We have quite a large cookbook/cooking magazine collection in this house. So large, in fact, that we have a whole IKEA bookshelf devoted to containing these items. It’s not quite full yet, but it’s definitely on its way there. The strange part is that I don’t actually buy cookbooks anymore, as I get most of my recipes and inspiration from fellow bloggers. But I have won quite a number of cookbooks in giveaways and I can always count on receiving a few every Christmas from my parents-in-law. And they are always welcome additions to our collection, because I find nothing more relaxing than thumbing through a cookbook in the comfy blue arm chair just off the kitchen.
One of the cookbooks I was fortunate enough to win in a giveaway was a sweet little thrift store find by Elisabeth of Food and Thrift. It is a book devoted solely to coffee cake recipes and was in brand-new condition when it came my way. It no longer is, as I have thumbed it many a time, and it may even have a splatter of batter or two on its pages. Of course, I can’t eat conventional coffee cakes anymore, so I haven’t made a single recipe as is from the book. But I have taken some wonderful inspiration from it. The raspberry almond coffee cake that I developed for Low-Carbing Among Friends, v 1, was inspired by a recipe in the book, although almost none of the ingredients, nor the methods, are much the same.
I happened to pick up the book again last Saturday morning, and flipped through, when a lovely almond-crusted bundt cake caught my eye. My brain instantly started doing the low-carb, gluten-free substitution dance, and I could see just how I would make my version of this. I got out my butter to soften and began calculating in my head the proportions of the alternative ingredients I would need. I decided to make a half-recipe in a loaf pan, a variation that was suggested by the book, and turn it into a tea cake of sorts. I also decided to forego my usual base of greek yogurt, as this was supposed to be a butter cake, and I knew I needed a bit more almond flour and whey protein to help give it structure. The original cake took a full pound of powdered sugar…oh my, just thinking about that is enough to make my blood sugar rise! But I wasn’t about to try and sub in exact proportions of alternative sweeteners, so I knew my version would be a little less sweet.
The Results: If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen me crowing about this the other day. I will tell you, it turned out better than I even would have hoped. It has a lovely almond-y flavour, and it’s not overly sweet. Some might like it sweeter, but I think that the way it is makes it a perfect complement to coffee or tea in the morning or as an afternoon snack. My husband was in full agreement on this one. I am also more than a little impressed by the way it looks. I love the way the sliced almonds look on the outside of the cake, it’s very elegant. And it turned out to have a very fine-crumbed texture, virtually indistinguishable from cake made with flour. This took me pleasantly by surprise, as I think many nut-flour cakes don’t come out looking this evenly textured. Even my other cakes haven’t always looked this perfect!
Almond-Crusted Butter Cake
1/4 cup sliced almonds
3 cups almond flour
1/3 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated erythritol (I used Swerve)
3 large eggs
1 tsp almond extract
20 drops stevia extract
1/2 cup almond milk
Preheat oven to 300F and butter a loaf pan very well. Sprinkle sides and bottom of pan with sliced almonds, pressing into butter to adhere to sides.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Add granulated erythritol and beat until lighter and well-combined, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at time, scraping down beaters and sides of bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in almond and stevia extracts.
Beat in half of the almond flour mixture, then beat in almond milk. Beat in remaining almond flour mixture until well combined. Spread batter in prepared pan, being careful not to dislodge sliced almonds on the sides. Smooth the top.
Bake 60 minutes, or until top is deep golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 5 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serves 12. Each serving has a total of 7.1 g of carbs and 3.2 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 3.9 g.
I am Carolyn, a writer, runner, mother and diabetic. I am also the evil mastermind behind this blog. I live for food. Join me in my experiments in creating delicious low carb, gluten free recipes. 
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What a perfect loaf! It looks like the perfect tea party cake…
It looks amazing, Carolyn!!! You would never, ever guess it was anything other than a perfectly made conventional recipe! You are fabulous!!!!
Once again, you have posted a recipe that I must now make! This looks like it would be perfect with my morning coffee. You should also consider adding a "pin it" button for Pinterest, as almost everything you post ends up getting pinned to my board there and gets re-pinned by my "followers".
I have to admit that my cookbook collection is a bit out of control too. I That is an absolutely beautiful pound cake. I've neglected them since picking up the magazine thing, but they're patiently waiting for my return. Like you, I do go through them when I want inspiration for something different.
The bread looks wonderful. I love the sliced almonds around the edges that leave the middle so fluffy and pristine. It's gorgeous.
