This tender keto coffee cake has all the amazing flavor of a gooey home-baked cinnamon roll, but with far less effort. Grab a fork and dive in!
Sometimes I take a bite of one of my own creations and I think to myself “I am really good at this!”. That isn’t quite as self-aggrandizing as it may seem, since it genuinely takes me by surprise.
And this Keto Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake is a prime example. I created it many years ago and I remember that exact reaction. It is the perfect combination of tender keto coffee cake and sweet keto cinnamon rolls.
And it’s a recipe I return to again and again. It meet with approval from everyone I serve it to!
You will love this easy cake recipe
Who doesn’t love an ooey gooey cinnamon roll? But the conventional kind are insanely carb-heavy. And the homemade keto variety, which is usually made with mozzarella dough, take quite a bit of effort to make.
This Keto Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake offers those same wonderful flavors in an easy-to-make package. Simply prepare the almond flour cake batter, and layer it with a cinnamon “sugar” filling.
Bake to golden brown perfection, brush it with melted butter, and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon “sugar”. Then drizzle on a little cream cheese icing and you are transported to sweet cinnamon roll heaven.
I really did bite into this keto cake recipe and think “yeah, I am really good at this!”. Call it egotistical if you will. I just call it delicious.
Reader Reviews
“Hands down this is best coffee cake recipe ever! It even tops my favorite recipe from my pre keto days! I used a glass pan so I had to bake a bit longer, but turned out fine. And I added chopped walnuts to filling and topping, fantastic! Definite 5 star rating!” — Jes
“This is a Winner! Thank you Carolyn for such great recipes! You are my “go to” site (and I also have one of your cookbooks) for delicious Keto! I made the salmon and vegetables for dinner tonight!! Cinnamon Roll coffee cake for breakfast tomorrow.” — Janet
“Made this one today… holy cow it’s moist. Melts in your mouth! No chewing required lol Ended up taking some to neighbors and will be taking some to a girlfriend in the morning wrapped up with your dessert cookbook. Now I have none left. Guess we’re making another tomorrow!” — Elizabeth
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: As with any almond flour recipe, the finer your flour, the better the consistency of the cake. I always have good results with Bob’s Red Mill.
- Sweetener: I recommend using an erythritol based sweetener for the cake, as allulose can cause it to darken very quickly. But you have options for the filling and frosting!
- Cinnamon: Do yourself a solid and use a good ground cinnamon. If your’s isn’t fresh, consider adding a little more to punch up the flavor.
- Protein powder: Using unflavored protein powder helps the cake rise better and have a fluffy consistency. You can also use egg white protein powder.
- Almond milk: I use a little almond milk to thin out the muffin batter but you can also use water.
- Cream cheese: A little cream cheese drizzle makes this all the more cinnamon roll-esque. Let it soften first for smoother mixing.
- Heavy whipping cream: A little cream is used for the cream cheese icing.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, butter, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt.
Step by step directions
1. Prepare the filling: In a small bowl combine the sweetener and cinnamon and mix well. Set aside.
2. Prepare the cake batter: Whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract. Add the almond milk and continue to stir until well combined.
3. Assemble the cake: Spread half of the batter a greased 9×9 inch baking pan, then sprinkle with about two thirds of the cinnamon filling mixture. Spread the remaining batter over top and smooth with a knife or an offset spatula.
4. Bake the cake: Bake at 325ºF for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is golden brown the top is just firm to the touch.
5. Add the topping: Brush the cake with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon filling mixture. Let cool in pan.
6. Drizzle with frosting: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sweetener, cream, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined. Pipe or drizzle over cooled cake.
Tips for Success
I use a metal pan for my coffee cake recipe. You can use glass or ceramic pans, but they don’t conduct heat efficiently the way metal does. But once they heat up, they hold onto the heat so you risk burning the edges while the center isn’t cooked.
If you are NOT using a metal pan, you will need to lower the oven temperature by about 25 to 50 degrees, and bake 15 to 30 minutes longer. That way, the edges don’t get browned before the center is cooked.
