
Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
Get It NowMy classic keto pound cake recipe is one of my most popular keto dessert recipes. But this lemon poppy seed version? It’s definitely a solid rival. Instead of a loaf like the original, I made this one into a keto lemon bundt cake instead. Not only does this easy keto lemon pound cake with almond flour look impressive on a cake stand, it’s moist and delicious (much like lemon blueberry zucchini bread!) and takes only 15 minutes of prep time.
Once the lemon poppy seed bundt cake comes out of the oven (and it’s had time to cool!), it’s topped with a bright and sweet lemon glaze.
This low carb lemon pound cake recipe was originally published on March 17, 2018, and the post was republished in September 2020 to add useful tips.
I first made this keto bundt cake with almond flour for my daughter’s 3rd birthday a couple of years ago. It was such a hit with everyone that I’ve made it again and again since then – and I bet you will too, once you try it!
If you prefer a more traditional cake with frosting, make my keto lemon cake recipe here.
How To Make Keto Lemon Pound Cake
Let’s make lemon poppy seed bundt cake!
- Prep bundt pan. Grease the bundt pan well.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together butter and Besti, until fluffy. Beat in eggs, sour cream, lemon extract, and vanilla extract.
- Mix dry ingredients. In another bowl, stir together almond flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, and sea salt.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Beat the dry ingredients into wet ones, 1 cup at a time.
- Bake lemon poppy seed bundt cake. Transfer batter to the pan and smooth the top. Bake until the top is golden brown, then loosely cover with foil and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
- Glaze. Whisk together Besti Powdered, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Drizzle glaze over your lemon poppy seed bundt cake and enjoy!
TIP: You can adjust the consistency of the glaze as needed. Just add more lemon juice if it’s too thick, or more sweetener if it’s too thin.
Keto Bundt Cake FAQs
What kind of almond flour should I use?
It’s important to use super fine blanched almond flour for this keto pound cake recipe. Do not use almond meal or a coarse almond flour – both of these would yield a more grainy result.
Can you make pound cake with coconut flour?
No, sorry, this gluten-free lemon poppy seed bundt cake recipe is designed to be with almond flour. Coconut flour won’t work. If you can’t have almond flour, you might want to try my coconut flour muffins and add some lemon zest or extract to them.
If you have a nut allergy, you could try sunflower seed flour, which would have a different flavor but could still work.
Can you make lemon poppy seed bundt cake with a different sweetener?
Yes, you can, as long as it’s the right kind. You definitely need granulated and powdered, respectively, for the right consistencies in the cake and filling.
I originally made this keto lemon pound cake with granulated erythritol for the cake and powdered erythritol for the glaze, but I now prefer Besti for the cake, which makes it more moist than other sweeteners, and Powdered Besti for the glaze, which makes it smoother and not gritty.
What is the difference between a pound cake and a bundt cake?
Technically, any cake made in a bundt pan is a bundt cake. But in most cases, the type of cake most often made in a bundt pan are pound cakes.
You can expect a gluten-free pound cake or bundt cake to have a moist, dense texture. Assuming that, the pan itself leads to two main differences:
- Moisture is especially important in a gluten-free bundt cake, because there is more surface area than a traditional loaf pan or cake pan. So, a moist batter ensures that it isn’t dry. The good news? Making pound cake in a bundt pan means you get more delicious crusty edges!
- Baking time varies depending on your pan. Shallower pans require less time in the oven, deeper ones mean longer baking time. I used a bundt pan, but will offer options below if you want to use some other type.
What kind of pan should I use?
The particular low carb lemon pound cake recipe I’m sharing is made in this 12-cup bundt pan. They call it a fluted tube pan.
A bundt pan is a certain type of tube pan. There are others that have flat, vertical sides, and typically larger capacity. These regular tube pans are best for a keto angel food cake, but would be too large for this keto bundt cake recipe.
If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can use two small rectangular loaf pans, two round cake pans, or a single 9×13 pan. The smaller pans will require reducing baking time, and the large 9×13 pan will require more time.
Low Carb Lemon Pound Cake Storage Instructions
Can you make it ahead?
Yes, you can! It’s one of the reasons that keto lemon pound cake with almond flour is perfect for special occasions. It’s large enough to feed a crowd, convenient to make in advance, and looks impressive without a lot of work.
How to store keto lemon pound cake
Store this keto lemon poppy seed pound cake gluten-free bundt cake in the refrigerator for up to a week. If you’re making it for an occasion, it’s best to put on the glaze fresh (the day-of), but for leftovers it’ll be fine even if the glaze is already on it.
Can you freeze low carb keto pound cake?
