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Low-Carb Instant Pot Chocolate Pudding Cake is the perfect recipe to soothe your sweet tooth with a warm gooey sugar-free chocolate fudge sauce hidden at the bottom.
So there’s no need to ruin your daily goals if you are after a sweet treat. Let me show you how to throw a few simple low-carb baking ingredients together to make this one-pot healthy dessert.
The Instant Pot Chocolate Pudding will please all your chocolate-loving friends, they’ll never guess it’s gluten-free, sugar-free, and low-carb.
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How to enjoy chocolate on a keto diet
If you find yourself craving chocolate when on your low-carb diet or keto diet, the best thing you can do is make some simple sugar-free chocolate or sugar-free chocolate recipes.
You can keep a supply in your freezer or make quick and easy single-serve low-carb chocolate desserts such as 1-minute chocolate mug cake.
Some delicious recipes the whole family will love are keto choc lasagna, double chocolate chip chaffles, or this self-saucing chocolate pudding with a sugar-free fudge sauce.
No matter where you are on your sugar-free journey, this low-carb chocolate cake is a guilt-free way to satisfy a craving and keep you on track.
Every once in a while I will get a craving, not for sugar or something sweet, but something rich in flavour. That is where this chocolate pudding cake comes in it is made of almond and coconut flour, making it low-carb and keto-friendly.
What’s special about my Instant Pot chocolate pudding is that as the cake cooks a hot fudge sauce forms under the cake. The result is a warm gooey and moist chocolate cake with a fudge sauce. The best way to eat chocolate in my opinion.
Ingredients
All quantities, ingredients, and instructions are in the recipe card below.
Some substitutions are suggested, but try to only make one or two changes to ensure baking success.
Chocolate Cake
- Eggs – medium.
- Almond meal/flour – or ground almonds. You can also make almond meal by placing natural almonds into your food processor or coffee grinder and processing until tiny grains/flour appears.
- Coconut flour – if you have never used coconut flour before, you may want to read coconut flour vs almond flour (and make sure you don’t buy desiccated coconut).
- Cocoa powder – unsweetened.
- Coconut milk – you may also use heavy cream or almond milk.
- Butter – unsalted or salted.
- Sweetener of choice – always taste the cake batter and add more or less according to your preferences.
- Vanilla extract – or vanilla essence.
- Baking powder – always check the expiry date to ensure it is fresh otherwise cakes (or bread) won’t rise.
Equipment
To make this chocolate cake in the Instant Pot you will need to use the “pot in pot” method. What this means, is that cake will cook inside an oven-safe baking pan that is placed inside of the Instant Pot.
The oven-safe pan sits on a trivet with water underneath to allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
Any oven-safe pan that fits inside the Instant Pot will work. Check the pan before using it to ensure there are no cracks if you are using a glass baking pan.
I like to use my long-handled silicone trivet for this recipe. The long handles allow me to easily lower the pan in and out of my Instant Pot.
If you do not have a long-handled trivet I would use a long piece of foil folded into thirds lengthwise to help you lower and lift your pan.
Instructions
The first thing you need to do to make this cake is to mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Break apart any clumps that work with a whisk, fork, or a fine-mesh sieve. Once the clumps are all gone you will add the wet ingredients to make the yummy cake batter.
The cake batter uses very few sweeteners. Taste the batter before adding the eggs to make sure it sweetened to your taste buds and to the level of your sweet tooth. If you think it needs more sweetener, add more.
Next, you will make the chocolate sauce that will become the hot fudge sauce that appears “as if by magic” under the cake. Pour the chocolate sauce over the cake.
I like to pour on top of a spoon that is held over the cake. I find this prevents the chocolate sauce from making holes in the batter as it is poured.
Do Not Mix the chocolate sauce into batter. The sauce will seep to the bottom and thicken as it cooks.
Finally, cover the low-carb chocolate cake with foil and set the cake on the trivet with 2 cups of water underneath. It will take the cake 30 minutes to cook using the “manual” or “pressure cook” setting. When the cake is done release the pressure by quickly turning the pressure know open, be careful of the hot steam.
Let the cake rest uncovered on the counter for 5-10 minutes to settle. The cake is best served still warm, but it is also great reheated the next day if you have leftovers (now I can’t imagine this happening in my house).
