Keto Lemon Pound Cake
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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.
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.
I didn’t reinvent the wheel, though. I took inspiration from my popular keto pound cake and loosely adapted it to have a hint of lemon throughout. In testing, I found that using lemon extract added a more even flavor over traditional lemon juice. You don’t skip it completely, though: I stir through some in the frosting to add that little something special.
Table of Contents
Why make my keto lemon loaf
- 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 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!
Key Ingredients
Here’s what goes into my loaf. The complete list and instructions are in the recipe card below.
- 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 recently re-tested this loaf and found that allulose worked better than monk fruit, which I’d originally used. If that’s all you have, no worries, it will still work fine.
- 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 full-fat 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 low-carb milk will do.
- Lemon frosting. I used keto cream cheese frosting and replaced the milk with lemon juice.
How to make keto lemon pound cake
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.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Add more lemon flavor. Fold in 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and lemon extract from one lemon.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add poppy seeds. Fold in 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds right before baking for a subtle change in flavor and texture.
- 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 stiff peaks form, 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.
✅ Nutrition reviewed
“I love how this lemon pound cake uses fiber-rich flours and natural sweeteners to yield a moist and tender loaf. It’s a great option for those watching their carbs, sugar, or just want a more satisfying treat.” – Felicia Newell, MScAHN, RD, CPT.
Keto Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup allulose or granulated monk fruit
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup Sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
For the lemon glaze
- 1/2 cup sugar free powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together your softened butter, sour cream, 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
- Tips: See my recipe tips above for making the best lemon pound cake.
- Leftovers: Keep in the fridge for one week or the freezer for 6 months.
Nutrition
More simple keto cake recipes
- Keto birthday cake– A classic vanilla cake with layers of frosting…minus the carbs.
- Keto chocolate cake– My classic, moist, and rich chocolate cake that even non-keto followers enjoy.
- Keto coffee cake– The ultimate coffee pairing with the most incredible streusel.
- Keto flourless chocolate cake– No flour and low carb? This cake literally melts in your mouth!
- Keto red velvet cake– Layers of cream cheese frosting between a vibrant red cake.
I am new to KETO…..so don’t have all the staples. Can I use only almond flour (using amount for the almond and coconut ) if I don’t have the coconut flour?
Hi Becky- unfortunately, you do need it for this cake and can’t replace it with something else. Using all almond flour will affect the texture and structure of the cake.
This recipe wa ery easy to make and tasted light and refreshing. Absolutely delicious!
Great to hear! thanks for sharing Cheryl.
I would like to use real lemons for this. What would be the equivalent to the lemon escence?
Thanks
Hi Eu- no worries! I’d use two tablespoons of lemon juice to replace it 🙂
Looks very tasty! Is there a reason why you dont beat the butter with sugar before adding the rest of the wet ingredients and then folding the flours and baking powder in? Trying to just whisk/stir softened butter left me with a lot of big clumps in the wet ingredients that continued into the batter mixture and Im worried about how it will bake
Hi Paige- yes, absolutely. I have a nerdy culinary school reason for that! Because it’s a pound cake, it is supposed to be more dense than say a fluffy vanilla cake or chocolate cake. By not beating the butter and allulose together, the loaf bakes up moist and rich and more dense than airy. 🙂
Any chance substituting sour cream for the Greek yogurt would work for the lemon pound cake? I ran out of Greek yogurt and live quite aways from a grocery store.
Hi Sheryl- yes! I retested this recipe again recently and found that full-fat Greek yogurt works just as well 🙂 Let me know how you go!
I actually made this recipe but for the “glaze” I used a block of Neufchâtel cheese, 1-2 tbsp of fresh squeezed lemon juice and 1/2 cup erythritol and it was delish!
This is a really delicious pound cake. I used Ghee and a bit of zest so no yellow dye needed.
Might try using almond extract on this recipe for a delish almond pound cake!
