Now it’s not often that I call a recipe “the ultimate” version of something, but this one really hits the nail on the head. It’s perfect in every way – soft textures mixed with delicious flavors.
I didn’t even get a chance to have more than a bite of this cake. I have family over from Spain who absolutely love the store bought Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, and they ate the whole cake before I even had a slice to myself. If these non-ketoers can enjoy a cake this much, then it has to be good.
From the small bite I got, I thought it was absolutely fantastic. It gives that “pull” feeling that you get with yeast bread, which really adds to the texture of it all. The vanilla base paired with the cinnamon filling is just a match made in keto heaven.
If you have an eyedropper with your liquid stevia, 1/4 tsp. is about 25 drops.
Yields 8 Slices of Ultimate Keto Coffee Cake
The Preparation
Base:
- 6 large egg, separated
- 1/4 cup erythritol
- 6 drops liquid stevia, ~25 drops
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup unflavored low-carb protein powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Filling:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup low-carb maple syrup
- 1/4 cup erythritol
The Execution
1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. If you’re using a glass baking dish, use 300°F.
2. Seperate the eggs from the egg whites for all 6 eggs. Cream together the egg yolks with 1/4 Cup Erythritol and 1/4 tsp. Liquid Stevia.
3. Once the egg yolks are creamed, add 6 Oz. Cream cheese and 1/4 Cup Unflavored Protein Powder. Mix this together well until a thick batter forms.
4. Beat your egg whites together with the 1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar until stiff peaks form.
5. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, doing 1/2 of the egg whites first and then the other half. Pour the batter into a round cake pan.
6. Mix together all of the “Filling” ingredients: 1 1/2 Cup Almond Flour, 1 Tbsp. Cinnamon, 1/2 Stick Butter, 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup (recipe here), and 1/4 Cup Erythritol. This should form a “dough” of sorts. Take half and rip off little pieces to top the cake – push the pieces down if they don’t sink on their own.
7. Bake for 20 minutes and then top with the rest of the cinnamon filling. Bake for another 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from the cake pan.
This makes a total of 8 servings of Ultimate Keto Coffee Cake. Each serving comes out to be 318 calories, 27.1g fats, 3.6g net carbs, and 12.9g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 6 large egg | 472 | 31.4 | 2.4 | 0 | 2.4 | 41.5 |
| 1/4 cup erythritol | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 drop liquid stevia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 teaspoon vanilla extract | 25 | 0 | 1.1 | 0 | 1.1 | 0 |
| 6 ounce cream cheese | 582 | 57.8 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 10.5 |
| 1/4 cup unflavored low-carb protein powder | 85 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 18.9 |
| 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 |
| 1 1/2 cup almond flour | 973 | 84 | 37 | 21.8 | 15.1 | 35.3 |
| 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon | 19 | 0.1 | 6.3 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 0.3 |
| 1/4 cup butter | 407 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 1/4 cup low-carb maple syrup | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/4 cup erythritol | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 2584 | 219.7 | 55.7 | 26.7 | 29 | 106.9 |
| Per Serving (/8) | 323 | 27.5 | 7 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 13.4 |
Ultimate Keto Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Base:
- 6 large egg separated
- ¼ cup erythritol
- 6 drop liquid stevia ~25 drops
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounce cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup unflavored low-carb protein powder
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Filling:
- 1 ½ cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup low-carb maple syrup
- ¼ cup erythritol
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F (300F if using a glass baking dish). Separate the yolks from the egg whites. Cream the egg yolks together with the erythritol, liquid stevia, and vanilla.
- Once creamed, add the cream cheese and protein powder. Mix well to form a thick batter.
- Beat the egg whites together with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture one half at a time. Pour the batter into a round cake pan.
- Prepare the filling by combining the almond flour, cinnamon, butter, Ruled.Me Maple Syrup, and erythritol to create a dough-like mixture. Take half of this mixture and rip it into little pieces; place them in the cake batter, pushing them down with your fingers if they don't sink.
