Keto Victoria Sponge Cake with No Added Sugar
This keto Victoria sponge is a classic British sandwich cake made with ground almonds, butter, eggs and Groovy Keto powdered monk fruit and erythritol, filled with a quick raspberry jam and vanilla buttercream. Each of the 12 slices has 2.7g net carbs and no added sugar. It takes 55 minutes plus cooling, keeps for 3 days in the fridge and the sponges freeze well.
Searching for an easy sugar free cake recipe? This one has no added sugar, and it starts with the cake everyone knows. This is our keto take on the classic Victoria sponge: two buttery vanilla sponges sandwiched with buttercream and raspberry jam, with a snowy dusting on top. It keeps the traditional creaming method but swaps the self-raising flour for ground almonds, like the most popular keto versions, which pair an almond sponge with a quick raspberry jam with no added sugar.
Our twist is Groovy Keto powdered monk fruit and erythritol in all four parts (the sponge, jam, buttercream and dusting), because the fine powder creams smoothly into butter, plus a little Groovy Keto oat fibre to lighten the almond crumb. A slice of shop-bought Victoria sponge has nearly 34g of sugars; this one has 2.0g, all from sugars already in the ingredients. For more bakes like this, see our keto sweet treats.
What we used: Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener in the sponge, jam, buttercream and dusting, and Groovy Keto Oat Fibre in the sponge. Short on time? Our Keto Vanilla Cake Mix makes an 8-inch vanilla cake with just 3 large eggs and 80g melted butter. Bake it, split it in half and fill it with the jam and buttercream below.
Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
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Oat Fibre
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Keto Vanilla Cake Mix
View productKeto Victoria sponge vs a shop-bought Victoria sponge
Per slice (about 90g). A traditional Victoria sponge is made with self-raising flour, caster sugar, icing sugar and jam, so most of its carbohydrate is sugar.
| Victoria sponge | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shop-bought Victoria sponge | 49.6g | 33.8g | 49.6g |
| This keto Victoria sponge | 23.9g | 2.0g | 2.7g |
Shop-bought figures are from UK CoFID 2021 data (food code 11-831, "Cake, sponge, with jam and butter cream, retail": 55.1g carbohydrate and 37.6g sugars per 100g) – McCance and Widdowson's composition of foods. Our carbohydrate figure includes 21.2g polyols from the erythritol, which are taken off to give net carbs.
Tips for the best keto Victoria sponge
- Use room-temperature ingredients. Cold eggs or milk make creamed butter seize and curdle, and the sponge rises less. Take them out of the fridge about an hour before you start.
- Weigh everything. Oat fibre is very light and soaks up a lot of liquid, so a few extra grams can make the sponge dry. Digital scales are far more reliable than cups or spoons.
- Use powdered sweetener for the buttercream. Granules do not dissolve in butter, so they leave buttercream gritty. Our guide to what to use instead of icing sugar explains which swaps work where.
- Watch the colour. Almond sponges brown faster than wheat ones, so check them at 18 minutes and cover loosely with foil if needed. A deep golden top is normal.
- Cool completely before filling. Warm sponge melts buttercream and breaks easily, so let both sponges cool fully on a rack before you fill them.
- Keep the jam thick. A runny jam soaks into the sponge and slides out when you slice. Simmer it until it is properly jammy and chill it before you spread it. For a bigger batch to keep in the fridge, see our keto jam guide.
- Bake more with the same sweetener. Our keto shortbread uses the same powdered sweetener, and for a celebration cake with marzipan, try our keto Christmas cake.
Keto Victoria Sponge Cake with No Added Sugar
- Prep time30 min
- Bake time25 min
- Total time55 min, plus cooling
- Makes12 slices (one 20cm cake)
- Net carbs2.7g per slice
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 175g unsalted butter, softened, plus a little for greasing
- 130g Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (one with no added sugar; check the label)
- 200g ground almonds
- 30g Groovy Keto Oat Fibre
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 3 tbsp (45ml) whole milk, at room temperature
For the quick raspberry jam
- 200g fresh or frozen raspberries
- 1 tbsp (10g) Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
- 1 tsp lemon juice
For the vanilla buttercream
- 100g unsalted butter, softened
- 110g Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
- 1 tbsp double cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (one with no added sugar; check the label)
To finish
- 1 tsp Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener, for dusting
You will also need two 20cm round sandwich tins, baking paper, an electric whisk and a small saucepan.
Method
- Heat the oven and line the tins. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4). Grease two 20cm round sandwich tins with butter and line the bases with baking paper.
- Make the jam. Put the raspberries, 1 tbsp of the powdered sweetener and the lemon juice in a small saucepan. Simmer over a medium heat for 10–12 minutes, stirring and squashing the fruit, until it is thick enough to leave a trail when you draw a spoon across the pan. Tip it into a bowl, leave to cool, then chill.
- Cream the butter and sweetener. Beat the 175g butter with the 130g powdered sweetener using an electric whisk for 3–4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
- Add the eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the ground almonds with each one, then beat in the vanilla. Do not worry if the mixture looks slightly curdled.
- Fold in the dry ingredients. Mix the rest of the ground almonds with the oat fibre, baking powder and salt. Fold them into the butter mixture with the milk until just combined. The batter will be thick and soft.
- Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the tins (about 415g each) and smooth the tops. Bake on the middle shelf for 20–25 minutes, until golden, springy to the touch and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. If the tops are browning too quickly after 15 minutes, cover them loosely with foil.
