This keto lemon pound cake is incredibly moist and fluffy! It tastes zingy, fresh and fragrant and I've topped it with a rich coconut butter drizzle. Your family won't believe this cake is low carb, sugar free and only 3.6g net carbs per slice.
This post is sponsored by Lakanto. The recipe is 100% Sugar Free Londoner.
Table of contents
There's nothing like a zingy, moist keto lemon cake! I'd say that it is the ultimate cake for lemon lovers. I've added both lemon juice and lemon zest to the batter, which gives it oodles of flavour.
I'm telling you, EVERYONE is going ask for seconds, whether they are on a low carb diet, the keto diet or neither!
The recipe is a nod to the humble pound cake.
What is a pound cake?
Traditionally, a basic pound cake has only 4 ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs and flour. And guess what? You're using a pound of each. It's a super simple cake with a buttery crumb.
Of course, we're tweaking things here and there to make this cake taste like heaven AND keep it low carb at the same time.
A keto pound cake recipe
When it comes to baking, low carb recipes call for different ingredient amounts than regular cake recipes. So, keeping EXACTLY to the idea of using the same amount of each does not work.
For example, you need to use more eggs with grain free flours to achieve a fluffy texture and good crumb structure as they lack gluten.
Yet, it lives up to is name because you're getting the same look, feel and taste of a real pound cake!
I decided to use both almond flour and coconut flour for this keto bundt cake - the two complement each other so well. And to increase the moisture and complement the zing of the lemon, I added plain full fat yoghurt. It adds a wonderful fresh dimension.
Check out all the ingredients below!
Now, let's talk sweetener.
Monk fruit sweetener
Regular readers will know that I've been using Lakanto monk fruit sweeteners for years. I chose the classic sweetener for this recipe.
Monk fruit is a small, round fruit native in southeast Asia. Its extract is up to 250 times sweeter than table sugar. Studies show that it does not raise insulin and can even reduce blood sugar levels.
By mixing the monk fruit extract with erythritol, Lakanto classic can be used as a 1:1 sugar replacement. It is keto friendly, zero carb and best of all, it tastes just like sugar.
How to make a keto lemon pound cake
1.) Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave until just warm. Don’t boil it. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and add the egg yolks.
Whisk with a balloon whisk or with an electric mixer to combine. Then whisk through the yoghurt and lemon juice.
2.) Place all the dry ingredients - blanched almond flour, coconut flour, gluten free baking powder, Lakanto Classic, lemon zest - in a clean mixing bowl and stir to combine. Keep 1 tsp of lemon zest back to sprinkle on top after the coconut butter drizzle.
3.) Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together with a spatula or blend with an electric mixer.
4.) Whisk the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
5.) Fold the egg whites through the batter until smooth using a spatula (no electric blenders here!). Don’t over-mix or you will deflate the eggs.
6.) Spoon the batter into your non-stick bundt tin and level. I used this 20 cm / 8 inch diameter tin. (Amazon aff link)
Note - I cannot stress enough how important it is to GREASE your tin GENEROUSLY!
Tip: If you're using a loaf pan, line it with baking paper. This way you'll have no issues removing the cake from the pan.
Spoon the mix into the mould and level the top with a spatula.
Baking tips
Bake the low carb pound cake in the oven for about 45 - 50 minutes until golden and you can insert and remove a skewer without crumbs sticking. Mine took 48 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin then allow to fully cool. DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE TIN.
I left mine overnight. You can also place it in the fridge. It needs to be fully cooled before you remove from the tin to prevent it sticking.
Coconut butter drizzle
7.) To make the coconut butter drizzle, melt the coconut butter and oil using the bain marie method - in a glass proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir through the vanilla.
Remove the keto lemon pound cake from the mould and drizzle with coconut butter. Option to top with lemon zest and slices for decoration.
Using different cake pans
You don't have to use a bundt cake tin. This lemon cake recipe works just as as well in a full size rectangular cake pan (9x5 inch) like you would choose for a regular lemon loaf cake. Or you can use a springform tin.
Don't forget to line the bottom and sides of your pan with parchment paper so the cake does not stick.
One more thing about bundt pan: There are beautiful round gugelhupf tins out there with intricate swirled surfaces. Don't choose one of those! I recommend to use one with a very simple shape like mine.
Why? Almond flour cakes are more fragile than wheat cakes because they lack the gluten in wheat. And with a round cake we can't use parchment paper. You don't want your cake to break when you remove it from the pan!
Adjust baking times
The oven time the pound cake needed in my bundt cake tin was exactly 48 minutes. When I used my silicone loaf tin, I had to increase the baking time to 60 minutes.
