This keto coffee cake is a bakery style cake with a walnut cinnamon swirl and crunchy topping. It’s an impressive sugar-free treat that’s perfect for a special brunch or just because!
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, don’t you? 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.
This cinnamon walnut coffee cake plays all of these roles remarkably well. It’s delicious and tender, and not overly sweet. And it’s stunning to look at too!
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 keto 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 to bake
Ingredients you need
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- Walnuts: Chopped nuts add a delicious crunch to this recipe. I used walnuts but you could easily do pecans or hazelnuts, if you prefer.
- Swerve Brown: A brown sugar replacement really makes the cinnamon nut swirl stand out, like a bakery cake.
- Swerve Sweetener: I recommend Swerve or another erythritol-based sweetener for this recipe. Using another sweetener may change the texture and consistency. Allulose also browns very quickly in the oven and the exterior of your cake will look almost burnt. Learn more about how keto sweeteners work here.
- Keto flours: I use a combination of almond flour and coconut flour for this recipe, for the best texture. Coconut flour also increases the volume of the cake with fewer carbs.
- Whey protein powder: This helps to replace gluten and gives the cake its lighter, fluffier consistency. The best substitute is egg white protein, but collagen protein will make the cake gummy and harder to cook through. If you must skip it, please know that your cake may not rise as well.
- Butter: Make sure the butter is properly softened prior to mixing. You should be able to leave a dent in when you press lightly with your finger.
- Eggs: Large eggs are the standard for baking. Bring them to room temperature before adding them, as cold eggs will cause the creamed butter to clump up again.
- Pantry staples: Baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
Step by step directions
1. Prepare the pan: Grease a 9-inch tube pan (aka angel food cake pan) well. To line the tube pan, you need a 9-inch circle of parchment paper. Fold the paper in half and then in half again to create a cone. Cut enough out of the tip so that when it is opened, it fits over the center of the tube pan. It does not need to be perfect.
2. Prepare the cinnamon swirl: In a medium bowl, whisk together the walnuts, Swerve Brown, and cinnamon. Break up the clumps in the brown sugar substitute as much as possible.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients: Combine the almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
4. Prepare the cake batter: Beat the butter with the sweetener until lightened and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat until well combined.
Add 1/2 cup water. If the batter is still quite thick, add additional water as necessary. The batter should be scoopable and spreadable, but not quite pourable.
5. Assemble the cake: Spread about half the batter in the prepared pan, then sprinkle with half of the cinnamon walnut mixture. Spread the remaining batter in the pan and sprinkle the top with remaining walnut mixture.
6. Bake: Bake at 350ºF for 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.
Expert Tips and FAQ
As I mentioned before, this keto coffee cake is great as breakfast or brunch, but it’s also lovely as dessert. Try warming it up a touch and serving with keto ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream.
As with all keto cakes, let it cool completely before trying to remove it from the pan. It is more fragile when it’s warm and more likely to break apart on you.
Don’t have a tube pan? Try a 9-inch springform pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes.
Absolutely! The best way to freeze leftovers is to wrap it up tightly in plastic wrap or foil. You can also cut it up into individual portions and freeze each of those separately. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer.
This keto coffee cake recipe has 5.8 grams of carbs and 2.9 grams of fiber. That means it has 2.9 grams net carbs per slice.
The term “coffee cake” can be confusing, but most American-style coffee cake recipes don’t actually contain coffee. They are so named because they are meant to be served with coffee. Coffee cakes are single layer cakes, often containing cinnamon and nuts, and can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Swaps and substitutions
For a dairy-free keto coffee cake, try replacing the butter with coconut oil, and the whey protein with egg white protein powder. Plant-based protein powders may also work.
There really isn’t a good nut-free option for this cake. You could try sunflower seed flour, but your cake will have a greyish color. You also need to add a few tablespoons of lemon juice to offset the green reaction.
To replace the coconut flour, you will need another 1 1/4 cups of almond flour. Use only 4 eggs.
Try these other recipes for keto coffee cake
- Readers adore Keto Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. It’s a gorgeous almond flour cake with a ribbon of cream cheese and fresh raspberries.
- Keto coffee cake muffins feature a delicious cinnamon crumb topping and a sweet vanilla drizzle.
- If you need an easy, heart-healthy dinner recipe, you can’t go wrong with Walnut Crusted Chicken!
- Missing baklava? Try my easy Keto Baklava Bars. They have a shortbread crust with a wonderful walnut and “honey” topping.
Keto Walnut Coffee Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (87.75 g) chopped walnuts
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) Swerve Brown
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 3/4 cup (275 g) almond flour
- 6 tbsp (41 g) coconut flour
- 6 tbsp whey protein powder , (or egg white protein powder)
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (170.25 g) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (136.5 g) Swerve Sweetener
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup (177.44 g) 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 be 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 mixture.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Storage information
Cover the cake and store at room temperature for up to four days, or in the fridge for up to 8 days. You can also freeze it for several months.Nutrition
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For the water, your amounts say “1/2 to 3/4 cup”. But in the Instructions, you say “Then beat in ¾ cup of the water” and add more if necessary. Did you mean to start with 1/2 cup water and then add more if necessary?
