Keto Christmas Cake with No Added Sugar
This keto Christmas cake is a rich, spiced almond fruit cake sweetened with Groovy Keto brown erythritol and stevia, topped with homemade marzipan and a white icing made with powdered monk fruit and erythritol. Each slice has 5.5g net carbs and no added sugar. Bake it about 2 weeks before you want to serve it, feed it with brandy 4 times, then add the marzipan and icing.
If you have been looking for a sugar free Christmas cake that still feels like the real thing, with a dark spiced crumb, a layer of marzipan and smooth white icing, this is our version. It follows the approach of popular keto fruit cakes: ground almonds in place of flour, a brown-sugar style sweetener, warm spices, nuts and a measured amount of fruit soaked in brandy. Our twist is Groovy Keto brown erythritol and stevia for the caramel depth, oat fibre and xanthan gum so it slices cleanly, and a no added sugar marzipan and icing made with our powdered monk fruit and erythritol.
We have been honest about the fruit. There is 90g of dried fruit in the whole cake, where a traditional cake this size often has around 900g, so each slice stays at 5.5g net carbs. If you are planning a wider festive spread, our keto Christmas guide has more ideas.
What we used: Groovy Keto Brown Erythritol & Stevia Blend, Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener, Groovy Keto oat fibre and Groovy Keto xanthan gum. For more on the sweeteners we bake with, see erythritol vs stevia.
Brown Erythritol & Stevia Blend
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Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol
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Oat Fibre
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Feeding means spooning a little alcohol over the cake every few days so it soaks in, keeping the crumb moist and deepening the flavour. A traditional Christmas cake is fed for weeks or even months at room temperature, but that relies on a lot of sugar to keep it. This keto cake has none, so we keep it in the fridge and use a shorter plan.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Bake day (once cool) | Prick the top and spoon over 1 tbsp brandy. Wrap and chill. |
| Day 4 | Second feed: 1 tbsp brandy. |
| Day 7 | Third feed: 1 tbsp brandy. |
| Day 10 | Last feed: 1 tbsp brandy. |
| Day 11 | Cover the top with marzipan and chill for 24 hours. |
| Day 12 | Ice the cake and leave it to set overnight. |
| Day 13 onwards | Decorate, slice and enjoy. Eat the brandy-fed cake within 3 weeks of baking. |
Soak the fruit in 2 tbsp cold black tea instead of brandy, and either skip the feeding or feed with 1 tbsp cold tea each time. Without alcohol the cake keeps for less time, so add the marzipan and icing within 3 days of baking. Keep the alcohol-free cake covered in the fridge and eat it within 7 days, or freeze it. The brandy version contains alcohol, so use the tea version if you are baking for children.
Tips for the best keto Christmas cake
- Check the fruit packs. Most dried cranberries are sweetened with sugar or apple juice. Look for ones that are 100% cranberries, and sultanas with no added sugar.
- Bake low and slow. Almond-based cakes brown quickly. A low oven, a double layer of baking paper and a sheet of foil over the top after 45 minutes stop the outside from burning before the middle is cooked.
- Weigh the oat fibre. It is very light and fluffy, so spoon measures vary a lot. A digital scale keeps the crumb consistent.
- Use powdered sweetener for the marzipan and icing. Granulated sweetener stays gritty. The powdered blend gives smooth marzipan and a fine, white icing. Erythritol has a slight cooling taste, which most people stop noticing next to the spice and brandy.
- Decorations. Real holly berries are poisonous, so if you use a sprig of holly, take it off before you cut the cake, or use a ribbon and a paper or wooden decoration instead.
- Build a festive board. Serve a slice with keto custard, or put it on a board with our keto mince pies and keto Christmas pudding.
Keto Christmas Cake with No Added Sugar
- Prep time1 hour (incl. marzipan and icing)
- Cook time1 hr 30 min
- Total time2 hr 30 min, plus feeding over 10 days
- Makes16 slices
- Net carbs5.5g per slice
Ingredients
For the cake
- 60g unsweetened dried cranberries
- 30g sultanas
- Finely grated zest of 1 orange
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp (30ml) brandy, for soaking the fruit
- 200g ground almonds
- 40g Groovy Keto oat fibre
- ½ tsp Groovy Keto xanthan gum
- 10g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 150g unsalted butter, softened
- 120g Groovy Keto Brown Erythritol & Stevia Blend
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 60ml double cream
- 50g walnuts, roughly chopped
For feeding
- 4 tbsp (60ml) brandy, used 1 tbsp at a time
For the marzipan
- 160g ground almonds
- 70g Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp cold water, plus a little extra for brushing
For the icing
- 1 large egg white (British Lion or pasteurised)
- 170g Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
You will also need a deep 20cm round cake tin, baking paper, foil, an electric whisk, a food processor and a palette knife.
Method
- Soak the fruit. Put the dried cranberries, sultanas, orange zest and lemon zest in a small bowl with 2 tbsp brandy. Stir, cover and leave for at least 1 hour, or overnight if you have time.
- Prepare the tin. Heat the oven to 150°C (130°C fan, gas mark 2). Grease a deep 20cm round cake tin and line the base and sides with a double layer of baking paper, letting the paper stand about 5cm above the rim so the top does not catch.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a bowl, stir together the ground almonds, oat fibre, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder and salt until there are no streaks.
- Cream the butter. In a large bowl, beat the butter with the brown erythritol and stevia blend for 3–4 minutes with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the dry mix with each egg, then beat in the double cream.
