Chocolate Chaffle Cake with Peanut Butter Mousse
- Diabetes-friendly recipes curated by Jennifer Smith, RD, LD, CDCES Director of Nutrition -
A “chaffle” is simply a waffle made with cheese and almond flour instead of traditional wheat flour, which keeps it low in carbohydrate and free of refined grain. Here, cocoa-flavored chaffles are stacked with a fluffy peanut butter mousse in between each layer to build a small, elegant cake —it’s a treat you can plan for and dose around with more confidence than a typical dessert.
Recipe adapted from: https://www.lowcarb-nocarb.com/chocolate-chaffle-cake/
INGREDIENTS:
Ingredients: Recipe makes 6 servings
Chocolate Chaffles
- ¼ cup cream cheese (or mozzarella, or 2 Tbsp heavy cream)
- 3 Tbsp almond flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute (such as a monk fruit or allulose blend)
- 1–2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Peanut Butter Mousse
- ½ cup heavy cream, whipped (or a prepared keto whipped cream)
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter
Directions
Tip: Because this dessert relies on a sugar substitute rather than table sugar, and gets its structure from egg, cheese and almond flour rather than wheat flour, it carries a much smaller and steadier carbohydrate load than a traditional cake slice — but the fat from the cream cheese, heavy cream and peanut butter means glucose may rise more slowly and later, so plan your bolus timing accordingly if this is a special-occasion treat.
- Gather and measure out all ingredients for both the chaffles and the mousse before starting.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, almond flour, baking powder, egg, vanilla extract, sweetener and cocoa powder until smooth.
- Heat a mini waffle maker and lightly coat it with oil to prevent sticking.
- Spoon about 1 to 1½ tablespoons of batter onto the waffle maker, spreading it gently to the edges. Close the lid and cook for 4–5 minutes, until set and easy to remove. Repeat with the remaining batter, then set the chaffles aside to cool completely.
- While the chaffles cool, whip the heavy cream with a bit of sweetener to stiff peaks, then gently fold in the peanut butter until light and fluffy. Chilling the mousse for a couple of hours will make it thicker and easier to spread.
- To assemble, place one cooled chaffle on a serving plate and spread or pipe a layer of peanut butter mousse evenly over the top.
- Add a second chaffle and repeat, layering as many chaffles as you’d like — four layers makes an attractive small cake.
- Refrigerate the assembled cake for at least a couple of hours so the mousse can set, which also makes it easier to slice cleanly.
- Just before serving, top with your choice of berries, chopped nuts, a dusting of cocoa or powdered sweetener.
Notes from our Nutritionist:
- This dessert is sweetened with a non-nutritive sweetener rather than table sugar, so it contributes little to no carbohydrate on its own — but always check the label of the specific sweetener you use, since some sugar alcohols (like maltitol) can still raise blood sugar in larger amounts, while others (like allulose or monk fruit) generally have minimal impact.
- The combination of cheese, eggs, almond flour and peanut butter means this cake is higher in fat and protein than a typical dessert. That can help blunt and slow the glucose response, but it also means the rise may come later — something to watch for a few hours after eating, especially if you’re using a standard bolus.
- Almond flour adds a small amount of fiber and healthy fat compared to wheat flour, which is part of why this dessert has a much smaller carbohydrate footprint than a traditional layer cake.
- As with any treat built around a sugar substitute, portion awareness still matters — checking in on how your body responds the first time you try a new sweetener can help you fine-tune your dosing for next time.
Nutrition Information Values
Serving size: 1/6 of recipe
- Calories: 131
- Carbohydrates: 5g
- Protein: 5g
- Fat: 11g
- Fiber: 1g
- Sodium: 157mg
- Potassium: 96mg
- Calcium: 66mg
- Iron: 1mg
