German Butter Cake (Butterkuchen)

by Red Currant Bakery

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!

Overhead image of a plate stacked with many squares of butterkuchen with more pieces around.

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 needed to make German Butter Cake, laid out and labeled.

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.

Side view of a square of butterkuchen on two white plates outside on a patio table with a coffee cup in the background.

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.

Process images for how to make butterkuchen dough.

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.

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