- Bake for 20 minutes and then top with the remaining cinnamon filling. Bake for another 20–30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from the cake pan. Enjoy!
Any dair free suggested sub for the cream cheese?
K,
The only subs I can think of would also be dairy. You might be able to add one more egg and some xanthan gum to get a similar consistency but I can’t really think of anything that would be a perfect match. I was thinking sour cream or marscapone, but they are both dairy also 🙁
Hmm if you think sour cream would work I make sour cream from coconut milk… I might have to give that a go…
That sounds pretty cool – let me know how it works out!
In the top picture it looks like you’ve poured some kind of glaze over the top of the cake? What did you use for that, and did you like it better with or without? Thanks! I can’t wait to try this!
Stacy,
I put melted coconut butter over the top of the cake. I preferred it without the glaze to be honest. But the glaze makes it more appealing to the eye.
The cake looks extra deep. What type of a cake pan did you use? My cake pans are only about an inch to an inch and a half deep. Looks really good I can’t wait to try it. It’s only me eating it I wonder if it will taste good once it’s reheated. Thank you.
Dawn I didn’t get the chance to reheat it because it was all eaten the morning after I made it, so I’d say it’s pretty good when it’s cooled. I used a bundt cake pan to make this but when I took it out it didn’t look that great on top so I kept it upside down.
Can stevia (crystal form) be used instead of Erythritol? I ordered Erythritol – but won’t have I until next week =[
Gena, it could be used instead of Erythritol but it might affect the final taste a bit, so it’s up to you.
I made your maple syrup and this coffee cake this morning and I am so glad I did! It was absolutely delicious!! I substituted Swerve for the Erythritol and drizzled the finished cake with a little extra maple syrup. Thanks for this great recipe it made my day
Awesome to hear Amanda!
What did you use for the “icing” on top?
Thanks!
Eric,
I put melted coconut butter over the top of the cake. I preferred it without the glaze to be honest. But the glaze makes it more appealing to the eye.
Sorry, I meant the whipped cream on top
Oh, it was just whipped cream with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top!
Would almond or coconut flour work as a substitute for protein powder in this recipe? I’m living in a rural, non-US location and it’s hard to get a few of the ingredients used for keto cooking (especially baking!).
You could use either of those as a substitution with some xanthan gum, but the protein powder really gives that “pull” of a bread. So I’m not 100% sure how it’d turn out without the protein powder, sorry to say 🙁
how would vega one protein work
This looks so good. I really want to stay strict with my diet, so would Erythritol affect me at all? I bought a bunch of stevia to replace all my sugars, how much different are these 2? And will it affect my keto at all?
Andy, Erythritol is pretty much the same as stevia. I have read that some people have reactions to both stevia and erythritol (but there are no studies on that, all the studies are good). So it’s more of an experiment to test it out. If you have a blood ketone meter you’d also be able to test with that too.
For most, though, it doesn’t affect keto too much. More of the almond flour and things like that would since they’re quite high carbs (lowish net carbs) so that can affect blood sugars.
I’ve been testing with the keto sticks. I’m mid range right now. I actually just tested right now and have had stevia this morning and its in mid range today. I’m not too sure if I’m doing it right. I wipe it off dry on a toilet paper before I measure it. I also leave it in pretty long like 1-2 minutes. I wonder if that has an affect on it? I really want to try these recipes but I’m afraid I might not be able to tolerate it. 🙁
Maybe in the future you can have a page dedicated for keto testing. 🙂
Ah, the ketostix won’t give you a 100% accurate number (it’s quite inaccurate actually). But you can keep testing and see if the erythritol agrees with you. If stevia doesn’t bother you, I doubt erythritol will either 🙂
What’s a way I can check to see if stevia bothers me? Is it the insulin spike I’m looking for? If so is there a way I can test for insulin?
