Christmas Cake is hugely popular in Japan during the Christmas season. It’s a sponge cake frosted with whipped cream and decorated (often elaborately) with strawberries. This version is keto-friendly, sugar-free, and grain-free.
On the Ingredients
- Coconut flour is made from coconut flesh that is dried and ground. It’s a popular low-carb, gluten-free flour alternative. It has a mild coconut smell and flavor. It’s very dry and absorbent, so it can be tricky to work with, soaking up wet ingredients like a sponge, which is why it’s used in smaller amounts than other flours. It’s great for grain-free cakes and muffin recipes, retaining more moisture than recipes made with almond flour alone.
- Strawberries are a very popular fruit cultivated around the world. They’re not technically a berry, but certainly colloquially so. They’re prized for their sweet flavor and the beauty of their deep red hue. Strawberries are also quite healthy, with many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They’re also low in calories, with a high water content, and low on the glycemic index. (Read more about strawberries.)
Keto Japanese Christmas Cake
8
servings35
minutes25
minutes1
hourChristmas Cake is hugely popular in Japan during the Christmas season. It’s a sponge cake frosted with whipped cream and decorated (often elaborately) with strawberries. This version is keto-friendly, sugar-free, and grain-free.
Ingredients
- Cake Ingredients
12 large eggs (separated)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
10 tbsp Swerve powdered sweetener (sifted)
12 tbsp coconut flour (sifted)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp butter (melted and cooled)
- Topping Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup monkfruit sweetener
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 quart fresh strawberries
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Line the bottom of two 9” round pans with parchment paper, lightly spray the bottom and sides with cooking spray, set aside.
- Separate your eggs being very careful not to get any yolk in the whites. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar on medium-high until stiff peaks form. It will take about 3-5 minutes.
- In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, coconut flour, powdered sweetener, baking powder, salt, butter, and vanilla, stir to combine.
- Add about a 1/4 of the egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and stir in carefully. Fold in the remaining egg whites in three batches.
- Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool inside the pan for 15 min, then turn out and cool on a wire rack.
- Once the cake is thoroughly cooled, make the whipped cream. Beat the cream on medium-high until it begins to thicken. Add the monkfruit and vanilla and keep beating until it reaches the fluffy consistency of whipped cream.
- Cut the strawberry tops off and divide them, using the less perfect ones for the interior and saving the best, most uniform berries for the top. Cut the interior strawberries in half.
- Place one of the cakes upside-down on a plate. Spread a thick layer of whipped cream over the top and arrange the halved strawberries to cover the cream. Top with a little more whipped cream, and then place the other cake, also upside-down, on top of the cream and berries.
- Cover the top with whipped cream, leave sides bare. Decide how you’d like to arrange the remaining strawberries on the top. We cut ours in half and arranged them around the edge, with the largest strawberry butterflied in the center. You can be as creative as you like!
