Kentucky butter cake is a moist and buttery pound cake with a sweet butter sauce that soaks through the cake. This indulgent keto kentucky butter cake is going to blow your mind! It’s easily one of the best low carb cake recipes I have ever made.
Sometimes, size matters and sometimes, bigger is better. I know many of you are enjoying my mini low carb cakes and keto desserts for two, but that’s not where we are going today, my friends. Oh no, today, we are going big, bold, and beautiful. And we are heading down into the heart of Dixie and taking inspiration from our beloved Southern friends, who do big, bold and beautiful better than the rest of the world. Take, for example, the beloved Kentucky Butter Cake.
I mean, people in the south know how to use butter in a big, BIG way. And anyone who can liberally throw huge amounts of butter in a cake and then drizzle that cake with butter sauce has my respect.
I am pretty certain that I’ve never been to Kentucky. I have a decent sense of US geography but some of those states down in the southeast corner of the country confuse me so I might not even be able to place it on a map. Sorry, Kentuckians, but it’s true and I wager that many of you wouldn’t be able to place the Canadian provinces, so there!
But I have plenty of respect for you because hey, you created bourbon, you’re pretty awesome when it comes to horse races, and you know how to knock it out of the park when you make pound cake.
I confess I’d never heard of Kentucky Butter Cake until I saw this glorious salted caramel version from Wishes and Dishes. Quite literally, I sat there with my jaw hanging open and there is a slight chance that I may have drooled a little. I instantly knew I had to make a low carb Kentucky Butter Cake recipe.
How To Make Kentucky Butter Cake
Creating a low carb recipe for Kentucky Butter Cake needed some careful thought, since low carb ingredients don’t behave the same way as flour and sugar.
Butter: You need ridiculous amounts of it. Well, of course you do, it’s a butter cake after all. You need a full cup of butter for the cake itself and even more butter for the glaze. Please don’t ask me how to make this recipe dairy free. It’s a butter cake.
Almond Flour: This is where the keto version of Kentucky Butter Cake differs from the original. Now this presents a bit of an issue with all that butter, because almond flour already contains much more fat and moisture than wheat flour. Which means it could be too soft and too moist.
Coconut Flour: To offset the moisture content of the almond flour, I also added some coconut flour. It’s incredibly absorbent and helps soak up all the moisture and give the cake some structure.
Protein Powder: Yes, you need it. It doesn’t have to be whey protein, it can also be egg white protein. But you need it. Because gluten is a protein and since this cake is entirely gluten free, adding in a dry protein powder helps the cake rise and hold its shape.
Room Temperature Ingredients: This goes for almost all keto cakes, but it’s really important to have your butter properly softened and your eggs at room temperature. For the butter, you should be able to easily press a finger into it and leave a dent, but not have it squish all over. And if you add cold eggs to that, it’s just going to clump up all over again. So make sure you leave them out for at least 30 minutes before using.
Grease It Good: This cake is so tender, it has a tendency to stick in the pan. Do yourself a favour and grease that pan really well. Not once, but twice. I like to grease once with butter and once with coconut oil spray. Then I like to dust lightly with almond flour. Be sure not to use a pan with deep crevices, where the cake is more likely to stick. And try to use a very good non-stick pan.
The Glaze: Glaze may not be something of a misnomer, since you aren’t glazing the top of the cake. Rather you are poking the cake with holes and allowing this amazing buttery syrup to soak into it. So good! Feel free to make some of the best low carb caramel sauce to drizzle over yours, if you prefer.
Everyone loves my Keto Kentucky Butter Cake
Ever since I first published this recipe, it’s been a beloved favorite among my readers. You don’t have to look much further than the comments to see that.
There are also a lot of copycat recipes out there now. I’ve even had people take this full recipe and pretend that they created it themselves! Yep, one woman on YouTube made a video and took full credit for my recipe. And a lot of other low carb bloggers have now copied it, changing just one or two little things and giving me no credit whatsoever. That’s unfortunately the way things seem to be these days. I might be old school but I believe in giving credit to my inspiration.
So make no mistake, my friends, this is the original low carb Kentucky Butter Cake recipe. And I feel confident that it will stand the test of time!
Check out all my best Keto Desserts here!