I love that glaze variation you did, Lisa! Using ghee instead of butter would have given it a lovely, natural yellow color, too. Thanks for making my recipe and leaving a lovely star rating 🙂
This looks really healthy. I would put jam on it. Perfect breakfast.
Arman, the room temp butter is very difficult to “whisk” have you tried meting the butter, and or can I? I ended up having to use the had mixer, but even then the butter had tiny clumps in it.
if I melt the butter, does it affect the consistency? It is currently in the oven as I write this, and I followed directions. Just thought I’d ask.
Hi Isabelle- that’s fine, don’t stress over it. It won’t affect the texture like a traditional fluffy cake would. Hope you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Is this for a 9”x5” loaf pan? Or a smaller one?
Hi Trish- it is! Thanks for bringing that to my attention, I’ll make a note of it in the recipe card 🙂
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!
Aw, Kathy- this comment means so much. I’m so glad your husband enjoyed it- I hope you managed to enjoy a slice, too 🙂
Hi can you please tell me the size of the loaf pan to use for this recipe?
Hi Joyce! Yes, absolutely! 9 x 5-inch. I’ve updated the recipe card with it 🙂
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!
Awesome!
Can I toss blueberries in for a blueberry lemon cake?
Hi Rosa- I don’t see why not. I’d keep it at about half a cup maximum to ensure the wet ingredients can still balance the dry ingredients. 🙂
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 🙂
I made this last night – delicious!! I’m wondering how I can incorporate raspberries. Would adding some disturb the moisture balance? Thank you kindly for the recipe!
Hi Lisa- I tested this out but with blueberries, and it is easy to incorporate, provided you don’t go more than half a cup. Let me know how you go! 🙂
Can you swap the butter for coconut oil? we are dairy free…
You could try one of these- https://thebigmansworld.com/butter-substitute/
Easy and delicious. Kids gobbled it up 🙂
Thanks so much, KC- glad you enjoyed it!
This was sensational.
Thank you, Terrance!
Ok I selected this recipe because I didn’t want to use alot of eggs like the other ones suggest. I was also running low on almond flour. Boy am I happy I did. This one is excellent and the cake came out perfectly! Great recipe! I am highly impressed Arman!
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback and review, Maria- I appreciate you making my recipe!
Hi Arman, can i sub the eggs with flax eggs or chia eggs? Thanks.
I haven’t tried.
Why did this turn out super grainy for me? It is not moist or soft looking like your picture here at all. 🙁
You also didn’t edit the recipe with the addition of salt so i missed that part until afterwards when i read the reviews.. i guess i should read through the reviews first.
Sorry to hear this wasn’t what you expected- I’m wondering if you used the right almond flour, as that makes all the difference in terms of the texture.
would this be ok in a bundt pan?
Yes, it will. I tested it out and added it to my recipe tips section 🙂
I don’t eat most dairy (but I do eat butter). Is there a non-dairy substitute for the greek yogurt?
Hi Jen- you could try dairy free yogurt- opt for one with the highest fat and least amount of sugar 🙂
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.
Any sub for almond flour? We’re allergic to nuts.
Not that I’ve tried for this recipe!
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
Darned spell check 🤗😁 not cuddled…curdled!
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!
Hello! That shouldn’t have happened unless you used an expired or old lemon extract?
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.
I made, so delicious!!!! I am going to make the chocolate one now…….Thank you ….
🙂 Thanks, Betty!
Hi there. I look forward to making this. But could I use coconut sugar instead?
Hi Monika- yes, you can! However, it won’t be keto friendly and the loaf will be darker 🙂
Delicious and easy recipe! I used fresh lime juice in place of the extract…it’s all I had. It turned out AMAZING! Thank you.
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.
Hi Lisa- 40-45 minutes.
How much salt is needed?
1/4 teaspoon, will fix the post 🙂
My only complaint is it doesnt have the carb per slice.. but Score!
Hi Kim- it does 🙂 Check out the nutritional info 🙂
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
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.
Love your recipes