German Butter Cake Recipe
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German Butter Cake – Butterkuchen

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A moist sponge cake with a crispy almond topping.

Butterkuchen Collage

Butterkuchen is a coffee cake that has a beautiful moist texture and is topped with a mixture of buttery almond slices.

German Butter Cake Pin

How is Butter Cake called in German?

Butter cake is called either “Butterkuchen”.

How to pronounce “Butterkuchen”?

Listen to this audio file to hear how to say “Butterkuchen” in German.

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How to make German Butter Cake Video Tutorial

Authentic German Butter Cake Recipe

German Butter Cake Recipe

German Butter Cake - Butterkuchen

Yield: 12 cake slices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. lemon extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp. baking powder

For the topping:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 9 tbsp. butter
  • 4 tbsp. milk
  • 2 cups sliced almonds

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. (If you use a dark baking pan, reduce the heat to 375 F)
  2. Add all ingredient for the dough to a large bowl and mix until just combined. Make sure to don´t incorporated too much air. The air could cause a collapse during baking.
  3. Grease a baking pan or casserole dish. I use a clear casserole dish 9x13.
  4. Pour the dough into the pan and spread out evenly.
  5. Add butter and milk into a small sauce pan and melt on low heat.
  6. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
  7. Add the vanilla extract and the almond slices to the sauce pan and combine well.
  8. Carefully top the dough with the mixture and spread out evenly.
  9. Bake for about 20 - 25 min. at 400 F. (If you use a dark baking pan, reduce the heat to 375 F)
  10. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan.
  11. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. (optional)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 485Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 11gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 111mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 2gSugar: 35gProtein: 9g

Did you make this recipe?

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© Angela Schofield
Cuisine: German / Category: Cakes

Tip

Try variations of this recipe with your favorite nuts or a streusel topping.

Nuts Assortment

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17 Comments

  1. This looks really good… Think I could freeze this ? Minus the powder sugar on top. I love anything with heavy cream and almonds !!!

    1. Thank you. You can freeze it. Best would be in single portions and then let them thaw at room temperature and give them a 15 sec. boost in the microwave. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and it tastes like freshly baked 🙂

    1. I used a 9×13 casserole pan in this video. But the measurements are very forgiving. You can adjust the size of the pan depending on how high you would like the cake.

      1. I have found a butterkuchen recipe with yeast from Dr. Oetker..It’s different. Which one is more popular?

        1. I think that depends on personal preferences. I like both, but the yeast variations is a little dry. Especially when you want to keep the cake for a few days. In the East of Germany the yeast variations like “Schlesischer Butterkuchen” are more popular in the South more the “Mürbteig” variation of this recipe.

    2. I used a 9×13 pan in this video. But the measurements are very forgiving. You can adjust the size of the pan depending on how high you would like the cake.

    1. I used a 9×13 casserole pan. The recipe is very forgiving, you could use any size pan you have on hand, depending on the height you would like the cake.

  4. Kathy Barth says:

    Baked this today following the recipe exactly. I greased my pan well but during the baking process the topping sunk to the bottom making it hard to cut a nice clean piece out of the pan/cake. I am a good at baking. Not sure what happened.

    1. Hey Kathy, I am sorry to hear that. Did you use baking powder? I had a lady with the same problem writing me and we found out she used baking soda instead of baking powder. I am pretty sure you pre-heated the oven, but other than that I am not sure what could have happened. I used a 9×13 casserole dish, what size did you use?

    2. Sank in the middle. Maybe 400° is too hot for baking this cake or my pan was too small. Any siggestions?

      1. Hi Liz, sorry to hear that. I use a clear 9×13 casserole pan for the cake, if you use a dark pan 375 F is probably a better temperature. Overmixing the dough could be another reason why the cake sunk or the sugar was not fully dissolved in the preparation of the topping.

  5. James Hanley says:

    How does this recipe resemble Entemanns German Butter Cake. Entemanns does not sell that cake anymore nor will hey give out the recipe. I loved that cake growing up and miss it to this day. I am 68! Anyway, just curious. I just made it and will see in about 20 minutes. Thank you Angela!!!

    1. I am sorry, James, I am not familiar with Entemanns German Butter cake, but I hope you will like the cake and you will let us know how it turned out for you. Thank you for giving the recipe a try.

  6. Hi what kind of flour do i use? Will all purpose work fine? Thank you

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