German Butter Cake - Keto, Sugar Free

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.

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

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