I have developed this flourless berry sponge because I am asked time and time again to help many of you who need nut free recipes. It is difficult to stay low carb if you have a nut allergy, and for those of us who have children at schools with nut free policies, we need plenty of school lunch box ideas.
Note On Nuts :: “The FDA lists coconut as a tree nut but in fact, coconut is a seed of a drupaceous fruit. Most people allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut.
Coconut allergy is reasonably rare. If you are allergic to tree nuts, talk to your allergist before adding coconut to or eliminating coconut from your diet.”
So how about a nut free, sugar free, grain free, gluten free flourless berry sponge? And of course, it is low carb.
Flourless Berry Sponge
Finally a flourless berry sponge that is nut free!! Yes, no almond flour here, just simple easy to use coconut flour.Most flourless sponge cakes use almond flour or cornflour (high in carbs). I am beginning to use coconut flour more and more.
It is light, incredibly absorbent, easily flavoured and personally I don’t think the taste of coconut comes through. I like to add copious amounts of vanilla to my flourless berry sponge and plenty of butter.
If you cannot tolerate dairy, you may wish to use coconut oil instead of butter, but add a pinch of salt and some extra flavouring as the butter does add a rich taste to the flourless sponge.
I have added raspberries but you can easily adapt my recipe using your favourite berry, or whatever is in season at the time. Frozen berries are an economical and easy option. I always have a few bags in the freezer.
TOP TIP :: When I add frozen berries to a cake, I wait until the mixture is in the baking dish, then press the frozen berries in the batter so they are evenly distributed and don’t colour the cake batter.
Flourless Berry Sponge
Ingredients
- 110 g butter melted
- 50 g coconut flour
- 4 tbsp granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 8 eggs - medium
- 100 g frozen berries
Instructions
- Mix the melted butter, coconut flour, sweetener, vanilla and baking powder together until smooth.
- Add the eggs one by one, mixing in between each addition.
- Pour into a prepared baking dish, I use a silicon cake dish.
- Press each frozen berry evenly into the cake. This allows the berries to be evenly distributed and not clump together. It also stops the cake from turning pink!
- Bake at 180C/350F for 20-25 minutes until cooked in the centre.
- Serve with yoghurt and berries.
Ingredients ::
Gin says
I don’t usually review recipes but had to do this one, it was absolutely revolting, this is baking gone wrong. Too many eggs it’s practically a sweet omlette with berries. Disgusting.
And as a baker I do know what tastes go together and none of these do. Minimum amount of coconut flour and ridiculous amount of eggs is vile.
Would not recommend this to anybody and god forbid serve it to family and friends, it went straight in the bin !
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Thank you for the honest and frank review. Have you used coconut flour before? The ratio of eggs to coconut flour is correct. Coconut flour is brilliant because you use so little and it swells and expands with the addition of moisture.
Kay says
There is no mention of what size pan to use. Since baking is a chemistry experiment the size is a crucial factor. There is one comment asking this question but the answer is not from Libby at Ditch the Carbs.
So what size pan is best Libby?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Hiya Kay. I cooked this in an 18cm/7inch diameter cake tin. If you have a different size tin, that’s fine, just watch it cooking towards the end and monitor if you need a shorter cooking time (for larger tins and hence thinner cakes) or longer (for smaller tins and hence taller cakes). Hope that helps 🙂
Dina says
This cake is amazing. I add some orange zest and top it off with whipped cream. I have made it for non Keto friends and they’ve loved it. Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe
P says
Made this today exactly to the recipe and it tasted way to eggy. Wasn’t very pleasant. Any tips on how to improve?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I add plenty of vanilla and sweetener. In the post, I discuss this is the best way to ensure coconut flour recipes (which are egg heavy) and always TASTE before baking, that way you can ensure it tastes great before baking. Never throw and not-s-perfect baking away, you can always rescue them by serving with sweetened whipped cream.