It really shouldn’t but you can use an glucose meter to see how it affects blood sugar (which, it shouldn’t) but you can also use a blood ketone meter to really see how it affects your ketone levels.
I want to make this bundt cake but was wondering if you could make muffins also. Can I double this and use half and half. What temp and time for muffins?
Thanks Craig!
Allison, not sure on the temp and time of muffins but physics says it should be about the same amount of time for muffins if you use the same batter. If you double it you’ll have to cook it a bit longer (maybe 5-10 minutes more?). You could definitely do this for muffins, but I don’t really suggest the half n half as it’s more carby.
Hi Craig,
We made this DELICIOUS coffee cake today and we loved it!!! It is so moist and yummy! Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous recipes!
You’re totally welcome Kari! Super happy to hear you liked it!
Craig,
Ive been experimenting with a lot of your recipes. When it came down.to counting the calories i do find it very hard to figure out how much erythitol im actually eatting. I use myfitnesspal for measuring.but both the packaging and the apps measured it in grams. When it came down to it i think im actually getting 40 80 grams of erythitol based on my conversion from tsp to grams. I use organic zero wholesome sweetener and each serving is 6g. So that also means 6 g of carbs. The vanilla butter pound cake calls for 1/3 cup of erythitol. i somehow got 480g of carbs from it.lol. divide into 12 servings that is 40g. Did i do something wrong here?? And should I subtract carbs from the sugar alcohol?
Andy,
The human body doesn’t have the enzymes necessary to break down erythritol – therefore I don’t count them at all in my daily intake of carbs. Not all sugar alcohols are the same, though. For example Xylitol will cause blood sugar spikes while erythritol and stevia will not.
THIS WAS AMAZINGLY GOOD!
I did not alter anything, although the homemade maple syrup recipe was very watery, I had to add more than the called amount for xanthan but then it worked out fine.
The base of this cake could very well be an angel food cake dupe, and I plan on using it as such with strawberries and whipped cream very soon.
First recipe of yours I have tried and I think I picked a good one! Going to try the lc pizza crust next.
Thanks!
I think you’ll love the pizza crust too! Make sure you do the “Kitchen Sink” one, but just change the toppings to suit your needs. That’s by far the best pizza crust I’ve had on keto 🙂
craig
How will coconut flour or arrowroot/arrowroot flour affect my Ketosis or insulin levels? I know you use it in some of your recipes and i kind of want asian fried chicken! Like Bon Chon
Hey Andy,
Coconut Flour is fine and normally equal amount of carbs to almond flour. Arrowroot flour, on the other hand, is very high carb and should be avoided. I know many paleo communities use it, but for keto it’s just too high carb to use. Hope that helps!
How much of it should i limut myself to per serving or day?
Of the Coconut Flour, Andy? I would recommend not getting in too much. It does have carbs and does raise blood sugar. Every now and again (however subjective that is). I don’t eat treats all that much, and don’t usually recommend people to eat treats daily. Maybe twice a week? Just a treat every now and again to show yourself that you’re not missing/leaving anything behind.
If it fits into your macros, you could technically eat treats every day, but I tend to go a bit against that, as sometimes almond flour can sometimes cause stalls in people. I have read that coconut flour isn’t as common in causing stalls – so it’s really a self experimentation thing.
does your once or twice a week treat include pancakes and waffles????
It would, yes.
Do you have any idea if whey protein powder will react the same way as the protein powder you used for this, Craig?
Hoping to make it for my office birthday but unsure if they whey powder will bugger it!
Thanks 🙂
Tessa, I also used whey protein powder in this, but it was unflavored. I think using a flavored powder might work, but you have to make sure it’s a flavor that will actually blend well together with the other flavors in this 🙂
Craig I made this recipe in the past and I used almond flour by local grocery stores out of almond flour but I do have coconut flour at home is that substitute equal to almond flour?
Gen,
No – coconut flour and almond flour are quite a lot different. Coconut flour is MUCH more absorptive than almond flour (so if you used the same amount, you’d end up with a very dry end product).