Yes, you can freeze the keto friendly lemon pound cake for 2-3 months. Thaw it in the fridge before serving. Reheating works okay, but the glaze will soak into the cake.
When I first tested this keto pound cake recipe, I didn’t have a specific occasion for it. So, I sliced it and stuck it in the freezer. Now, I take out a couple slices at a time, put them in the fridge, and have a yummy breakfast to enjoy with my bulletproof coffee in the morning.
More Keto Cake Recipes
If you love this keto bundt cake recipe, you might also like some of these other keto cake recipes:
- Vanilla Keto Birthday Cake – No one can ever tell that this rich and flavorful cake is also low carb and keto!
- Kentucky Butter Cake – Moist and buttery pound cake with a butter glaze.
- Low Carb Sugar-Free Carrot Cake – Surprisingly easy, and gluten-free and sugar-free, so perfect for almost everyone.
- Classic Keto Cheesecake – The most popular dessert on the blog! Just 10 minutes to prep and tastes like the real thing!
- Keto Chocolate Cake – Perfect for Valentine’s Day, a birthday, or just because.
Tap the links below to see the items used to make this recipe.Tools To Make Low Carb Bundt Cake
- Hand mixer – I actually prefer this over a stand mixer! Use it to cream butter and sweetener for this pound cake recipe with almond flour.
- Bundt pan – A bundt pan is a must for this keto lemon pound cake recipe!
- Cooling rack – This rack helps the pound cake with almond flour cool evenly. This one is oven-safe, so you can also use it for making super crispy bacon wrapped asparagus, too.
Keto Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
Keto Lemon Pound Cake (Bundt Cake)
Easy keto lemon pound cake with almond flour is moist and sweet - you won't believe it has 4g net carbs per slice! Plus, low carb keto lemon poppy seed bundt cake takes only 15 minutes to prep.
Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
Lemon Glaze
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Grease a bundt pan and set aside.
-
In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat together the butter and Besti, until fluffy.
-
Beat in the eggs, sour cream, lemon extract and vanilla extract.
-
In another bowl, stir together the almond flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, and sea salt. Beat the dry ingredients into the wet, about a cup at a time.
-
Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth the top. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is dark golden brown. Cover loosely with foil and continue baking for 20-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
-
To make the glaze, whisk together the powdered Besti, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Drizzle over the cake.
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
This helps other readers and also helps me continue to provide free recipes on my site.
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 slice, or 1/16 of entire recipe
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
Want to save this recipe?
Save This Recipe Now© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We'd LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂
232 Comments
Erica
0I love this recipe. My cake turned out perfectly. I have made it a few times and sometimes replace some of the butter with avocado – it still tastes amazing. I’ve also experimented with replacing the sour cream with yogurt – works too but changes the texture a bit.
LaWanda
0Is it possible to cut the recipe in half? I want to make this in my DASH mini bundt pan, but I do not want a lot of extra cakes. Thanks.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi LaWanda, Yes, you can halve the recipe. Change the number of servings on the recipe card to adjust.
Marlene
0Excellent… I made this for our craft ladies’ Christmas coffee and it was a huge hit. ❤ Question … can you leave out the poppyseeds or is there a substitute.? My daughter can’t handle poppyseeds.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Marlene, You can omit the poppy seeds.
Lisa
0Can allulose be used in place of Erythritol?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Lisa, Yes, absolutely! I actually prefer Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend for this recipe now; if you use that instead of erythritol, use 2/3 the amount compared to the amount of erythritol.
Jessica
0You really outdid yourself with this one! So so good! I baked mine for an hour in 2 bread tins and used 2 tsp lemon extract since it was a different kind than yours.
Teresa
0Would it tastes equally as good if I didn’t use the poppy seeds? I worry about using poppy seeds and then my husband having a drug test at work and failing it. I don’t know how much poppy seeds you’d need to eat before failing a test but don’t really want to find out either! LOL
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Teresa, You can omit the poppy seeds in this recipe.
Joan
0Can this be made in a different pan if you don’t have a bundt one?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Joan, Yes, this cake will still turn out nicely in a round cake pan. Just be aware of the size of pan you are using, if it’s a small cake round, then you may need to split your cake batter into 2 layers.
Wholesome Yum A
0Made this today for the second time. It’s absolutely delicious! Great recipe. No one could tell it was keto.
Marcia Ohler
0Very good. Served with whipping cream and berries. We all had a second serving!
Cristina
0Verry tasty…. and guilt free, thank you!
