Keto Lemon Pound Cake

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5 from 212 votes
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This keto lemon pound 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. 

Looking for more keto cake recipes? Try my keto pound cake, keto strawberry cake, or keto coffee cake!

keto lemon pound cake

With a light, delicate crumb and vibrant lemon flavor, my low-carb lemon pound cake is every bit as good as my traditional lemon loaf, just with half the carbs. 

Table of Contents
  1. Why I love this recipe
  2. Ingredients needed
  3. How to make keto lemon pound cake
  4. Arman’s recipe tips and variations
  5. Storage instructions
  6. More delicious keto cake recipes to try
  7. Keto Lemon Pound Cake (Recipe Card)

Why I love this recipe

  • 2 grams of net carbs. Compared to nearly 50 grams of carbs in regular lemon pound cake!
  • Customize the lemon flavor. If you’re a lemon fiend like me, you can add fresh lemon juice and lemon zest to take it up a notch. If you prefer it to be subtle, leave the recipe as is. 
  • No fancy kitchen equipment needed. Just a few bowls and a loaf pan. 
  • An addictive lemon glaze. Trust me, you’ll want to make a double batch of the glaze and add it to everything!

Ingredients needed

  • Almond flour– Superfine or blanched almond flour. Avoid using almond meal, as it will yield a dense and heavy cake.
  • Coconut flour– Gives the cake a fluffier texture and helps achieve the tender crumb. 
  • Sugar-free sweetener. I used monk fruit sweetener, but you can also use allulose or another granulated sweetener. 
  • 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.

How to make keto lemon pound cake

I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step 1- Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease it with cooking spray. 

Step 2- Make the batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Gently fold in the dry ingredients until fully combined.

Step 3- Bake. Transfer the cake batter to the loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.

Step 4- Make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sweetener, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until a thin glaze forms.

Step 5- Cool, glaze, and serve. Remove the pan from the oven and let the lemon loaf cool briefly. Then, remove it from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cool, pour the glaze over it and let it sit until it firms up.

keto lemon loaf

Arman’s recipe tips and variations

  • Add more lemon flavor. Fold in 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and lemon extract from one lemon. 
  • Add poppy seeds. Fold in 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds right before baking for a subtle change in flavor and texture. 
  • Use an electric hand mixer. Since the batter will be quite thick, I like to use a hand mixer to make the batter. 
  • Swap the pan. Bake the cake in a square pan or bundt cake pan. Just remember the wider the surface area, the faster the cake bakes. 
  • Cover it in foil. If the top begins to brown before the center is fully cooked, lightly cover the cake in aluminum foil for the final 20 minutes in the oven. 
  • Make a lemon cream cheese frosting. Use my keto cream cheese frosting recipe and replace the milk with lemon juice.
  • Or make a whipped lemon curd frosting. Make a batch of my keto lemon curd. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream until you have stiff peaks, then carefully fold in the curd.

Storage instructions

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 212 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 Liew
Tried this recipe?Give us a shout at @thebigmansworld or tag #thebigmansworld!

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. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious cake! I made this for my diabetic husband and he loved it. Moist, tender and flavorful.l; I made a special trip to store to get ingredients and will make it again. 5 gold stars. I can hardly wait to try other recipes here. Thank you so much!

  2. 5 stars
    Just made this cake and WOW it is beautiful .. I like a real lemon kick so i made a glaze using 1/4 cup of double cream, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup of swerve. As soon as it came out of the oven i drizzle and swirled it over the top so it leaves a sticky glossy glaze on top. Perfect!

  3. 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 🙂

  4. 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.

  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. 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!

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.