Made this for a birthday cake for my SIL who is definitely not a low carber. Her and her hubby loved it and didn’t even realise it was grain free. I definitely will be making this again. I’ve only just found your website and so far I am very impressed with all your advice and recipes. Thank you so much
Glad to hear! I think this is one of the best cake recipes I’ve made on keto and I must try some similar styles to try to find “the perfect cake”. Happy that you’re here, and I hope to keep seeing you around! 🙂
Hi! What would be the right amount of coconut flour to use as opposed to almond as I have and allergy 🙁
To be honest Mollie, I don’t know. Almond flour and coconut flour aren’t interchangeable in a certain ratio – you normally have to add more if you add coconut flour (like eggs) for it to turn out properly.
So I fudged up on this somehow. I think it was either the egg whites not being stiff enough or not baking long enough (but the toothpick came out clean), but it tasted really eggy and it was kind of bland. I also used xylitol instead of erythitrol. Can I reheat it and change any of these problems so I don’t waste the cake?
Ainsley, the xylitol shouldn’t have made much of a difference. Did you make the cinnamon filling and use that? Normally that is where all the flavor comes from. The base of the cake itself is relatively flavorless (slight vanilla flavor). Other than that, all the flavoring comes from the “filling”.
Yeah I actually had all the ingredients and even made the maple syrup moments before
=/
Haha but that could honestly be from drinking blueberry and pomegranate extract tea for the last hour (it’s sweet tasting). I’ll drink water and try again tomorrow.
How’d it turn out today Ainsley? I am hoping that it tastes better to you, but maybe this cake is just not for you. When I made it, I found it very flavorful (a nice mix between cinnamon and regular cake to balance it out).
I rebaked it for ten minutes on 350 and it is so much better, the egg flavor and texture left a lot. I might still try using less eggs next time though.
Interesting…well I hope you like it more now, but I’m not sure what the problem could have been. Mine wasn’t eggy at all :/
This looks so very good!, I love sweets!.
Thanks Kelly – hope you enjoy it!
Just wondering if you greased the cake pan? Or is it more like an Angel Food Cake and you did not need to . Can’t wait to give this a try.
Donna,
I forgot if I did with this one specifically, but most likely I did. I have sprayable coconut oil and usually give a light spray of that into most of the things I bake (unless it’s silicone).
Thanks for the quick response! Am going to give it a go this weekend.
Sure thing – hope you enjoy!
Oh this looks amazing, coffee cake is one of my favorites to make for a weekend breakfast and I miss it. Thanks for bringing it back to me 🙂
Hi, just wondering why you dont include erythitrol and stevia in the calc of your calories and carbs?
Hi Craig, I can’t find maple extract in canada and amazon won’t ship to Toronto what can I use instead.Can I omit protein powder and Stevia.
Criag,
I watched my father die from Type 2 diabetes. When I first got my “pre-diabetic diagnosis 2 years ago, I think I thought it might be a mistake – or that it would somehow go away on its own. After my 3rd semi-annual blood workup, confirming that I was stuck with elevated numbers, I made a commitment to do something about it.
For the past three months I have been following a “Ketogenic” diet, and I was looking forward to this week, when I would get new blood work. Yesterday I got a phone call from my doctor. He was so excited to let me know that my fasting blood glucose was well within the normal range!
As a side effect of getting my blood sugar and insulin under control with a keto diet, I have lost 20 pounds and am now within 5 pounds of my ideal weight! Besides that, I no longer have arthritic pain in my joints, I feel more calm inside, I am sleeping better – and I am never hungry!
In order to celebrate I made this Ultimate Coffee Cake today. It was difficult to believe how tender and delicious it was and how it just melted in my mouth! I slathered butter all over it and enjoyed it with a cup of “keto tea.” It was very filling! I have SO MANY ideas about how to work with this awesome recipe!