- Cool the sponges. Leave the sponges in their tins for 10 minutes, because they are fragile while warm. Turn them out onto a wire rack, peel off the paper and leave them to cool completely, about 45 minutes.
- Make the buttercream. Beat the 100g butter for 2 minutes until very soft and pale. Beat in the 110g powdered sweetener a spoonful at a time, then add the double cream and vanilla and beat for 2–3 minutes more, until light and smooth.
- Fill the cake. Put one sponge on a plate, top side down, and spread it with the buttercream. Spoon the cooled jam over the buttercream and spread it almost to the edge. Sit the second sponge on top, top side up.
- Dust and slice. Dust the top with 1 tsp powdered sweetener through a small sieve. Cut the cake into 12 slices with a serrated knife.
Storage, making ahead and freezing
A traditional Victoria sponge keeps at room temperature for a couple of days, helped by all the sugar in its jam and icing. This one has a no added sugar fruit jam and a dairy filling, so keep it in the fridge.
- Fridge: keep the filled cake in an airtight container in the fridge and eat it within 3 days. Take it out 30 minutes before serving so the buttercream softens.
- Make ahead: bake the sponges and make the jam up to 1 day ahead. Wrap the cooled sponges, keep the jam covered in the fridge, and fill the cake on the day.
- Freezer: wrap the unfilled sponges in baking paper and cling film and freeze them for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for 2–3 hours. The jam and buttercream freeze separately in small tubs; defrost them in the fridge overnight and beat the buttercream again before using it.
Ways to change it
- Strawberry jam: use 200g hulled, chopped strawberries instead of the raspberries and simmer the jam for a few minutes longer. The nutrition figures will change slightly.
- Whipped cream filling: swap the buttercream for 150ml double cream whipped with 1 tbsp of the powdered sweetener. Fill the cake just before serving and eat it within 2 days. The nutrition below is for the buttercream version.
- Cream cheese filling: swap the buttercream for our keto cream cheese icing. The nutrition figures will change.
- Lemon sponge: beat the finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon into the butter and sweetener in step 3.
Nutrition
Per slice (one of 12, about 90g), including the jam and buttercream:
| Nutrient | Per slice |
|---|---|
| Energy | 319 kcal |
| Fat | 30.7g |
| of which saturates | 13.7g |
| Carbohydrate | 23.9g |
| of which sugars | 2.0g |
| of which polyols | 21.2g |
| Net carbs | 2.7g |
| Fibre | 5.0g |
| Protein | 6.4g |
| Salt | 0.43g |
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 and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) food composition data, with USDA figures for the vanilla extract, so they will vary with the brands you use. The finished cake works out at about 2g sugars per 100g, all from sugars already in the ingredients, mostly the raspberries and almonds. Excessive consumption of polyols, such as erythritol, may produce laxative effects.
Allergens: this recipe contains nuts (almonds), eggs and milk (butter, milk and cream). The Groovy Keto oat fibre and powdered monk fruit and erythritol packs say they are packed in a facility where there may be traces of gluten, nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. Some baking powders contain wheat flour. The Keto Vanilla Cake Mix pack lists almonds and milk and says it is made in a facility where there may be traces of gluten, other nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. Always check the current pack labels before baking for anyone with an allergy or coeliac disease.
FAQ
How many carbs are in a slice of keto Victoria sponge?
Each slice of this keto Victoria sponge (one of 12) has 2.7g net carbs, worked out as 23.9g carbohydrate minus 21.2g polyols from the erythritol. It also has 5.0g fibre, 6.4g protein and 319 kcal. A similar 90g slice of shop-bought Victoria sponge has about 50g carbohydrate, nearly 34g of it sugars.
Is this Victoria sponge sugar free?
It has no added sugar, but it is not completely sugar free. The ground almonds, raspberries, butter, milk and vanilla all contain small amounts of sugars of their own, which come to about 2.0g sugars per slice, or roughly 2g per 100g. The sweetness otherwise comes from Groovy Keto powdered monk fruit and erythritol.
How do you make a no added sugar sponge that isn't dry?
Use ground almonds as the main flour, because they bring fat and moisture, and weigh the oat fibre carefully, as a little extra soaks up liquid. Cream the butter and powdered sweetener well, add the eggs slowly and take the sponges out as soon as a skewer comes out clean. The jam and buttercream keep it moist too.
Can I use granulated sweetener instead of powdered?
In the sponge, yes. A granulated erythritol sweetener works at the same weight, although the crumb may be slightly less fine. For the buttercream and the dusting, stick with powdered, because granules do not dissolve in butter and the buttercream would taste gritty. You can also blitz granules to a fine powder in a clean spice grinder.
Can you freeze keto Victoria sponge?
Yes. The unfilled sponges freeze best. Wrap each one in baking paper and cling film and freeze for up to 3 months, then defrost at room temperature for 2–3 hours. Freeze the jam and buttercream separately in small tubs, defrost them in the fridge overnight and fill the cake on the day you serve it.
Why is my keto sponge dense or flat?
The usual causes are cold ingredients, under-creamed butter and old baking powder. Make sure the butter is soft and the eggs and milk are at room temperature, beat the butter and sweetener for a full 3–4 minutes and check your baking powder is in date. An almond sponge is always a little closer in texture than a wheat one.