Recipe FAQ
Always add the sugar replacement and continue to taste the batter, until it is sweet enough to satisfy your sweet tooth. At the beginning you may require double the sweetener a recipe suggests, but the longer you live sugar-free, the less you will require.
If you find you did not add enough sweeter to your cake, don’t worry. Serve the cake with a spoonful of sweetened whipped cream. It will help sweeten the cake, and you can adapt the sweetness for those in your family who still have a super-sweet tooth.
Always make sure the batter is the right consistency. if it is too dry add one tablespoon of coconut milk, almond milk, or heavy cream at a time.
This can sometimes happen if the cake was left in the baking dish too long before serving. The sauce can be soaked up by the cake. Otherwise, you may have cooked your cake for too long.
Low-Carb Chocolate Pudding Cake Recipe (Instant Pot)
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Instant Pot – Accessories Pack
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 3 eggs – medium medium
- 75 g almond meal/flour
- 25 g coconut flour
- 25 g cocoa powder (unsweetened) unsweetened
- 180 ml coconut milk
- 110 g butter softened unsalted
- 2 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice or more to your taste
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
Chocolate Sauce
- 1 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice or more to your taste
- 20 g cocoa powder (unsweetened) unsweetened
- 240 ml boiling water
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, baking powder, and cocoa powder. Use a fork or whisk to break apart any clumps.
- Next mix in the softened butter, vanilla, and coconut milk. Mix the batter until smooth then taste the batter to see if you need to add any more sweetener to meet your taste.
- Mix the eggs into the batter.
- Grease an oven safe pan that fits inside of your pressure cooker with coconut oil or butter. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out the top.
- In a separate dish whisk together all the ingredients for the hidden sugar-free chocolate sauce.
- Pour the chocolate sauce over the cake batter. A spoon can be used to soften the pouring so that the sauce doesn’t create holes in the batter. The recipe video will help you see this technique.
- Cover the pan with foil. Add 2 cups of water to the bottom of the pressure cooker insert. Place a trivet at the bottom of the pressure cooker and carefully lower the cake to rest on top of the trivet.
- Close the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the pressure valve to seal. Cook the cake on high pressure for 30 minutes using the “manual” or “pressure cook” setting. Release the pressure using the quick release method.
- Turn off the Instant Pot, open the lid, and remove the cake. Remove the foil off the cake and let it cool on the counter for 5-10 minutes. Serve the cake while it is still warm topped with whipped cream.
Video
Nutrition
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Hi, I don’t have an instant pot will this work in a normal oven. Thanks
Yes, it would have to be cooked in the oven using a water bath for 45-60 minutes.
Hi Libby, I was wondering if this recipe could be done also in a slowcooker… any tip about this experiment?
Another question: I’m lactose and casein intolerant, do you think I could try to use ghee or coconut oil instead of butte? It would be great to enjoy this occasional treat with my family, so I hope you’ll answer me… thank you!
If you can tolerate ghee (and many can even if lactose intolerant) then yes, ghee would work in this recipe – yay. As for using the slow-cooker, I would find a dish for the chocolate pudding mixture, that is smaller than the slow-cooker and fits inside the slow-cooker dish with an inch or so gap around all the sides. Pour water into the slow-cooker dish so it fills the bottom by 2-3 inches. Cook on HIGH for (now this is just an educated guess) for 1-2 hours. The cooking time will completely depend on both the size of your slow-cooker and the inner pudding dish. Lift the foil off mid-way and test to see how it is progressing. Come back and let me know how it went. I’d love to know 🙂
Can you make this without a pressure cooker?
Yes, but it would have to be cooked in a water bath on the oven for approx 45-60 minutes.
Can it be cooked in a crock pot and if so how long?
I have never tried, but I would think it would work. You would still need to raise the pudding from the bottom of the crockpot and add the water so it steams and creates the self-saucing chocolate sauce below. I posted a video of the sauce here on Instagram.
Hi Libby, can us New Zealanders buy an instant pot in NZ and if so where from please?
Yes!!! I bought the Russell Hobbs version from Farmers when it was half price (almost every Thursday it seems) and it was $135 NZD – yay.
