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
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Carolyn, you seriously outdid yourself with this one! Mine completely fell apart, but I’m not even mad about it…it’s that good! Replace the water with spiced rum, you will not be disappointed
Oh dear, did it break coming out of the pan? That is the biggest issue for most people with this cake.
It did, but I didn’t care. I put some in a bowl with a few strawberry slices and whipped cream…wow!
Hello, making this cake and have mostly confectioner’s Swerve. Can it be used in places where you specify granular? Thanks so much!!!
Sure, that should be fine.
Turn into a chocolate version: 1/2 cup cocoa powder and 1 tsp instant espresso powder.
Can you use Quest protein powder instead of the Whey protein powder??
I guess so.
I did and it was delicious. I had some salted Carmel quest and it was awesom. This cake is fantastic.
What should the consistency be when it goes in the oven? I just put mine in but it seemed very watery and I followed the recipe exact! Worried I just wasted very expensive ingredients so wanted to see if anyone could tell me, thanks :/
It should definitely not be watery. What kind of almond flour did you use? Something went wrong here.
Can this cake be made with less sweetener? I just made it today and found it to be way too sweet for my liking.
Of course!
Finally made this, this weekend and what a pleasure it is! We’ve always been happy with every recipe we’ve tried of yours but my husband has been bragging about this one all weekend and already wants to make it for the next family get together! =) Thank you for all your hard work we love your recipes!
HI! I want to make this for my husbands birthday but I want to incorporate fruit … like a fruit bunt cake (like berries). Do you think it will hold nicely still? Thank you! I have heard great things about this dessert 🙂
Possibly but I would pick a fruit that has a little substance and isn’t overly juicy. Blueberries maybe.
Hello! Is it ok to use egg white powder instead of the whey powder?
Yes, that should work.
MIL made this for my husband’s birthday. It turned out really well. I’ll definitely keep this recipe on hand for the future.
Thank you for this recipe. I usually don’t crave sweets but when it hits, your website saves me every time.
This was the first time I’ve ever made a “bundt” and it was great! Didn’t even have to put a flower in the middle of it. 😉
Can I use liquid stevia, or regular stevia instead of swerve?
Also, I don’t have whey protein. Can I omit that?
No, this recipe relies on swerve and protein powder to come out properly.
Carolyn is there a mistake in the net carb count? Recipe notes says: 2.04
Carbs 5.54 – fiber 2.5 = 3.04 right? Or am I missing something that you also subtract? Thank you.
Probably!:)
Omgoodness! Best cake ever! I’m making my second one today! It’s absolutely fabulous!
I really like this cake! It has a great consistency and is flavorful without being overly sweet. I subbed the whey powder with powdered goat milk and used pyure as my sweetener. I did make the butter glaze and it was just too much for me and I’m someone who likes some pancake with their butter! I would love to use this to make a cream cheese cinnamon coffee cake- possibly combining this cake recipe (with some cinnamon swirl added in) with the cream cheese layer of your earthquake cake, then topped with a low carb streusal (does that exist?)? I’d love to know your suggestions as I am new to low carb baking and I have found your recipes to be the best I have tested and I’ve tried a good bit….
I’ve made this cake countless times and each time it is a HUGE hit! Nobody thinks it is low carb Sugar addicts can’t tell the difference from their usual goodies. Low carbers question me with, “Are you SURE this is low carb???” LOL This is a robust, reliable recipe that is forgiving (IMHO). Total disclosure – In all the times I’ve made it, I have never added the butter glaze! I want to try it, but each time I discuss it, I get a resounding “no!” Everybody loves it without the glaze. (Someday, when I’m all alone. . . ) Thank you so much for this amazing recipe.
Can I replace the whey protein with collagen?
NOooooooo! It’s not good. It get’s all gummy, I’ve tried it in other cakes.
My neighbor just gave me duck eggs. Could I use them instead? I have never cooked with duck eggs. They are larger than a large chicken egg.
Yes, but I would cut back by one egg. Or possibly two eggs. Maybe google how big the average duck egg is compared to chicken eggs.
I finally tried this recipe last night. Half way through the baking time, I realized I forgot the cream and water! When it was done baking and ready to serve, I was pleasantly surprised — it still tasted delicious!! I’m sure it is much more dense because I forgot the cream and water, but YUM! Thank you for this recipe!!
I would like to share that I poked the holes too far through the cake. The liquid ran through to the other side, and that’s why mine stuck to the pan. So be sure to poke lots of shallow holes, not fewer ones that go all the way through! Also I replaced the water one-for-one with bourbon, and it tastes a little too strong to me. I would maybe try mostly bourbon and a little water next time. But big-time bourbon fans might well disagree!
Okay, that’s a good tip thanks!