Yes, the protein powder is important to this recipe. Gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein powder helps the cake rise properly. That’s why my cakes are light and fluffy compared to may keto cake recipes. You can sub egg white protein powder if you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Many readers outside of North America question why “coffee cake” don’t actually contain coffee. It’s easy to understand the confusion. American-style coffee cake is so named because it’s meant to be served with coffee. It’s often consumed at breakfast or brunch, or sometimes as part of a coffee break in the afternoon.
Because this coffee cake has a cream cheese frosting, leftovers should be covered and refrigerated. It will last like this for up to a week.
This keto cinnamon roll coffee cake recipe has 5.4g of carbs and 2.4g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.0g net carbs per slice.
More delicious keto coffee cake recipes!
Keto Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cinnamon Filling:
- 3 tbsp (21.3 g) granulated sweetener, (erythritol or allulose)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
Cake:
- 3 cups (336 g) almond flour
- 1/2 cup (100 g) erythritol sweetener
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavoured whey protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (118.29 ml) almond milk or water
- 1 tbsp melted butter
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 1/2 ounces (44.13 g) cream cheese, softened
- 2 tbsp powdered sweetener, (erythritol or allulose)
- 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Combine the Swerve and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325ºF and grease an 9×9 inch baking pan.
- Whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, protein powder, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract. Add the almond milk and continue to stir until well combined.
- Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan, then sprinkle with about two thirds of the cinnamon filling mixture. Spread the remaining batter over top and smooth with a knife or an offset spatula.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and just firm to the touch. Remove from the oven.
- Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon filling mixture. Let cool completely in the pan.
Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sweetener, cream, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.
- Pipe or drizzle over cooled cake.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Hi Carolyn! I was so excited to try this recipe, but I wanted to plug in the numbers to find out the calories first, and Livestrong’s MyPlate came up with these nutrient stats: http://imgur.com/L4YHVh6
This is just for the coffee cake and not the icing.
This is showing that each square (1/16th of the pan) is 19.9g carbs with 2.4g fiber. How did you arrive at the numbers you posted? (5.4 g of carbs and 2.2 g of fiber)
With the swerve alone, approximately 45 servings (tsp) would be 225 carbs, or 14g per square. Are you using a brand of swerve that has less than 5g carbs per tsp? If so, let me know! Otherwise, this is a little too carb-heavy for my low-carb diet.
Thanks!
I do not count the carbs in Swerve, as most low carb dieters do not. Why? Because they don’t affect the blood sugar at all. I have tested this on myself over and over (I am pre-diabetic and have a glucose monitor). But my nutritional software cannot compute “erythritol” out so I have to leave it out altogether. I have stated this in several places on my blog, but each person must decide for themselves. You should check out the Swerve website and also the many studies on erythritol that show that the “carbs” in it are completely non-effective.
Thanks for clearing that up, that’s great news! I just found your website and am pretty new to the low-carb world, so I’m thrilled to find that out. With that, I’ll be baking this ASAP! Can’t wait!
Definitely try it out and see what you think. Other sugar alcohols tend to have some glucose response but for some reason, erythritol just doesn’t. Still, all sweets are meant to be a treat so use sparingly 😉
PS – here is the summary of an actual peer-reviewed study that shows that erythritol “carbs” do not affect blood glucose or insulin response. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8039489
Seriously…..the BEST coffee cake I’ve made. It was so moist and fluffy unlike most baked goods using these ingredients. Even passed the husband/kids test….they loved it too. Definitely will be my go to coffee cake recipe….thank you!!!
So glad to hear it!
i’m drooling, just reading the recipe and comments. 🙂 gotta try to use your crockpot cake technique, so it’ll be fresh-baked when i get up in the morning….
thanks for all your great ideas!
Will this work if I use vanilla whey ? Or will it ruin the flavor?
I think it will be okay but I would just go light on any additional vanilla.
