This keto lemon cake is perfect for those on a low-carb diet, combining zesty lemon flavor with sweetness. The cake is soft and moist, topped with a smooth frosting, making it great for any special event. This will definitely be a fan favorite during birthdays, parties, or backyard get-togethers.
❤️ Why you'll love it
Made with almond flour, butter, lemon juice, monk fruit sweetener, and other standard pantry items, this keto lemon cake is sweet, tangy, and moist. The glaze on top, made from lemon juice and erythritol, is just the cherry on top.
This cake is perfect for the summer months – who doesn't love a lemon dessert at a backyard barbecue? Whether it's someone's birthday or you're just in the mood for something sweet, this keto lemon cake will become one of your favorite dessert recipes.
🧾 Ingredients Used
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- Almond flour: This is the base of the cake and has fewer carbs than standard baking flour.
- Baking powder: This adds fluffiness and texture to the cake.
- Eggs: These help bind all of the ingredients together.
- Melted butter: More butter equals more flavor and moisture!
- Plain yogurt: Yogurt adds more moisture to this cake recipe.
- Monk fruit sweetener: I use monk fruit sweetener instead of regular sugar, which adds carbs and calories.
- Lemon juice: This adds most of the lemon flavor to this cake.
- Lemon zest: Don't skip this ingredient – it adds a more potent lemon flavor to the cake.
- Vanilla extract: For added depth and flavor!
Ingredients Used for the Lemon Glaze:
- Lemon juice: This will be the lemony base of the cake glaze.
- Powdered erythritol: This artificial sweetener gives this glaze its sweet flavor.
🔪 How To Make This Recipe
- Grease a 9×5 loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the almond flour with the baking powder.
- In another bowl, beat the butter with the monk fruit sugar, then slowly add the eggs. Mix to combine.
- In the same bowl, mix in the plain yogurt. Lastly, add lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Mix to combine, but don't overmix!
- Pour the cake batter into the greased pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
- Let the keto lemon cake cool completely before tracing around the sides with a knife and popping out the loaf. This will ensure that the cake doesn't break.
- Once completely cooled, remove from the loaf pan.
To make the glaze:
- Mix the powdered erythritol with the fresh lemon juice. Start with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, but add another tablespoon if needed.
- Pour the lemon glaze over the cooled loaf.
- Let it set for a few minutes, then slice and serve.
🥫 Storing and Reheating
This cake is good for up to five days. Store it in an airtight container in the pantry or a cabinet. Avoid putting it in the refrigerator, as it might dry out.
It is possible to freeze this cake in advance—you'll want to make the cake and then put it in an airtight container in the freezer. However, do not make the glaze or put it on the cake until it's ready to serve!
💭 Tips and Variations
- Sour cream or mayo: If you don't have yogurt on hand, sour cream or mayonnaise can be used as a substitute—these ingredients will add just as much moisture to the cake.
- Cream cheese frosting: Rather than making a lemon glaze, make a keto-friendly cream cheese frosting with cream cheese, a low-calorie sweetener, and lemon juice.
- Buttercream frosting: If you want a classic frosting, make a keto-friendly buttercream with butter, artificial sweetener, and lemon juice. Beat until it's fluffy.
- Whipped topping: Feel free to go without the icing completely and serve with homemade whipped cream instead.
- Make strawberry topping: Top this cake with a fresh strawberry topping for an easy summer dessert. Simply cut up some strawberries, add a bit of sweetener, and mash them up a bit. Whipped cream goes great with this combo!
- Add blueberries: Lemon and blueberry are two of the best summer fruit combinations! Add frozen blueberries to the cake batter for a fruity twist.
- Do not overmix: Overmixing the cake batter can cause it to become dry. Only mix it until it is just combined.
🍽️ What can I eat this recipe with?
This cake is great on its own, but it's also delicious with a cup of coffee or an herbal tea—it's especially great with chamomile tea or Earl Gray. Try it with my keto iced coffee recipe, which is made with almond milk, black coffee, and low-carb sweetener. Iced coffee paired with this lemon cake is the perfect summer treat!
This lemon cake is also yummy topped with summer fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
👩🍳 Frequently asked questions
While most cakes are not keto-friendly, this keto lemon cake is a great option because it is low in carbs and sugar but still tastes great!
Because this lemon cake is lower carb and sugar-free, it's great for people with diabetes. Made with almond flour and monk fruit sweetener, this cake won't spike your blood sugar!
Keto cake is usually made with eggs, high-fat ingredients, no-sugar sweeteners, and low-carb flour. In this recipe, the butter, eggs, and yogurt add fat (creating the perfect texture), while the monk fruit sweetener adds sweetness.
Both coconut and almond flour are great for baking but have different strengths and weaknesses. Coconut flour creates denser and more moist baked goods, but it also requires much more liquid to prevent it from drying out. Almond flour, on the other hand, has a smoother consistency and nuttier flavor. It just depends on what you're making and what you want!
📚 Related Recipes
Check out these other delicious recipes!
📖 Recipe
Keto Lemon Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- ⅓ cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup monk fruit sweetener
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Glaze
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice or more if needed
- 6 tablespoon powdered erythritol or more if needed
Instructions
- Grease a 9×5 loaf pan or line it with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 325 F.
- Mix the almond flour with the baking powder in a bowl.2 ¼ cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder
- In another bowl, beat the butter with the monk fruit sweetener, then slowly add the eggs and mix to combine.1 tablespoon butter, ½ cup monk fruit sweetener, 4 eggs
- Mix in the plain yogurt, then add lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.⅓ cup plain yogurt, 3 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour the cake batter into the pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
- Once completely cooled, remove from the loaf pan.
To make the glaze.
- Mix the powdered erythritol with the fresh lemon juice. Start with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice but if needed add another one.2 tablespoon lemon juice, 6 tablespoon powdered erythritol
- Pour over the cooled loaf. Let it set for a few minutes, then slice and serve.
Notes
- It’s best to let the keto lemon cake cool completely before going around the sides with a knife and popping out the loaf. This will ensure that the cake doesn't break.
- Do not overmix: Overmixing the cake batter can cause it to become dry. Only mix it until it is just combined.
- Use different flours: While this recipe uses almond flour, you can experiment with coconut flour, chia flour, or other keto-friendly flour.
- Sour cream or mayo: If you don't have yogurt on hand, sour cream or mayonnaise can be used as a substitute—these ingredients will add just as much moisture to the cake.
Nutrition
Tayo Oredola is the founder of Low Carb Africa, where she shares healthy, low carb dishes with global flavors. She is passionate about teaching people how to cook drool-worthy dishes while losing weight and living their best lives. Tayo’s recipes have been featured on MSN, Women’s Health, Parade, Yahoo News, Pure Wow, Essence, and other online publications.
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