(I agree with Laura; you need a Pin It button.)
I rarely buy cookbooks for the same reason, most of the recipes I use are from other bloggers. But I have also won a few cookbooks from giveaways and need to browse through them more often. This cake looks great with that almond crust!
This look so gorgeous! I love that it's not too overwhelmingly sweet, yet has the wonderful aroma of almonds. Lovely
I can't wait to try this! Thanks!!!!!
Beautiful dish! i usually eat brussels sprouts the same way every time.
Curious as to what brand of whey protein powder you use?
This looks and sounds delscious….I live the almonds on the outer portion!!!
Hi Kate,
The one I am currently using is Jarrow Formulas unflavoured whey protein.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Niiiiiice! It's such a cool talent you have. This cake looks fantastic and I don't think anyone would notice at all that it was low carb and gluten free
This certainly does not look gf or low carb! It looks deliciously sweet and soft and crumby, perfect with a got cup of tea
Cheers
you are my hero.
This is just gorgeous! When I look at it, I think baby shower or tea party. It definitely is elegant. And I can't pass up anything almond flavored, so…winner!
Gorgeous cake! I love almond flavors, this looks perfect!
Low carb butter cake?! You are amazing!
The cake looks wonderful.
LOL, I love this comment… honestly, so sweet!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
The texture of this bread looks absolutely perfect. I'd be tempted to spread some stewed fruit on a slice. As for the cookbooks – well, we also have a very full bookcase full of them. I rarely buy new ones either and, yet, the collection seems to grow as though it has a life of its own.
well, it's at least a little true. your recipes keep me inspired to keep cooking.
Looks great Carolyn! You did it again!
This is fantastic, Carolyn! I would love a slice right now with a big cup of tea!
The texture of that cake looks amazing! I bet it'd be great with a dollop of whipped cream – unsweetened, that is.
Love how this cake looks! Those sliced almonds make such a pretty pattern
And it's incredible to hear this is gluten-free… I wouldn't have guessed! The texture looks perfect! Great post again, Carolyn!
I have a huge collection of cookbooks too – unfortunately a bunch got damaged when a water pipe broke in our house last winter (so sad). The crumb on your cake looks so fine – don't you just love it when you get it right the first time!
"My brain instantly started doing the low-carb, gluten-free substitution dance" It's totally a dance! I'd never thought of it that way. I've been doing substitutions on everything for so long, whenever I see a dish on TV, in a cookbook, or movie, I always begin brainstorming what I'd change in the recipe so I could eat it. Great work on this one, looks delicious!
Hi:
I don't like stevia or erythritol. Do you know how I could make this with sugar?
Thanks,
Donna
The crumb looks wonderful and reminds me of pound cake, what a wonderful afternoon tea time cake.
Sounds fascinating! Hard to believe it is low carb. I will have to try it.
how I wish I had a slice with my tea right now. Spread some jam on top of it and call it breakfast!
For one,I must complement you for the pictures.It has been long since I saw such beautiful pictures on someone's blog/site – the combination of colors is simply beautiful.
When I saw that this cake was majorly made of almonds,and had whey protein,I knew I wanted this recipe!Very healthy.I am going to bookmark/note down this one.
Thank you so much for sharing!:-)
Hi Donna,
Absolutely! Just sub in 3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar where I put in erythritol and skip the stevia. Depends on how sweet you want this to be.
Good luck!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Thanks for the sweet comments on my photography. I am very much an amateur but I do enjoy it.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
I love that toasty almond crust so much – it's like a mosaic of almonds – beautiful and yummy! The cake looks moist and dense , like pound cake, and the buttery golden color is mouth-watering. Another amazing creation that looks so rich and fattening,, but isn't.
Oh, make no mistake, Lisa. This is rich and it has lots of fat in it…it's just low carb. Which, in my humble opinion, makes it very good for you!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
This is awesome! I like it when cakes like this aren't overly sweet. I mean I like sweet things but I much prefer things that aren't SO sweet you feel like you are sucking on a block of sugar. Looks awesome my dear!
This is gorgeous Carolyn! The texture of the cut slices looks fantastic, and I love how the almonds look on the outside!
This looks like something that I'd LOVE. Thanks. Yes, I'll be making it soon.
Fabulous!!! love your recipes always
What a sweet and yummy afternoon treat! Can't wait to try it!
I nearly took a bite out of my laptop screen lol. Bloody delicious looking treat.
