These keto ladyfingers - or savoiardi - are a fantastic low carb version of the traditional cookie. Enjoy them as they are, or use them to make my Keto Tiramisu!
Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem - I was making gluten-free lady fingers ages ago, and it’s easy enough to whip up a batch to make some traditional tiramisu with them.
Now that I’m on a low carb diet, though?
I haven’t been able to find a keto version of the Italian biscuit on the market.
Good thing I’ve been getting more into keto baking lately - it was clearly time to come up with a keto lady fingers recipe,
It’s a traditional recipe in the sense that the techniques are all basically the same, and the ingredients have been swapped out for ingredients that more or less act the same way.
These low-carb sponge cake held up really well to being used in the delicious Keto Tiramisu that I made from them - it really tasted and felt like the real thing!
Imagine, a classic tiramisu ... as diet food! Oh, the keto diet is wild sometimes. LOL!
Anyway, when all is said and done, these cookies have under 1 gram of net carbs per biscuit.
Let’s get to it...
Keto Ladyfingers - Ingredients & Supplies
Here’s what you’ll need to make this keto sugar free savoiardi recipe:
Super Fine Almond Flour
Unflavoured Whey Protein Powder
Coconut Flour
Sugar substitute
Xanthan Gum
Vanilla Extract
Large eggs
Salt
In addition to these ingredients, you’ll need some Parchment Paper and Large Pastry Bags, and either a Stand Mixer with a whisk attachment, or an Electric Hand Mixer.
How to Make Keto Lady Finger Biscuits
These low carb cake fingers are made using the traditional method of making savoiardi biscuits, just without the wheat flour and added sugar!
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post. This is a pictorial walk through with photos and additional tips
Preheat oven to 350 F, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
If you’re using a tip and coupler with your pastry bag, set it up with a ½" round tip.
In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, protein powder, coconut flour, xanthan gum, and salt, set aside.
Carefully separate the eggs - the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer, and the egg yolks into a large mixing bowl. For best results, be very careful to not get ANY yolk into the whites.
(Note: if you’re using a hand mixer, the egg whites can go into any clean large bowl... but metal works best!)
Add vanilla extract, continue beating until combined. Set aside.
In the stand mixer - using the whisk attachment - beat the egg whites until foamy.
SLOWLY add ¼ cup of the sugar substitute, as it’s whipping.
Continue whipping until glossy stiff peaks form.
Don’t over beat it - you want the egg white structure mostly intact!
Spoon batter into prepared pastry bag. If you’re not using a coupler, cut enough of the tip off to allow for a ½" opening.
Pipe 3 - 3 ½" long fingers on the prepared baking tray, leaving an inch between them.
Remove baking sheet from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
Once cool, dust with powdered erythritol if desired, and store in an airtight container.
Powdered Sugar Substitute
No powdered keto sweetener? No problem!
Spoon some granulated sweetener into a mini food processor, blitz until it’s powdered.
Let the dust settle for a few minutes before removing the lid.
How to Serve Keto Ladyfingers
You can eat these as-is, or use them as an ingredient in a number of desserts.
Keto Tiramisu
These biscuits are a key ingredient in any low carb tiramisu, including my keto tiramisu recipe.
It’s a traditional Italian dessert, and it’s surprisingly easy to make.
These almond flour ladyfingers are soaked quickly in a strong coffee mixture and assembled to form a cake layer with a great hit of coffee flavor.
Then they’re layered with tiramisu cream filling - a mascarpone filling made from mascarpone cheese, eggs, and sweetener - and dusted with cocoa powder.
Not only is my homemade tiramisu a keto tiramisu version, it’s also a gluten-free tiramisu!
Keto Strawberry Shortcake
Layer these biscuits with some whipped cream and strawberry slices, and you’ve got a very easy, low carb strawberry shortcake!
Parfait
Crumble a few low carb ladyfingers, and layer in glasses with whipped cream, berries, and my Keto Chocolate Mousse
Other Desserts
A quick search for “how to serve ladyfingers” will give you all kinds of serving suggestions, many of which can easily be converted to be suitable for those on a ketogenic diet!
