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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This is a beautiful coffee cake! I ended up baking for 55 minutes on 325, and the center did get done , but I felt the edges and underside were a tad burnt. I also ended up covering with foil at the 35 minute mark because the top was getting too done. I used Jay Robb protein powder and a mixture of erythritol, xylitol, and pure Stevia powder(thm). I don’t know if that made any difference at all. Regardless, this turned out beautifully and we really enjoyed it! Any hints on the bottom burning issue would be appreciated. 🙂
So one thought is that xylitol is more hygroscopic than erythritol, meaning it attracts moisture. That could potentially be part of the issue, I can’t say for sure.
Also, move your rack up higher in the oven.
Hey there, I have made breads/cakes with almond flour before and not sure the best way to store still to be most fresh the next morning. I wanted to make this a day or two ahead and then have it in the fridge or freezer to be ready to warm up Christmas morning. Any thoughts?? Apologies if this is already answered I looked through many posts and didn’t see bake-ahead questions answered so thought I’d just ask myself! Thanks!
So this one…make the cake a day or two ahead but don’t do the frosting. Keep it in the pan but wrap it up tightly. And then let come to room temp or gently warm in the oven and frost before serving.
Thank you so much! Will do and will report back how it goes! 🙂
How did it go? I’m thinking of making this ahead for New Year’s!
Hi, I’m running low on almond flour, do you think halving the recipe and baking it in a 8 x4 ” loaf pan would work? i realize it will be cake not a loaf . Any idea of how long i would bake it in a smaller pan? I really want to try out the recipe. Thanks
In a 9×5 with half the recipe, it should be about the same baking time but watch it really just in case.
How do you store cooked cake?
On the counter is fine for a few days…then in the fridge.
I just made this Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake and am wondering what went wrong. I followed the recipe exactly and baked the cake for 55 minutes in 325 deg oven and the middle was not done. The out sides were very moist and crumbly but the taste was decent. I find I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners as the part of the cake I ate left an after taste. Is that normal? I have never cooked with them before. I was so looking forward to taking this to our ladies club for Gluten Free members.
Hi Kay. I can’t say for sure what went wrong but what brand of almond flour and sweetener did you use? One of those are often the culprits.
hi Carolyn………a rainy day here in tiny and I thought I would bake this afternoon……going through the posts for today I found this recipe and although I probably saw it many times before it just never jumped out at me but this morning it was like holy moly a perfect day for this so I pinned it……..as for your blog I so enjoyed reading it and as usual always seem to learn something new about you…………….all I truly want to say is that most of your recipes do not call for odd out of the normal everyday baking items……..as you know here in Canada our baking essentials are really pricey and it is so great not to have to run out a buy something that you might never use again in another recipe……I really thank you for that…………..have a great day………
My son loves to bake. More for the eating than the baking, but you know. He could mix up chocolate chip cookie dough practically from memory at this point. It’s something we do together; we bond-bake.
That’s why it was extra hard when we got his diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes last week. He took it stoically, and is adapting like a champ to the regimens & needles, but it nearly broke his heart to lose his sweets. We looked for a boxed mix, but it was either sugar free (with the carbs of flour) or gluten free (with the carbs of sugar)… then my sister showed me this blog, and lo: a combination of his two very favorite treats, coffee cake & cinnamon rolls. I was nervous as we made it, because I knew how disappointing it would be if it tasted weird; he (and I) just wanted something to signal that he was still normal, that life could be normal, and we could enjoy it in the ways we used to. We tried your recipe–and it was fantastic. Better than both of us expected.
Thank you for giving us that bit of sweet hope during a hard week.
-Marissa
Wow, Marissa. Many thanks for this because I know EXACTLY how your son feels. My diabetes and my decision to go low carb really rocked my baking-loving heart. I hope you will try my other recipes. <3
This is my first attempt at baking low-carb and my goodness! I made this for breakfast over the weekend and there are still a few pieces left….very few. I used Erythiritol and coconut sugar. I replaced the erithritol in the cinnamon mix with coconut sugar because I don’t find the “aftertaste” with coconut sugar that I taste with erithritol. I have not tried Swerve but figure it is the same “alcohol” sugar aftertaste which is much better than the artificial sweeteners taste I abhor.
