Hey everyone! I wanted to share a low-cal chocolate cake recipe that I’ve been working on for a while.
When I first got into low-calorie baking, I tried several recipes online… and honestly, I was disappointed a few times, mostly because erythritol amounts were way too high, which affects both texture and taste.
After some trial and error, I found the best combo is to use lower amounts of erythritol + a few drops of liquid stevia and taste the batter before baking to adjust sweetness.
I’ve made this recipe multiple times now and it’s delicious, low-cal, and definitely satisfies sweet cravings.
Ingredients (calories are per amount needed)
• 2 medium eggs → 136 kcal
• 35 g egg whites → 18 kcal
• 80 g banana (mashed) → 72 kcal
• 85 g thick yogurt → 55 kcal
• 38 g flour → 138 kcal
• 30 g unsweetened cocoa powder → 114 kcal
• 5 g cornstarch → 18 kcal
• 4.5 g baking powder → 5 kcal
• 30 g erythritol + liquid stevia to taste → 0 kcal
• 1/2 tsp instant coffee → 0 kcal
• Pinch of salt → 0 kcal
• A few drops vanilla extract or zero-calorie vanilla syrup → ~1 kcal
Instructions
Step 1 – Whip the eggs + sweeteners
• Crack 2 eggs into a bowl + 35 g egg white
• Mix 3–4 minutes with a hand mixer until pale and fluffy
Step 2 – Add wet ingredients
• Mix in yogurt, mashed banana, and vanilla extract
Step 3 – Add dry ingredients
• Sift in flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt
• Mix again
Step 4 – Add cocoa–coffee paste
• Mix 30 g cocoa powder + 1 tsp instant coffee + a little hot water into a paste
• Stir into the batter
Step 5 – Bake
• Pour into a 24–25 cm square pan (≈9.5–10 in)
• Bake at 180°C / 356°F for 12–14 min
Step 6 – Cool + Slice
• Let cool for minimum 30 min – 1 hour before slicing
• Store in a container in the fridge (the cake tastes even better the next day!)
Optional: I usually add 1 teaspoon of low-cal cream cheese frosting I make (chocolate or vanilla, ~11 kcal per teaspoon) to each slice before eating as I wouldn’t recommend frosting the whole cake if you don’t plan to eat it all the same day. The cake is delicious cold, but you can also microwave a slice for 20 seconds before adding frosting for a slightly warm version.
I’ve added a few pictures of the whole process if you’re interested. I hope you enjoy if you try it ☺️
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Calories & Macros (per slice, 16 slices)
• Calories: 35 kcal
• Protein: 2.1 g
• Fat: 1 g
• Saturated fat: 0.42 g
• Carbs: 4 g
• Sugar: 0.9 g
Total cake: 556 kcal
by malanyyy
5 Comments
These look delicious! Saving so I can give them a try.
How much does the total cake weigh?
I’m not a fan of sugar substitutes (stomach aches 🙁 ) do you think replacing that with a dry sugar or another sweetener effect how it cooks?
Highly recommend trying this with a butternut pumpkin as well! If you roast it then use it in place of the banana, you can’t taste the pumpkin at all and it just makes a fudgy chocolatey brownie. I also blend pumpkin with some melted dark chocolate for frosting, highly recommended if you’re ok with a few extra cal but not necessary.
https://preview.redd.it/tngtylo96d3g1.jpeg?width=2839&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1d719e59331c0b323ee5c22fd4c7db301ff39220
Extra I forgot to add: Low-Cal Cream Cheese Frostings Recipes (Chocolate & Vanilla)
I usually eat my cake slices with 1 teaspoon of a low-cal cream cheese frosting I make (about 10–12 kcal per tsp). I usually add a teaspoon of either frosting to each slice before eating and it brings this cake to a whole other level without increasing calories much so I’d highly suggest trying.
These frostings were inspired by BrownieBoo’s Philadelphia chocolate cheesecake spread and I adapted them + also made a vanilla version to switch things up. These frostings are delicious and can be added to many more things.
Note: I usually make them with a mix of several cream cheeses readily found in Europe to keep it tasty and calories low (Philadelphia Light/Joghurt/Balance + Kaufland 60 kcal cream cheese + quark). But since some of these don’t exist in the US, I wrote US-friendly versions below instead.
Low-Cal Chocolate Frosting (110–120 kcal total / 10–12 kcal per teaspoon)
Ingredients: • 45 g Philadelphia “1/3 Less Fat” (instead of a mix of Philadelphia Light/Joghurt/Balance + Kaufland) • 20 g Philadelphia Regular • 30 g nonfat Greek yogurt (instead of quark or Skyr) • 7 g vanilla whey protein • 6 g cocoa powder + 2 g dark cocoa (optional) • 10–12 g erythritol + a few drops liquid sweetener to taste • 4 g milk powder (optional) • Tiny pinch of salt • Tiny amount of coffee powder mixed with a few drops of water • 1–2 tsp low-fat milk or low-fat evaporated milk (instead of low fat unsweetened condensed milk in Europe)
Mix everything with a handheld mixer until thick and creamy. Chill in the fridge in an airtight container for a few hours for the best texture.
Low-Cal Vanilla Frosting (95–110 kcal total — 9–11 kcal per teaspoon)
Ingredients: • 35 g Philadelphia “1/3 Less Fat”(instead of a mix of Philadelphia Light/Joghurt/Balance + Kaufland) • 15 g Philadelphia Regular • 30 g nonfat Greek yogurt (instead of quark or Skyr) • 5 g vanilla whey protein • 4 g milk powder (optional) • 8–10 g erythritol + sweetener drops like stevia to taste • Vanilla extract or zero-cal vanilla syrup • Tiny pinch of salt • 1–2 tsp low-fat milk or low-fat evaporated milk (instead of low fat unsweetened condensed milk in Europe)
Mix all the ingredients with a handheld mixer until thick and creamy. Chill in the fridge in an airtight container for a few hours for the best texture. Enjoy !!