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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Will powdered egg protein work in place of whey?
In this recipe, it should!
So so good.
no words at all.
I just made this butter cake for myself for my birthday cake. OMG! The rich butter flavor is out of this world!! You would never guess this is a keto cake!! Thank you for this delicious birthday cake!!
Hi Carolyn,
I have made this cake multiple times and it is truly wonderful!
I would like to make it for my niece who is dairy free. What are your thoughts on using almond milk instead of heavy cream?
Thank you for your time and all of your amazing recipes!!!
Sure but… what about the butter? 🙂
I made the cake! It is so delicious. Since I’ve been on low carb I’ve wanted a good rum cake, this is it! Used rum extract instead of vanilla and rum instead of water. It’s perfect with a little whipped cream. Thank you so much for your great easy to follow recipes.
Wonderful! Beautiful! Easy to make! Baked for 50 minutes to a gorgeous golden brown. Used allulose in the glaze to prevent grittiness. Came out super moist and, yes, deliciously buttery. I bet it would be good with some almond extract in place of some of the vanilla or with caramel sauce instead of the butter glaze just to change things up. Fantastic recipe! Thanks, Carolyn!
Is this baked in a normal size bundt pan or is a smaller one?
Standard, which is 9 to 10 cups.
Thank you.
Several of your recipes call for unflavored whey protein powder. Can I use the vanilla instead?
Vanilla protein powder can sometimes be overpoweringly vanilla! But use it if you must and leave out additional vanilla.
This is by far my favorite non-chocolate low carb cake. Absolutely incredible. The first few times that I made it, I used a cheesecake springform pan and it came out just perfect each time.
why do you add protein powder to the cake mix. I haven’t figured out why you would need it. Can I replace it with something?
I answered that right in the blog post! 🙂 It’s a critical ingredient.
Excellent cake. It’s perfect for a holiday or special occasion.
This reminds me a lot of the recipe for my favorite Bacardi Rum cake, which I used to make at Christmas. So what would happen if I put 1/2 cup of rum instead of water in the batter, and 2 T. of rum in the butter glaze instead of water? Then pecans in the bottom of the bundt pan before the batter? Garnish with whipped cream & powdered Swerve? Do you think that would work? Yum!
Sure!
I did it. Just replace vanilla with rum extract and water with rum. Came out beautifully.
Can I replace the whey protein with egg white protein?
Yes, that works!
this is one of the best ones I try to stay away from cake because of the taste but this one is really. really good thank you
Can this be baked as cupcakes instead of a whole cake? If so, what would the baking time be?
It can be but I can’t totally advise as to baking time since I haven’t made mine that way. That said, I have a number of cupcake recipes that could guide you. This one might be close. Make sure you check on them frequently! https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/low-carb-strawberry-lemonade-cupcakes/
I think this cake would make more than 12 cupcakes FYI. 15 to 16 probably.
I just made this and it is delicious. Do I refrigerate leftover cake or put it in the fridge?
Refrigerating is fine. It’s also fine on the counter for 4 days or so.
What can I use instead of protein powder? It’s super expensive where I live and really want to make this cake.
Nothing. It is CRITICAL to the outcome of the cake. Please watch my video to see just how big a difference protein powder makes: https://youtu.be/8SA_iBl0pUU
Hi there- I had the same issue w/ spending $$$ for a quarter cup of whey protein powder- My solution was: I bought a single serving vanilla shake mix($1.75) at Ingles-its made by Gatorade.The whole package is one half cup dry powder. The vanilla flavor did not affect taste, worked like a charm- best keto cake I have ever tried!!!
I buy protein powder at Sprouts where they have it in bulk…I get just a small amount & it’s not expensive when purchased like that…if you don’t have a Sprouts, you might check other stores that have a bulk section.
This is one of my favourite, never fail, go-to recipes when it comes to low carb cakes that even carb lovers will enjoy!
I love hearing that!
I have made this yet but “Why does the sweetener need to be granulated?
Well a crystalline structure helps whip air bubbles into butter, making the cake lighter and fluffier.
I am drooling over this and want to make it but too much almond flour doesn’t sit well with my stomach. Can this be made with all coconut flour? If so, what would the measurements be?
Thank you (and I hope you or someone responds because I’m desperate to try this).
No sorry, it cannot. I have plenty of coconut flour cakes but this is tested and re-tested with the specified ingredients.