Be sure to check the cake after 45 minutes. If the top has browned enough, cover it for the remainder of the baking time with an aluminium foil dome. This way it the pound cake can continue to bake but does not burn.
Alternative toppings for keto lemon cake
The coconut butter drizzle is delicious and works so well on this lemon cake. (Note: I tried to add lemon juice to the drizzle, but it made the coconut butter curdle. That's why I added vanilla).
If you prefer a simple lemon glaze or a creamy frosting, here are a couple of options:
Easy sugar free lemon drizzle: Mix 2 tbsp lemon juice with 4 tbsp powdered Lakanto (simply powder the Classic sweetener in a food processor for this).
Lemon glaze: Mix 4 tbsp melted butter, 4 tbsp heavy cream, 4 tbsp powdered sweetener and the juice of 1 lemon. Let the glaze cool and thicken, then spoon over the cake.
Low carb lemon cream cheese frosting: Mix 1 cup / 240g cream cheese, 4 tbsp powdered sweetener, juice of 1 lemon and grated lemon zest. Spread over the cooled sugar free lemon cake.
Keto lemon curd frosting: Make a batch of sugar free lemon curd and cool in the fridge. Whip 1 cup / 240ml of double / heavy cream until stiff and fold in the cold lemon curd.
Recipe variations
Increase lemon flavour
For a stronger lemon flavour, add 2 additional tbsp of lemon juice or 1 tsp lemon extract.
Almond flour vs coconut flour
It is possible to leave out the coconut flour and make an almond flour pound cake. In this case, use 3 cups / 300g of almond flour.
Note that I'm using what we in the UK call ground almonds. This is equivalent to regular / coarser almond flour in the US. If you use superfine almond flour, you may want to reduce the amount of almond flour by 2-3 tbsp. Check the images for batter consistency! You want it to be smooth and not firm.
Don't use fat-reduced almond flour for this recipe.
It's not possible to replace all of the almond flour with coconut flour. Coconut flour is very particular and you'd need more eggs for the recipe to work.
Can you make this cake dairy free?
Of course! Simply replace the butter with coconut oil and use coconut yoghurt instead of yoghurt.
Is it necessary to beat the egg whites?
The stiff egg whites are the secret to a supremely fluffy-airy cake. However, it will still work if you start the cake by beating the full eggs with an electric mixer until frothy.
How to store low carb lemon pound cake
This lemon cake is fine on the kitchen counter for 1-2 days, provided your kitchen is not hot. I prefer to store it in the fridge in an airtight container for 5-6 days. Alternatively, slice and freeze for up to 3 months.
Love sugar free lemon cake? Try these low carb recipes:
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Keto Lemon Pound Cake
Note: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary. ***As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- ½ cup / 120g butter melted
- 5 eggs large, separated, room temperature
- ½ cup / 120g yoghurt room temperature
- 5 tbsp lemon juice roughly 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp lemon zest zest of 2 lemons
- 2 cups / 200 g almond flour or ground almonds
- ⅓ cup / 45g coconut flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- ⅔ cup / 120g Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener *** see notes for Europe/UK availability
- pinch of salt optional
Coconut butter drizzle
- 3 tbsp / 35g coconut butter
- ½ tbsp coconut oil
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- optional - decorate with 1 tsp lemon zest and lemon slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C / 155fan. Generously grease a bundt tin with butter. If using a rectangular loaf pan or springform, line the bottom and sides with baking / parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave until just warm. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and add the egg yolks. Whisk with a balloon whisk or with an electric mixer to combine. Then whisk through the yoghurt and lemon juice.
- Place all the dry ingredients in a clean mixing bowl and stir to combine. Also add in the lemon zest, reserving 1 tsp for decorating the cake later.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together with a spatula or blend with an electric mixer.
- Whisk the egg whites in a clean mixing bowl using an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
- Fold the egg whites through the batter until smooth using a spatula (no electric blenders here!). Don’t over-mix or you will deflate the eggs.
- Spoon the batter into the bundt tin and level with a spatula.
- Bake in the oven for about 45 - 50 minutes until golden and you can insert and remove a skewer without crumbs sticking. Mine took 48 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin. DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE TIN UNTIL FULLY COOLED.
- Melt the coconut butter and oil using the bain marie method - in a glass proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from the heat and stir through the vanilla extract. Remove the lemon cake from the mould and drizzle over the coconut butter. Option to top with lemon zest and slices for decoration.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links. If you click on one of these links and purchase a product, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Sugar Free Londoner.
First published in June 2020. Updated with more details in January 2021.
Elisa says
Soooo delicious, moist and flavourful!!