I am so grateful to you for all of the work you have done to make this beautiful website. You have no idea how much your detailed instructions and wonderful recipes have encouraged me, and made it possible for me to change my life. Thank you so much!
What is that “pull” feeling mean? Is that pastry lust? Never heard that expression in reference to food.
Total carbs should be more like 84.6 grams. That is more than double what you show. That puts the carbohydrate at 16 and a half percent. This is a very misleading recipe post.
If you look at the ingredient list of the recipe, it links to a recipe for the maple syrup. Most people know you can’t use “real” maple syrup in a ketogenic recipe, so we use one that is made from scratch. Other alternatives include Walden Farm’s Pancake Syrup (0g carbs). Please read the recipe thoroughly if you are having trouble with the nutrition information – there’s always an explanation for the nutrition information if you think something looks off.
Thank you for the clarification. As for myself and many people I’m trying to help with diet implementation, often we take a glance at the ingredients and think of what we need to buy. It might be helpful to rename what you’re calling maple syrup. It’s confusing if people don’t notice that link. The nutritional breakdown makes sense now.
Understood. In more recent recipes I usually clarify by calling it “Homemade” Maple Syrup. I try to be clear in the instructions, but I can definitely understand how it can be confusing.
Thanks for the explanation. I work with lots of patients and folks who are not keto savvy…yet. And wouldn’t assume that maple syrup is not OK. I just suggest adding the word substitute, with a link right there. To me maple syrup comes from a maple tree.
Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll definitely do that in future recipes (and have edited the post to reflect that). Generally speaking, I try to refer everyone to my Guide to Ketosis / Ketogenic Food List first before trying anything – so usually people have an idea that no sugar is involved (and maple syrup is essentially pure sugar).
I should have emphasized my appreciation for your recipes! I am admittedly over-analytical sometimes, but I also review the maple syrup recipe and notice that it shows no carbs. It is my understanding erythritol adds .24 kcal per gram. So the syrup would have 11.52 kcal from the erythritol. You then add a quarter of a cup to the coffee cake plus there is a quarter cup erythritol in the recipe as well. Even though packaging shows serving size of one teaspoon has zero carbohydrates in erythritol when you use larger amounts there is significant carb. I calculated 55 grams of total carbohydrates for the recipe. 14.4 from the erythritol.
Thanks! I don’t generally calculate the kcal in erythritol because it’s rather negligible in the “big picture”. In fact, I leave it out of the nutrition entirely because it can be a bit confusing to people. Though as far as the carbohydrates are concerned, I do not recommend tracking them. They aren’t absorbed like normal sugar alcohols – they go through the intestine without passing the blood barrier – so you essentially excrete it all via urine. There’s been many studies on erythritol and blood sugar and insulin with absolutely no change. If you’re interested, there’s many of them that you could easily access.
Craig, I need to know a measurement. What is 1/2 stick of butter come out to??? It would be helpful to know since I use the huge block of butter.
Hey Nedra – a full stick of butter is generally 8 tbsp. so 1/2 of a stick will be 4 tbsp (or 1/4 cup) 🙂
Or 2 ounces, if a weight works better. Bet chopped pecans would be great in the topping, too, Craig!
Definitely!
Thanks Craig!
Sure thing!
Can I try making this with a different shaped pan? I don’t really bake and want to try this, but I don’t have that ring pan (and don’t really want to purchase one).
Yeah I think it would do fine in a different shaped pan. It should also be around the same cooking time!
Thanks for your reply! Just started to make this, but realized that it says 6 eggs at the top, and 5 eggs in the instructions. Is it 5 or 6?
It’s 6. Sorry about that, it was a typo on my part!
Just finished making this – WOWEEEEE so delicious! I used a large loaf pan and had to bake it for 1 hour in total (and honestly, it could still use another 20 min). I ate it anyway, it just has less of a pully texture in the areas that could have used more cook time.