- Bring the batter together. Fold the rest of the dry mix into the bowl with a large spoon. Stir in the soaked fruit with any brandy left in the bowl, then the walnuts. You will have a thick, spoonable batter.
- Bake. Spoon the batter into the tin, level the top and make a slight dip in the middle. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes, laying a sheet of foil loosely over the top after 45 minutes. It is done when a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool and first feed. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin. Prick the top all over with a skewer and spoon over 1 tbsp brandy. Wrap it in fresh baking paper and then foil, and keep it in the fridge.
- Feed the cake. Feed the cake 3 more times, on day 4, day 7 and day 10 after baking. Each time, unwrap it, prick the top, spoon over 1 tbsp brandy, then wrap it up again and put it back in the fridge.
- Make the marzipan. On day 11, put the ground almonds, 70g powdered sweetener, almond extract and 2 tbsp cold water in a food processor and blend until it comes together in a ball. Knead briefly until smooth, then roll it out between 2 sheets of baking paper into a 20cm circle.
- Cover with marzipan. Unwrap the cake and turn it upside down so the flat base becomes the top. Brush the top lightly with water, lay the marzipan circle on it and press it down gently. Trim any untidy edges, cover loosely and leave in the fridge for 24 hours so the marzipan firms up.
- Ice the cake. On day 12, whisk the egg white in a clean bowl until frothy. Add the 170g powdered sweetener a spoonful at a time, whisking well, then add the lemon juice and keep whisking until thick, glossy and spreadable. Spread it over the top and sides of the cake with a palette knife and smooth it as evenly as you can.
- Set and decorate. Leave the icing to set overnight, uncovered, in a cool room. Tie a ribbon around the side and add your decorations, then cut into 16 slices to serve.
Make ahead and storage
Keep the cake wrapped in baking paper and foil in the fridge from the day you bake it, and eat the brandy-fed cake within 3 weeks of baking. Keep the alcohol-free cake covered in the fridge and eat it within 7 days, or freeze it. Once it is iced, store it in an airtight tin or container in the fridge and take it out about an hour before serving. To bake earlier, wrap the plain, un-iced cake well and freeze it for up to 3 months, then defrost it in the fridge overnight and start the feeding plan. Count the 3 weeks from the day it is defrosted. Leftover slices also freeze well.
Nutrition
Per slice (one of 16), including the marzipan, icing and brandy feeds:
| Nutrient | Per slice |
|---|---|
| Energy | 308 kcal |
| Fat | 26.0g |
| of which saturates | 7.8g |
| Carbohydrate | 28.0g |
| of which sugars | 3.7g |
| of which polyols | 22.5g |
| Net carbs | 5.5g |
| Fibre | 7.0g |
| Protein | 7.7g |
| Salt | 0.31g |
Net carbs are carbohydrate minus polyols. On UK labels, fibre is already listed separately from carbohydrate, so it isn't subtracted again. Figures are calculated from the per-100g values on the Groovy Keto pack labels, pack labels for the dried fruit, and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) food composition data, with USDA figures where a CoFID entry was not used, so they will vary with the brands you use and how you slice the cake. The whole cake works out at about 3.9g sugars per 100g, all from the ingredients' own natural sugars. Excessive consumption of polyols, such as erythritol, may produce laxative effects.
Allergens: this recipe contains nuts (almonds, walnuts), eggs and milk (butter, cream), and the brandy version contains alcohol. The icing uses raw egg white, so use British Lion eggs or pasteurised egg white. The Groovy Keto oat fibre, xanthan gum, brown erythritol and powdered monk fruit packs say they are packed in a facility where there may be traces of gluten, nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. Oat fibre itself is from oats, and some dried fruit contains sulphites; always check the current pack labels before baking for anyone with an allergy or coeliac disease.
FAQ
How many carbs are in keto Christmas cake?
Each slice of this keto Christmas cake has 5.5g net carbs, worked out as 28.0g carbohydrate minus 22.5g polyols from the erythritol sweeteners. It also has 7.0g fibre and 308 kcal. That includes the marzipan, icing and brandy feeds, and the cake is cut into 16 slices.
Is this Christmas cake sugar free?
It has no added sugar, but it is not completely sugar free. The dried cranberries are unsweetened and the sultanas have no added sugar, but the fruit, almonds, walnuts and dairy all contain their own natural sugars. That comes to about 3.7g sugars per slice.
How do you feed a keto Christmas cake?
Prick the top all over with a skewer, spoon over 1 tbsp brandy and wrap the cake up again in baking paper and foil. We feed it 4 times over 10 days, on the day it cools and then on days 4, 7 and 10, keeping it in the fridge between feeds.
Can I make keto Christmas cake without alcohol?
Yes. Soak the fruit in 2 tbsp cold black tea instead of brandy, and skip the feeding or feed with 1 tbsp cold tea. It will not keep as long, so add the marzipan and icing within 3 days of baking. Keep the alcohol-free cake covered in the fridge and eat it within 7 days, or freeze it.
How far ahead can I make keto Christmas cake?
Without the sugar of a traditional cake, it does not keep for months. Keep the brandy-fed cake in the fridge and eat it within 3 weeks of baking. To bake earlier, freeze the un-iced cake for up to 3 months, then defrost it in the fridge and start the feeding. Count the 3 weeks from the day it is defrosted.
Why use oat fibre and xanthan gum in a Christmas cake?
Ground almonds give a rich, moist crumb but no structure on their own. Oat fibre adds bulk without adding carbs, and a little xanthan gum helps hold the crumb together so the cake slices neatly instead of crumbling, even after the marzipan and icing go on.