Keto Kentucky Butter Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 1/2 cups (260 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (30 g) coconut flour
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavoured whey protein powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (182 g) Swerve Granular
- 5 large eggs, room temperature.
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (119 g) whipping cream
- 1/2 cup (118.29 g) water
Butter Glaze:
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup (60.67 g) Swerve Granular
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Garnish
- 1 to 2 tbsp Confectioner's Swerve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a bundt cake pan VERY well and then dust with a few tbsp of almond flour. Pro Tip: double-grease your pan to help prevent sticking. Use a solid fat first, like butter or coconut oil, and then a spray like coconut or avocado.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, whey protein, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and the sweetener together until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat in the almond flour mixture and then beat in the whipping cream and water until well combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, until golden brown and the cake is firm to the touch. A tester inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Butter Glaze:In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and sweetener together. Whisk until well combined. Whisk in the water and vanilla extract.
- While the cake is still warm and in the pan, poke holes all over with a skewer. Pour the glaze over and let cool completely in the pan.
- Gently loosen the sides with a knife or thin rubber spatula, then flip out onto a serving platter. Dust with powdered sweetener.
- Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Where’s the nutmeg? My Mom made this cake since the 1940’s and fresh grated nutmeg is the most vital ingredient–makes all the difference in a traditional Kentucky cake.
None of the recipes I consulted (and I looked at 3 or 4) had any nutmeg. I am sure there are lots of little variations like that… 🙂
Can I use almond milk instead of whipping cream
Use almond milk in place of both the cream and water.
I’m making this tonight and I only have half & half, which I assume could also replace the cream and water together? I hope…? Thanks! Yay!
It might be a bit thick, still. I’d do about 3/4 of the half and half and 1/4 water.
Tried your recipe. It was great!!I didn’t have protein powder or egg white powder so I thought I would try cottage cheese-1 cup equals 24 Gm protein which I figured was almost equivalent. Pureed with immersion blender and left out water. Popped out of pan and didn’t fall apart. Everyone loved it!!!!!
Can I use vanilla egg white protein powder in place of the whey
Sure, just don’t add more vanilla and maybe cut back on the sweetener a bit because flavoured protein powders are typically sweetened a bit.
You are a hero!!! This is the most beautiful cake I have ever seen and I thank you from the bottom of my cake-loving heart!
Swoon! Butter ? you’re a genius… Thank you so much!
I’m planning to use all almond flour, should I decrease the eggs? And how many do you suggest? Thanks so much I’m excited to try this cake.
Chris
Do 4 eggs to start and do 3 1/2 cups almond flour. Then, if the batter is overly thick, add an additional egg. But low carb batters ARE thicker than regular batters. It should be spreadable but not pourable.
Carolyn, I have just made this cake with almond flour once again! It is delicious, thank you for your help with the almond flour and egg amounts. They were perfect. I so appreciate all the work you do. Thank you so much!
Christine
What is the purpose of the whey protein powder, and can this be made without it? Thanks!
To mimic gluten (which is a protein) and help the cake rise and hold its shape. Not sure it will hold together as well without it.
Thank you- that’s very helpful 🙂
Could you use unflavored egg or vegetable/pea protein powder instead of whey? I don’t tolerate whey protein powder so I have none on hand.
go for the egg white protein because a lot of pea protein is greenish.
Could zantham gum be substituted for the when protein?
No, they are two entirely different ingredients. That much xanthan gum would be awful.
I made it twice without protein powder. Fell apart and stuck to pan both times.
Could you replace the whey protein powder with Egg White Protein Powder. I also live in a small town and have to drive 30-40 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart or Health Food Store.
Yes, that’s fine.
Wow! This will be a great cake to take with me when I leave for North Carolina!!! I want no options to mess my plan up!! Thanks for your outstanding recipes!!!!!
Can’t have too much butter!! 🙂
I by chance just made your lemon bundt cake over the weekend. Now I have to hurry up and eat the rest of it so I can make this one! I was raised in Southwest Virginia, which is snuggled in there with Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, so I appreciate your call out to the area! Now if you can figure out how to make a low carb Mountain Dew cake, I’d be one happy former southerner!
This looks AMAZING!!!! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!!!
Mountain Dew Cake? I am assuming it takes Mountain Dew?
