This easy keto cake recipe has a wonderful caramelized coconut topping. It’s the low carb, sugar free version of Danish Dream Cake, and it’s delicious!
Last summer, my husband and I hopped on a plane and landed in Copenhagen for five wonderful days. It was a bit of an impulse trip. Europe was opening up again and our kids were going to be visiting their grandmother on the East Coast, so we just went.
We chose Copenhagen because it was relatively easy to get to, and there were plenty of things to do and places to stay. And it was a small enough city to see the sights in our short time.
And we couldn’t have chosen better! We had so much fun, we walked everywhere, we explored and wandered, and ate wonderful food. The people were sweet and helpful, especially since we didn’t know a lick of Danish.
And so this Keto Danish Dream Cake is my tribute to our wonderful few days in Denmark. I have adapted one of their favorite desserts into a low carb, sugar-free treat.
Keto adventures in Copenhagen
I found it remarkably easy to stay keto in this multi-cultural city. While they love their rye bread and serve it with almost everything, it was easy to get plenty of protein, cheese, and fresh vegetables. And I have to say that Danish butter is some of the best I have ever tasted!
We did treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Fleisch. Since this name translates to Flesh, you can see why I wanted to go there! It’s located in the meat-packing district, which also seems fitting. The food and wine were both excellent, and I would highly recommend a visit.
We skipped the big tourist boats and booked a smaller canal tour with Hey Captain Boat Tours. They call it “social sailing”, as you are in much smaller groups and can get to know everyone. But we ended up having our boat and guide, a lovely young man from Argentina, all to ourselves. He was informative and fun, and I would absolutely recommend this tour.
One area we wished we discovered earlier is Reffen. It’s a huge collection of food carts and bars out along the south side of the main canal. It offers street food from virtually everywhere, so everyone can find something they want to eat. And on a nice day, it’s wonderful to sit at the hundreds of picnic tables or beach chairs lining the canal. I would have gone back there multiple times, if we hadn’t discovered it on our very last day.
All in all, it was a glorious trip!
Why you need to try Danish Dream Cake
The Danes love their pastries too, of course. And I am sure they are wonderful, but I can’t speak from experience. I did what I always do in these situations. I find a local speciality that sounds delicious, and I make it myself when I get home to my kitchen.
And how can you argue with a cake that has “dream” in the name? The Danish name is Drømmekage, and it’s really quite a simple treat. It features a lovely vanilla scented cake with a sweet caramelized coconut topping. I used an authentic Danish Dream Cake recipe as a guide when creating my keto version. It’s from a Danish food blog!
This cake is wonderfully tender and not overly sweet. And the coconut caramel topping is delectable. It’s lovely as dessert with a dollop of whipped cream on top, or as an afternoon snack with tea or coffee.
And it has only 2.6g net carbs per serving!
Ingredient notes
- Almond flour: This is an almond flour cake recipe, and I always recommend Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur Flour for truly fine grind.
- Sweeteners: You will need a granular sweetener for the cake. The topping works best if you use some brown sugar substitute and something like allulose or BochaSweet. See more in-depth sweetener options in the Expert Tips section.
- Protein powder: As always, a little protein powder helps the cake rise properly. I like whey protein isolate but you can use egg white protein or pea protein. Do not use collagen protein here.
- Vanilla powder: Traditional Dream Cake takes vanilla sugar, so I decided to use a bit of vanilla powder to the same effect. However, you can just use vanilla extract if that’s easier.
- Butter: There is butter in both the cake and the caramelized topping.
- Coconut: Use shredded coconut rather than flaked coconut for a finer consistency.
- Almond milk: You can use any low carb milk or even just water.
- Kitchen staples: Eggs, baking powder, salt, heavy cream.
Step by Step Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sweetener, and vanilla until well combined.
2. Stir in the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Then stir in the butter and almond milk until well combined.
3. Spread the batter in a 9×9 inch metal baking pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 350ºF, until just barely firm. While it is baking, start preparing the coconut topping.
4. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and the sweeteners. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, until it deepens in color.
5. Once the cake comes out of the oven, pour the topping evenly overtop. Return to the oven and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
6. Remove and let cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
Expert Tips
Lining the pan with parchment paper allows you to get the square cake out in one piece before cutting. You could also do a 9-inch springform pan and simply line the bottom with parchment.
Start preparing the topping while the cake is baking. This way, you can pour the caramel topping over while the cake is still warm and get it all back into the oven to finish baking.
Sweetener Options
The cake requires a granular sweetener and you can use your favorite. But keep in mind that allulose based sweeteners will cause it to darken on the outside faster. Keep your eye on it!
The topping is best with a brown sugar substitute and some allulose, so that it stays gooier. I recognize that not everyone has access to sweeteners like Brown Swerve, allulose and BochaSweet. You can use xylitol to keep it softer, or you can make it with some regular granulated erythritol and a bit of molasses for that brown sugar color.
It will harden and recrystallize if you use erythritol sweeteners alone, but it will still be delicious!
More easy keto cake recipes
Keto Almond Ricotta Cake
Rich keto Italian almond cake with the creaminess of ricotta cheese. This deliciously tender cake is a low carb, sugar free marvel.