Leslie says
This is the absolute best cake. I have made it 3 times in 3 weeks, turned out every time! Very nice texture, please don’t skimp on the eggs.
Karo Beyers says
What a delicious cake! Initially I thought it may not be sweet enough, but I sprinkled a little bit of capitol icing sugar over it and wowzer! Exactly what I was craving 🙂
Nicole says
Hi Libby, have made this cake in the past several times with great success but hadn’t in almost a year. Made it today and noticed the batter was super liquidy and it didn’t come out properly at all, I felt like the amount of coconut flour wasn’t enough and when I checked my printed copy of your recipe before it was updated, it said 1/2 cup coconut flour and the recipe online now says 50g. Is that an error? 50g is a lot less than 1/2 cup isn’t it?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
1/2 cup weighs 50g. I prefer to cook by weight as the cup you may have used previously, may have been packed firmly so was more than 50g. Coconut flour can also vary from batch to batch and the humidity in your kitchen. I know in summer when it is more humid, I may have to add an extra tablespoon to account for the fact that the coconut flour may have already absorbed some moisture from the air. Just add an extra tablespoon at a time until it is the desired thickness. Coconut flour can be a fickle flour to bake with sometimes. 🙂
LESLIE HURLEY says
This recipe is an eggy, horrible mess
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
It shouldn’t be, at all. Did you add enough vanilla and sweetener? Let’s see if we can figure out what went wrong, this is one of the most popular cakes here, and once you figure how to work with coconut flour, it’s amazing.
Yilam says
I have made this cake! Thanks!!!
– I used only 3 eggs and the batter is very liquid (even after some standing time) — maybe different brand of coconut flour has varying liquid absorption? So I stopped at 3 eggs and it baked well, happy!!
– the cake was quite soft and spongy when it first came out of oven, but after putting in the fridge (it was meant to be my friend’s birthday cake the next day) it became very hard and very dense… is this normal? is this cake meant to be consumed quickly?
the taste is real good. i love it. will try again. thanks you !!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
It has become dense because you didn’t use all the eggs that the recipe requires. They make it light and sponge like. The eggs and coconut flour thick to a lovely cake batter consistency. If it doesn’t work for you, try another coconut flour. I make this all the time so I know the ratios work (in fact my kids make it too). I’m glad you loved the taste, now let’s see if we can get the texture to improve for you.
Yilam says
Thanks Libby!
Yes I think it’s my coconut flour… it absorbs much less liquid.
The batter was actually quite runny and watery (this time I used 3.5 eggs).
I have bought a 4lb-bag though! So I will try another brand next time 🙂
Good news:
This time after taking the cake out from the fridge, I reheat it in the microwave (just 20 seconds) and WOW! Soft and spongy and so yummy!
PS. your pancake is super easy-to-make and I never need to search recipe for pancake anymore! Thanks!!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Phew – I’m glad we found the answer.
Beth says
Has anyone ever tried to make muffins with this recipe? Also, I am wondering if full fat Greek yogurt could substitute for some of the eggs to add moisture with less “egginess”? Thanks!
Polly says
I have no idea what size cups you are using, is there any way the recipe could have measurements in grams all the way through in the same way you have for butter?
Gem says
I made this last night and it has a lovely flavour. Only problem is in the middle and the bottom it had a much eggier structure whilst along the edges it seemed more of a sponge. I did mix it well (I thought) but perhaps not enough, the one thing is I used desiccated coconut rather than coconut flour as in the UK this isn’t something I’ve come across before. Do you think this would have had an impact on the result? I wondered about adding more ? Either way it still tasted lovely, not too eggy and have rebranded this attempt as a pudding rather than a cake! Thanks 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Desiccated coconut is completely different to coconut flour I’m afraid. This article on low carb flours might help you. It is available in the UK, it may be in the health aisle or “free from” aisle. Coconut flour is amazing and absorbent. I also think it works out cheaper than almond flour/meal because recipes require such a little amount. I’m sure you’ll have success with the next batch. A bag of coconut flour will last you months, so hunt it down and enjoy some coconut flour waffles next. You will love those.