The center of my cake didn’t set up!
Should I have cooked it longer?
No, the inside is supposed to be gooey and yummy 🙂
We don’t have Instant Pots here in Australia, either BUT I do make a mean chocolate sauce pudding in my baby slow cooker (1.5 litres). Think I’ll try this recipe in that since it’s a LCHF version of the aforementioned pudding. Should only take an hour or so.
How much butter goes into the cake ? I didn’t see it in the recipe, did I mess that?
Hi Malea, the recipe states 110g/1 stick butter. This is truly an amazing low-carb chocolate pudding.
The US measurements don’t state how much butter. You might want to edit that. Also, I was unsure of what type of coconut milk to use. My canned coconut milk (Thai Kitchen brand) is mostly solid and doesn’t look like the liquid you poured in the video. Could you make that ingredient a link like the other ingredients?
I followed the recipe exactly and it was an epic fail. I ended up with mud cake. The texture was very much like mud. There was no pudding at the bottom, just very wet cake. I was very disappointed. This recipe used a lot of very expensive ingredients and they were wasted.
I’m sorry to hear this, I made this last night and this is the video on Instagram – yummy cake with self-saucing chocolate below. Did you smooth the cake batter down before gently pouring the sauce mixture on to gently as shown?
I just finished putting the cake tin in my IP, whipping up the heavy cream and now counting mins. This looks divine..I have missed a good chocolate lava cake since I started LC. This cake looks like a keeper. I am gonna update my post as soon as I try it. Thanks Libby,again!
Take a look at my Instagram post where I serve this luscious chocolate lave like pudding – it will make you drool. The sauce is AH-MAZ-ING!!!
I just made this and it’s so bad. I used coconut milk from a carton vs a can, maybe that’s why? Batter tasted and looked great but the end result is tasteless swamp mud. Sadness.
So sorry to hear this, I make this often and my kids gobble it up. Are you sure you put enough cocoa and sweetener? There is no way this should be tasteless, it is packed with flavours. Let’s figure out what else went wrong.
What is an Instant Pot and is there an equivalent in Australia? Also is that drinking coconut milk or carton? Thanks.
This one on Amazon Aus is similar to the Instant Pot, it is a 12 in 1 multi-function cooker.
Can I substitute coconut milk for heavy whipping cream.
Sure thing! That would be great!
Ok. It’s in the pot. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I must say that the batter did not look smooth and creamy like in the video.
Ok. It’s in the pot. I’ll let you know how it turns out. I must say that the batter did not look smooth and creamy like in the video. I took it out and all the butter was floating on top. I soaked it all up with many paper towels. I stuck it in the oven to see if it’s salvageable.
I used heavy cream as well. Mine’s goopy on top and soupy at the bottom but still delicious. I had it with strawberries. I think I added the heavy cream too soon? Also if you let it sit for 5-10 min before pouring the chocolate sauce, the coconut flour soaks up some liquid and thickens it jut not by much.
What diameter dish did you use? I used a 6″ round. My cake came out quite wet and uncooked like some of the other comments. I put it back in for 10 minutes and then the cake was cooked yet moist. The flavor is ok.
I’m not in my kitchen right now, but from memory it was an 8-inch pan.
Can i put this in the oven? I dont have a pressure cooker?
Sure thing! I would bake it at 180C/350F for possibly 20 minutes, but that’s more of an educated guess. I have never cooked it in the oven but this is where I would begin then test the centre to ensure it’s cooked throughout.
Hi Laila! Wondering if you were able to cook this is the oven and for how long and what temp u did it for! Want to try it myself.
HI Libby
I am new to the electric pressure cooker. Mine has 3 pressure settings – low, medium and high. Which do I us befor the chocolate pudding?
Is monk fruit a substitute for Stevie or other sweeteners?
My cake was not done eather in 30 minutes I cooked another 30 minutes .
Hmm … this doesn’t sound right, even a heavy meat dish will cook in 30 minutes. Let’s see if we can figure out what happened here. Was it locked so it came to pressure?
This did not turn out at all!! Checked it after 30 minutes and clearly wasn’t done so put it back in for another 20 minutes and it still wasn’t completely done. Left it out anyways, let it cool and its watery and the consistency is off. No idea what I did wrong.
