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
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Could you substitute the whey protein with a unflavored whey casein powder instead? Of also could you substitutse they whey protein for a plant based protein powder using the same amount as you use?
I’ve never used casein powder. I believe pea protein works fine but again, I can’t be sure because I haven’t tried it myself.
Can I substitute “whey protein powder” for any protein powder, like “Quest protein powder”. Thanks
Well, Quest Protein Powder IS made with whey so yes.
with which can I substitute the protein?
Thanks!
Egg white protein powder works to.
Another instant hit.
Made this with a muffin/cupcake pan. Turned out perfectly. The consistency was spot on and the flavor was incredible. Carolyn, you are a keto-magician.
This is the first recipe I tried and it is the bomb!! The only change was using vanilla whey protein as I couldn’t find unflavored. I also made this while waiting for dinner to make and I couldn’t wait until breakfast. I can’t wait to try your other recipes! Thank you, Carolyn!
Dear Carolyn,
Can I use egg protein powder instead of whey protein powder in this cake?
Thank you xx
Yep, that should work.
Can you substitute other protein powders for whey when using almond flour? ie, bone broth protein, collagen pwdr, etc.
Egg white protein powder works, but collagen and bone broth protein make baked goods very gummy.
This was just incredible. Make this now, it is worth it! I made it for a special Saturday breakfast. Nothing better than coffee and cake. Because almond flour is quite calorie dense, I used 1/2 cup oat fiber, 1/2 cup coconut flour, and 1/2 cup almond flour. L. The batter was quite thick spreading into the pan but it turned out perfect, just the perfect crumb and the frosting on top was to die for. I added more cream to make the frosting more like a glaze. But anyways, Thankyou for your wonderful website, I try a lot of your recipes. Keep making healthy amazing recipes!
Such a great recipe. I used chocolate whey protein powder because that’s what i already had in my kitchen and it worked very well. the taste of the bread is such of a cinnamon-bun from the mall. I also used a dairy free whipping cream because my local grocery store was out of regular (corona season) my frosting still tasted right on, but was most likely a little more watery then standard but i used it as a glaze and it is very tasty. Thank you for the Easy recipe.
I made this coffee cake. The edges were delicious but I blew it and didn’t test it, and the center didn’t cook through. Is it better to turn oven up to 350 or to cook longer? It was completely uncooked in the middle. I used a thick glass pan. Would that make a difference? It was so good that I’ll try again. I made your coconut layer cake also, and everyone loved it. It was unreal. I just ordered another of your cookbooks. Thanks for sharing your talent!
Did you use a ceramic or glass pan? They don’t conduct heat very efficiently and I don’t recommend them for a coffee cake like this.
Rats I used ceramic. Good to know! I want to invest in some really good baking pans. Do you have a favorite brand? I just purchased a third cookbook of yours. I’m a Portland groupie ????
I thought that might be the case, when you said it wouldn’t cook through! The rules of thumb is that when a recipe says “baking pan” it’s referring to metal. Baking “dish” refers to glass or ceramic. But I may have to go back through my recipes and make that more clear.
As for brands, you simply cannot go wrong with USA pan. They are pricier but they are THE BEST and will last you ages. I’ve tossed so much bakeware in my day but now that I use theirs, I haven’t had to toss any in several years. The 9-inch square pan I have has been with me for 8 years and still going strong.
Check them out here: https://amzn.to/2ytMksg
I made some of your muffins in a cheap pan and they stuck to the bottom terribly. I ordered the USA muffin tins and the silicone liners that you recommend for next time. I was shocked when the USA pan came because it was so sturdy, so I will order one. Thank you! These ingredients are too expensive to throw away!
It was delicious! I baked it the night before my husband came from work as a surprise! Half of the cake was gone within 30 minutes!! Thank you so much!
Hope all is well. Two questions. I’m new to baking and was wondering if the butter needed is unsalted? Also, what is the 1 tbsp of melted butter for the cake batter for is there already 1/2 cup?
It doesn’t matter that much but unsalted is standard in baking. Also, read the instructions closely and you will see that the melted butter is for brushing the top of the cake later.
I have made other cake recipes & while they were ok, none were anything I would make twice. I might make this again next week or maybe as soon as it’s gone! I think the protein powder is a real game changer. I did have to cook longer than the recommended time but we are at almost 5000′ so I often have to cook longer. This is just a wonderful treat & I thank you so much for all your hard work.
Your recipes are PHENOMENAL! Your “Bragging Rights” are JUSTIFIED! I just made the cinnamon-roll-cake & it’s AMAZING! The only addition I made was 1/2 teaspoon butter extract & 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. I like the “bakery” cake flavor it imparts. I did crumble pecan pieces on top before icing drizzle. It looked gorgeous & tasted FANTASTIC! Thank you for all your hard work on behalf of all low carb, Keto & gluten free eaters everywhere!!
So glad you like it!
WOW this is SO GOOD. Moist, flavorful and, honestly, how the heck is this low-carb/sugar free! I mean, it is just fantastic! The only downside to this is that I am going to have to really hold myself accountable and not the eat the whole thing in one sitting. You are one amazing gal, keep the recipes coming, please! I’m going to buy your baking cookbook now. Thank you!
Wanted to know if I could substitute allulose and if so could it be one to one ratio also wanted to know what your thoughts were Allulose I prefer it over other sweeteners what do you think?
Allulose does a number on my stomach so I rarely use it. But I think it should be fine to use in the cakes.
I seem to like Allulose sweetener the best can I use that one to one with your sweeteners and what is your thought on allulose?
Allulose makes me very sick so I can’t use it.
Hello,
How do you store this? Fridge? How long does it last outside of fridge and in the fridge?
Thank you
It’s fine on the counter for about 3 days. Fridge if you think it will be longer than that.
I’m always left a little disappointed by low carb baking recipes, but holy smokes this was delicious!!! I warm it up for 30 seconds in the microwave for breakfast with my coffee and it becomes this delicious, warm, tender bit cinnammony thing that’s like a good morning hug. I love the texture, the flavor, even more than regular coffee cake.
My teenager is a picky eater. One morning I served him up some of this cake and coffee for a quick breakfast, and made burgers for dinner. He said “You know, today has been a phenomenal day for food. That breakfast cake was super delicious, and now we’re having burgers. Awesome awesome day!”
So happy to hear that!
I have made this before and it was amazing. However I do not have any almond milk. Do you think heavy whipping cream could be used in place? Thank you for all you do!
Do half cream, half water. Whipping cream alone will make the batter too thick.