Easy Keto Mug Cake
Keto mug cake is perfect when you need a delicious dessert in a flash. There’s nothing easier or more comforting than this easy sugar-free snickerdoodle cake. Only 7 minutes, start to finish!
Keto Flourless Chocolate Cake
This decadent keto flourless chocolate cake has the perfect fudgy texture. It’s a rich sugar-free dessert for the diehard chocolate lover. And it’s totally dairy-free!
Keto Danish Dream Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup Swerve Granular (or other granulated sweetener)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla powder (or 2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
- 2 ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup unflavored whey protein powder (or egg white protein powder)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoon butter melted
- ¼ cup almond milk (or water)
Coconut Caramel Topping
- 6 tablespoon butter
- ⅓ cup Swerve Brown
- ⅓ cup allulose
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded coconut
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9×9 inch metal baking pan. Line the pan with parchment so that the sides overhang for easy removal. Grease the parchment.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sweetener, and vanilla until well combined.
- Stir in the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt. Then stir in the butter and almond milk until well combined.
- Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until just barely firm. While it is baking, start preparing the coconut topping.
Coconut Topping
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and the sweeteners. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, until it deepens in color.
- Remove from heat and add the heavy cream. Once the mixture stops bubbling, stir in the coconut.
- Once the cake comes out of the oven, pour the topping evenly overtop. Return to the oven and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove and let cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.
Lauren says
Oh my goodness! This cake is deliciously rich! By far one of the best keto desserts I’ve ever made. Highly recommend using a brown sugar alternative for this dessert. It’s easy to make too!
Susan Angell says
Delish! I think this is my new favorite! that is, until I try something new of yours that I haven’t baked before!
Anu says
This was absolutely stunning, I could eat this all day every day! This recipe of yours has been on my to-do list for so long, I’m so glad I finally managed to make the time for it. Coconut and caramel are two of my favourite things, so I was sure this was hit the spot, and I wasn’t disappointed. I made this exactly as written, using water rather than almond milk, and we ate this all through the past week, slightly warmed in the microwave (just 20 seconds – for just the right amount of ooze with the caramel topping), with a dollop of unsweetened Greek yogurt… heaven!
Just one question please – Is there any reason why we don’t mix the dry ingredients separately from the wet, and then mix them all together? I found it a little difficult to work with the cake mix with some wet ingredients (eggs) first, then dry, then wet (melted butter, water, etc.). So if it won’t impact the result, I’ll try mixing wet and dry separately and then all together, the next time I make this. And there will definitely be many next times!! Thank you so much, Carolyn – this was truly wonderful.
S says
I made this today and didn’t realize until I already had the wet ingredients mixed together that I only had 7 oz (by weight) of almond flour instead of the 9 oz the recipe calls for! Usually I’m better organized than that. I took a risk and substituted 1 oz coconut flour in its place. This might be why the cake took much longer to make through, like almost an hour. Because of the extended baking time, my caramel got a bit overdone especially around the edges. My hopes were kind of low bc of the substitution and the overdone caramel, but it actually turned out great! The cake was the best, most tender and moist and flavorful keto cake I’ve had and the caramel was still tasty.
I’m really looking forward to making this again and will use part coconut flour again bc why tinker with perfection? Obviously I now know to bake the cake longer next time before adding the caramel.
Thank you for making such a great recipe. I’m a diet controlled type 2 diabetic who is currently pregnant and having to restrict carbs even more bc insulin resistance worsens in the 3rd trimester. Honestly, being able to make treats from your blog really increases my (admittedly already good) quality of life bc everyone needs a little treat sometimes. My husband and 2 little ones loved the cake as well.
Rosemarie says
This topping looks very similar to a family favorite oatmeal cake recipe. I may have to tweak the cake spices a bit to see if I can make something close.
Thanks for all your great recipes.
Estelle says
Thank you for this recipe, it was so easy to make and unexpectedly, really devine whether room temperature or straight from the fridge. The caramel and coconut – drooling deliciousness !
Hope says
Now that Swerve contains allulose, do I need to make adjustments?
Carolyn says
No… because it’s not enough to help make the topping gooey. Stick with the recipe as written but keep your eye on the cake so it doesn’t over-brown.
Terri Joy says
Awesome cake! even my non-keto husband loves it! could be very versatile, such as serving the cake alone with fresh berries and whipped cream. Also, you could add some pecans to the topping and use it on top of a chocolate cake for German Chocolate Cake. At any rate, I will be making it as is for years to come!
Juanita Hammersley says
I made this today. First, it was easy to make. Second it was “beyond”. Thank you so much for developing this for the “keto population”. We have been deprived long enough of great tasting food that is not designed to kill us.
Carolyn says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Laura Caballero says
Hi Carolyn!
I live in Germany and Allulose is not sold here. Can we use any other sweetener? Thank you for all the amazing recipes you share with us!
Laura
Carolyn says
Hi, I discussed this in the Expert Tips.
Samantha says
You left out adding the coconut in the topping instructions for the Danish Dream cake
Carolyn says
No, it’s actually in there already. Step 2 under coconut topping…
Mette Eriksen says
I love Keto, but i’m also from Denmark, and you honour my country with this delicious recipe. It tastes so good, and we love it here in Denmark ❤️❤️
Carolyn says
Hope you give this version a try! I tried hard to stay close to the original, which is why I used a Danish blogger’s recipe as my guide!