Sharon Reum
0I just ordered the ingredients from amazon.com and I must say that I absolutely love this cake. Someone at my church made it last year for a women’s tea and everyone was raving about it. I couldn’t believe that it was gluten and sugar free. Anyway, I finally bought the ingredients to make it myself and am so glad I did. I like to put fresh strawberries and blueberries around the bottom of the plate for a lovely garnish that people can also eat. The cake is a bit pricey at $52.00 but certainly worth it if you have someone in your family that cannot have gluten or sugar. I will only be making this once or twice a year and there are enough ingredients to make the cake more than once. You must try making this recipe for someone you love and believe me, they will love it!
Janet
0You can make this delicious cake for way less than $52. I get erythritol at my supermarket on sale and almond flour at Walmart. The Walmart flour is not as refined as premium brands but worked just fine with this recipe. The cake might have been lighter with another brand, but we loved it the way it turned out. I’m pretty sure it cost me between $10-12. And the other person who thought 3 T of poppy seed was too much–well, I thought it was barely enough. This cake was absolutely delicious! Thanks, Maya.
Lisa
0My cake was quite brown at 20 minutes, so loosely covered with foil. Set timer for another 20 minutes to check on it. What internal temp should it be when done, since we can’t go by how it looks?
Thanks
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lisa, Browning can vary depending on the pan you use, and it’s fine to cover with foil if it’s not done yet. Use a toothpick to check if it’s done – it’s ready when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Hope this helps!
Vicky
0This is a wonderful recipe. My mom says it’s one of her favorites.
Debi
0I followed the recipe word for word, even used suggested brands for the flour and sugar. Cake was dry and crumbly. The cake did not rise as other bundt cakes. Lastly, 3 tablespoons of poppy seeds is way too much… all seeds no cake.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Debi, Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected. This cake shouldn’t be dry. Did you make any substitutions?
Cathy Aitmoussa
0was great , hubby kept taking more little slices. wonderful lemon taste . I had two small slices, yummy. Is there anyway to make it fluffier, it only came to be half the bundt pan,
Maybe my pan is larger, maybe could I add more baking powder?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Cathy, I wouldn’t add more baking powder. Using too much may give you cake a bitter aftertaste and could possibly cause the cake to collapse in the middle. If you prefer, you can bake this cake in a cake round or square pan and skip the bundt pan.
James
0I up the recipe to 1and a half times the ingredients rises all the way to top and makes a whole bundt cake ..takes 5 to 6 more minutes baking time ..cake is delicious
Amanda S.
0This sounds incredible! Can I use egg replacer?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Amanda, I have not personally tested this recipe with egg replacer, although, it should work.
Dana
0Looks amazing but I don’t like erythritol. Can I use a monk fruit/stevia blend or just monk fruit instead? Also, I don’t have poppy seeds. Can I omit them?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Dana, I have not tried this recipe with a different sweetener. It would likely need the bulk from the sweetener for the recipe to work, so maybe a baking stevia blend could be used. Here is a handy sweetener calculator to help you determine the amount you would need when subbing for a different type of sweetener. Oh, and yes, you can omit the poppy seeds if you don’t have any on hand.
Tiffany
0I made this last year as a cake and we loved it. This Christmas I was thinking of trying it as muffins; anyone tried this???
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Tiffany, So glad you loved it! A muffin pan should work just fine.
J
0I prefer to make this as muffins. It is a wonderful recipe! I bake mine ~20 minutes, then cover with a foil sheet and bake an additional ~10 minutes or so. They freeze well.
Joan Ben David
0Hi! I don’t have lemon extract on hand, would it be possible to just use fresh lemon juice and zest? If yes, how much should I use? Excited to try this for my mom’s bday tomorrow.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Joan, Yes, but your flavor may not be as predominant. I would start with the 2 tablespoons of juice and 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and then adjust from there to taste.
Gloria Canchola
0I love this cake have made it so many times the only thing is that it sometimes get stuck to the bundt pan.
If I don’t put the glaze how many carbs would the cake itself be?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Gloria, I am so glad you love this recipe! Be sure to grease well, as a bundt cake does tend to stick in those creases in the pan. I am not sure exactly how much the glaze would change the overall carb count. Feel free to enter the recipe into an online recipe calculator (minus the glaze ingredients) to get an accurate updated carb count.
Lena Farrow
0I sprinkle flour in the pan lightly over the grease and it comes out perfectly
Ana
0how I grease the mold???
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Ana, Softened butter or a spray oil will work well here. Be sure to coat the center of the bundt pan well, that’s where cake likes to stick.
Twayna Thomas
0Would this work in a 9″ round cake pan? I don’t have a bunt pan.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Twayna, This recipe will make too much batter for a single 9″ cake round. You can either bake a 2 layer cake, or change the servings from 16 to 12 so the batter will fit in the 9″ pan. I hope this helps.