This is AMAZING! I made it for my friends for brunch this weekend. I had a request for delicious instead of healthy…haha…so I made 2 kinds of cinnamon coffee cake. And everyone loved this one!!! (I also made 2 kinds of breakfast pizza and yours was devoured…I still had some of the non-keto one to give to neighbors.)
Random question: I have a cinnamon coffee cake recipe my family makes for Christmas morning every single year. It’s similar but has sour cream in the cake portion and has butter in the brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Do you think I could add those 2 things into this? Maybe the sour cream in place of some of the water? If so, what would you guess as to the amount of sour cream?
Thanks so much…your recipes make keto life so much easier!
hai, do you think i could put pieces of apple instead of walnuts? i used to make this apple cinnamon cake which I love, but cannot eat anymore because I am diabetic 1.
This was delicious! I took it to the lake house and froze some to eat the next week. It was just as good then, especially when warmed up a bit in the microwave! Thanks for all the great recipes!
Carolyn, you are some kind of wizard. My husband has been dismissive of any and all keto baked goods. Now that he is fully keto, he’s been more open but still tends to not like anything I make. Until this cake. He said it tasted like a real cake and I agree!
When I made the cake, I cut it into 8 pieces and placed the whole thing in the freezer. I’ve been taking individual pieces out the night before to enjoy them with my coffee. Today I forgot, so put them in the microwave and used the defrost setting. The cake texture was actually improved! The cake was moister. It was a subtle but noticeable difference.
So for anyone who is thinking of freezing it, do it. It freezes beautifully.
Good to hear!
Carolyn, you are some kind of wizard. My husband has been dismissive of any and all keto baked goods. Now that he is fully keto, he’s been more open but still tends to not like anything I make. Until this cake. He said it tasted like a real cake and I agree!
When I made the cake, I cut it into 8 pieces and placed the whole thing in the freezer. I’ve been taking individual pieces out the night before to enjoy them with my coffee. Today I forgot, so put them in the microwave and used the defrost setting. The cake texture was actually improved! The cake was moister. It was a subtle but noticeable difference.
So for anyone who is thinking of freezing it, do it. It freezes beautifully.
Hi this sounds fantastic. I’m curious about the protein powder and if it’s necessary, and if so, what can I replace it with? Many thanks for your fabulous recipes!
Hi Holly. Please read the full blog post, particularly the Ingredients You Need section. i always address questions like this.
I’M curious toooo!
oops. just saw I need to read whole blog post. sorry!
I want to make this for my family beach trip. Can I leave out or substitute the coconut flour? My son is highly allergic to coconut.
You need to add more almond flour… at least another full cup, if not 1 1/4 cups.
Made this today in a Bundt pan and it was incredible. I felt like I was cheating. I made a drizzle for the top with some swerve confectioners sugar and heavy cream. Soooo good. This is going in the recipe rotation fo-sho!! I wish I could share a photo, it looked so yummy. Thank you so much.
Sounds fabulous!
Looks delicious and I am going to make this. Just love your recipes. Thank you for all you do.
Mayzie
I made this coffee cake for my ladies Bible study group and it was a big success. I did not have a good bundt pan so I made it in my springform round pan and it was perfect. I froze the leftovers and thawed them out for company this past weekend. Still delicious. I trust your recipes. You work so hard to perfect them. Thank you!
I was wondering if I could make the batter the night before and bake it in the morning?
It may thicken a lot if you refrigerate it overnight. But it’s worth a shot, I guess!
Wen eat this for dessert & breakfast! It’s always a crowd pleaser! That cinnamon, crunch swirl is delicious!
This was amazing! If I didn’t know it wasn’t made with all purpose flour and regular sugar, I never would have known it was Keto. Just wonderful.
This keto cake was so good! We loved it, super moist, had a great cinnamon flavor and was just wonderful.
We only have vanilla whey protein powder available. Do you think it would be fine just using that and skipping the vanilla extract and/or some of the sweetener?
Yes, that should work.
I wish to make this without whey protein powder. Is there a substitute ingredient? This looks so amazing. Great job on the site & Vids, & thank you for all you do!
Gluten is a protein. In its absence, using a dry protein powder (whey or egg white) helps baked goods rise and hold their shape. You can skip it but it may not work out as well.
I’ve made this twice. It’s a very tasty coffee cake for us Keto followers, but I think it is a tad too sweet and contains too many eggs for that size cake. The second time I made it, I cut the sugar in half and used 4 eggs instead of 6 and it came out perfectly! When it has completely cooled, I slice it up and wrap the individual portions in plastic wrap and freeze them. When I’m in the mood for a slice, I take one out of the freezer the night before and leave it on the counter to defrost. It freezes beautifully.
Which oil should I use to substitute butter and how much oil should I use.
I use your recipes alot.
But due to high cholesterol issues I want to substitute butter with oil.
Thank you
I really can’t say, that would be up to you. Any oil will probably work.
I like to use Avocado oil in baking. It has a good flavor and can be found in most stores.
Made this for the second time today! This is the best cake ever!!!
Thank you!
Just wanted you to know that I made this in a 9″ springform pan, and it turned out great! I started checking it after 45 minutes, and it probably took just under 55 minutes before it was baked through. This is my first low-carb bake in years (after many failures in the past, thus the hiatus), and I was so relieved to have something come together so well. It also tastes MUCH better than many other recipes I have tried before. Thank you! I look forward to trying more recipes!