Keto Marble Pound Cake, It’s A Low Carb Zebra Cake!

This keto marble pound cake is tender, buttery, and easy to make. I’ll walk you through all the steps to make the perfect dessert, brunch, or keto snack offering.

It features two layers of low-carb chocolate and vanilla cake swirled together. It’s a sugar-free marble cake that is grain-free, gluten-free, and keto-friendly!

The recipe makes a moist, rich keto marble cake. What’s more, it makes a stunning zebra pattern presentation. Yup, it’s a keto zebra cake!

No matter how many times I’ve made a marble cake, I’m always pleasantly surprised to see the perfect marbling that happens.

Am I the only one?

When I make a keto-friendly pound cake, I generally like to add cream cheese to the batter. This is because it not only provides more flavor but also gives the pound cakes a bit more structure and moistness.

This low-carb marble cake was inspired by my popular keto cream cheese pound cake. Why start from scratch if that recipe works perfectly as the base for a chocolate & vanilla option?

If you love pound cakes, you should also check out our collection of keto pound cakes. 

Keto Marble Pound Cake

I also have a keto chocolate pound cake recipe that is the chocolate version of my keto pound cake. Arguably, I could have baked either or both of these cakes and satisfied a craving.

But rather than bake two Keto Cakes, I did the reasonable thing and came up with a marble swirl pound cake that features the best of both.

Be sure to also try our keto marble bundt cake if you are a fan of marble recipes.

I love making this marble low-carb cake for those days when you can’t decide between a chocolate pound cake or a vanilla one. It’s when my keto marble swirl pound cake recipe fits the bill perfectly.

Imagine being able to enjoy a classic dessert like a marble cake without having to worry about the carbs.

How To Make A Keto Marble Swirl Pound Cake

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Making a keto-friendly marble pound cake isn’t difficult. If you do any Keto Baking, you probably have these ingredients in your pantry.

Using room-temperature ingredients is key to getting the texture perfect for your cake. Since you are using cream cheese in this recipe, I recommend you set it on the counter and allow it to come to room temperature.  

Your eggs, too, need to be at room temperature. However, if you forget to leave these out like I sometimes do, you can place them in a bowl of hot water for about five minutes.

Look, a marble keto cake is simply chocolate and vanilla cake. You are making two batters and then swirling them together for a marbled effect.

The easiest way to make a marble cake is to first make the vanilla batter, and then set aside some of this batter in another bowl, where you will add the melted baking chocolate and combine it with the chocolate batter.

As you can see, you only need one batter for this low-carb zebra cake. The chocolate batter is made by just stirring in that melted chocolate. 

Why baking chocolate instead of cocoa powder? For the moistness factor. After all, no one wants a dry keto cake.

As a fun variation, I added a little instant espresso coffee to the chocolate batter for a mocha flavor. This gives you the option of a keto mocha cake recipe.

Think of it as a coffee marble butter cake. Adding the instant coffee, of course, is totally up to you.

Keto Marble Cake Recipe Ingredients

• Finely milled almond flour (I suggest you measure then sift the almond flour for best results)
• Granulated sugar-substitute
• Unsalted butter softened
• Full-fat cream cheese, room temperature 
• Whole eggs, room temperature
• Baking chocolate
• Vanilla extract
• Instant espresso coffee is optional and should be avoided if made for children.
• Baking powder
• Sea salt

Materials Needed 

• Mixing bowls
• Electric mixer or stand-up mixer
• 9x5x3 inch loaf pan

To bake this as a two-layer cake, spread the vanilla batter into two 8 inch cake pans and then add the chocolate batter to the top. Swirl the two batters together with a toothpick or skewer.

Bake for 30–35 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven.

You can make 24 cupcakes using one 24-capacity muffin pan or two 12-capacity pans.  Add approximately two tablespoons of the vanilla batter to each cupcake cavity and then two teaspoons of the chocolate batter.

Using a toothpick, swirl the two batters together gently. Bake for 25–30 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven.

To make 48 mini-cupcakes or fairy keto cakes, use a non-stick pan or line it with mini cupcake liners. Add approximately one tablespoon of vanilla batter to each cupcake cavity and then one teaspoon of the chocolate batter.

Using a toothpick, swirl the two batters together gently.

