Why You’ll Love This German Butter Cake
Authentic! Full disclosure, I am not German in any way…so I certainly hope this is authentic. But you know, authentic or not, it’s delicious…which really is the most important. Versatile! This cake can be enjoyed for both breakfast and dessert! I would mostly compare this to a sweet danish-type pastry, so grab a cup of coffee or hot tea and enjoy! But I would never turn a slice down after dinner or as an afternoon snack! Taste and Texture! The base is a chewy, yeast cake, and the topping is an ooey-gooey, buttery layer, that gets crunchy on top when baked, but stays gooey on the inside!
Butterkuchen Ingredients
The ingredients for this butter cake are simple, everyday ingredients. “Kuchen” in German literally translates to cake in English. You might even have everything you need in your kitchen right now! Most of the ingredients are used in both the topping layer as well as the yeast cake layer, so don’t let the length of the ingredients fool you, I’ve just divided the list into two parts. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the ingredient list and instructions.
Why You’ll Love This German Butter CakeButterkuchen Ingredients How To Make German Butter CakeVariationsMore Butter Cake RecipesGet the Recipe
Milk. You will need warm milk that is between 120°F – 130°F, this is warm to the touch, but not hot. You’ll be dissolving the yeast in the milk, and if the milk is too warm it will kill the yeast, and too cold it won’t activate. You use 2% milk, but you can also use whole milk. You will also use milk in the topping layer as well. Vanilla extract. You will need vanilla in both the cake base and the butter topping. Yeast. I like to use an instant yeast in this recipe. Some brands are known as “Rapid Rise”. This means will cut your rise time down drastically. If you only have regular yeast you can absolutely still make this recipe. You will just need to allot for a longer time for the dough to double in size. Butter. You will need butter in both the base and the topping for this cake. It is a butter cake after all! I use salted butter in this recipe, but you can use unsalted if you prefer. Granulated sugar. This is another ingredient you will use in both layer of this cake. It isn’t an overly sweet cake, so you don’t use a large amount, but the granulated sugar adds the perfect amount of sweetness to both the chewy cake layer as well as the buttery topping. Egg. I use large sized eggs in this recipe. You will need 3 eggs total, 1 for the cake layer and 2 for the topping. I have seen other German Butter Cake recipes where there is no egg in the topping layer, but in this version I like the custard-style texture the eggs add. All purpose flour, again in both layers!
How To Make German Butter Cake
This cake has two steps/layers. Both are very easy with straightforward ingredients, so don’t get intimidated when you see yeast! This is a forgiving recipe and a great recipe to start with if you have never baked with yeast before!
Variations
Since this is (mostly) authentic recipe I have made it as traditional as possible. There are lots of versions out there so you can make it your own and here are a few ideas:
Add nuts: Add sliced almonds on the top for flavor and texture. Icing: Instead of powdered sugar make a quick sugar icing to pour on top with powdered sugar and milk. Coconut: Add in some flaked coconut to the topping and even replace the vanilla extract with coconut extract. Add chocolate: Add in some chocolate chips to the topping! Delish! Add fruit: You could definitely add in some fresh berries to this cake in between the cake layer and the topping layer! I think blueberries would be perfect!
More Butter Cake Recipes
Kentucky Butter Cake Lunch Lady Chocolate Butter Cake Bailey’s Butter Cake
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1/2 cup warm milk (120 – 130°F) 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 (1/4 oz) packet instant (Rapid Rise) yeast 1/2 cup butter, room temperature 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 large egg 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Topping
1 cup butter, room temperature 2 cups granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 2/3 cup all purpose flour 1/4 cup milk Optional – powdered sugar
Freeze airtight for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