Kelly says
amazing!!!!! You wouldn’t know this cake is sugar free, tastes just like my moms lemon loaf, just now I can eat it guilt free 🙂
Betsy says
Would there be any difference in amounts if I used coconut sugar instead of the Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener? If it's equivalent, I can figure out all the replacements in the cake recipe as well as the drizzle, glaze, icing, curd, etc. whatever I decide to do. If the amounts would be different for coconut sugar, do you know what those are? Thank you in advance for your help, regardless if you have the answers! 🙂
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, the sweetener I used is a 1:1 sugar replacement.
David Morgan says
Lovely lemon flavour, nice texture, great to eat when freshly-baked. I used Greek-style fat-free yoghurt, which seemed OK, but might also try ordinary natural yoghurt next time just for a comparison.
The recipe worked a treat.
Sharon Muldoon says
I love this cake and use it as the mix for various types of cake - chocolate cake, coffee cake, jam coconut sponge - my favourite heated with thick cream and todays flavour is almond.
I add a little extra liquid if not using juice of lemons and I always use ground almonds.
Katrin is a genius and I love trying her recipes- still haven’t mastered a good bread but I’m ever hopeful
Katrin Nürnberger says
Thank you so much Sharon! You should try this , it's one of my favourites!
Carole says
I followed recipe but it didn't come out as a batter, more like bread crumbs
Katrin Nürnberger says
You must have mis-measured the ingredients. I always like to lay everything out before I start baking or cooking, to make sure it's all there!
Goranka Novarlic says
Easy to make, delicious! Everyone liked it so the recipe is being used over and over again
Nicole says
This looks wonderful. I'm wondering about trying this as muffins perhaps with the cupcake paper inserts. Do you think that would work, or would it fall apart removing the paper? Also, thoughts on cooking temperature & time if you think this could be successful?
Katrin Nürnberger says
I would use the same cooking temperature and go for about 25 minutes, then check they're cooked through. Let them cool completely before removing the paper.
Lynn Christie says
This is a really lovely cake. It is also an excellent base for another cake. Lamingtons are a great tradition in Australia and I made a batch using your recipe as a base for my Australia Day contribution to our family meal. Lamingtons are squares of pound cake covered in chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut - another lovely variation is raspberry lamingtons usually made with raspberry jelly.
So I used 5 tablespoons of almond milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla instead of the lemon juice and lemon rind to make the cake. Baked it in a shallow slice pan which yielded 24 4cm squares of cake (plus trimmings which I devoured). I make 12 traditional ones by covering the cake with chocolate ganache made with 90% Lindt chocolate melted the gently mixed with 1/4 cup pouring cream - then covered the chocolate with the desiccated coconut. I repeated this process to make the remaining 12 into raspberry lamingtons using thawed, pureed frozen raspberries and a little Monkfruit sweetener. Popped a teaspoon of whipped cream and a raspberry on top of each. They are fiddly to make and definitely only an occasional treat but they were spectacularly good and I am eternally grateful to you for your wonderful Keto Lemon Pound cake which has become a firm favourite.
Katrin Nürnberger says
I love how you turned this into sugar free Lamingtons!
Valentina says
Absolutely a winner! I have just made this cake and it tastes delicious! Thank you sooooo much for this recipe!
Luci Sosnowski says
This looks amazing but am allergic to coconut. What is the measurement to use all almond flour or other substitute in the cake? I'm not worried about the glaze as that's easy to sub out. Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger says
I would replace the coconut flour with 3x the amount additional almond flour.
Luci Sosnowski says
I made this last night and it turned out great! I used an extra cup of almond flour in place of the third cup of coconut flour. I made a mix of powdered erythritol, butter & vanilla extract for a glaze & sprinkled with sliced almonds. Really good last night but even better this morning with my tea. Thanks for another great recipe!
Jon Charles Lucca says
Delicious easy cake!
Jan says
Made this one for my husband’s birthday. He loves lemon. Turned out just as pictured. I did have to shorten the bake time by five minutes. Did not use any of the icing options. We just used heavy cream and a few blueberries. Yumm!
Katrin Nürnberger says
SO glad you liked the cake! Happy birthday to your husband 🙂
Karen says
What kind of yoghurt?
Katrin Nürnberger says
I used regular full fat yoghurt (3.6 %fat) - I think it was Onken
Ruth Heller says
Hi Katrin,
Only looking at these photos, makes my mouth water. Your Keto Lemon Pound Cake looks so yummy.
I rolled up my sleeves and get to work immediately.
Everything was so easy, and my first Pound Cake ever made in life looked great and tasted incredibly delicious.
