Keto Lemon Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I’ve been discovering various keto-friendly desserts, and I have to be honest — as a former cane sugar eater, keto desserts absolutely do it for me. This keto lemon pound cake with cream cheese frosting is no exception. Super moist, delicious, lemony…it hits all the proper notes. My biggest fear with keto desserts (prior to tasting them) was that they’d have an “off” taste, like chemically or something. I haven’t discovered that at all!

Although I had a crazy sweet-tooth prior to the keto lifestyle, I find myself craving saltier snacks more than sweet snacks. Honestly, I didn’t think that would be the case. Because I remember baking cookies for the sheer fat ass hell of it, or out of boredom. I would also make cinnamon rolls for no reason other than “I was craving it“. So now, whenever I do get a sweet craving, this lemon pound cake just does it for me. And with so few net carbs, we don’t feel at all bad about eating it within a matter of days. 

As always, you have to keep your expectations realistic when it comes to sugar substitutes. Just learn to appreciate them for what they are. If you’re purposely going into it expecting various sweeteners to taste EXACTLY like sugar, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Open your mind and you’ll seriously enjoy these desserts without spiking your blood sugar and kicking yourself out of ketosis! A lot of these sweeteners on the market are really good, so much so that I constantly keep several bags on deck. 

My favorite sweeteners are based with erythritol, monk fruit, xylitol, and sometimes sucralose. Sucralose tastes so much like sugar that I try to have it sparingly because the jury is still out on whether or not it screws up your glycemic situation. For this particular recipe, I used Swerve (both granulated and confectioners). They also make a brown sugar version which is sticky like real brown sugar, and makes a great addition to a BBQ rub, but we’ll get into that later. 

The frosting is totally optional here. You could dust the final cake with a thin layer of Swerve confectioners’ (or not) and it’ll still be totally yummy. Make sure you’re using the finest finely ground almond flour. I’m using the Kirkland brand from Costco — it’s super affordable and you get three whole pounds of it. Use whatever brand you can get your hands on, though — but keep in mind that carb counts vary from brand to brand. 

How to make keto lemon pound cake

Let’s get started!

You’re gonna zest a lemon and toss that in the bowl along with the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sweetener.

Cream that bad boy up with one of these handheld electric mixers.

Until it’s nice and smooth, and everything is blended. This will take about 3 minutes.

Pour the egg and extract mixture (one egg at a time) into the creamed butter mixture.

Just one egg. Blend it up, then add the next egg, blend that up..and so on.

Until you get to your last egg.

Finally, the mixture should be super cohesive like this.

Here are the dry ingredients. Blanched super fine almond flour, baking powder, and pink Himalayan sea salt.

Mix the dry ingredients together so they’re evenly combined.

Then pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mixture together just well enough to blend with the electric mixer later. We’re doing this to avoid almond flour fly-aways!

When the mixture is blended enough so there’s no huge pockets of dry almond flour, use your handheld electric mixer to really get it mixed well. The great thing here is you don’t have to really worry about “overworking” the batter because there’s no gluten in it.

The batter will be super thick and fluffy like this.

Grab a loaf pan, spray it well with nonstick baking spray. Then line it with 2 layers of parchment paper, spraying it again.

Spread the batter into the loaf pan and even out the top.

SO boom, you’re gonna bake this kid for a good 55-65 minutes DEPENDING on the size of your loaf pan. I highly recommend you line this with parchment twice because the outside can and will brown VERY quickly before the middle is even baked. The first time I did this, thats what happened to mine. It looked burnt lol. For a gorgeous golden brown, double line your loaf pan, and don’t over-bake it. When it’s done, let it cool for an hour before removing from the loaf pan.

Serve this with fresh berries and sugar-free whipped cream! To make whipped cream thats keto friendly, simply whip up a cup or so of heavy cream, and add some powdered Swerve sweetener towards the end to taste. A drop or two of vanilla extract won’t hurt. 

Again, this cake is super moist, delightfully dense, and crazy easy to put together. It will not last! 

Net Carbs?

Assuming you’d slice this into 10 equal slices, one slice of cake (frosting not included) has approximately 3 net carbs. Keep in mind I’m using Kirkland Blanched Almond Flour for this recipe. If you’re using a different brand, the carb and net carb count will vary. The frosting is delicious but totally optional! You could finish this cake with a simple dusting of Swerve powdered sweetener or leave it as is.

Keto Lemon Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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★★★★★

5 from 21 reviews

• Author: Chef Resha
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 10 slices

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Description

Slightly adapted from To Temptation.

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Ingredients

Units USM

For the lemon pound cake:

• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, softened
• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons Swerve granulated sweetener
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest from one lemon
• 2 cups blanched almond flour (I used Kirkland Blanched Almond Flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 cup Swerve powdered sweetener (plus more if needed)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 1–2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• tiny pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt, to taste

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Instructions

Prep

Coat a loaf pan with nonstick baking spray, layer with two sheets of parchment paper, then spray it again. Two sheets of parchment can help prevent the cake from browning too quickly before it’s done baking — especially if using a Pyrex loaf pan.

To make the cake:

1. Preheat oven two 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the softened butter, cream cheese, lemon zest, and sweetener with an electric hand mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the room temperature eggs to a small bowl of measuring cup, along with the lemon and vanilla extract. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure they’re thoroughly combined. At this point, both extracts are also in the mixture.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the almond flour mixture, then gently fold with a rubber spatula to gently mix. Once no huge pockets of almond flour remain, use your electric hand mixer to combine until smooth.
5. Spoon the batter into your prepared loaf pan, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Depending on the size of your loaf pan, it may take up to 10-15 minutes longer, so check for doneness around the 50 minute mark to be safe. Simply insert a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean.
6. When the cake is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

To make the frosting:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, gently whisk or beat the butter and cream cheese together until thoroughly combined. Add the Swerve powdered sweetener, and whisk or beat until completely smooth. Add the vanilla extract, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream. Continue to whisk until smooth.
2. Taste and adjust the consistency as needed, adding more sweetener if needed, or more heavy cream.
3. Add a tiny pinch of pink Himalayan sea salt to help bring out the flavors.
4. Spread onto the cooled cake.
5. Serve alone, or with berries and sugar-free whipped cream!

Notes

Assuming you’d slice this into 10 equal slices, one slice of cake (frosting not included) has approximately 3 net carbs. Keep in mind I’m using Kirkland Blanched Almond Flour for this recipe. If you’re using a different brand, the carb and net carb count will vary.

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: keto, low carb, desserts

Keywords: keto lemon pound cake, keto lemon cake, keto cake, low carb lemon cake, low carb pound cake

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