Dirt Cake
Happy 1/2 Birthday Craig!
Craig’s birthday is on Christmas Day… poor chap! Even I often get so excited about celebrating Christmas with the boys that Craig’s special day is often over-looked. And really… who needs another dessert on Christmas day?
About 7 years ago I started celebrating his 1/2 birthday which is today!
When I was growing up my mom made my favorite dessert which was dirt cake!
Dirt cake is traditionally made with crushed up Oreos, layered with Cool-Whip and filled with gummy worms. So I thought the boys would get a kick out of this cake and they sure did! They have never seen a gummy worm before so when I offered them my “healthified” gummy worms they didn’t know what to think. They didn’t realize you could eat such a crazy-looking “food” but once they popped them in their mouth, they couldn’t get enough!
It is crazy how we eat with our eyes and kids are drawn to bright colored food. I always looked for things without added food coloring in them but EVERLY has created a wonderful product perfect for competing with food marketers out there. I love using EVERLY to make my delicious sugar-free gummy worms for this dirt cake!
My kids often see these colorful “foods” that other kids are eating and Everly has made it possible for me to make “healthified” versions without any damaging food coloring (click HERE to read more on food-dyes).
If you are looking for a delicious and cute cake to make for your kids (or yourself) you must try my flourless sugar-free dirt cake!
Click HERE to find gummy worm molds.
NOTE: This is a very dense chocolate cake. The Dirt Cake I grew up on was crunchy bits of Oreo so it wasn’t a soft chocolate texture. I used this recipe because I usually cut nuts out of clients diet at first to help get into ketosis. But if you prefer a soft and very moist cake, check out my Zucchini Bundt Cake. It also tastes amazing and crumbles great for the chocolate cake layer.
Dirt Cake
Ingredients
- GUMMY WORMS
- Click HERE to find the recipe
- DIRT CAKE
- 7 oz unsweetened baking chocolate chopped fine
- 2 cups butter or coconut oil
- 1 ¼ cup Natural Sweetener
- 1 tablespoon Stevia Glycerite adjust to desired sweetness
- 5 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean scraped clean
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- CREAM FILLING
- 1 cup heavy cream whipped
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon Stevia Glycerite to taste
Instructions
- Make the gummy worms and set in the fridge to set while you make the dirt cake.
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 inch pan and line with parchment paper (greased or mini muffin tins). Grease parchment paper. Brown the butter (if desired…tastes way better!) in a saucepan. Once the butter is brown (not black!), slowly add the chocolate (don’t burn the chocolate). Add the sweetener. Let cool in fridge. Once cool, add one egg at a time. Add the extracts. The batter may be lumpy at this time. Stir well using a hand mixer until very smooth. Pour into pie pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Once cool, crumble into “dirt.”
- To make the cream layer, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Add the softened cream cheese and sweetener to taste. Mix until creamy.
- To assemble, place 2 tablespoons of “dirt” into a small serving cup. Top with 2 tablespoons of the cream filling, then top with another 2 tablespoons of “dirt.” Garnish with “healthified” gummy worms if desired.
Notes
Traditional Dirt Cake = 521 calories, 27.4g fat, 4.8g protein, 57g carbs
“Healthified” Dirt Cake = 331 calories, 41.4g fat, 5g protein, 2.2g carbs
(91% fat, 6% protein, 3% carbs)
TESTIMONY OF THE DAY
“Ok well this is my 4th post today. I’m sorry, but I’m so excited I’m crying! I mentioned before that I have been keto/ carnivore for 3 years. I felt amazing but my weight-loss was stalled for the last two years and I couldn’t reach my goal. That’s a long frustrating stall. I thought I was doing everything right and working so hard at it. When I started Maria and Craig’s way I broke my stall!
Focusing on eating enough protein and lowering my fat has made me more satiated than ever in my life. I can’t believe I’m now one of those people that just isn’t hungry. I’m so over joyed to not be the hungry girl anymore and I know I will reach my goal now.
Thank you so much Maria and Craig!!! You are both changing the world in big ways and saving so many lives ️” – Katie
Most people I consult are doing keto totally wrong. Get fast results with the my NEW Keto Packages!
Click HERE to check out my NEW Keto Packages!