It sounds like either an egg was omitted by accident OR it wasn’t sealed properly. You want to ensure the cake batter in the cooking dish is steamed and the tight foil prevents the steam from diluting the batter. This recipe works really well in either the Instant Pot and even in the oven.
I’m glad I read all the comments (and complaints) before I finally gave this a try. For one thing, I made sure the dry ingredients were really fine and mixed well. I scrambled the eggs in a separate cup. I keep my butter in the freezer so I had to cut it up small and let it soften. It’s finally a warm day so after lots of shaking the can, when I opened the coconut milk (Trader Joe’s) it was all dissolved for the first time ever. The butter could have been softer so I ended up using a pastry blender to mix everything together before I added the eggs and milk.
The only pan I have for my instant pot is a cheesecake pan with a removable bottom. That was not the best choice and/or I should have used less water under the trivet. I was very careful to follow the directions exactly. I don’t like the idea of “sealing” the top of the pan with foil.
At 30 minutes, I could see that the water seeped into the bottom of the pan, over-moistening the cake. My bad. Had I used a ceramic pan, it wouldn’t have seeped but I think I would also use a glass lid on it to keep it better sealed from the steam.
I poured the water out of the instant pot and put the trivet and cake back in for about 10 minutes with the vent open. That seemed to cook it enough, steaming off the excess water. I went ahead and had some and it wasn’t great but it certainly wasn’t bad. I would definitely make it again, in a proper pan, probably with a lid, and I would also add more sweetener to the cake mix.
I think this is a great idea. I do love chocolate and I do crave cake! I’ve lost 25 pounds since the end of April and I didn’t get here by cheating. This is just the kind of treat I need and I even went for the whipped cream.
NSV-This might be the first time I ever had this much dessert at my disposal and didn’t even finish the generous serving I had. I think this tiger may have finally changed her stripes!
Wow April, what a wonderful and comprehensive review today. Thank you so much, and what a wonderful success story of your weight loss journey. Congratulations on your amazing results.
It is possible to make this without an instapot? I have a slow cooker or an oven.
You might want to try my slow-cooker chocolate lava cake – you will love it.
1) I see that you are using a souflee’ pan to make this, how deep/tall is it and how many cups/ml is it? I have the 6 qt IP and a springform pan and I’m trying to figure if the pan will work.
2) My trivet isn’t very tall. Could I use less water for the pot?
3) My IP has a ‘Cake’ setting; would it be the same amount of time to cook?
Thanks
Sorry Libby but this didn’t work for me either. I cut the recipe to 4 servings as a trial instead of 6 and used a mixture of cream and water instead of coconut milk. As it was smaller I did 27 minutes in the pressure cooker but it was still undercooked with butter oozing over the top (as another poster also reported) I did an additional 5 minutes then another 3 without the tinfoil. Still not really like your video and i had to soak off the butter on top with a paper towel. The consistency was almost curdled, certainly not like a cake or pudding. Such a shame.
I’m so sorry to read this Mary when we have made the cake it turns out perfectly. I am surprised that pressure cooking the cake for 27 minutes and it was still uncooked, I can cook an entire curry in that time. I wonder if for some strange reason it didn’t get to pressure? And that would explain why it wasn’t cooked perhaps? Did the pressure valve pop up?
I didn’t really have a pan or trivet for my instant pot so I baked this in the oven in a 8×8 pan. I have made the regular recipe many times this very same way. I was reading how so many people couldn’t get this to cook properly in the Instant pot so I baked this Keto version the very same way and no water bath. 350° on a insulated cookie sheet 45-50 min. This came out really good and was so yummie and not dry like so many other recipes. I had to cover the top with foil because the top was getting a bit dark.
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly
donate to this brilliant blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about
this site with my Facebook group. Talk soon!
Aw Rosie, how delightfully sweet and kind. If you wish to spend some $, don’t donate, instead, maybe consider buying a cookbook or joining my membership. That way you’ll get something useful, practical and support along your journey 🙂
If you dont have an instapot, are there instructions for the oven?
Where the heck is the recipe card?
Hi Tiernan! Recipe has been added to the post!