This keto walnut coffee cake is a bakery style cake with a walnut cinnamon swirl and crunchy topping. An amazing low carb, sugar free brunch treat!
In case I haven’t made it abundantly clear yet, I love coffee cake. I have so many delicious keto coffee cake recipes and I am now adding another. And I can assure you that I won’t stop here.
The enduring charm of coffee cake is that it’s meant to be served with coffee. Which, by extension, means you can eat it for breakfast. And I like cake for breakfast.
You can also eat it with your afternoon coffee as a little snack. Or you can serve it with your after-dinner coffee as dessert. A versatile sweet treat indeed!
And this bakery-style keto walnut coffee cake plays all of these roles remarkably well. It’s delicious and tender, and not overly sweet.
Walnut Coffee Cake Inspiration
Inspiration for a recipe can come from a variety of sources. I am always open to it, always receptive, and I find I have more ideas for keto recipes than I could possibly make in a life time.
The inspiration for this cake comes from my husband’s aunt, who regularly sends us food as gifts. She’s generous beyond compare, but sadly, they are often things I can’t eat, such as the huge and gorgeous coffee cake she sent last Christmas.
My husband was loath to part with the cake, so he doled it out to himself and the kids, a little at a time. The kids adored the crunchy cinnamon walnut topping and my son asked if I thought I could make something similar with keto ingredients.
Challenge accepted!
Bakery-style keto coffee cake
This is a large and impressive looking cake that serves a lot of people. It has a tender crumb and a rich swirl of walnuts and cinnamon. It’s meant to mimic the coffee cake you might find in a bakery, the sort that you would bring into the office to share at a meeting.
Of course, many of us are working virtually these days, so you may be wondering what to do with it all. The good news is that it freezes really well, so you can divvy it up, wrap it tightly, and sock it away.
To make it more like an actual bakery cake, I used a tube pan. It’s the same kind of pan I used for my Keto Angel Food Cake, a tall circular pan with a center tube.
However, this walnut coffee cake is not dependent on the pan shape. You could also use a bundt pan, a springform pan, or even a 9×13 rectangular pan. The pan shape will change how long the cake takes too bake.
How to make keto cinnamon walnut coffee cake
- Grease the pan well and line the bottom with parchment paper (see recipe notes).
- Make the cinnamon walnut swirl by combining the walnuts, brown sugar substitute, and the cinnamon. Break up the clumps in the brown sugar substitute as much as possible.
- Whisk together all the dry ingredients first, before creaming the butter, sweetener, and eggs.
- The protein powder is an important component here, as it replaces gluten and gives the cake it’s lighter, fluffier consistency. The best substitute is egg white protein. If you must skip it, please know that your cake may not rise as well.
- Spread half the batter in the pan, then sprinkle with half of the cinnamon walnut mixture. Spread the remaining batter in the pan and then top with the remaining walnut mixture.
- The cinnamon walnuts will create a delightfully crunchy topping as they bake!
How to serve and store Keto Walnut Coffee Cake
As I mentioned before, this keto coffee cake is great as breakfast or brunch, but it’s also lovely as dessert. For dessert, try warming it up a touch and serving with keto ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.
It’s large and makes 20 servings, so it’s great for parties and get togethers. But it also freezes really well. If it’s just you and yours, portion it up after it’s cool and wrap it up tightly for the freezer.
It will be good for several months, as long as it’s tightly wrapped to keep out the freezer burn.
More delicious keto walnut recipes
- Keto Chocolate Walnut Torte
- Keto Maple Walnut Biscotti
- Keto Maple Walnut Ice Cream
- Keto Walnut Bread
- Keto Cinnamon Walnut Muffins
- Keto Maple Walnut Blondies
Keto Walnut Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup Swerve Brown
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 3/4 cup almond flour
- 6 tbsp coconut flour
- 6 tbsp whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 to 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch tube pan (aka angel food cake pan) well. Line the bottom with parchment (see recipe notes).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the walnuts, Swerve Brown, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the Swerve until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract, scraping down the beaters and the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour mixture and beat until well combined. Then beat in 3/4 cup of the water. If the batter is quite thick, add additional water as necessary. The batter should scoopable and spreadable but not quite pourable.
- Spread about half the batter in the prepared pan, and then sprinkle with half of the walnut mixture. Spread the remaining batter in the pan and sprinkle with the remaining walnut mixutre.
- Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until golden brown and just firm to the touch. A tester inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Remove and let cool in the pan, then run a sharp knife just around the edges to loosen and transfer to a plate.
