Keto Lemon Pound Cake

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5 from 187 votes
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This keto lemon cake is moist, tender, and full of lemon flavor, you won’t believe it is low carb! Simple ingredients and topped with a sweet lemon glaze. 2 grams net carbs per serving. 

keto lemon pound cake

Keto Lemon Pound Cake

When it comes to keto desserts, my favorite recipes to make are brownies, cheesecake, and this keto lemon pound cake.

I’m the kind of person that needs a little something with my afternoon coffee. While I’m not a traditional snacker (I prefer the three square meals a day, four if we include dessert!), I always must have something sweet in the afternoons. I think part of the reason is having a deliciously bitter black coffee to power me through to the evening, but that is nothing to complain about. While I tend to have a a small cookie or half a cupcake, I’ve recently been loving some lemon pound cake! 

I’ve been meaning to share a keto lemon pound cake recipe for quite some time. I was inspired by my classic pound cake, but wanted a lemon twist to it. While I generally don’t enjoy lemon desserts, there’s something special about adding a touch to baked goods, especially cakes.

No grains and no sugar are needed, but you’d never tell. The texture is moist and with a gorgeous tender crumb. The flavor is sweet and with a light lemon flavor, without being overpowering. 

My mom is a huge lemon fan so I shared this with her and she could NOT believe that it was low carb and sugar free- She thought I had picked up a Starbucks lemon pound cake!

How do you make a low carb lemon pound cake?

The Ingredients

  • Almond flour– Blanched or superfine almond flour. Avoid using almond meal, as it will yield a dense and heavy cake. 
  • Coconut flour– Gives the cake the fluffier texture, and helps achieve the tender crumb. 
  • Granulated sweetener of choice– I used monk fruit sweetener, but you can also use erythritol. 
  • Baking powder– Gives the cake some rise and depth. 
  • Salt– A little salt brings out the sweetness of all the ingredients. 
  • Eggs– Room temperature eggs. 
  • Butter– softened and unsalted. 
  • Sour cream– The secret ingredient to a moist lemon pound cake! You can also use Greek yogurt. 
  • Lemon extract– Gives the cake the extra lemon flavor, without needing any actual lemon juice! 
  • Milk of choice– I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk can be used. 
  • Lemon frosting– I used keto cream cheese frosting and replaced the milk with lemon juice.

The Instructions

Start by mixing together your dry ingredients until combined. Next, in a separate bowl, whisk together your eggs, butter, sour cream, lemon extract, and milk, until smooth. Gently fold through your dry ingredients and mix well. 

Next, transfer your cake batter into a loaf pan. Bake for around 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean. Let the cake cool in the pan completely, before drizzling the glaze on top.

keto lemon loaf

Tips to make the best almond flour lemon pound cake

  • Avoid overbaking the cake. It will continue to cook as it is cooling in the loaf pan.
  • The lemon flavor is very mild. If you prefer a more pronounced lemon flavor, add some zest into the batter and use extra lemon juice for the frosting.
  • You can make this in a square pan if you’d prefer. 

Storing and freezing keto lemon pound cake

  • To store: Lemon pound cake is best stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.
  • To freeze: Place slices of the pound cake in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. 

almond flour lemon pound cake

More delicious keto cake recipes to try

keto lemon pound cake

Keto Lemon Pound Cake

5 from 187 votes
This keto lemon pound cake is a moist and tender loaf made with simple ingredients! No grains and no sugar needed, it's made in just one bowl!
Servings: 12 slices
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients  

For the lemon glaze

Instructions 

To make the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredient and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together your softened butter, yogurt, eggs, milk, and lemon extract, until combined. Gently fold through your dry ingredients until fully combined.
  • Transfer the cake batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and let the lemon loaf cool completely. Once cool, pour the glaze over it and let it sit until it firms up.

To make the lemon glaze

  • In a small bowl, whisk together your powdered sweetener, lemon juice, and vanilla extract, until a thin glaze remains.

Notes

TO STORE: Lemon pound cake is best stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.
TO FREEZE: Place slices of the pound cake in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 181kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 6gFat: 16gSodium: 136mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 3gVitamin A: 304IUCalcium: 74mgIron: 1mgNET CARBS: 2g
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Author: Arman
Tried this recipe?Give us a shout at @thebigmansworld or tag #thebigmansworld!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.

Arman Liew

I’m a two time cookbook author, photographer, and writer, and passionate about creating easy and healthier recipes. I believe you don’t need to be experienced in the kitchen to make good food using simple ingredients that most importantly, taste delicious.

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Comments

  1. The ok amazing.. if I don’t have lemon extract.. can I use lemon juice?.. if I can how much should I use?
    Thank you

    1. Hi Maria! I’d recommend using vanilla extract but adding extra lemon juice to the glaze. I’m worried that the lemon juice will dry out the almond and coconut flour.

  2. Hi, you mention you can also make this in an eight-inch square pan, but you don’t mention a cook time? Do you know how much time to cook for this type of pan? Thank you.

  3. 5 stars
    I made this cake today. I did NOT follow suggestions on not adding additional lemon extract and added 1/2 teaspoon more. Follow the directions and do NOT add extra. Use lemon zest instead. The cake was moist, and dense exactly how I like my cakes! I did not make a loaf instead I made an 8×8 square cake and I baked it until it was just golden around the edges 27 minutes at 350 degrees. I made a lemon butter creamcheese frosting for the top. I cut the cake into 12 squares placed them in individual baggies and put them in the freezer. Thank you for the recipe.

  4. The cake is in the oven but it seemed the liquid ingredients may have cuddled while whisking????
    Could the lemon extract caused this?? I proceeded on…..we’ll see how it turns out!

  5. Aha….yes it was an old bottle of extract. I’ll try again with a new bottle. Thank you.
    BTW : it looks bad but is still tasty lol.!😁
    Susan

  6. Thanks for a delicious recipe! I made this today with some minor tweaks. I used some lemon juice, zest and almond extract, topped it with a bit of lemon butter and cream cheese frosting again with lemon zest, juice and almond extract and some toasted sliced almonds for extra crunch. I love the texture and taste, will definitely make again.

  7. Followed recipe and also made the cream cheese frosting and it tasted great!! My cake was very moist, perhaps just a little too much for my taste, what is the best way to firm it up or make it slightly less moist? Thank you 🙂