Wow low carbs and gluten free. I'm impressed.
Genius!!!! Love how it look too! Very beautiful, and I can imagine the flavor…mmm I can almost taste it!!!
Well done on the post and your photos are stunning!!!
I also have many, many cookbooks and love to read them, even though I do get most recipes from the internet these days. My husband laughed at me for bringing a huge cookbook to bed with me last night :-p This cake looks just delightful, and I love that it's low carb!
Hi, I allergic to whey & soy. Is there anything I can replace the protein powders with? If I just used more almond flour would that work? Thanks
I agree with Sylvie – the crumb looks wonderful! I've recently been baking with almond meal and I love it!
This looks a delicious cake. Almond meal does give a denser texture. But,I like to add some other flour, too.
Just found your blog through food buzz…this cake looks absolutely amazing! definitely bookmarking this to try soon! you have so much yummy stuff here!
Thanks, Jenn. Are you on Foodbuzz too? Send me a friend request…
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
What a cake… both beautiful and delicious!! I'm amazed it came out looking so perfect, both the shape and the studded almond crust.
A whole cookbook for coffee cake. Wow! Whether you thought this would be fabulous or not this looks amazing. Cannot wait to try it out.
This is such a beautiful cake! I'm dying to try baking with erythritol. Last week I made muffins with Stevia for baking mix, been curious about erythritol since I first read about it here on your blog. I haven't seen it here so I'll have to order from good ol' Amazon
My two favourite brands are ZSweet and Swerve. Swerve is great, just not as widely available yet.
But I will be having a giveaway of Swerve in March (my birthday and my blog's birthday month), so be sure to stop by!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
I have to tell you how much we enjoyed this recipe, along with others I' ve made from your blog. My non-LC hubby loved it and my two grandchildren did as well. Although mine didn't come out looking as perfect as your photo, and I undercooked it a tad, it is a keeper! I served it with LC vanilla ice cream for dessert. It seems to get more delicious every day in the fridge. Thanks, Carolyn.
Glad it worked out!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Thanks So Much for These Recipe !! I did it yesterday And nobody noticed it was low carb LOL Is my Favorite From Today , Look really good and Test Amazing ,Thanks again
So glad you liked it!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
This cake just looks perfectly moist and gorgeous. Sticking this one aside to make- thank you for sharing it
I modified this recipe a bit to suit what I had on hand, but it was still a winner. I omitted the sliced almonds, as I didn't have any, and I made two mini-loaves out of one-third of the recipe (one for my s/o and one for me). I substituted soy flour for the whey protein powder, Splenda powder for the liquid stevia and whole milk for the almond milk. It turned out great! It was nicely sweet, had a nice crust and was almost like the real thing as far as interior texture goes. I'll definitely make this again!
Glad you liked it and that you made the changes that suited your taste!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
What brand of almond flour do you use? I am very new to a gluten free diet and need some suggestions. Thanks!
Hi there. I really like two brands. One from Honeyville Grains (you can order online at Honeyville or Amazon) and one from Oh Nuts (order online at Oh Nuts).
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Also an option–I grind my own almonds in a mini food processor. While the texture isn't as fine as professionally-milled almond flour, it's much less expensive and yields a lower carb count due to the inclusion of the skins (commercial almond flours use blanched almonds).
Carolyn you are amazing!
I love baking and cooking but after being diagnosed w. celiac I only bake for others and can't even try what I make. Im scared of gf baking. And can't afford 4+ different flours for 1 recipe. So I am so happy to find this blog you really inspired me to try gf baking. Thank you!!!
I am going to make biscotti this afternoon and can't wait.
Thank you thank you!!
-meg <3
I am so glad you liked the cake. It's absolutely one of my favourites. And yes, GF baking doesn't need to be so scary!
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Can you tell me if it is blanched or unblanched almond flour and also 20 drops of stevia sounds like a lot. I don’t like the taste of stevia but will give it a try. Any particular brand?
Blanched almond flour is preferable. And I typically use Nu Naturals or SweetLeaf stevia drops. And this recipe is definitely not overly sweet, and has little to no hint of stevia aftertaste.
I just made your almond raspberry jam muffins and they were a huge hit! I would like to make this cake for a special occasion – any idea how I could adjust the recipe for a bundt pan?
I think the amount would probably be just right for a bundt cake. Your biggest problem is going to be getting it to release (grease the pan REALLY well) and getting the almonds to stick.