U L emeliez says
You can get coconut flour in the UK. It is widely available in almost all supermarkets, Amazon, Holland and Barrett .
Nina says
Gem, you can get coconut flour from Holland & Barrett or Grape Tree health food shops here in the UK. I use Grape Tree’s own brand (but not Holland & Barrett’s – Try instead Tiana or Biona brand, sold there)
Look forward to trying this recipe myself.
rowem2014 says
you can get coconut flour pretty widely in the UK now – I can get it in Tescos and I saw it in Morrisons the other day. Also available from Amazon.co.uk
Tracy Richardson says
I have made this cake three times now and it is always a hit. Very easy to make and delicious. I use a mix of frozen berries and fresh rasberries. Yum!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Thanks Tracy, it’s one of my quick go-to cakes also (and I make them as cupcakes too).
Kirt says
Just made this, per the recipe with frozen raspberries. The only deviation was that I had to bake it for 37 minutes. I asssume it may be the size of pan resulting in a thicker cake. Nonetheless, it was fantastic! Looking forward to baking again for my family. I’m not sharing this one!
Diana Price says
You say you use a silicon baking dish, but you don’t tell us what SIZE, or if those using non silicon need to grease, or grease and flour the pan. I do see you addressed this in another comment now, but the pan size is crucial info for recipes – we really need that to duplicate results.
Anita Chen says
Hi Diana, I had the same question but I trie it last night and used a 6-inch removable cake pan. It was the right size.
djnikkik says
Thank you so much for recommending this cake! I have to say I was a bit apprehensive about making it as I had read in the comments that some people had their cakes turn out ‘eggy’ and I have never used coconut flour before. I also had some issues with my cake tin. So I took extra care with making this cake and it turned out perfectly! The texture is definitely a bit different to the almond flour cakes, this one seems firmer and denser, but still very moist and lovely. The vanilla flavour really comes through a lot and the raspberries are beautiful! And my poor sister finally got to try my low carb baking! She’s allergic to almonds so has had to miss out on the cakes so far, but she got to try this one and loved it 🙂
TheGiantGirl says
Whole family liked this. Thank you! Not having to bake separate recipies for those who eat lots of carbs is a huge time saver. They also loved your cauliflower rice. I finally feel like I am winning with preparing low carb family meals that everyone enjoys. You = Godsent.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Aw thank you x
Vanessa says
My tasted super eggy, like a dense quiche with berries in it. Maybe i did something wrong? Definitely didnt taste like cake.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
If it tastes eggy, I would add more vanilla and sweetener. That always seems to do the trick. With all low carb recipes, taste before baking then adjust sweetener to your liking. Were are all on different parts of our low carb journey so one person might find a recipe too sweet or not sweet enough. You can always salvage a recipe with sweetened whipped cream too. I hate to waste anything.
Kara says
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Melissa says
Hello, the first step states 1. Mix the ____, do u mean mix manually or with an electric beater?
Also, I’ve been looking for a carb and sugar free strawberry sponge cake, I presume it’s ok to beat up my strawberries and perhaps add some flavoring so it smells even better?
Thanks!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I tend to make this by either using a wooden spoon or use my electric mixer/beater. Both techniques work well. Yes you can add strawberries but be aware that they are more difficult to bake with sometimes because they are so high in water. You could always make a strawberry coulis to serve drizzled over each slice. Puree up strawberries, a squeeze of lemon juice (not much) and some sweetener depending on how sweet your strawberries already are. That would be amazing.
Patricia says
Wow!!! Tried this yesterday and they were amazing. Could not taste the coconut which was good for me. Thank you.
Mandra says
The cake is really nice, I’ve tried it once, but it went bad within 48 hours. What a pity, it goes bad very fast. I goes because of the high amount of eggs?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Wow sorry to read this. Is it summer where you are? Maybe keep it in an airtight container in the fridge.