I found very inexpensive whey protein at my local natural grocer for $4.19 for a 2# bag. Not knowing the difference, I decided to try it and it was perfect. The texture and flavor are amazingly close to my favorite coffeecake recipe. I have to have raisins (just a few) in my coffeecake so it adds a few carbs but it is so worth it. Being diabetic and eliminating as many carbs as I can, I was nervous to try this. I am so glad I did. Cooking Keto with Kristy recommends your site and this is the first recipe I tried. I will definitely be back.
And, yes, that is my legal name. My husband’s name really is Santa Claus.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much for the recipe, Carolyn! Made this yesterday for our 4th of July picnic. This was hands down one of my favorite low carb cakes ever! Used Bob’s Redmill super fine almond flour since I can now buy it locally and it gives the cake a wonderful texture.
One question: After cooling the middle of my cake sunk. Any idea what causes this? The only thing I could think of is over beating the eggs?
More likely it wasn’t totally cooked through in the center. What brand of whey protein powder did you use?
I used Bio Chem protein powder and Swerve sweetener.
I did have trouble getting the middle to cook through. Took almost 15 extra minutes in the oven. Amazingly it was still moist! Guess I should check my oven temp.
Might be your oven, might be the protein powder (never heard of that one!) it’s so hard to say!
I had the same problem. It took a bit longer to get the center cooked through but did not seem to affect the taste or texture, as far as I know. Perhaps the whey protein is the problem but since it came out so perfectly, I did not mind at all.
My daughter and I tried this coffeecake last week and it was great! However, it’s the first time we’ve used erythritol, and both of us seemed to have unpleasant reactions afterward (headache, feeling spacey, a bit of gastric discomfort). Could you recommend another low-carb sweetener that’s not a sugar alcohol? Maybe Stevia in the Raw? We’d really like to be able to make a lot of your recipes. Thanks!
Sure, stevia in the raw would be fine.
Hello! Can I use egg protein powder instead of the whey protein powder? I have dairy free alternatives for everything else. Please let me know if you think this will work. I’d like to take with me as breakfast for an upcoming trip. Thank you!
Yup, that will work just fine.
Delish! Just made this and it’s gone in a few days. Got rave reviews from myself and several other non gluten free eaters! Will try the biscotti next! Thanks.
I made this cake today and I just had to write you and tell you how delicious it is!
Thank you, for all your work, making all these recipes and for this wonderful site!
Do you have a book you have published? I would be very interested in purchasing it, if you have.
I made this cake last night, and after baking it, the middle part was still kind of “wobbly”. It wasn’t properly done, even though the rest of it was cooked through. When I went to flip it out of the pan, it broke in half where the cinnamon sugar crunch was placed. I’m not sure why it didn’t cook properly. Any suggestions? The taste is phenomenal but I don’t want to use up more ingredients and it fall apart again.
Thanks!
First of all, it’s not supposed to be flipped out of the pan. It’s the sort of cake that’s meant to be cut into pieces and served out of the pan. So that’s the issue there. 2nd of all, you should always test the center of the cake to see if it’s done. Different ovens run at different temperatures.
I did test the center, but obviously something went wrong where the outside cooked and browned and the middle didn’t. I guess I will figure it out myself or find a different recipe.
Thanks anyways.
Maybe try a bigger pan to spread the batter out more. I am not sure what you have available to you.
I made this for my knitting group at the library and it was a hit. These ladies and one gentleman are not low-carbers and they thought it was wonderful. They know I use them as testers (and they love it), but it helps that your recipes are absolutely wonderful. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us.
This sounds amazing. I have Pyure, do you know if I would use the same amount or how would I change it if I needed a different amount?
Well, I think Pyure measures cup for cup like sugar, right? So does Swerve so it should be a direct replacement.
Pyure is sweeter than sugar so you use less. Knowing that Swerve measures cup for cup with sugar helps. Thanks!