Mary
0Mine wasn’t very lemony 🙁 I even added the zest. Also the pop ups are terrible on my devices. They need to fix the website !!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Mary, I’m sorry this recipe didn’t turn out as expected. Extracts can vary in flavor and potency, so if your lemon extract is mild, you may need to use more than listed in the recipe. Thank you for your feedback on the website! I have recently created an ad-free version of the site. You can read about Wholesome Yum Plus here.
Lena Farrow
0This is legit as good if not better than any normal lemon poppyseed cake. It’s so good. I’ve made it 4 times and everytime I run out I make it again. I top it with Greek yogurt and it’s the best dessert. So good
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
0I have everything I need for this dish, can’t wait to make it this weekend!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
0Love how easy this recipe is. It’s perfect for our family!
Jessica Formicola
0This is the BEST keto lemon cake I’ve ever tried! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Bill
0Hi. I have a question. Can greek style yogurt be substituted for sour cream? I use yogurt in my cheesecake cupcakes and they are great. I could never tell the difference. Maybe with a cake the texture would be differnt. Thanks.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Bill, The flavor will be a bit more mellow using greek yogurt in place of sour cream, but the recipe will still work.
Liz
0I don’t have a Bundt pan. Can I just use a round pan?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Liz, Yes, this cake will still turn out nicely in a round cake pan. Just be aware of the size of pan you are using, if it’s a small cake round, then you may need to split your cake batter into 2 layers.
Nikki Orr
0This lemon bunt cake was delicious! I cannot believe how easy it was to make! It smelled so good baking, it was so moist, I used some generic lemon extract and it was perfect!
Fatima W
0I made this for Eid celebration. I weighed all the ingredients as UK cups are 250ml instead of 240ml like American cup sizes. I used the whisk attachment on my stand mixer – too lazy to use hand mixers! I baked for 40 minutes and then a further 20 minutes covered with foil. I could not tell the difference between this and a non-Keto cake lemon poppy seed cake from my pre-Keto days. Absolutely delicious and easy to follow instructions. There are lots of Keto lemon poppy seed cake recipes out there, some of which I’ve tried and not liked, but this one is a definite keeper!
Tawny
0I lost my beaters for my hand mixer so I used a KitchenAid mixer. What attachment would be best? I used the wire whisk the whole time, would the flat beater have been better?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Tawny, Either the whisk or paddle attachment will work fine in this recipe.
Tawny
0Thank you so much! It turned out delicious except the outer part was a little hard. Might have to adjust the time.
Lucy Nairy
0I loved the recipe it was amazing!! I did everything recommended besides the icing. Instead, I used 2 egg whites, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and a cup of powdered monkfruit (tasted really nice). For the bake time I cut 10 min off and it came out really fluffy and bouncy. I would recommend leaving it to sit for a while after taking it out of the oven so the bundt cake doesn’t crumble.
Adriana
0This looks amazing! I’d love a coconut flour version as my husband and kiddos have nut allergies so almond flour is out for me.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Adriana, I don’t have a swap for coconut flour yet, but I’ll see what I can do.
Joyce
0Best keto pound cake ever! I made it with softened coconut oil and the texture and flavor were wonderful! I didn’t have lemon extract, so I added in a few drops of lemon essential oil instead. I also didn’t have poppy seeds and skipped the frosting. It was perfect!
Janice
0I just made this today, and while it was super easy to prepare, I think next time I will bake in a loaf pan instead as I experienced the same issue as many others that have commented on here that it stuck when removing from the Bundt pan. I made sure that the pan was greased quite liberally and still had issues. I will still take my ugly cake to a BBQ today because it tastes absolutely wonderful and it’s just for family anyway, so they are not picky by any stretch! Oh….and I used almond extract instead of vanilla extract for the cake, and what a delicious flavor the cake has! Definitely 5 stars for the flavor, texture & crumb, but I gave this recipe 4 stars only because of the issue I had while using the Bundt pan, which has a lot of creases in and produces a beautiful jello mold, so it could have been just the pan choice that I used.
Gina
0Hi, this cake looks great I’d love to try this but don’t have the right tin. If I cooked as two loaf pans or cup cakes do you know roughly how long I would need to bake them? Thank you.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Gina, Yes, two loaf pans will work great. I have not tested this myself, but you may need to adjust the bake time so the recipe fully bakes through the center.
Hajdi
0Just baking this in the oven, smells amazing! Can’t wait to try it. I would love to see any low carb recipe with coconut flour in the future!