Mandra says
Yes it was summer here. I had it in an airtight container but not in the fridge. Will redo this in winter.
Audrey says
Is the carb content net carbs?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
All my panels are total carbs. To calculate net, just deduct the fibre.
Julie says
Libby, you say to, “Press each frozen berry evenly into the cake,” but your photo likes like they are at varied heights throughout the cake. Do some sink lower and others do not? Regardless, I look forward to baking this cake. Thanks so much for keeping costs affordable by using coconut flour! 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I push them in varied depths so they look nice when the cake is cut. Otherwise I always seem to end up with a pink cake.
Jennifer Mullen Ingerson says
This recipe is very nice. Not dry like other coconut-flour recipes I’ve tried (although still a bit dry because I think that’s par for the course). I’ve made it twice, and the second time I added the zest of one orange, which gave it a very nice flavor. I haven’t had any raspberries around, so I used a diced apple and a half-cup of blueberries (a total of 1 1/2 cups of fruit). The apple bits helped the cake to feel more moist. It’s great served with cream cheese. It freezes well too. I froze slices and pulled them out for breakfasts. Thanks for making a gluten-free recipe without nuts! I’m allergic to almonds and hazelnuts, which rules out far too many treats.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Great adaptations Jennifer. I use this recipe as a base for so many cakes now. I have even tried to cut it down to 1/3 cup of coconut flour and that seems to make it moist and fluffy.
Maria says
Libby, when you do cut back on the coconut flour to 1/3 cup, by how many eggs to do you also cut back? I am sooooo looking forward to making this. Thank you.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I kept the eggs the same. It was only once I tried to cut the coconut flour down to 1/3 to see if it made a big difference and it didn’t seem to.
Marsha says
I just made this for strawberry shortcake it’s really good. I just made it without the fruit and then topped it with the fruit.
Bethany Safadi says
Any thoughts on using an egg replacer? I have a little one with an egg allergy.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Not with this recipe sorry, it’s based too heavily on eggs to replace them.
Bethany Safadi says
Thank you! That’s what I thought but was hoping I was wrong!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I must try and develop some egg free recipes, I am often asked for them. 🙂
Chuck Jones says
I ran across some information for vegan baking, that uses flaxseed meal in place of eggs. 1 tbs flaxseed meal to 3 tbs water.
My experience with ground flax, allow the flax meal and water mixture to rest for a few minutes to thicken.
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/flaxseed-vs-eggs-9239.html
Diana Jethwani says
Can’t wait to try this! Can I use fresh strawberries instead of frozen?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Yes, but be aware that strawberries have more water in them than most berries so they may go a little soggy in the cake.
Diana Jethwani says
Ok, thank you Libby! Unfortunately I can’t have any berries right now except strawberries, so I’ll give it a go and hope for the best! Thank you!
Kara Templar says
Just made this cake and it was the best coconut flour recipe I have made! 2 & 4 year old love it with cream!
Tiiu Knude says
Lovely recipe, Libby! This was my first Ditch the Carbs recipe and it was perfect. I am a lemon fan so I swapped out the vanilla for lemon rind and zest and sweetened with 1/4 cup of xylitol and added blackberries. A great tea cake, very tender, nice texture! Definitely the most successful coconut flour recipe that I have ever made. Thank you!!!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Brilliant!!! I am slowly moving over to more coconut flour cakes as I find it easier to work with, cheaper and are fab for those with nut allergies.
Beth McNally says
Hi Libby! Thank you for this recipe. I made it last night, and my two boys loved it. It turned out well – just needed to cook it in my oven for an extra 5 mins or so. Thanks again!
Beth says
Hi Libby! Made this last night, and my two boys loved it. Thank you! I needed to cook it for an extra 5 mins or so, but it turned out beautifully. Thanks again.
Kim | Low Carb Maven says
Nice recipe, Libby! It looks delicious.
