This tender sour cream coffee cake will amaze your tastebuds and your friends! No one will guess it’s keto friendly and completely sugar-free.
Nothing quite says “Let’s brunch” like a slice of sweet, crumbly coffee cake. Bonus points if it’s studded with chocolate chips. And triple bonus points if it’s low carb and gluten-free.
What is it about keto coffee cake that is so delightfully enticing? Is it the sweet cinnamon scent and the tender texture? Or is it the fact that you can eat cake with your morning coffee and no one will give you the hairy eyeball?
Let’s face it, a big slice of layer cake might have some people judging you rather harshly. Although I would not say no to a slice of keto carrot cake for breakfast in the privacy of my own home!
But coffee cake is somehow much more socially acceptable. No one even thinks twice if you go back for seconds!
Why you will love this recipe
Sour cream coffee cake is a classic bakery treat and this keto version lives up to the promise. It has a tender crumb that isn’t overly sweet. And it’s topped with a delicious brown “sugar” crumb topping.
It both looks and tastes the part of a conventional baked good, but with a mere fraction of the carbs.
It’s also easy to make, with standard keto ingredients that you can find at almost any grocery store. You only need 20 minutes of prep time to get it into the oven and baking. Then just sit back and enjoy the delicious smells!
I took this cake to a get together recently and it disappeared astonishingly fast. No one could believe it was made without sugar or flour!
Ingredients you need
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- Sour cream: I love using sour cream in baked goods like keto muffins and cakes. It makes them extra tender. You can also use Greek yogurt, but I recommend full fat for fewer carbs.
- Brown sugar substitute: My favorite is Swerve Brown as it tastes the most like real brown sugar. If you can’t find a good sub, you can use granular erythritol and a teaspoon of molasses.
- Almond flour: As with any almond flour recipe, the finer your flour, the finer the consistency. I always have good results with Bob’s Red Mill.
- Protein powder: You can use whey protein powder or egg white protein powder. Collagen protein won’t work in this recipe.
- Cinnamon: A touch of cinnamon goes well with almost any coffee cake.
- Chocolate chips: You don’t have to add keto chocolate chips but it’s pretty tasty if you do! You can also add chopped nuts, like pecans or walnuts.
- Pantry staples: Eggs, vanilla, butter, baking powder, salt.
Step by Step Directions
1. Prepare the cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and sweetener. Stir in the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. If the batter is very thick, stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time. It should be thick but pourable.
2. Spread in the pan: Add the chocolate chips and stir until well distributed, then pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread to the edges.
3. Prepare the topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle all over the top of the cake.
4. Bake the coffee cake: Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is just firm to the touch and the edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool completely in the pan.
Expert Tips
Make sure to whisk the sweetener in with the wet ingredients and break up any clumps before adding the dry ingredients. Brown Swerve sometimes has clumps but you can mash them easily with a fork.
Sour cream adds lots of moisture to the cake batter so only add water if your batter is overly thick. You want the batter to be thick but still easily poured into the baking pan.
Nut Free Option: You can use sunflower seed flour in place of the almond flour, cup for cup. Just be aware of the fact that it can react with baking powder to cause baked goods to become green inside as they cool. You can easily offset this reaction by using a tablespoon of lemon juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coffee cake is meant to be served with coffee, and can be eaten for breakfast, brunch, or snack. It’s usually a simple one layer cake that has no frosting, and it’s often less sweet than dessert cakes. Think of it as a muffin in cake form!
This keto coffee cake does not need to be refrigerated immediately. You can store it on the counter, tightly covered, for up to 4 days. If you won’t finish it before then, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
This keto sour cream coffee cake recipe has 8.2g of carbs and 4.4g of fiber per serving. So each slice has 3.8g of net carbs.
More keto brunch recipes
Keto Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup Swerve Brown, lightly packed
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup unflavored whey protein powder, or egg white protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 to 2 tbsp water, if needed
- 1/3 cup sugar free chocolate chips
Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup Swerve Brown
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease an 8-inch round cake pan. Line with parchment paper and grease the paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and sweetener. Stir in the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. If the batter is very thick, stir in water 1 tablespoon at a time. It should be thick but pourable.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir until well distributed, then pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread to the edges.
Crumb Topping
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle all over the top of the cake.
- Bake 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is just firm to the touch and the edges are golden brown. Remove and let cool completely in the pan.
- Sprinkle with powdered sweetener, if desired.
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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Hello.
As the recipe contains sour cream, I would like to ask:
i)How long will the cake last if put in the fridge?
ii)Can it be frozen? If so, what is likely to be the effect upon the defrosted cake?
In the fridge, the cake should last at least a week. And yes, it can be frozen.
Is it possible to substitute the almond flour for coconut flour in this recipe or will that ruin the cake? I dont have any other keto flours in the house at the moment.
It will absolutely ruin the cake. Coconut flour bakes very differently than almond flour. Please read this: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-basics-baking-with-coconut-flour/
I was afraid of that.
Mine came out much darker and not fluffy but very very moist like..Not sure what I did wrong. I had all the exact ingredients.
I am going to guess that you used allulose for the sweetener…
I didn’t add choc chips but it was still awesome!
Love this recipe!…Make a really decent size cake.
I used allulose so had to put foil over the top so it didnt brown too much.
So good! Great texture! I would serve this to anyone.
I made the sour cream spice cake and it was good. I made a few changes with the ingredients because i wanted to use what I already had at home. I used Xylitol for the sweetener and substituted maple extract and cinnamon crunch whey protein powder for the vanilla extract and the unflavoured whey powder. The cake was tasty. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.