Brian
0Hi,
Love your recipes. You’re one of my go-to’s. I would love to see a coconut flour pound cake recipe for friends with nut allergies!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Brian, Great suggestion! I’ll see what I can do.
Danielle Murstein
0Just found this site, which looks great! For the keto lemon poppyseed pound cake, can plain greek yogurt be used instead of sour cream?
Thanks!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Danielle, I have not tested this recipe with yogurt so I can’t guarantee you will get exactly the same results, however, the recipe should still work with greek yogurt.
Mary
0Thinking about making this for Mother’s Day. Just a question on the 23g fat grams. Is this from the butter? Can you use something else. Thank You
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Mary, Butter, eggs, sour cream, and almond flour all account for the fat in this recipe. This website is low carb, so we don’t shy away from fat here 😉 If that’s not you, then no problem. You can substitute the sour cream with yogurt, which will help to bring the fat down. Enjoy!
Theresa Gerhard
0I just finished making the lemon poppyseed cake in the bundt pan. I baked for 40 min. covered and then checked it in 5 min. and it smelled burned. I took it out and let it rest before removing from the pan. It was burned and would not come out of the pan even though I loosened it with a knife. When it did come out it fell apart. I think it should have only baked for about 35 min. I would add a comment to your recipe that it may only take 35 min in a bundt pan.
I was very disappointed.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Theresa, Sorry to hear you had issues with it. It could be that your oven runs hot – try a lower temperature next time – or it might be a difference in the size or shape of your pan, which can affect the baking time needed. It does need to cool completely before you loosen with a knife and try to remove it, otherwise it will fall apart. Hope it works out better next time – try checking on it sooner.
Xi xi
0Coconut flour recipe would be amazing!
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Xi xi, Sorry, I don’t have a coconut flour version of this recipe at the moment.
Eunice C.
0I’m pretty new to Keto baking. This recipe was AMAZING. My only issue is that it’s honestly so good…. that I could probably eat the whole thing at once. Advice…. freeze that sucker if you don’t want the entire cake to turn into your serving lol!
Lydia Eubank
0NO criticism. This cake is delicious!!!
Lori
0Can this be made with your Wholesome Yum Allulose/Monkfruit sweetener? I prefer the flavor of it over Erythritol.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Lori, Yes, you can use the Monk Fruit Allulose sweetener. cut the amount of sweetener down to 3/4 cup and you will be good to go!
Melody
0I would love to see a nut free version of this! I want something I can send to school for my daughter’s birthday, but it’s a nut free classroom, or else this would be perfect. The birthday cake looks great, but it also has nuts.
Debbie
0I have made this cake several times, always with great results. Today for the first time it stuck to the pan and I can’t figure out why. Can you help? I thoroughly greased pan with Crisco. Used ingredients you list in same quantities. I let the cake cool completely in the pan…might that have been the reason? I am mystified.
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Debbie, I’m not sure. The cake should cool slightly (15 minutes or so) so it holds it’s structure when you turn it out.
Lori
0Cooling a cake in the pan all the way will usually cause it to stick. You can gently re-warm the pan over a very low flame for a few seconds, turning constantly…it helps. Normally 15-30 min is the max you should let a cake cool in the pan to avoid sticking (the oils solidify as they cool)
Sharon Reum
0If you let a bundt cake cool completely, it will stick. Only cool for 15 minutes.
elidre
0Good taste, though a little oily. I don’t mind a moist cake but this was very moist and fairly oily, so that combination made it a bit heavy. I ended up eating about 2 servings and it was super filling. This was the first dessert I prepared with erythritol (used Swerve granulated) and the final product tasted like it was prepared with sugar which was a pleasant surprise. Will probably make again.
Talia
0I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!!
The first time I made this cake it was way too delicate and kept falling apart, so decided to make them as cupcakes.
I have made these so many times and they always come out perfect.
Love the flavour, the texture and they come out super moist.
Definitely recommend this recipe.
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.
Stacy
0Could I make this in an 8×4 bread pan? Half the recipe for one pan?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Stacy, Yes that will work fine as long as you half the recipe.
Florence Spratt
0I found chia seeds are a good substitution for the poppy seeds. The cake looks so nice with those little specks!
Colleen Levac
0This is by far the absolute best cake. I’ve made it 4 times to date. I have also done a variation where I leave out the poppy seeds and add a cup of raspberry’s. Omg yum! Thank you so much for this recipe
Eva
0Just made this cake today and am eating it as I type! It turned out AMAZING! It’s so moist and delicious! The glaze is a bit sweet, but the cake isn’t so together it’s perfect! Thank you so much for the great recipe! Keep them coming!