Looking for a dessert that is soft, buttery, and melts in your mouth? This easy Keto Butter Cake is a homerun! It’s got an incredible crumb, is moist, and leaves a lasting impression on anyone who tastes its sweet goodness. Not only is my gooey butter cake keto, but it’s also low carb, gluten-free, and grain-free too.
In this free 5-day email series learn all my tips for incorporating a low-carb lifestyle into the life of your family.
One of my favorite desserts of all time is a gooey butter cake. Obviously, I love it because it tastes so good, and the texture is incredible. Soon after I first got married I bought the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook and tried dozens and dozens of the recipes in that book. After cleaning up my diet and no longer using cake mix I've had the pleasure of converting those old favorites to low carb recipes.
I really enjoy making this gluten free keto butter cake recipe because everyone else loves it too. Even my husband who is normally not a dessert guy. It feels good to serve a treat and have everyone rave about how delicious it is.
If you have a new family move into your neighborhood or want something special to serve for Mother’s Day, this butter cake recipe will save the day! Seriously, any reason you can think of it’s a great idea to make this low carb version of a classic gooey butter cake, so time to head in the kitchen and get busy.
What You’ll Need For a Keto Gooey Butter Cake
This is based on my low carb Keto Butter Cookies with just a few tweaks. Take a look at what you need:
- Butter - You’ll need softened butter for the cake itself and some melted butter for the topping. It needs to be salted for the best results.
- Cream Cheese - To get the decadent and unique flavor out of this cake, you need cream cheese. There is no substitute. Just make sure it’s softened before you begin.
- Sweetener - My sweetener is the perfect combination and gives the keto cake the ideal amount of sweetness. I do leave a few alternatives in the notes in case you want to use something different.
- Eggs - They are the binder for the ingredients. I like to use room temperature eggs when baking, but it’s not required.
- Vanilla - Vanilla extract really highlights the other flavors in the keto butter cake and makes all the difference.
- Almond Flour - To get the soft and rich texture, using almond flour is a must. There aren’t any substitutions that I have used that gave the same results.
- Powdered Erythritol - It’s needed for both the cake and the topping.
- Baking Powder - Using baking powder gives the butter cake the ideal texture.
How To Make Keto Butter Cake
Okay, let’s get busy with these step-by-step directions so you can whip up your own gooey butter cake.
Step One: Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease your pan.
Step Two: Combine the butter, sweetener, and cream cheese using a mixer. (Either a handheld or stand mixer work).
Mix in the eggs and vanilla and combine well.
Step Three: Mix in the flour and powdered erythritol until incorporated.
Step Four: Spread the cake batter into the baking dish.
Then drizzle with melted butter and add the powdered sweetener.
Step Five: Bake the cake for 30-32 minutes or until it’s golden brown and doesn’t look wet on top.
Expert Tip: Never overbake this cake, or it won’t be gooey, and the texture will be off.
Which Keto Flour Is Best For Baking?
This recipe really needs almond flour. There really isn’t’ anything else that is going to compare and give you gooey butter cake. I don’t really recommend anything else, but if you do have luck, be sure to let us know so we can try it too. But, my hunch is that coconut flour will not work in this.
Do I Need To Refrigerate Keto Butter Cake?
It’s not required to keep this low carb gluten free cake in the fridge, and it will last about 2 days at room temperature. However, it will last even longer if you do store it in the fridge. For the best results, be sure to warm it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before serving. When you chill the cake, it will last more like 3-4 days. No matter how you store the cake, be sure to keep it airtight.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Of course, you can double pretty much any recipe without too many problems. You will need to use two pans, so they bake properly. Or if you have an extra-large cake pan, that would work too. You just need to make sure that the top of the cake doesn’t cook too fast and the middle cooks evenly.
Is It Okay To Freeze Keto Butter Cake?
Yep! It freezes great and is terrific to have on hand. I like to wrap each piece up with tin foil or plastic wrap. Then put the pieces inside of a freezer bag. Then you can grab out a piece or two as needed. Or if you want to freeze the entire cake, that’s fine too. I still recommend covering it with aluminum foil to help protect it. It lasts in the freezer for 3-6 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then microwave before serving.
And, I love this cake so much I also turned it into a Keto Peach Cobbler!
Ingredients
- 4 oz salted butter softened (not melted)
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2.5 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup powdered erythritol
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
Topping:
- 4 oz salted butter melted
- ¼ cup powdered erythritol
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan.
- Cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sweetener with an electric mixer. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix. Add in the rest of the dough ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Spread in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle the melted butter over the cake and sprinkle with the powdered sweetener.
- Bake for 30-32 minutes until the cake is barely golden and no longer look wet on top. Do not over bake or you will lose the gooey butter cake texture.
- Store at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer storage, the cake can go in the refrigerator but pieces need to be warmed before serving for the right texture.
Notes
Nutrition
Michelle says
I made this recipe exactly very easy and even my husband who does not follow Keto enjoyed this cake. Perfect best I’ve tried. Thank you
Tammy Sloat says
Can I use unsalted butter and add salt to the recipe?
Taryn says
Sure! 4 oz of salted butter has 1/3 tsp added salt so you would add that amount.
Linda says
I am going to make this again tomorrow and going to try the lemon extract and zest with some unsweetened coconut… I will let you know how it is thank you so much for this recipe …
Linda says
Can you make this in two layer pans (metal)?
Taryn says
You could bake it in two smaller pans but this isn't really desired to be made into a layer cake.