The original recipe does. It’s really moist and lemony. Probably similar to those recipes that were popular a while back that called for Diet Coke. :0) Mountain Dew is REALLY popular in that area!
Oh man – now you made me want an ice cold Mountain Dew!
I bet you could sub Zevia’s mountain zevia soda 🙂
I was thinking the exact same thing! I bet it would be spot on.
Mountain Dew – in the mid 60’s I wound up with a mouse in my bottle of Mountain Dew – can’t look at it since.
Be sure to strain the mouse if you get one
Mind you, Lambs Navy Rum had the same effect on me at the time – no mouse involved
I appreciate the comment this can be stored countertop up to 3 days. I will make it for Christmas as a birthday cake for my brother who had the unfortunate circumstance of being born on the 23rd
I need to find more make ahead recipes – tired of getting up all bright eyed and bushy tailed only to find I don’t have the energy to eat come dinner time – then wake up to a disaster
Haha, when my brother was a teenager in the 1950’s, he found a mouse stuck to the bottom of his glass bottle of Pepsi Cola. He took the bottle straight to the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company, which happened to be in our home town, and they apologized and gave him a six-pack of Pepsi. Can you imagine what would they would have to do if that happened today?
OH sweet heavenly days — this Georgia girl is going to be making this cake THIS weekend. Looks gorgeous and yummy!!!
Hi Carolyn, do you happen to know the conversion from Swerve to Pyure? Is either sweeter or are they interchangeable? Thanks for a seriously delicious looking recipe!
I am not positive but I do know Swerve measures like sugar. So figure out how much Pyure you should use in relation to sugar.
Pyure is half a small you would use sugar. When I am outta swerve that’s what I use as back up
I mean half as much! Sorry
I find that I only have to use half the amount of pyure vs swerve…I’ve ruined a few desserts before I realized this. Just saying..
How do you store this cake?
Well, I just stored it on the counter for 3 days and it did fine but after that, it should be refrigerated.
Thank you for this luscious looking cake! I will have to make it soon, once I get over my Oregon cold and can actually taste it…. Happy Fat Tuesday!
Usually I bookmark the pages to try things later, but not this one. This one’s going immediately into MasterCook to try this week. 🙂
i am new to cooking low carb, i am excited to make this cake
OMG!!!!!
I just ordered a silicone bundt cake pan so I can make this cake! The last cake I make in my metal pan stuck & ruined the cake.
I use Swerve all the time, but I find that when I use more than 1/2 a cup in a recipe it gets that Swervey cooling aftertaste. If I use a different sweetener that has less bulk, do you think that would be a problem?
I’ve found a combination of Swerve with Monk Fruit is very tasty. I have to try this cake!
Excited to make this tonight for my husbands birthday! Reading all the comments because sometimes I do it after the fact and wish I would have ahead of time, i saw someone posted about half swerve half monkfruit, and I was worried about full swerve. Praying it will be good with half/half of the sweeteners. Otherwise, i will not deviate, sounds like a winner! I will give you FULL credit once I post anything about this 🙂 Thanks for your hard work to get us a recipe that tastes good, I can follow a recipe, just not confident enough yet to convert it to keto or low carb.
HOw did mixing the half/half go? gonna make this later today.
I don’t think it would be a problem in this one.
I use Sukrin sweeteners and do not get that cooling after effect.
Do you think this could be made in a 9×13″ rectangular pan? I don’t own a Bundt pan and don’t bake enough to justify giving one house room. I’d guess the baking time would have to be reduced.
Yes, I think you could. I’d start with 25 min and check on it every 5 minutes after that.
Made mine with a 9×13 tonight, and took 45 for me, but I would say each oven is different and will vary. Smells delish, can’t wait to dig into it!
Enjoy!
I was thinking that it was way too much cake for me and considered cutting the recipe in half and making cup cakes. I could then freeze half the cup cakes. And because it reminds me of some old rum cake recipes I was thinking of doing half the glaze as in the recipe and the other half with rum flavoring in the glaze.
Sounds pretty great to me!
How long do you think for cupcakes?
I’d say at least 20 minutes and then keep checking every few minutes after that.
Why don’t you just slice the cake, then wrap each slice with plastic wrap and freeze them? That is what I do with the giant lemon layer cake. So easy to unwrap one and leave it out to thaw.