More Keto Cookie Recipes
Looking to indulge your sweet tooth in a way that won’t spike your blood sugar? Here are some delicious recipes for low carb cookies to try!
Apple Pie Cookies
Biscotti
Candy Cane Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Protein Cookies
Cowboy Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies
Lemon Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pecan Pie Cookies
Pumpkin Spice Cookies
Raspberry Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
Red Velvet Cookies
Rolled Sugar Cookies
Snickerdoodles
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies
Sugar Free Royal Icing
Triple Chocolate Cookies
Witch Finger Cookies
... but wait, there's more! We have a whole keto desserts section: Keto Dessert Recipes! Check it out!
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @LowCarbHoser - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
... and hey, if you love the recipe, please consider leaving a star rating!
Keto Ladyfingers
Equipment
- 2 Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Disposable pastry bags
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup Almond flour
- ¼ cup Unflavoured protein powder
- ¼ cup Coconut flour
- ¾ teaspoon Xanthan gum
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 4 Large eggs
- ½ cup Sugar substitute I use an erythritol / monkfruit blend
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- If you’re using a tip and coupler with your pastry bag, set it up with a ½" round tip.
- In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, protein powder, coconut flour, xanthan gum, and salt, seta side.
- Carefully separate the eggs - the whites into the bowl of a stand mixer, and the yolks into a large mixing bowl. Be very careful to not get ANY yolk into the whites.
- Using the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy.
- SLOWLY add ¼ cup of the sugar substitute, as it’s whipping.
- Continue whipping until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- In the other bowl, whisk the egg yolks together with the remaining sugar substitute, until pale yellow.
- Add vanilla extract, continue beating until combined. Set aside.
- Gently fold egg yolk mixture into the egg whites, just until mostly combined. Add almond flour mixture, gently fold in until combined.
- Don’t over beat it - you want the egg white structure mostly intact!
- Spoon batter into prepared pastry bag. If you’re not using a coupler, cut enough of the tip off to allow for a ½" opening.
- Pipe 3 - 3 ½" long fingers on the prepared baking pan, leaving an inch between them.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they’re just starting to turn golden around the edges and have firmed up.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Once cool, dust with powdered erythritol if desired, and store in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
I am so excited to have found your blog. Your recipes are mouthwatering and are so well explained and illustrated just like a cooking lesson from a chef! Love you to pieces, there aren't many low-carb chefs out there and my cooking needs inspiration. Xoxo 🙂
Thank you so much for the kind words!
How long can you store these?
A couple weeks, at least - dry cookies keep well, as long as you keep them in an airtight container.
Great recipe! Already the batter tasted like real sponge cake.
I only have one question: after the fingers cooked down, they became a bit too dry and also dense, that even soaking them in coffee barely penetrated the structure.
How could I make a little bit more fluffy fingers, so they suit better for my keto tiramisu?
Thanks!
Hard to say without seeing them - any chance there was any egg yolk or grease in the bowl when whisking the egg whites?
Thank you so much for this stunning recipe 😘 💗 but can i substitute whey protein for another thing?
Possibly, but you may need to tweak the other ingredient amounts to make it work. Different dry ingredients have different absorption rates, when it comes to moisture.
Great recipe, glad I found it as it comes as close to the “regular” version as possible, including the preparation method.
For the unflavoured (whey) protein powder, in consideration of lactose intolerance, would egg white powder work?
I haven't tried it with egg white powder, so I'm not sure how it would work. A plant based protein powder might work better in terms of functionality though.
Is there a way to make these chocolate flavored? I know thats a weird request but theres a type of dessert that utilizes lady fingers or graham crackers and the chocolate version has been calling to me but having to be low-carb/keto I unfortunately have not been able to answer and this recipe is so much better than the chocolate graham cracker recipes ive found.
I'd probably try going 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, and then also swapping the protein powder out for a chocolate one, if I had some on hand.