This moist keto butter cake is topped with flaked almonds and low carb sweetener. It's a sugar free version of the classic German Butterkuchen!
This post is sponsored by Lakanto. The recipe is 100% Sugar Free Londoner.
Table of contents
Butterkuchen - German butter cake - is one of the most popular sheet cake recipes in Germany. Every bakery sells it, and every Granny has her own coveted recipe. It's a simple yeast cake that's topped with butter, sugar and flaked almonds.
You are guessing correctly that I've had my fair share of Butterkuchen when I grew up in Hamburg!
This is a very different recipe to the American keto gooey butter cake recipes you can find online, which are in essence extra moist cream cheese pound cakes.
But trust me, it's simply out of this world delicious and a great choice for "Kaffee und Kuchen" (coffee and cake, an unmissable part of German culture) - or even for breakfast.
I created this sugar free cake recipe for Lakanto. They make excellent erythritol monk fruit sweetener blends that taste VERY similar to sugar and have literally no cooling aftertaste. Even my critical teenage daughter swears on it!
And don't worry - with my tips you'll be making the fluffiest gluten free yeast cake ever. It's actually really easy.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredient we'll need for a low carb keto butter cake:
- Active dry yeast - I use sachets which contain 9 grams. This is equivalent to 2 teaspoons.
- Inulin - We need the inulin to activate the yeast. Note - you cannot use another low carb sweetener for this!
- Almond milk - Choose an unsweetened variety.
- Eggs - should be large and room temperature.
- Butter - I heated mine in the microwave and then let it cool to lukewarm
- Almond flour - I always use ground almonds. This is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you use super fine almond flour, reduce the amount by about ¼ cup.
- Lakanto Classic - A white granulated erythritol monk fruit blend that's a 1:1 sugar substitute.
- Whey protein powder - Whey protein makes keto cakes fluffier. It should be unflavoured.
- Baking powder - check that it's fresh by putting some in a glass of water It should fizz.
- Xanthan gum - This helps give low carb dough a stronger texture. It's optional though - if you don't want to use it, just make 100% sure to cool the cake fully before slicing.
- Flaked Almonds
How to make keto butter cake
Proof the yeast by adding it to ¼ cup (60ml) of the warm almond milk (40C/105F) together with the inulin. Cover and put in a warm place for around 7 minutes to ensure it starts to froth and bubble.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl – almond flour, unflavoured whey protein powder, Lakanto Classic, baking powder and xanthan gum.
In a second large mixing bowl or in a food processor, beat the eggs until frothy, about 2 minutes.
Add the melted butter, yeast mixture and the remaining almond milk to the eggs and mix until well-combined. (Optional: add 1 tsp vanilla extract). Then, add the dry ingredients and blend. A sticky dough will form.
Line a 9 x 6 inch baking pan or casserole dish with parchment paper and fill in the dough. Dip a spatula in water to prevent sticking and smooth the top.
Cover with oiled cling film and / or a tea towel and rest in a warm place (on a radiator, for example, or in the oven on the lowest setting) for 45 minutes until the dough has fluffed up and increased in size noticeably.
Make small hollows in the surface of the dough with your fingers. Brush the dough with almond milk. Cut butter into small pieces and place in the hollows.
Now, sprinkle Lakanto Classic and almond slivers over the dough. Cover again with the tea towel and let the keto butter cake rest a further 20-30 minutes in a warm place.
Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and a knife inserted comes out without dough sticking.
Important: After 12-15 minutes place an aluminium foil lightly on top of the pan to avoid excessive browning.
Allow to cool before slicing your low carb keto butter cake as the texture will improve. Scatter a little more Lakanto Classic over the top before serving.
Use a serrated knife to cut easier through the flaked almonds!
German butter cake - recipe tips
Get the temperature right: The key to success with all yeast cake recipes! Anything too hot will kill the yeast, as will anything too cold. Yeast needs warmth to rise.
That's why eggs should always be room temperature (put fridge cold eggs into a bowl with warm water for 2 minutes). I also make sure the milk is warm and let the melted butter cool to lukewarm before I add it to the dough.