This recipe combines everything one can imagine, when thinking in lemon cake: this beautiful yellow colour, the spongy moisture texture, and on top of that, this heavenly zesty, freshly savour! A really unrivalled palate treat.
Besides, I'd like to thank you a lot for your always welcomed additional information, whether referring to the history of the food in question, the different ingredients, or how to diversify the recipe.
I couldn't imagine that there are so many different ways to prepare an icing!
I really admire the astonishing amount of experience and knowledge you have gained in the field of healthy, fanciful and amazing good tasting food, easy to prepare.
Just recommended your web to all my friends, and me too I'll go on looking out for new recipes here with great pleasure, Ruth
Katrin Nürnberger says
So glad you enjoyed the cake, Ruth! Thank you so much for recommending my website.
cindy l salas says
what size springform pan or bundt pan???
Katrin Nürnberger says
All measurements are in the post 🙂
Kim says
I have been looking for a good lemon pound cake recipe to replace my favorite Starbucks lemon loaf which is NOT low carb. I can’t wait to try! Thanks sooooo much for sharing.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hope you'll like it Kim!
Marisa says
Have you or anyone else tried a different sweetener? I'm partial to sweetleaf stevia. I've tried the monkfruit in my coffee but not for baking yet. Wondering how it would measure instead.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Marisa,
I use either erythritol/monkfruit or erythritol/stevia blends, sometimes pure erythritol. They are all 1:1 sugar replacements.
Bethany says
This is a great recipe! Made this cake for my family this afternoon and everybody loved it. I didn’t have a coconut butter so I made your simple lemon glaze. Thank you!
Tammy says
Where did you find her lemon glaze recipe? Love ❤️ lemon the more the better. So I would love to use a lemon glaze in place of the coconut.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Tammy, I've given 4 options for different toppings in the post!
Yadira says
Hi; what is a substitution for yoghurt? Could I use sour cream?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Yes, sour cream could work. Though I would probably reduce the butter by 1/4 cup / 4 tbsp and replace that with almond milk. That way you're keeping to a similar fat content.
Dana Riffo says
I have nut allergies. So what can I use instead of the almond flour?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Sesame seed flour and sunflower seed flour work as a 1:1 replacement for almond flour. However, I think coconut flour would probably be more suitable for a cake. You would have to experiment using 2/3 cup / 65g of almond flour in coconut flour and probably one more egg. I have not given it as a substitution because I haven't tried it and I don't want you to be upset if it does not work out. But that would be my starting point. Then add 1-2 tsp xanthan gum and check the consisteny of your dough is "right".
Tvrtko Zelić says
Hi, looking at your answer I don't quite understand this: "2/3 cup / 65g of almond flour in coconut flour". Do you mean to try and use 2/3 cup of coconut flour INSTEAD of 2 cups of almond flour from the original recipe?
I am not allergic to almonds, but almond flour is very har dto find (read: expensive) here in Croatia and coconut flour is way cheaper. Sometimes I blend the almonds in a blender but I never get the real flour.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Basically, try using 1/3 the amount of coconut flour in place of the almond flour. So, 65 grams instead of 200 grams. Plus the coconut flour already in the recipe. Then, add an additional egg.
Fehmida says
I have been substituting the same in Katrin recipes. I don't think it tastes as great as using almond flour, but it is also expensive where I live, even if I make my own.
Tasha says
Yum! Can't wait to try this, it looks delish!
Addie says
Can I use a different sweetener or does it have to be Lakanto?
Katrin Nürnberger says
Any granulated 1:1 sugar replacement works.
Catherine says
I recently bought erythritol having read it could be used as a 1:1 substitute but when I made a recipe for an ordinary sponge cake (gluten free and used many tumes before) it came out tasting delicious but wasn't cake texture... more like shortbread! The only thing I have done differently is not use ordinary sugar. Have you experienced this? I've made the cake twice now with erythritol and the same thing happened
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Catherine, you should be able to replace sugar with erythritol on a 1:1 basis. I don't know your recipe, but I would go by the texture of your batter. It should be soft and pourable or spoonable and settle when you gently pound the cake pan onto a surface.
Nicola says
Your link to Monkfruit sweetener takes me to a US website, as a UK resident Im surprised you do not have a link to a supplier in UK. You say you have been using this sweetener for years, please can you advise where I can get it in UK?
I would love to try your recipes but cannot until i can get the right ingredients.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Nicola, I have linked it in the recipe notes. You can buy it from iherb.com or from mydiet-shop.co.uk
Sue says
You never disappoint, Katrin! This cake looks scrumptious. Getting all the ingredients now!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Keep me posted Sue! Would love to hear what you think.