This incredibly rich and buttery keto pound cake is made with almond flour and flavored with vanilla and lemon zest. You'll need just eight ingredients to make it, and it keeps well for several days in the fridge and several months in the freezer.
This cake is dedicated to my beloved Oma (grandma in Dutch), who was an amazing baker. I miss her buttery baked goods, and I'm doing my best to develop low-carb versions - a tall order, for sure. Several of my baked goods, including these shortbread cookies, were inspired by Oma. But I especially like this pound cake because it's rich, buttery, and not too sweet - just like Oma's cakes used to be.
Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this cake. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Avocado oil spray: Not mandatory, but I like to use it to lightly grease the parchment-lined loaf pan.
- Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, including this one. Even though the ratio of eggs to the other ingredients is fairly high, the cake doesn't taste eggy.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled. If you can get European butter, go for it! It's wonderfully creamy and flavorful.
- Sweetener: I use stevia glycerite to equal about ½ cup of sugar.
- Vanilla extract: Try to use the real thing - pure vanilla extract - and not the artificially flavored stuff.
- Lemon zest: Please don't skip it. It greatly enhances the cake.
- Almond flour: I use blanched, superfine almond flour. I don't recommend using a coarse almond meal.
- Kosher salt: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. If using any other salt, use just a pinch.
- Baking powder: Make sure it's fresh, and use a gluten-free powder if needed.
Variations
- You can use ½ to ¾ cups of granulated sweetener instead of stevia.
- Replace the vanilla extract with pure lemon extract.
- Replace the lemon zest with orange zest, as I do in the image below.
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this cake:
Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Transfer the batter to a parchment-lined small loaf pan.
Bake the cake in a preheated 350°F oven until it's puffed, golden, and fragrant, and a toothpick inserted in its center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven to a cooling rack. Let it cool for 30 minutes.
Slice and serve.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you use a small loaf pan. A standard one (9 X 5 inches) will produce a flat cake.
- The lemon zest (or orange zest) is truly an important part of this recipe. The cake will taste good without it, but it will taste amazing with it.
Recipe FAQs
There's no need for frosting. This cake is very rich, and a frosting would make it too rich, in my opinion.
It's relatively dense, as it's supposed to be, although it's fluffier than traditional pound cakes or the classic Dutch butter cake. Generally speaking, a pound cake is supposed to be rich and dense.
No. While I'm always open to trying substitutions, in this case, the eggs and butter are an integral part of the recipe. I wouldn't try substituting them for other ingredients.
Serving Suggestions
Keto pound cake can be served as a dessert, a snack, or a breakfast cake. For breakfast, I have it with coffee or iced coffee. For a snack, I serve it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk or iced tea.
For dessert, I sometimes splurge and top a slice with keto whipped cream (or chocolate whipped cream) and berries.
Storing Leftovers
Once the cake is completely cool, line the bottom of an airtight container with wax paper, place the cake in the container, and store it in the fridge for up to five days. I like to gently warm each slice for about 10 seconds in the microwave.
You can also slice the entire cake and freeze the slices in freezer bags, separating layers with wax paper. If you'd like to freeze it whole, let it cool completely, wrap it in cling wrap and then in foil, and freeze it for up to three months.
More Keto Cake Recipes
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Recipe Card
Keto Pound Cake
Video
Ingredients
- Avocado oil spray - for the pan
- 5 large eggs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter - melted and slightly cooled
- 1 ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite - (equals ½ cup sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest - or orange zest
- 2 cups blanched finely ground almond flour - (8 ounces)
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or a pinch of any other salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder - fresh; gluten-free if needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a small loaf pan (8.5 X 4.5 inches) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang, as shown in the photo. Lightly spray the parchment paper with oil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, melted butter, sweetener, and vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the lemon zest, almond flour, kosher salt, and baking powder.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top with a spatula and tap the pan on the kitchen counter a few times to help spread the batter evenly.
