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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Made this the other day and wow, it was really good. I used granulated sugar (3/4 cup) as I am not a fan of zero carb sweeteners, but it came out exactly as shown, and had the right consistency and sweetness, with much less carbs and sugar than a normal cake. I am going to experiment with the recipe a bit more to see if I can cut out more sugar and fat, but either way well done and thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi Carolyn,
Sorry about the Ohio thing it was a typo. I didn’t get an answer on my question. I have a vegan protein powder. Can I use it. It doesn’t say pea just vegan on the label. I can’t use the stuff with whey I. It. Hope you can help.
Thank you so much
I think it should work.
Ohio Carolyn,
I only have a Vegan protein powder from GNC. It’s vanilla. Can I use this. I’m not vegan but I had a friend get it for me and she got the wrong one. Anyway. Hope you can help. I’m from Kentucky and have made the original one before I went Keto.
Thank you for all your hard work. I love everything you make.
Namaste
Sure, use it and don’t add any additional vanilla.
I always know when I want something sweet, I have to come here. I’ve tried many of your dessert recipes and I’ve not been disappointed. You are the Keto Dessert Goddess! I LOVE this cake!
Glad to hear it, Jamie!
Excellent cake with a lovely delicate crumb. Thanks for your hard work!
Delicious
I wish I could say this turned out for me but it did not. . The cake ended up very wet. I unfortunately will not be eating it. So…. any ideas on how to use the final product. Can I add more almond flour and bake again as muffins. Any suggestions would be helpful.
I have so enjoyed your other recipes though.
If it’s very “wet” as you say, then simply cut it into slices, lay it on a cookie sheet, and dry it out a bit in a warm oven. You could then use those slices for trifle or even tiramisu. Or crumble them into cake pops.
Thanks am going to try drying in the oven. Will let you know. I appreciate the feedback. FYI I tried three recipes from the keto dinner cookbook this week. Fabulous!
Glad to hear it! I am of the mind that unless you accidentally mix up salt for sweetener (or baking soda for baking powder), everything can be rescued in some way. 😉
I really want to try this cake, it sounds delish!. My question is, can you substitute the protein powder with Psyllium Husk Powder?
No, they don’t work at all the same way. Gluten is a protein and in its absence, a dry protein helps the cake rise and hold its shape.
I’ve made this delicious cake a couple of times. Does this cake need to be refrigerated or can it sit out after it is baked?
Thanks.
It can sit out for a day or two but should be refrigerated if longer than that.
I made this cake a few days ago. I heavily greased my non-stick bundt pan and dusted with almond flour. I cooled the cake before flipping and the entire top stuck to my pan. I used to make a cake called Crack Cake that was similar to this. After pouring the melted butter on the hot cake, I only let it cool enough to be able to handle the pan and flipped it while still very warm. When I let it cool completely, the butter hardened and caused the cake to stick. I will definitely make this cake again – we have enjoyed it, but it wasn’t one I would serve to company because it looked so sad. I’ll try flipping it while still very warm.
Hello! This is truly a great receipe! My question is if I want to make it lemon how much extract do I add and does it replace the vanilla or do I need vanilla extract too? Thank you for sharing and i look forward to your response!
You can replace the vanilla fully with lemon. I might also add the zest of one lemon, since that really helps the lemon flavor without adding carbs.
I love the flavor of this, but it turned out SUPER oily. Like if you tried to pick up a piece, you could SEE the oil seeping out Where did I go wrong? I double-checked that I used the correct measurements and everything, and I just cannot figure it out!
What brands of almond flour and coconut flour did you use? I suspect the almond flour. More coarsely ground almond flour tends to let oil leach out.
I don’t think I have ever commented on a recipe….but this cake was wonderful. Thank you for such a great recipe, it was pretty easy to make too!
So glad to hear it!
How have I been missing out on this deliciousness all of my life?! This cake sounds amazing!
I made this for my low-carb neighbor and we all loved it! Such a delicious recipe.
Love that this fits right into my new low card diet! I’m not skipping out on cake again!
My husband requests this every year for his bday! It’s SO good!
So happy to hear that!
I love pound cake but I love that it’s low carb even more! Thanks!
Hi!
Can I use Almond Meal instead of Almond Flour?
Thanks for all you do to keep those of us who need to feed our “sweet tooth” and stay on Keto.
I bought Bocha Sweet for another recipe and would like to know if I can substitute it for your Swerve Granular? (I know it cannot be substituted for the Swerve Confectioner)
I too would like to know the size of the Bundt pan since there is no response to that question since 10 January. And can you change things to make cupcakes with the batter or do you need to change anything?
So I am not entirely sure Bocha Sweet will do here. I’ve been playing around with it a fair bit and finding that while it’s great in more liquid applications, like caramel sauce and ice cream, it’s making some of my baked too soft and a bit prone to falling apart. I haven’t trie dit in a big cake like this.
Oh size of pan: Really any large bundt pan that holds 8 to 10 cups will do.
I’ve made it twice with Boca Sweet. Delicious!