I have let yeast dough rise by putting it on a warm radiator before, but the easiest place is your oven. Simply put it on the lowest setting (around 40 Celsius) and make sure you cover the keto butter cake well with a tea towel.
Proof the yeast: This is an absolutely essential step in the recipe. Make sure that the yeast is fresh and active by proofing it. It should start foaming and doubling in size - otherwise start again with a different batch.
Don't skip the inulin: Inulin is a prebiotic fibre that has about 30% percent of the sweetness of sugar. You can read more about it here. I use it in this recipe to activate the yeast. However, if you don't want to invest in a bag, use honey or simply sugar. Don't worry - no sugar will remain post bake. The yeast "feeds" on it.
Recipe variations
I get a lot of questions about my recipes, that's why I try to answer as many as possible in the post:
Different cake pans: You could make this keto coffee cake in a larger rectangular pan to get flatter slices. In this case, the oven time would reduce to about 20-25 minutes. A round 20 cm springform pan would also work.
Make it nut free: You can generally replace almond flour 1:1 with a mix of sesame seed flour and sunflower seed flour. Instead of the flaked almonds, simply use coconut flakes. Not exactly traditional German, but I think it would taste quite good!
No whey protein: It's possible to substitute the whey with more almond flour. This makes the dough a little heavier, but it works. Readers have tested this with my keto pull apart bread rolls, which also use the almond flour / whey combo.
Storage
Store this keto butter cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or up to 7 days in the fridge. Alternatively, freeze for up to 3 months.
More keto coffee cake recipes
This easy Keto Apple Cake recipe is getting great reviews!
A fragrant Mediterranean style almond flour olive oil cake.
Here's a fruity option: Try this Keto Blackberry Cheesecake!
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
★ STAY IN TOUCH on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST and INSTAGRAM for more great food and join my NEWSLETTER for the latest updates and a FREE EBOOK.★
Keto Butter Cake - Sugar Free German Butterkuchen
from sugarfreelondoner.comNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 sachet active dry yeast 9g / about 2 tsp
- ¼ cup almond milk unsweetened, 60 ml / lukewarm
- 1 tbsp inulin
- 3 eggs large
- ¼ cup butter melted, then cooled
- ¼ cup almond milk 60ml / warm (this is in addition to the almond milk used to proof the yeast)
- 3 cups almond flour 300g ***see notes
- 5 tbsp whey protein powder 30g
- ⅓ cup Lakanto Classic 67g, use ½ cup / 100g for a sweeter cake
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
Topping
- 1 tbsp almond milk unsweetened, warm
- 3 tbsp butter 40g, cold, cut into cubes
- ½ cup flaked almonds 50g
- ¼ cup Lakanto Classic 50g
Instructions
Dough
- Proof the yeast by adding it to ¼ cup (60ml) of the warm almond milk (40C/105F) together with the inulin. Cover and put in a warm place for around 7 minutes to ensure it starts to bubble.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl – almond flour, unflavoured whey protein powder, Lakanto Classic, baking powder and xanthan gum.
- In a second bowl or in a food processor, beat the eggs until frothy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the melted butter, yeast mixture and the remaining almond milk to the eggs and mix until well-combined. Then, add the dry ingredients and blend. A sticky dough will form.
- Line a 9 x 6 inch baking pan or casserole dish with parchment paper and fill in the dough. Dip a spatula in water to prevent sticking and smooth the top.
- Cover with oiled cling film and / or a tea towel and rest in a warm place (on a radiator, for example, or in the oven on the lowest setting) for 45 minutes until the dough has fluffed up and increased in size noticeably.
Topping
- Make small hollows in the surface of the dough with your fingers. Brush the dough with 1 tbsp almond milk. Cut butter into small pieces and place in the hollows.
- Now, sprinkle Lakanto Classic and almond slivers over the dough. Cover again with the tea towel and let the keto butter cake rest a further 20 minutes in a warm place.
- Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Important!!!: After 15 minutes place an aluminium foil lightly on top of the pan to avoid excessive browning.
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and purchase a product, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Sugar Free Londoner.
