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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I will be making this soon and I’m wondering if there are any concerns with using flax egg replacer rather than eggs?
Thanks!
Yep, I have many concerns that it will hold together. Eggs are critical to this recipe. Sorry, wish I had better news.
This is my favorite Kentucky Butter Cake recipe. I have halved it and cup-caked it and have had the same success every time. When asked for the recipe, I always direct to your website! The notes on making the cake are as important as the ingredient list! Congratulations and best wishes for your website success!
Thanks so much!
Had to add my praise for this wonderful recipe! I used the tapioca starch instead of the whey (didn’t have any) like a kind reader suggested and it was amazing!! Also do not have bunt pan so used 11 x 13 glass pan and it was perfect. Just getting ready to make it again and wanted to thank you for sharing.
This looks yum! I’ve made several of your recipes and I must say that you are heaven sent, my picky family loves your creations. I’m wondering if I could make this a rum cake by subbing rum for some of the water?
Absolutely!
made it. tastes divine. thanks for the hard work! this one’s a keeper!!!keto and lovin it!!!
Thank you!
Can I use plant protein powder in place of whey protein?
Probably but some of them are a different color and can affect the color of your cake.
Made this cake for company so I’d have a “cake” for strawberry shortcake. It was absolutely delicious. My friends are non keto and one of them asked for seconds “only a bigger piece!” My only disappointment was I simply could not get it out of my bundt pan! Used plenty of butter to grease it and almond flour to dust it but it didn’t budge even using sharp knife and a rubber spatula. Gave up – I simply used a silicone spoon/spatula and scooped it out. Before I prepare it next tum, I’ll be armed with coconut oil spray. Was I supposed to let it totally cool before turning it out – I did and it didn’t!
It’s probably your pan rather than the sprays or oils. What brand do you have?
Nut allergy here so I have to use all coconut flour or coconut flour/flax seed flour combo. Can you tell me how to adjust receipt for the flour or flours and egg adjustment?
Thanks
You can’t use all coconut flour in this recipe. It simply won’t work. If you want a coconut flour vanilla cake recipe, search my blog for vanilla bean cupcakes. It can be made into any sort of cake, bundt or layer or cupcakes.
Can you tell me how far in advance of a party I can make this cake, pour on the glaze (after it cools) and store it in the fridge? Thanks.
Would peanut butter protein powder work in this recipe?
No. It’s far too different from almond flour.
This is my first low carb dessert since going “keto” 3 weeks ago. It was so tasty! We topped it with some fresh local strawberries that I needed to use up and some sugar free whipped cream. Yum! I am loving your site♥️
So glad to hear it!
Well I just made this today for my moms bday
Tomorrow and I used hemp protein powder because that’s what I have and the cake slipped out nicely from
The pan but looks brown and not white from the protein
Powder so I hope it will taste ok.
I just made this recipe for a bake sale at church. It is super yummy!! I wish I could post a pic so you guys could see how well it turned out.
Thank you for this! Planning to make it today! Do you recommend salted or unsalted butter?
Either will work. Unsalted is standard for baking.
Random do you use unsalted or salter butter for this recipe or doesn’t matter?!?
Unsalted is standard for baking.
Would like to give this 10 stars!!! Made this Sunday morning for Easter dinner. My Mom used to make a fabulous rum cake, so I thought why not, right!! Subbed out the water measurements for rum and I had put a small layer of batter in the pans and then sprinkled 1/2 cup of chopped pecans and then added the rest of the batter. It came out beautiful!! a bit boozy but no one complained!!
Hi Carolyn, Do you think Vital Wheat Gluten would work in place of the protein powder? I always have it on hand but have only used it in savory breads. Not sure if it has a “flavor” that would be noticeable in a dessert. Thank you & your recipes are amazing!!
I think it would be worth a try!
I have collagen protein powder. Will this work instead of whey?
No, collagen makes cakes like this very gummy.
Awesome! I already know this cake will hit the spot. Thank you!
Caronlyn, please tell me, do you use salted or unsalted butter in this cake?
Oops, I mean Carolyn.
Unsalted is the standard for baking. Admittedly, I often use salted but I have a high tolerance for salt.
Many thanks for your reply!
Your recipes are awesome and I’ll be making this one for Easter. Happy Easter! ????