Keto Lemon Pound Cake

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!

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.

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. 

More delicious keto cake recipes to try

• Keto birthday cake
• Keto chocolate cake
• Keto flourless chocolate cake
• Keto red velvet cake