Eva says
Made this tonight for guests and it's stunningly good, I was concerned at first that it wasn't rising properly but it was light, moist, and totally delicious.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm so glad you all liked the recipe!
Sharon says
My German Grandma used to make this, except she called it butter cake. This brought me back to my childhood. She also made a pastry she called kuchen that was baked in shallow pie tins that had a tender crust and a cream custard based filling that was spread on the bottom of the crust. Sometimes sprinkled with cinnamon or thinly sliced bananas or or apple I have her original recipe, which my adult son asks for as one of his holiday and birthday gifts annually. I'd love to make a version I could eat as well. Have you ever made a keto version of this sort of kuchen? I know I could make a keto version of the custard, just not sure how to approach the crust which has flour, egg, sugar and sour cream. Any suggestions?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Is your Grandma's Kuchen a yeast cake as well? It sounds a little like a cake I know as Bienenstich, which translates as "Bee sting cake" - because it's sweet and the bees just love it 🙂 There's always bees in German bakeries! It has a yeast base and a custard topping, then slivered almonds. You could use this same recipe for it, just spread it thinner on a larger pan. If it's a regular sponge cake base, use the base recipe of my cinnamon bread.
Kay says
This cake is so good. I used a larger tin and cut it into 18 smaller pieces. You're right Katrin, it's really quite filling, even the smaller pieces. My daughter was visiting and we cut it and sampled it while it was still very warm, no crumbling, no falling apart, so delicious warm with a cuppa but still delicious when cold. Freezes and defrosts well too then warmed in the microwave for a few seconds, yum. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you Katrin for sharing.
Katrin Nürnberger says
So happy you both enjoyed the cake!
Kathy Gilchrist says
This is an excellent recipe. It's easy to make and is delicious.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Kathy, I'm so happy you enjoyed this keto butter cake recipe!
Sanja says
Can I replace inulin with maple syrup?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, that would work.
Kathleen Gilchrist says
I only have a stevia xylitol mix. How much should I use? I really would love to make this cake I just don't want to over-sweeten it.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Check if your sweetener brand is a 1:1 sugar replacement just like Lakanto. Then you can use the same amount. I have not made the batter particularly sweet, which is how I like it best.
Sarah says
I made with the whey protein and it was wonderful. My dairy free daughter could not even have a taste. So I will be trying this with non dairy sticks and Vital Proteins collagen to replace the butter and whey protein. I will let you know how it turns out.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm glad you like the recipe Sarah. Yes, please let me know how it turns out with the dairy free options!
Margret says
This looks amazing! I can't wait to try it.
One question though...do you ever use lupin flour in your baking? I heard about it from someone that uses it in their Chaffles, which I tried, and it came out delicious.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I still have to try lupin flour - it's on my list!
Janette says
Beautiful cake. Made it this weekend for my daughter and grandkids. They all loved it. I froze a few slices and kept one out for breakfast on Monday morning. What a way to start the week!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Cake for breakfast is indeed the best!
Sandra says
I can’t believe how delicious this is! I always love making your cakes because they turn out so well. But this one is something else. Yum! Thank you so much!
Katrin Nürnberger says
I'm so happy it was a success!
Addie says
Hi, Katrin - I only have super fine ground almonds; how much of that should I use to substitute for the whey protein powder?
In your note, you say to reduce the almond flour by 1/4 cup if using super fine; elsewhere you say reduce by 2-3 tablespoons?
Katrin Nürnberger says
It really depends on the almond flour - every brand is a little different. Use a little less in the beginning and then judge by the consistency of the dough if you need to add more. Better this way loud than using too much too soon!
Ally Duttz says
Fantastic recipes, 2 question though! Do you give the net carbs anywhere on your recipes, I can’t find them if you do! Secondly, I LOVE using Lakanto monk fruit products but can’t buy them in the UK, unless anyone can tell me where? I can’t even buy it in from the USA!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Ally, you can currently get Lakanto from red23.co.uk and from iherb.com - and I always write the net carbs in the recipe notes below the recipe description in the recipe card.
Deborah says
Looks amazing. My mother in law used to make this.....old family favorite. Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Let me know how you like it if you give it a try!