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.
There's nothing like a zingy, moist low carb 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.
Jump to:
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 lemon cake - the two complement each other so well.
To increase the moisture and complement the zing of the lemon, I added plain full-fat yoghurt. It adds a wonderful fresh dimension.
Ingredients
I am using:
- Butter - melted
- Eggs - large, separated, room temperature
- Yoghurt - plain natural, room temperature
- Lemon juice and zest
- Almond flour - Note that I'm using 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 tablespoons. Check the images for batter consistency! You want it to be smooth and not firm.
- Coconut flour
- Baking powder
- Lakanto Classic Monkfruit Sweetener - or any other 1:1 low-carb sugar substitute, such as allulose or Bocha Sweet.
- Salt
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Instructions
This section contains step by step instructions and photos that show how to make the recipe.
For detailed instructions, scroll down to the recipe card.
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 the juice of 2 lemons - approximately 5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
2.) Place all the dry ingredients - blanched almond flour, coconut flour, gluten-free baking powder, sweetener, lemon zest - in a clean mixing bowl and stir to combine. Keep 1 teaspoon 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.
7.) 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.
Expert Tips
#1 GREASE your tin GENEROUSLY with butter! This will help you remove the cake from the pan with ease.
#2 After baking, run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin. Then allow to fully cool. I left mine overnight. You can also place it in the fridge. It needs to be fully cooled before you remove it from the tin to prevent it from sticking.
Coconut Butter Drizzle
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
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 tablespoons lemon juice with 4 tablespoons powdered sweetener.
Lemon glaze: Mix 4 tablespoons each melted butter, heavy cream, powdered sweetener and the juice of 1 lemon. Let the glaze cool and thicken, then spoon over the cake.
Cream cheese frosting: Mix 1 cup / 240g cream cheese, 4 tablespoons powdered sweetener, juice of 1 lemon and grated lemon zest. Spread over the cooled cake.
Lemon curd frosting: Make a batch of sugar free lemon curd and cool in the fridge. Whip 1 cup / 240ml of heavy cream until stiff and fold in the cold lemon curd.
Recipe Variations
Increase lemon flavour: For a stronger lemon flavour, add ⅓ cup of lemon juice in total or add 1 teaspoon lemon extract.
Lemon poppy seed cake: Add 2 tablespoons poppy seeds to the batter!
Almond flour lemon cake: Leave out the coconut flour and use 3 cups / 300g of almond flour.
It's not possible to replace all of the almond flour with coconut flour.
Recipe FAQs
Of course! Simply replace the butter with coconut oil and use coconut yoghurt instead of yoghurt.
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.
Storage
This keto 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.
More Keto Lemon Cake Recipes
- Fail-safe Keto Coconut Cream Pie2 Hours 50 Minutes
- Keto Lemon Bars40 Minutes
- Low Carb Lemon Cheesecake30 Minutes
- Keto Lemon Mug Cake3 Minutes
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Lemon Pound Cake
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
- ½ cup / 120g butter melted
- 5 eggs large, separated, room temperature
- ½ cup / 120g yoghurt room temperature
- 5 tablespoon lemon juice roughly 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest zest of 2 lemons
- 2 cups / 200 g almond flour or ground almonds
- ⅓ cup / 45g coconut flour
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- ⅔ cup / 120g granulated sweetener
- pinch of salt optional
Coconut butter drizzle
- 3 tbsp / 35g coconut butter
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- optional - decorate with 1 teaspoon 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 teaspoon 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.
M
Just about to make it
Looks great, question about the butter though, salted or unsalted?
Katrin Nürnberger
Definitely unsalted butter. Hope you'll enjoy the cake!
Amanda D.
Hi, I really want to try this recipe, but am not a fan of either yogurt or sour cream, as I have a taste issue with both. Is there something else I could substitute inplace of either of these? I am not a big baker and need to follow a recipe, but would I be able to use cream cheese or even avocado as both are "fats" to keep this moist. (I have used avocado to make sweet things before). Thank you!
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi Amanda, cream cheese or sour cream should work, too.
Lika
Long time follower, first time commenter here.
Just wanna say that I did not expect much when I made this, because I just did it to get rid of months old lemons in my fridge.
I doubled the zest in the batter and added 2 tbsp of olive oil just because some commenters said it was a bit dry.
And it was A. BOMB.
Omg soooo good, super lemony and very very moist.
Will definitely make this again bc my sugar-lovin husband is asking for more of it :))
Annette
I made as directed, and am happy, but wondering if I could cream the "sugar" and room temp butter, as in non-keto pound cake. Am thinking it would make for a moister cake, but i don't want to ruin it either.
Katrin Nürnberger
You can definitely do that. However, nut flours make for moist cakes anyway and the cake is very moist without this step.
Elaine
I love it. I didn't have yogurt and didn't want to go to the store so I used sour cream it's a delicious cake.
Elisa
Soooo delicious, moist and flavourful!!
Kelly
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
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
Yes, the sweetener I used is a 1:1 sugar replacement.
David Morgan
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
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
Thank you so much Sharon! You should try this low carb bread, it's one of my favourites!