A friend wanted a low calorie cake recipe,so passed her this one.Now hoping she likes it!:-)
Geez, I blew it. It was dry and not nearly moist enough to hold together. Not even close. I used it as a crust for tarts and it simply crumbled. I measured everything…..I’m just gonna move onto another recipe. lol For me I would have to increase the liquids by half as much. All I can think is that my almond flour is really dry?
Perplexed…
I don’t think this recipe would make a good tart crust. I can see it being crumbly there. But it shouldn’t be that dry. What kind of almond flour are you using?
Just made this one today! I had a big slice while it was still a little warm and it was so yummy. I love the smell and taste of almond extract so much! And it was perfectly sweet for me – grabbed it as a snack on the way to the pool with the kids. One question – have you experimented with the best way to store the cake? I’m looking forward to munching on it all week, but haven’t figured out the best way to store almond flour baked goods. Thanks Carolyn!
I’ve previously made this recipe and it’s cripplingly delicious. Do you think it would work well in a bundt cake pan, with the recipe doubled?
Hi!
What size loaf pan did you use for this recipe? Thank You
A 9×5 loaf pan. Thanks!
Thanks Carolyn. As soon as I have a chance I’m making this one.
Hello….I was just curious if I have a whey powder that is vanilla flavored, would that work for this recipe or does it need to be unflavored? Thanks!
It would work just fine, it just happens to impart a strong vanilla flavour so the almond might not come through as much.
Thanks. That makes sense.
HI! I am dying to try your recipe for this cake, but could you please tell me what size loaf pan you used? I don’t see that listed..Thank you and looking forward to making this.
Just a typical 9×5 loaf pan!
This looks absolutely divine! Do you think brown rice protein powder would work in place of the whey? Thanks!
Not sure, I’ve never tried it…but it’s always worth a try! Even if it doesn’t rise as much as it’s supposed to, it will still taste great.
Hello! This looks just amazing and I definitely want to try it! Do you have any suggestions for subbing out the whey protein for vegans? Thank you so much!
Hemp protein would work!
Carolyn, could you use liquid Splenda in the same amount of drops to replace the Stevia extract? Do you know what the measurement of liquid Splenda would be to replace the Stevia or the sweetness to sugar would be to substitute with liquid Splenda?
Liquid sucralose is sweeter than stevia, I think, but this cake isn’t overly sweet anyway. I’d do maybe 12 drops of sucralose (equals about 1/4 cup sugar)…or a bit more if you want it sweeter.
I made this today, came out awesome and perfect!
It’s one of my all-time favourite recipes! We made it for Christmas morning too.
i made this over the weekend. it was heavenly! i love it best warmed up with some peanut butter
Funny, that’s my favourite way to eat it too!
Can I substitute granulated Truvia for the erythritol? I don’t have any erythritol (never tried it), and I MUST make this today!
Hi Stephanie…you sure can, because Truvia IS erythritol. It’s a combo of erythritol and stevia.
So it will work just fine.
hi! this looks succulent. can i sub vanilla whey protein powder?
Sure. It will have a more vanilla flavour but it will work just fine.
Rivka, I used vanilla whey protein powder and even vanilla almond milk – because that’s all I had on hand. I put in about 1/2 tsp more almond extract and it was delicious! I didn’t get a real ‘vanilla’ flavor. Couldn’t believe even my husband liked it – and he doesn’t like any of my ‘special food’! lol I put a few slices in the freezer to see how well they freeze too. Try eating with cream cheese smeared on top – delish! Thank you Carolyn!!
oh wow thanks Stephanie! i wanted to make it this afternoon and it’s so nice to get a reply so quickly!
I accidentally put vanilla extract in it instead of almond extract, but it came out tasting amazing
Thanks so much for the recipe!
Just made this recipe and it is so yummy. Mine looks almost as beautiful as yours, maybe my almonds are not quite as pretty. I am so thankful for now knowing that I need to bake with almond flour, not almond meal. What a difference!
Beautiful loaf, never lasts me and my mom more than a week. Love it with hot blueberries and no-sugar whipped cream.
I can not being to tell you how IN LOVE I am with this recipe. My Green Tea loaf went in a day and this loaf is half gone. I put dark choc chips in half of the loaf. Pure heaven. There are some many flavors you could do with this recipe. If fills my need for cake, a donut etc. 100% recommend.
It is hands-down my most adaptable recipe. I adore it!