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Classic German Butter Cake or butterkuchen is fluffy, sweet, and delicious! It’s a simple yeasted cake topped with blocks of butter and sprinkled with sugar – this recipe came from my Oma and it’s one of the best!
One of the easiest sweet, yeasted, cakes!
Butterkuchen is a classic German bake. The beauty of this cake is in the simplicity of it and it gets its name of butter cake because small cubes of butter are pressed into the dough before baking!
My fondest memory of this recipe is actually pretty recent. I was visiting my Oma a few years ago and she often has a hard time sleeping, so when my mom and I woke up around 6 am and went into the kitchen she had just baked an entire butter cake and it was so warm and delicious! We were still supposed to go to breakfast but we were barely hungry anymore because we ate so much of it!
Butterkuchen or Zuckerkuchen
For most people butterkuchen and zuckerkuchen are the same thing just with different names. Often the variation in names come from family or region. Both are a simple yeast cake topped with cubes of butter and a thick layer of sugar. Sometimes flaked almonds are sprinkled on top but my Oma’s butterkuchen doesn’t have them so neither does this recipe.
How to store leftovers
This is best served immediately after baking. If you plan to have leftovers, try not to cut the portion that you are saving and wrap it up with plastic or a different airtight container at room temperature.
Reheating Instructions
To reheat, preheat the oven to 350 F and place the leftover cake on a baking sheet. Bake the cake for about 8 minutes and then let it cool for 5 minutes before serving. The cut edge will dry out slightly but you can just cut of about an inch at the edge and the rest should still be perfectly moist.
Tips for making this Yeasted Cake
- Unlike many other yeasted doughs, this one doesn’t need to be completely smooth. Because the pan holds the shape of the cake and we want it to have a light and fluffy texture it’s actually better to under knead the dough rather than over knead it.
- If the dough keeps shrinking back when stretching it out, let it sit and rest for five minutes, then continue to stretch it. Let it rest to allow the gluten in the dough to relax.
- Make sure the butter that you press into the dough is cold – this creates the characteristic dimples and puddles of moisture in the cake.
- Cut the butter no bigger than 1/4″ cubes, if they are too big, the butter won’t be dispersed enough.
- Make sure to bake the dough soon after stretching it out and adding the butter. You don’t want to let the dough proof for too long. Otherwise it won’t puff up enough in the oven.
- Bake until the cake becomes a deep golden brown color.
Ingredients for Butterkuchen
- All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this butterkcuhen! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
- Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough as well as a generous amount sprinkled on top to create a delicious sugar crust.
- Milk: The cake uses milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond or light coconut milk.
- Butter: This dough is different from most in that there is no oil or butter in the actual dough. Rather the dough is dimpled with cold cubes of butter before baking.
- Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used. However, if you are using active dry, simply bloom the yeast in the milk alone first and then proceed with the recipe.
- Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store.
- Almond & Vanilla Extract: Both of these extracts add extra flavor to the dough. You can also use lemon zest to flavor the dough instead of almond extract.
- Salt: Salt is added to balance out the sweetness of the recipe.
How to make German Butter Cake
Make the Yeasted Dough
- Start by adding the flour, sugar, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add in the lukewarm milk, egg, extracts, and salt. Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low speed for 10-15 minutes. The dough should come together but can still be a little sticky.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased bowl that is at least twice the size. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, and set somewhere warm to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Assembling the Butterkuchen
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease an 18″ x 13″ baking sheet with butter.
- After an hour has passed, and the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out by briefly kneading it.
- Gently stretch it out from the center to the edges of the pan. If the dough continues to shrink back, let it rest for five minutes before continuing.
- Once the dough has been fully stretched, place it somewhere warm to rest for ten minutes.
- While the dough is resting, cut the cold butter into 1/4″ cubes.
- Now, dimple the dough about 3/4″ apart with the handle of a wooden spoon.
- Press the cold cubed butter into the dimples.
- Layer the sugar over the dough and butter. Leave the cake to rest for another 10 minutes.
- Bake the butterkuchen on the middle rack for 30 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Print Recipe
German Butter Cake (Butterkuchen)
Classic German Butterkuchen is fluffy, sweet, and delicious! It's a simple yeasted cake topped with blocks of butter and sprinkled with sugar!
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Resting Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Total Time2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
Course: Afternoon Kaffee, Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: German
Keyword: butterkuchen, cake
Servings: 20
Calories: 175kcal
Equipment
Stand Mixer
18" x 13" baking sheet
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 grams all purpose flour
- 10 grams instant yeast
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 300 milliliters milk lukewarm
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 125 grams butter cold
- 100 grams granulated sugar
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Instructions
Making the Dough
In a large stand mixing bowl, add flour, sugar and yeast, and whisk together.
Add lukewarm milk, egg, salt and extracts and knead together with the dough hook on low speed for 10-15 minutes or until the dough has come together.
Place the dough in a greased bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or proofing bag and set it somewhere warm to rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour until it has doubled in size.
Shaping & Baking the Butterkuchen
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Grease an 18" x 13" baking sheet with butter.
After the dough has doubled in size and be very soft and puffy.
Knock out any air in the dough by briefly kneading it and place it on the lined baking sheet.
Gently stretch and press the dough out from the center until the dough reaches the edges of the pan.
Cover the pan and let the dough rest somewhere warm for 10 more minutes.
While the dough rests, cut the cold butter into 1/4" cubes.
After 10 minutes, dimple the dough about every 3/4" with the handle of a wooden spoon.
Press the cubes of butter into the dimples. If you don't have enough dimples for the butter, just add more!
Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cake – don't miss the edges.
Let the assembled dough rest for 10 more minutes.
Bake for 30 minutes on the middle rack, rotate the pan after 15 minutes so that it bakes evenly.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack before slicing.
Notes
- Unlike many other yeasted doughs, this one doesn’t need to be completely smooth. Because the pan holds the shape of the cake and we want it to have a light and fluffy texture it’s actually better to under knead the dough rather than over knead it.
- If the dough keeps shrinking back when stretching it out, let it sit and rest for five minutes, then continue to stretch it. Let it rest to allow the gluten in the dough to relax.
- Make sure the butter that you press into the dough is cold – this creates the characteristic dimples and puddles of moisture in the cake.
- Cut the butter no bigger than 1/4″ cubes, if they are too big, the butter won’t be dispersed enough.
- Make sure to bake the dough soon after stretching it out and adding the butter. You don’t want to let the dough proof for too long. Otherwise it won’t puff up enough in the oven.
- Bake until the cake becomes a deep golden brown color.
Nutrition
Serving: 1square | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 199IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg
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