Looks fantastic and happy you like it! I hadn’t tried it in a loaf pan before, but next time you make it you know how to do it perfectly 🙂
Made this tonight…next time might make it more like a casserole…French toast!
I don’t have any unflavored protein powder on hand, just unsweetened chocolate and I’m not sure how good that would be. Could I sub with coconut flour?
Chocolate and coconut flour would probably not make a very good substitute for this. Sorry!
Hi there, love your recipes. I’m just wondering what the purpose of the protein powder is in this recipe: is it a thickener? Is it just to add protein?
Without the protein powder the cake portion of the recipe would be more like a souffle than a cake. It adds body and texture to this sponge cake.
Hi. Where is the coffee in this cake?
It’s a bit of a misnomer, not all coffee cakes include coffee flavor – though some do.
I believe the name “coffee cake” was because people would make a cake to serve with coffee when people came over to visit. At least, that’s how I learned of it growing up around my grandma and my mom and her friends.
How do you store?
You can store this in the fridge for up to a week.
In the pictures theres a white sauce. What is it topped with?
It’s either a drizzle of heavy cream, or perhaps a simple icing (powdered erythritol mixed with a little water or heavy cream.)
Made this a few weeks ago, came out great, i didnt have protein powder so i used egg protein, came out fine, best part was the dough pieces on top. Thanks!
This looks delicious! Is there any substitute for the liquid stevia? Will any liquid sweetener work?
I think any liquid sweetener works fine!
can we replace for vegan cream cheese or vegan butter?
I think it should work, but I haven’t tested it. You’ll still need to use eggs.
I have vanilla protein powder. Will that work?
Quick question. Is the pan greased or should i use an angel food cake pan that separates?
Thanks.
I’ve used both with success! (And even a pan without a hole in the middle.)
silly question but salted or unsalted butter?
any specific reason for stevia? why all erythritol?
Sometimes stevia comes off as bitter and erythritol comes off as “cool” but together they balance each other out. So for some recipes we like to use a mix. 🙂
Can you please indicate what brand of cream of tartar do you use? And more importantly, what purpose does it serve? Thanks!
The brand shouldn’t matter, but I personally have McCormick. The nutrition info is from USDA database and isn’t brand specific. Cream of tartar helps egg whites to whip up better.
I added a tsp of yeast to the beaten egg yolks, and let that sit while I measure and gathered the rest of the ingredients. I find that this trick adds a yeasty flavor, and it doesn’t help it rise.
This cake was awesome good, and I want to make a blueberry cheese version . . . Will let you know how it goes.
Thanks, Craig! And whoever helps you now, too.
Hi! Great recipe…
A couple things:
I found that in #3 of the “Execution” instructions, that are illustrated with photos toward the top of the post, you never mention adding the vanilla extract…
I saw YOU add it into the filling, as I was watching the video for your adding-the-egg-whites-technique, and so added it to the filling😃👍🏻
Also, there is no mention of greasing the pan… should I NOT grease the pan?
Love your recipes… thanks for all you do and share!❤️
You’re right it’s missing from this page, I’ll add it to our corrections!
I’ve done this with greasing the pan and without. I think it depends on if your pan is non-stick or not. I personally prefer to grease the pan. 🙂 Craig’s might not have needed it.
I chanced it in the non-stick bundt pan, without grease, and it was fine… yaaaay! And delicious… my hubby kept saying “how is this good for us when it tastes so good?” Haaaaaa!!!
That’s a great compliment and I’m so happy the both of you enjoyed it!
Hi! Does unflavored collagen protein work in this recipe? Or does it have to be whey?
It should work similarly, but I have never used collagen protein in cooking so I’m not 100% sure. If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out.
What size pan do I need to use?
I just used a standard sized bundt pan.
Can I use Stevia Powder instead of liquid stevia? I have a bunch of powder, and don’t really want to purchase liquid that I may not use for a long time.
Yes, you can definitely use stevia powder in place of the liquid.