H i there, it looks delicious! Gonna give it a try tonight. We don’t get Swerve or Erythritol, can I use Xylotol, Agave sugar or Stevia instead (and how much)? I’m new to GF and low carb, and scared of experimenting after a few flops, lol. Thank you! 🙂
I think you can use xylitol and in the same amount as I used Swerve but I can’t guarantee it as I have never tried it myself.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THIS IS LOW CARB? I made this yesterday and I cannot tell you how excited I am that I have a go-to low carb desert now. The texture of the cake was perfect; the icing, perfect; the cinnamon, perfect. I was prepared for a grainy and unpleasantly dry texture, but the moisture and texture were very nice. Thank you so much for this recipe.
You are most welcome! It’s one of my best, I think.
The hubs and I have decided to go low-carb to shed a few pounds and to just eat healthier. Of course we have to have some kind of sweets to satisfy our sweet tooth though! I’ve tried a few other low-carb desserts that were totally gross to us, but oh thank heavens we came across this coffee cake!! IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! So moist, flavorful! It had the perfect texture — just like real cake! Not mushy or spongy at all like some others we’ve tried. Even the kids tried it and they loved it! I’m thinking I’ll have to make this one quite often! Thanks so much for the recipe!!!
This cake is just wonderful! It hasn’t even cooled yet and my fussy husband has already asked for two more tastes. 😀
Glad to hear that!
Finally made this for Easter breakfast! Even my mom (who often thinks my baked goods taste weird) thought this tasted “totally normal and yummy.” 🙂 I might add a smidge more cinnamon next time bc I adore cinnamon. Great recipe! Thanks!
I am a HUGE coffee cake addict. I have also been living la vida low-carb for over the last year. Every time I have fallen off of my low-carb lifestyle it is due to the sweet, buttery, deliciousness of a coffee cake. Which leads to more coffee cake…and then some more….and then a week (or two) later I wake up from my coffee cake binge questioning why my pants no longer fit.
I have tried at least 6 different low carb recipes for coffee cake. All of them have left MUCH to be desired. But this! THIS amazing coffee cake has made my dreams come true! I am SO pleased with the result. I made it last night, had a piece for dessert, and another piece for breakfast. I am SO incredibly happy I cannot even fully express my gratitude and joy.
THANK YOU!!!!!!
I cannot wait to try more of your delicious recipes!
Well, I am very, very happy to have helped you back ONTO the wagon and yet fulfill your desire for coffee cake! 🙂
Just made this for my daughter and myself for our Sunday morning brunch. BRAVO! Carolyn it was delicious! My daughter even gave it two thumbs up!
Glad to hear it!
Thank you for such a delicious low-carb coffee cake, I made it this morning for a special Sunday breakfast. Being diabetic, I have missed baked treats. No more deprivation, 🙂 Maybe the best part is that my husband liked it; he never likes anything I make with almond flour.
So glad to hear it!
What are the calories for the Cin Roll Coffee Cake?
I don’t know, but you could easily enter all the ingredients into my fitness pal or some other calculator.
OK, That’s what I’ll do. Thanks
Sorry. I haven’t had a chance to go back and do all the calculations for older recipes. But all of my more recent stuff has them all figured out!
Made this this morning…I just wanted something coffeecakey and this recipe is fantastic!
I bought the Honeyville almond flour and it does bake up lighter than Bob’s Red Mill. I also love that Swerve didn’t have any chemical aftertaste which Splenda does whenever I’ve baked with it. It tastes more like sugar. I used vanilla protein powder and then substituted
english toffee sugar free syrup for the vanilla…didn’t even bother with the cream cheese glaze, this cake is so moist. Thank you Carolyn for once again keeping me on low carb track without feeling deprived. This is a keeper!
So glad you liked it!
I’m glad you are good at what you do. That frees up my time considerably. Lol. Thank goodness for Pinterest. That’s how I found you. Keep it up.
Thanks, Roxanna!
YOU ARE GREAT AT WHAT YOU DO! This cake was BY FAR the best low carb baked cake I have ever made! Thank you so much!
Wow thanks!