Karen Dawes says
Please tell me what I did wrong! Mine tasted like a fruity fritatta – very eggy and the bottom had settled into a kind of solid egg custard, while the top part was quite fluffy. Any tips?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
It sounds like it may not have been mixed thoroughly enough. I have made this half a dozen times and never had this. Did you add enough coconut flour? It makes for a light cake/sponge and shouldn’t be heavy at all. In fact I add cocoa to this recipe sometimes to make a decent chocolate cake or slice. The other thing with coconut flour, it takes a while to absorb all the liquid, so maybe next time let it sit in the mixing bowl whilst the oven is warming up, then give it another final mix before popping the mixture into the baking dish.
Jennifer Mullen Ingerson says
Ooh, how much cocoa?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
From memory I added 1/3 cup cocoa powder and an extra egg and some more sweetener.
Barbara says
The recipe says stevia but you show Swerve, which measures very differently from stevia, in the products used. According to the stevia website one teaspoon of stevia equals one cup of sugar so 3-5 tablespoons would be equivalent to 9-15 cups of sugar. That doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t have Swerve or stevia so am trying to work out how much to use.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
You may be looking at pure stevia from their website. I clarify mine by saying “granulated stevia” which measures spoon for spoon instead of sugar and adding a photo. Swerve is available in the US and Natvia in NZ and AUS. Usually it is blended with erythritol. I also state in every recipe to add to YOUR taste as we all have a different set tooth depending on how long we have been sugar free so your stevia requirement may be more or less than the recipe. I personally find the stevia drops or pure stevia far too easy to over or under dose.
Barbara says
Thanks. I’m new to the alternative sweetener world so it’s all Greek to me.
Jennifer Mullen Ingerson says
I actually used 5 tablespoons of sugar in the raw. I wonder how this would work with a liquid sweetener like molasses or maple syrup?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Either of those would be fine, just be aware they are both sugar, just in a different form so will raise your blood sugars.
machinegunmeow says
Libby, this looks divine – do you find the coconut flour makes for a dry crumb? I am intrigued and think this cake is on the cards for the week. Along with some proper custard now that it’s so cold 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
No I make sure my eggs:coconut is high enough so it is moist and I also ensure I don’t overcook it. Serving with custard sounds amazing, yes it’s getting cold in Auckland too. Brrrr.
machinegunmeow says
Sounds great, I will give it a go.
Stay warm!
Judy-Ann Craill says
I tried the cake this evening but it took an hour to cook and it seems quite brown compared to yours….where am I making a mistake? Could it be with the cup sizes. I have read that the US and UK cup sizes are different. Could you advise in grams if possible?
LESLIE HURLEY says
Same issue here
Janine Mawhinney says
Made this tonight & it’s a hit. I used a spring form cake tin & found I needed to cook it for much longer. Thank you for another great recipe.
Jessica says
I’ve noticed you normally don’t specify the size of the baking dish you use. Is there a particular reason for that? When following recipes I don’t feel very confident if I don’t know the size of pan/dish the cook has used as I worry I might need to adjust my baking time but don’t know it! 🙁
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
To be honest, time. I am so busy I generally make a recipe then just find a dish that will fit. I’ll try and add the size from now on (if I remember) 🙂
Jennifer Mullen Ingerson says
I used a 9″ cake round.
Kathleen says
Do you think this would work with eggbeaters?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
I generally just use a wooden spoon. No need to make the batter too smooth but if you like a smooth consistency then yes, egg beaters would work.
machinegunmeow says
Libby, I wonder if Kathleen means Eggbeaters which are a commercial egg-white only product.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Ahhhh, I have never heard of that. Funny, we call egg beaters the appliance you beat eggs with. We’ve all leant something new here today.
machinegunmeow says
Yeah I’m with you Libby but I have heard of a product called eggbeaters so I just wondered 😉
Mary says
Can’t wait to try this! Thanks!