- Bake the cake until puffed, golden, and fragrant, and a toothpick inserted in its center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven to a cooling rack. Let it cool slightly until easier to handle, then use the parchment overhang to remove the cake from the pan. Carefully peel the parchment away and place the cake directly on the cooling rack. Cool for 30 more minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
- I use Bob's Red Mill Super-Fine Almond Flour. One cup of this flour weighs 4 ounces, so two cups weigh 8 ounces (dry measurements are different from liquid measurements). It's best to measure almond flour by weight, not by volume.
- It's important to use a small loaf pan. A standard loaf pan will result in a flat cake.
- The lemon zest (or orange zest) is truly an important part of this recipe. The cake will taste good without it, but it will taste amazing with it.
- You can use ½ to ¾ cups of granulated sweetener instead of stevia.
- You can replace the vanilla extract with pure lemon extract for a lemony flavor.
- Once the cake is completely cool, line the bottom of an airtight container with wax paper, place the cake in the container, and store it in the fridge for up to five days. I like to gently warm each slice for about 10 seconds in the microwave.
- You can also slice the entire cake and freeze the slices in freezer bags, separating layers with wax paper. If you'd like to freeze it whole, let it cool completely, wrap it in cling wrap and then in foil, and freeze it for up to three months.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Bobt says
No rating, because I produced a disaster with the center caving in and middle not cooked that I am sure had nothing to do with the original recipe. I must say the ends and sides were very tasty but the middle was a gooey mess.
Pretty much followed the recipe, except using 5/8 cup(130g) granulated allulose/monkfruit blend and then I believe my problem was in my substitutes for the 1 Tbsp lemon zest that I did not have. Per my internet research, I used 1 tsp lemon extract + 2 Tbsp lemon juice.
I did cook at 350 for 30 minutes, but it was getting very brown and toothpick appeared to be clean, so I decided not to cook more. Big Mistake!
Any suggestion for having no zest?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hey Bob
It sounds like the cake had too much liquid because you added lemon extract and lemon juice.
It's better to skip the zest altogether than to add liquid.
But my best suggestion is to wait until your next grocery run and purchase a lemon or an orange. 🙂
--
Edited to add a general baking tip: When a cake needs more time in the oven but is already brown, you can loosely cover it with foil and continue baking.
Linda says
I don’t have unsalted butter. Can I just omit the salt and use salted butter?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Linda,
I don't think so. We're using a large amount of butter in this recipe. The pinch of salt is designed to highlight the other flavors. Using salted butter would result in the cake tasting slightly salty.
Judy M says
Excellent! We give it five stars. Hubby ate his with strawberry slices. I am going to make whipped cream for the next slice!!
I made it dairy free by using butter flavored coconut oil.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Yay! I'm so glad you and your husband liked this cake, Judy! Thanks for sharing your dairy-free tweak.
Sharon Miller says
Is there a substitute for butter in this recipe?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Sharon,
The butter is an important component of this recipe, but you could try using 6 tablespoons of melted ghee or oil. If the batter seems too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
Judy M says
I don’t know if you’ll ever check back here, but I made it really nicely with coconut oil instead of butter
Kathy says
I need to know how much stevia powder to use and will it be all right not to use the glycerite. Does the glycerin in this product help with the texture of the cake. Should I add some vegetable glycerin with the powdered stevia. Thanks.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Kathy,
Simply use powdered stevia to equal 1/2 cup of sugar (or 3/4 cup if you like your baked goods very sweet).
The glycerin in the product is a tiny amount and does not affect the cake's texture.
Rakin M. says
This is divine. We had an oven in our house, but we didn't really use it. With this recipe, my mom and I started baking.
Changes We Made:
We didn't have large eggs, so we used 7 small eggs.
We added keto dark chocolate chips at the end.
We used sucralose instead of stevia.
Overall, this was really great, and we'll 100% use more of your recipes in the future.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Yay! I'm so glad you and your mom liked this recipe!
Thank you for taking the time to review it and for sharing your substitutions.
Mandy says
Could you use Erythritol instead...maybe 1/2 cup?
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Mandy,
Yes! That should work. Use 3/4 cup if you like your baked goods very sweet.