Bake the mini fairy cakes for 15-20 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven.
It can also be baked in a 6-cup (8-inch) bundt pan. Bake for 40–45 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven.

Making this marble cake with only almond flour is a great option for those of you who have an allergy to coconut flour.

I do, however, have an option for you if you make this recipe with coconut flour instead. It’s not an even swap to replace the almond flour in this recipe with coconut flour, but you can use my keto coconut flour pound cake as the vanilla base.

Sugar Substitute Options

When choosing which sugar substitute to use for this cake, I have several for you.

My number one choice is Lakanto Monk Fruit because the texture and flavor are what I have found to be the closest to real sugar and because the flavor fools your taste buds like nothing else I’ve found in the market.

I’m also partial to the brand Swerve which is an erythritol blend. Like Lakanto, it uses sugar alcohols and has a 0% impact on blood sugar.

Personally, I don’t like using stevia because I am sensitive to the aftertaste. But if that’s not the case for you, you could certainly use the stevia and erythritol-based brand Pyure for this recipe.

I should also mention that I also find that stevia doesn’t play nicely with chocolate recipes, but this, of course, could just be my palate.

However, if you go this route, you will want to use half the amount called for in this recipe since it’s much sweeter.

Lastly, if you can’t easily find a more natural sugar substitute, you can also use Splenda with great success.

I don’t recommend Splenda Bake because it’s a half-sugar, half-sucralose product and will be too high in carbs to be considered keto-friendly.

How To Store Your Marble Keto Cake?

Keto cakes spoil more quickly because they use natural ingredients. The best way to store your cake is to allow it to cool completely and then wrap it in wax paper and foil.

You can store your keto cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can store or freeze it by wrapping it well and then placing it in the freezer for up to a month.

Technically, it could be frozen longer (2 months), but I feel the quality of the flavor is affected after three weeks. 

The marble cake can be stored in single-serving sizes or frozen whole. I recommend thawing it in the refrigerator or kitchen counter if you freeze it.

Tag Us

My failed attempts when I first went keto caused me to be very intentional with my Keto Baking recipes.

I threw away so many ingredients initially, and I never want anyone to be so frustrated that they give up on the diet before they can see long-lasting results.

Even though those early days were not fun, the fact that I stayed the course has made this journey very rewarding.

Besides, if I had quit at the first sign of struggle, I would not have had the opportunity to engage with you all.

In case you don’t know, I have authored two books for you, Essential Keto Bread and Essential Keto Desserts, both inspired by your requests over the years.

It’s my prayer these keto cookbooks will help make keto a delicious breeze for you.

I sure hope you will give this keto marble cake a try. Once you do, remember to tag us on Instagram and Facebook.

It’s what encourages this girl to keep sharing and perfecting her recipes.

Also, check out our Amazon Store for our recommendations. You might be surprised by how many great keto options are at your disposal.

Join Our Jesus And Keto Movement 

Looking for an online support system to help you stay on keto? As a family, we came to the keto diet, looking at it from a Christian perspective. As believers, we live our lives supported by God’s grace.

So when the Holy Spirit led us to combine our Christian faith and the keto diet, we did so in hopes of finding lasting transformation. When we followed the Holy Spirit’s prompting, we got on the path to real transformation.

Knowing firsthand the benefits of this decision, we have created a closed Christian group that is using the keto diet to transform their lives.

We invite you to join our Private Facebook Group and see if it’s not the key you have been missing.

Be sure to request our FREE Jesus and Keto E-Book (First 7 Days). We hope it blesses you.

Fittoservegroup Keto App

Looking for a fast way to access our keto recipes? We’ve got you covered. There’s an app for that. Yup, there’s a Fit To Serve Group App and it’s going to make your keto diet a delicious breeze!

Access hundreds of recipes that are all sugar-free, gluten-free, and keto-friendly.

Enjoy early access to recipes on the website before they go live. Plus, there are bonus recipes that are exclusive to the app. Make your own personal cookbooks that you can use to organize your favorite recipes.

Search recipes by title, ingredients, keywords, and categories, and of course, every recipe shows complete nutritional facts. 

Get the Fit to Serve Group App for easy-to-follow keto recipes made with easy-to-source ingredients.

The app is loaded with hundreds of yummy recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even desserts!

Learn more by visiting our Fit To Serve Group App Page.