David says
So, I'm new to keto baking... I use a granular erythritol, so I need 3/4 cup of that AND 1/4 cup of the powdered? Looking forward to trying this!
Taryn says
Yes, that is correct. Just be aware that using all erythritol may give it an aftertaste and a minty mouth feeling. I really prefer using erythritol in combination with other sweeteners.
Jennifer Theriot says
This cake is by far the BEST Keto dessert recipe I've found. I followed the recipe to a "T" and baking time for me was exactly 30 minutes. I took it to my son's house for dessert with some strawberries, blueberries and raspberries for the top. Everyone raved about the cake and no one knew it was Keto.
I'm going to try adding lemon extract and zest to the next one I make, as Taryn suggested in another post above.
Brenda says
If using real sugar instead of the sugar substitutes, what would the amounts be? I avoid sugar most of the time, but can only use the real thing as substitutes cause migraines. Keeping the other ingredients better is how I deal with it.
Taryn says
I haven't tested this with regular sugar but I'd try 1.5 times the amounts listed.
Linda says
Hi … my husband is diabetic so I can’t use real sugar and when I make him something I use Splenda and it turns out great and I don’t get a headache.. like I do when I used it in my coffee… so I thought I would try this and I guess where it is in a larger component it didn’t brother me … give it a try .. hope it works for you …
Jenny Rose says
Oh my just baked this today and wow is it awesome, thank you your recipes are fantastic.
Taylor says
The recipe above calls for powdered sweetener in both the cake and the topping. Comments are confusing saying granular for the cake and powdered for the top.
What’s the correct ingredients?
Thank you.
Taryn says
The ingredients are correct as written.
Denise Dean says
I made this recipe for my family this week I took out some of the melted butter and added some peanut butter that I drizzled on the top. Oh my goodness! They could not tell that it was low carb. I would like to try to incorporate some fresh lemon juice next time instead of the peanut butter. Wondering where and how I could do this.
Taryn says
Lemon extract or zest would be better. Lemon juice doesn't have a strong enough flavor to really shine through when baking. I'd add a teaspoon or two of one of those along with the vanilla.
Stephanie S says
I just made this today and I am scratching my head wondering how I have managed to stay on keto since July 2020 with out this cake in my life. Wow, I made it exactly per the recipe except I used Lakanto white granular and monk zero powdered sugar that I get on Amazon. I did use the same ratio of these two sugars as your recipe calls for and it’s perfect! I am totally gonna make this in two separate 8x8 glass baking dishes so I can share with my parents. Thank you so much for this phenomenal recipe, a keeper all day long and night! 😉
Gail says
This cake is so good I want it all the time. I am looking forward to trying other recipes.
Romena says
Love the. Butter cake I love cake I will to make it
Josephine says
So I tried this recipe and it is the truth! I was looking for a nice cake recipe that would not be crumbly and would not have the cooling effect. This is it! I halved the recipe and baked it in 4 ramekins. It came out perfectly. After they cooled off, I stored them individually in ziploc bags with the air pushed out. They kept great. Still soft and buttery. If I could, I would upload a photo. Thanks for the recipe.
nishida naushad says
Hiya
It's a great recipe, for me it tastes like the famous Basbousa (Middle eastern cake ).I loved the buttery flavour and texture . Definitely a keeper,!!!
In your nutrition footnote you have mentioned serving service as 1 piece and then given rest of the info, could you please how many gms is the serving size so that I can have a idea on the calories.
Sarah says
I successfully used almond+ blend from Nature’s eats. Instead of two whole eggs, I used two yolks and one whole egg. Turned out BEAUTIFULLY without being crumbly. It’s absolutely delicious!!
Sarah says
I forgot to say 1.5 cups Almond+!
Cynthia says
So would I use 3/4 cup of swerve for the cake part? When you say 1.5 times does that equal 3/4 cups? Thanks for your help!!!
Taryn says
The cake needs 1/2 cup of a granulated sweetener plus 1/4 cup of a powdered sweetener. I haven't tested with granulated swerve but I think it would work.
Mickey says
Your comment is confusing, wouldn’t both be powdered as listed in your recipe? Thank you!
Taryn says
No, the recipe states that this cake needs both a granulated sweetener and a powdered sweetener. Swerve makes both types.
Nichol Renee says
I bought the ingredients to make this and couldn't comeback to this recipe...so glad I found this. I found another using coconut flour and tried it. No beans. Can't wait to try this one.
Jessica says
Can you use splenda on this recipe? thank you!
Taryn says
I don't test my recipes with splenda so I'm not sure if it would work, sorry.
Stephanie says
Curious if you have ever subbed THM baking blend for almond flour?
Taryn says
Not yet. If you try please let me know how it goes!
Nichol Renee says
I tried a coconut flour version...not chewy or gooey.
Michelle says
That is a lot of xylitol and erythritol. Those sweeteners have a cooling effect in my families mouth we don’t like. Do you find it to have an extremely cooling effect in this recipe? I suppose I could switch sweeteners.
Taryn says
I don't. My husband HATES the cooling effect and would rather not eat desserts at all, he said this did not taste like it has sugar alcohol. You could skip the powdered erythritol on top and just drizzle with the butter if you want.
Megan says
This was delicious, the texture and butteriness was awesome, I have a hard time getting past the sugar substitute taste-have you ever tried to make with real sugar? I realise it would not be Keto however I am gluten free but necessarily Keto . Just wondering thanks!!
Taryn says
I haven't made this with real sugar but it should work.