This looks YUMMY! I have to get my hands on whip cream. At 1g carb per tbsp, would you say that it’s a lot?
Maria – The cake looks great — this is not a question about the cake but a question about leg edema in the summer months. Why do we get that? Is it the heat or humidity or is there another cause and do you have a nutritional solution. The doctor prescribed lasix (water pill) and compression stockings (hot and uncomfortable in summer) but I would prefer a nutritional solution. What do you suggest? Thank you.
I write about pitting edema in my book Keto Adapted. A variety of things cause it. I can help with Health Assessment. Also dehydration causes you to retain water. People are often dehydrated in summer.
http://mariamindbodyhealth.com/supplement-plans/
your recipes are so fun and creative. I will try this one soon!
Thanks!
Oh. my. god. STUR to make gummies?! It’s a revelation!
Gummies are my favorite thing in the world and I have had zero luck using flavored teas and/or fruit. Have been using Stur for a few months and loving it. Attempting the gummy portion of the recipe tonight. Thanks so much and fingers crossed!
Thanks!
Make sure to check update above. I had the wrong amount of stur (should be 1 tbs). 🙂
Can you tell me what the equivalent of sweetening power that 1 TBS of stevia glycerite is? TIA
I would try 1 cup (of something like Swerve) and taste and adjust from there. 🙂
Thanks so much Maria-love all the knowledge I get from reading your site!
HI Maria thanks so much for all your great information and recipes. I am making this cake now, but it is very soft in the center…should I be cooking it longer?.
Yes, I would cook a little longer. Use the toothpick test. 🙂
Hi, Sandy. I made the dirt cake part today. It took hours! I was so upset about the soupy wet chocolate dirt that I didnt get to the cream filling. It seems there was way too much butter/oil. I used one cup butter and one cup coconut oil. And I put in the Swerve confectioners in after the cake cooled because Maria didnt specify when to add it. She said later that when she said add sweetner, she meant add both forms. I wonder if that affected the oily soup outcome. I even baked it for 30 minutes more, and it helped a tiny bit. The cake is swimming in oil. How did yours turn out?
HI Patty
I had the same problem and I also baked it longer. I have decided if I make it again I would cut back a little on the oil/butter and/or maybe bake it in a larger pan/glass dish. The center will cook more evenly like the outside by doing this I hope.
Hi Patty I did have the same issue. I cooked mine a little longer as well. Next time I am planning on baking this in a larger dish and maybe that will allow it to cook more evenly.
I hope this helps
What is STUR?
Side note I am in a 5 month stall with 15 lbs to goal, I’ve been following keto since March 2014 and have lost 101lbs. But i have just maintained since January of 2015 with no luck in a breakthroug. I’m digging through your books, but could you point me to some reading. I need out of this rut.
It is a flavored sweetener.
I would try going dairy and nut free for a month or so. 😉
Hi Maria, thank you for all of your support to a healthy life style. Im currently enjoying your keto-adaped book. 🙂 I have been wondering if you have ever had any experience treating CRPS by diet? My brother-in-law has it in his knee and is trying anything and everything for relief. Doctors said a no sugar, no dairy, no gluten diet would help with inflammation but he is still allowed ot eat fruit, coconut sugar (which, hello, is still sugar…)…and he said he didn’t notice a difference (gee I wonder why). I was just wondering if you have had any success with keto and CRPS. He is desperate. It is basically a mysterious rare incurable condition (according to doctors). Just thought I’d ask. Thank you.
Yes, a keto lifestyle would be very helpful for him. Those sugars are still causing inflammation. 🙂
Thanks!
Maria, I just took the dirt cake out of the oven about 30 minutes ago, hoping it would set. I used one cup butter and one cup coconut oil. The entire center is oily wet. Only the very perimeter is slightly firm. I’m very discouraged, as these sweetners are expensive. Also, after melting the chocolate, you say, “add the sweetner.” So add both the stevia and the confectioners? You didn’t mention when to add the confectioners. So I added it when the chocolate mixture was cooled, before I added the eggs. My main concern now is this oily soup I have now. I will put it back in the oven and pray.
Sorry, not sure why that happened. Yes, add all the sweetener at the point it says “add the sweetener”. 🙂