It is VERY GOOD as a rum cake… just an FYI ????
Did you actually use rum or just rum extract?
Thank you KD for mentioning this as a Rum Cake. I’ve been looking for a cake to use as the basis for a low carb version of the Downey’s Irish Whisky Cake recipe I cut out of the Philadelphia Inquirer decades ago. Not being able to eat this cake has been one of my regrets of having gone low carb.
I made it this evening and baked it in a 9×13 do about 55 minutes and it was perfect!
So did you just pour the butter glaze on top and then comfectioner sugar? No flippimg involved!
That’s what I did. I did poke it with a bamboo all over. next time I’ll use a metal one.
This sounds decadent. Thanks!
This is absolutely the best dessert I’ve made from THM!!!!!You can eat this plain and it tastes like a glazed cake doughnut!!!!! It’s scrumptious!!!!!
Totally Awesome! Perfect instructions! The only thing wrong is I could eat the whole thing lol
Are your recipes ketogenic because I made your cranberry sour cream muffins and it took three times the amount of carbs for one day I use the quarter cup or half a cup of walnuts it was optional so what is your website I’m quite confused cuz your recipes are way too high for my Keto
How many carbs are you trying to do in one day? Because the total carb count on those muffins is only 8g. The NET carbs are under 5g. I can’t imagine how you are trying to eat less than 8g total carbs per day. My guess is…you entered the ingredients into something like My Fitness Pal, which is notorious for errors, and it added in the erythritol. Since erythritol doesn’t affect blood glucose, it needs to be removed from the count.
Whenever I put a recipe on MFP, I search for the net carbs version of the ingredients like Swerve.
Thank You for explaining this sounds good to me
Hi
I only have vanilla flavoured protein powder, do you think that would be ok?
Yes but cut back on the vanilla extract.
Do you absolutely need to add the protein powder? If not, do I need to increase th amount of either of the flours?
You need the protein powder, otherwise it won’t hold together as well.
Would there be a substitute that could work for the protein powder? Xanthum gum maybe? Thanks.
No nothing but protein powder works. Xanthan gum makes it too slimy if you add more than is already in the recipe. You can skip it but your cake may not hold together as well.
I made it using 2 cups almond flour, 1/2 cup coconut flour and 1/2 cup tapioca flour. It turned out very good except it had a few more carbs than listed here. I couldn’t find unflavored whey powder in my small town and had to improvise. It did work.
Maybe try egg white powder.
Do you use the same amount of egg white powder?
I haven’t made this cake keto but from a southern living recipe years ago. This was always my favorite pound cake. So happy to find it keto. As for the protein powder, I have been able to sub 1 egg white per 2 tablespoons protein powder in your other cake recipes. It has worked so far and hope it will for this one.
It iTs! I just made it today and it is better than any boxed cake in the store. It is moist
It is, I just made it today and it is better than any boxed cake in the store. It is moist. It is the best cake I have made so far with almond flour. I highly recommend this recipe. I’m going to experiment and add some dark chocolate cocoa powder to make a chocolate cake. My husband loves chocolate!
That makes me so happy to hear!
HI, I made this cake today and love it! To date, this is the only almond flour cake that I have enjoyed. Thank you!
So glad to hear it!
How did the Chocolate work?
Hello. Can I use a vegan protein powder made with pea powder? It’s all I have in my home on this snowy evening. Thanks. Looks delicious. Thanks for all of your amazing recipes.
Probably but I can’t guarantee it.
This certainly sounds delicious and I have printed the recipe along with many of your other ones! However, I have great difficulty viewing your pages with ads popping up all over and having to dodge them to see what’s written. Was wondering if anyone else is having this problem.
When people have this issues, it’s usually their browser. Which one are you using? Because I visit my blog frequently from both desktop and mobile and have no issues.
Yes it is VERY BOTHERSOME and they cover HALF the content even on larger screens. But, recipes are so good I fumble around them and do what I can to muster through. Would be nice if they could conveniently locate them midway through or at bottom. (P.s. I am on Safari browser.)
Hi KD. Something is going wrong here if they are covering so much of your screen. I am on my blog all the time (of course) and I get one video pop up that moves to the side as I scroll so I can see everything still. What kind of computer/phone are you using? Have you tried updating your browser?