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Keto Lemon Pound Cake

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I’m excited to share this keto lemon pound cake recipe with you guys!

When I find an alternative for bread, or cake that actually works and doesn’t take all day to do, I’m really excited about it.

This keto lemon pound cake is it.

Keto Lemon Pound Cake

It’s honestly a great copy cat Starbucks version, but it only has 4g net carbs per slice!

Let’s start off with the basics: this is a low carb, gluten-free, sugar-free treat.

I really like that the recipe doesn’t have that weird after taste you often get with sweeteners. My big litmus test is Bryan.

He really loved having this cake with some coffee in the morning and commented on the fresh lemon taste.

The recipe is extremely straight forward and results in an unbelievable pound cake.

The first step is to mix all of your dry ingredients together. Make sure that you remove any clumps from your dry ingredients so that they mix evenly.

Almond Flour

Clumps will happen most with your almond flour, so make sure you’re using a finely milled version.

Next, you’re going to work your wet ingredients together. It’s really important to read the recipe card so you follow the instructions closely.

If not, your batter might not turn out properly.

One of the steps you want to pay careful attention to is creaming the butter, cream cheese and swerve.

This step is really important for 3 reasons.

  1. Whipping the butter softens it, and pushes air into the mixture resulting in a better rise of your loaf.
  2. You don’t want granulated crystals in your finished product.
  3. It makes the bread really tender and moist. The butter will incorporate more evenly, so you won’t be left with dry spots in your cake.

Your batter is going to start out looking like smooth, whipped butter.

When you mix the eggs, vanilla and lemon extract in, you’ll notice how the batter becomes more fluid. that’s a sign that you’re on the right track.

Adding eggs to the pound cake batter

Normally, I’m not a fan of extract, but I use a lot of it in this recipe. The particular lemon extract works really well in this.

It’s not too sour and has a great fragrance. To get some fresh lemon taste, I do include some fresh lemon zest in this recipe. That balances out the flavor and makes the cake taste really fresh. The oils in the lemon peels also add something nice to the batter.

One other ingredient I used is poppy seeds. It’s up to you if you want to use them, but I thought they added a nice look and texture to the bread They’re a really fun element to work with.

I kept them in the pound cake only. I didn’t use them in the frosting. It’s up to you on how to add this element.

I hope you enjoy the recipe and have fun making it! The effort is worth it and results in a lovely cake.

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Keto Lemon Pound Cake


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Mila Clarke Buckley
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 12 slices of lemon poppy seed bread. 1x

Description

A fresh lemon bread at only 4g net carbs. 


Ingredients

Units Scale

For the cake

  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 3/4 cup of swerve or allulose
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp of salt
  • 4 eggs + 1 yolk
  • 4 oz full-fat cream cheese room temperature
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla
  • 4 teaspoon of lemon extract
  • 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds
  • zest of half lemon for the batter

For the Frosting

  • 4 oz full-fat cream cheese room temperature
  • 1/4 cup powdered swerve or allulose
  • 1/2 tsp of salt
  • 4 tablespoons of cream + 1 tablespoon of water
  • 2 teaspoons of lemon extract.
  • zest of half lemon + extra for sprinkling on top.
Instacart Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Using a microplaner, or grater, zest 1 lemon.
  3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer or stand mixer blend on high the butter with the sugar substitute until the mixture is light and fluffy and well incorporated (about 5 minutes).
  4. Next add the room temperature cream cheese, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Then mix well.
  5. Add the eggs one at a time making sure to mix well after each addition.
  6. In a bowl combine your almond flour, baking powder, salt
  7. Add your dry ingredients: the almond flour, baking powder, salt and mix well until batter is fully combined.
  8. With a spatua, fold in your lemon zest. 
  9. (optional step) fold and add in your poppy seeds. 
  10. In a well-greased 8 inch cake pan or 8 inch loaf pan bake 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown on top. The cake is done once an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  11. Let the cake cool and make your frosting. 

For the frosting:

  • Beat together the cream cheese, powered swerve and salt. Add salt and lemon extract and continue stirring the mixture. To thin the mixture out, mix in cream and water until it is the consistency you’d like. 
  • Once your cake is cool, frost the top and sprinkle lemon zest on top. 
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • Store these wrapped in wax paper and in a ziplock bag. It can be refridgerated for 7 days. You can also freeze it for up to a month.
  • If you check your bread and it’s looking too brown on the outside, cover it with foil while it bakes through to reduce the chance of the top burning. 
  • My oven took about 40 minutes to bake the bread all the way through without drying it. Watch the timer in case your oven doesn’t run at accurate temps. 
  • If you want to add fresh lemon juice you may. It will work best in the batter and in the frosting. Try adding a teaspoon at a time to see how you like the taste. This will change the macros of the bread! 
  • The frosting is lemon extract, cream cheese and sweetener. I love a strong cream cheese flavor, but if you want to cut it a little bit, use a 1/4 cup of butter mixed with the other ingredients to make a more mild and buttery cream cheese frosting.
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 40
  • Category: Keto
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Dessert

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 272
  • Sugar: 1.7 g
  • Sodium: 141.6 mg
  • Fat: 21 g
  • Carbohydrates: 4.7 g
  • Fiber: 0.6 g
  • Protein: 6.1 g
  • Cholesterol: 124 mg

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3 Responses

  1. Hi Thanks so much for this recipe, I look forward to trying it. My question is about the Swerve in the cake, Powdered or granular? The frosting says powdered…I dont see the answer re: Cake. THANK YOU

    1. Hi Nancy! Granulated swerve is used in the actual cake, while powdered is used in the frosting.

      My measurements are not on the sticky sweet side, so you can always add a touch more if you’d like more sweetness.

  2. I liked this recipe! I will add more sweetness because I just love super sugary treats. This was great though! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!!!

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Mila Clarke is a Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, an author, self-taught cook, nutritionist and Integrative Nutrition Diabetes Health Coach, diabetes advocate and founder of Hangry Woman and The Glucose Guide App. Hangry Woman aims to take away the shame and stigma that comes with a diabetes diagnosis and covers topics like diabetes management, cooking, and self-care from the perspective of someone living with the chronic condition. Her book –– The Diabetes Food Journal –– Is one of the most sought after diabetes self-management tools for patients. Her online community – Glucose Guide – offers affordable health coaching, hundreds of diabetes-friendly recipes and community peer support. Mila has been featured by CNN, The New York Times, Eat This Not That, USA Today, Good Housekeeping and WebMD. She contributes to Healthline, The Washington Post, DiaTribe, and EatingWell Magazine. Mila lives in Houston, Texas with her Miniature Poodle, Noodle.
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