Chocolate Pound Cake (sugarless version)

Served with a generous portion of Rebel™ Keto-friendly triple-chocolate ice cream, because… birthday and chocolate

Now is the beginning of the busy birthday season in our house – starting in the middle of the second week of March, we basically have a birthday to celebrate, on average, every nine days, until the end of May (when we take a break until August).

Which means a different birthday cake every weekend, more or less.

The first has always been the easiest, until this past year, when I had to start planning around a low- to no-sugar option. How does one make a tasty, sugarless chocolate pound cake?

Well, now… after doing my homework for a couple of weeks, I've proved it's possible.

Bear in mind, any good loaf of pound cake usually looks a bit like a brick, and has a similar heft. But, oddly, this one is difficult to mess up, as long as you have a little patience in the process, and it ends up moist, rich, and flavorful as heck. Also, it can be served plain, frosted, or decorated with a cheerful dusting of powdered "sugar" just before serving.

For this version, I made a simple shortcut (sugarless) whipped ganache (recipe below).

Sugar-free (keto-friendly) Chocolate Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar substitute (I like an erythritol blend, like Swerve)*
1/4 cup butter, cut into 1-Tablespoon pats†
4 ounces cream cheese†
4 large eggs†
1 1/4 cups almond flour
1/4 cups dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Grease a 4" x 4" x 8" loaf pan, and line it with parchment, leaving at least an inch of overlap on each long side (to grip, in order to remove cake from pan
).

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt unsweetened chocolate using 20-second increments (you don't want to burn it).

Using the paddle attachment of stand mixer, combine butter and sugar substitute, mix at high speed until it's light and fluffy, and turns from brighter yellow to a pale lemony hue, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl (this process may take as much as 10 or 15 minutes – don't try to cut it short, or you could end up with a bottom-heavy cake).

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Set aside.

When the butter and "sugar" are nice and fluffy, add in cream cheese, mix in thoroughly.

Gradually add in the eggs, mixing completely before adding the next one.

A few of tablespoons at a time, add in the dry mixture.

Finally, add in the melted baking chocolate, stirring until evenly distributed.

Pour batter into loaf pan, bake at 350º F for 60 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean).

Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before removing from pan. Allow to cool completely before decorating or frosting.

*If you're looking to take a couple minutes off the time it takes to cream the "sugar" and butter, run a couple of cups of your sugar substitute through a food processor for a minute or so, giving it a finer grain. Don't swap out powdered sugar substitute, though, since it may also have a starch substitute.

†Allow these ingredients to come to room temperature before starting to mix.

and then there's the easy sugar-free whipped ganache frosting:

Ingredients:

8 ounces sugar-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

Combine chocolate chips and cream in medium-small microwave safe bowl, and in 30-second increments, heat until chocolate just begins to melt. Stir until completely smooth, and allow to cool down until the bottom of the bowl is barely warm to the touch (just above room temp). 

Using hand mixer, whip until it lightens in color and more than doubles in volume (this may take as much as 10 minutes, depending upon how warm the ganache is when you begin).

Slather on cake and have some fun.

This is best if eaten within a day or two (as if anybody had to encourage you to rush to chow down on chocolate).