Keto Lemon Cake (keto, low-carb, gluten-free, lactose-free, paleo)

This cake encapsulates two recipes, Keto lemon pound cake and low carb lemon curd. I wanted a special Easter cake so I decided to make a round keto cake that I could split and fill with lemon curd and whipped plant-based double cream. We make keto mug cakes often but this cake has very tender crumb and was enjoyed by keto and non-keto eaters. It’s the sort of cake that when you have finished a slice you are not full and crave more. The cake cuts into approximately 16 thin slices but everyone in my house went back for seconds.

You can use coconut oil in the mixture or butter. For flavour, I prefer (lactose-free) butter. It is an easy cake to make and kept in the fridge covered for 4 days.

The nutrition for one slice of lemon poundcake (recipe is for 16 slices): 174 cals, 5.1g Carbs, 1.2g fibre, 10.9g fat, sugar 1.1g, Net carbs: 3.9g.

The nutrition for the lemon curd; recipe makes 10 servings of 3 tablespoons with 2.5 net carbs per serving.

I will be making this cake again this week. It’s better than chocolate and proved very satisfying after a light meal. I really recommend that you make it. Using the original recipe, I weighed ingredients as I feel it gives a better result than cup measures.

Note: my adaptations are all in bold.

Ingredients for the lemon pound cake:

5 eggs – at room temperature
3/4 cup erythritol monk fruit, erythritol or xylitol (150g)
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or melted butter (120 ml)
2 cups almond flour (220 g)
1/4 cup coconut flour (35 g)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup lemon juice (60 ml)
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest – optional. (you definitely need the lemon zest)

Method

Preheat oven to 350F/180C/160C fan-assisted.
Line a loaf tin (9 inches x 5 inches) or an 8 inch round cake tin with a piece of parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper to make sure the pound cake doesn’t stick. Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, erythritol, melted coconut oil or butter and lemon juice. Make sure that your coconut oil or butter are not too hot or it will ‘cook’ the eggs and create lumps.
NOTE: All your ingredients must be roughly at same temperature, think room temperature, especially the eggs and lemon juice. Cold ingredients, just out of the fridge will solidify the coconut oil creating oil lumps, or use melted butter to prevent this happening. Then, set aside.
In a different large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour and baking powder. Stir to evenly combine, then add the lemon zest.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Stir all the ingredients together with a spatula until it forms a consistent cake batter with no lumps. Combine for at least 2 minutes to make sure the coconut flour fibre absorbs the moisture.
Transfer the cake batter into your chosen tin. Make sure you are aware of the cooking times for the loaf cake and if you decide to use an alternative tin that you monitor the cake carefully after about 45-50 minutes.

Place the loaf tin in the centre of your oven and bake at 180C /160C fan-assisted (350F). After 15 minutes decrease temperature to 160C/140C (320F) and cover the cake with a loose piece of foil. This will prevent the top of the cake from burning and enable the middle to bake slowly. Keep baking for 45- 60 minutes in total, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out with little to no crumbs on it. Note: the 8 inch cake cooked in 50 minutes total because it was thinner.

Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn the cake out.
Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. It takes approximately 3 hours to cool fully.
Be patient, and add your topping onto the cake when it reaches room temperature, not before!

Note: The original recipe, tops the cake with lemon glaze, but as I was adding lemon curd I chose to top my cake with whipped cream instead. However, I included the lemon glaze below if you’d prefer this to cream.

Ingredients for the Lemon glaze:

This is really simple all you need is:

1 cup powdered erythritol
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Method:

Whisk together the powdered erythritol with the lemon juice, until no lumps remain. Note: Depending on the consistency you want, you can add more lemon juice for a thinner glaze, or powdered erythritol for a thicker glaze.
Drizzle over the cooled cake
Note: If your glaze is too runny, you can place it in the freezer for a few minutes to set.

Ingredients for the Lemon curd:

As stated above, I chose to add lemon curd to the middle of my cake and then top with whipped cream, rather than opt for a lemon glaze like the original recipe.

3/4 cup lemon juice (about 3-4 large lemons)
1/2 cup erythritol
4 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
the zest from all the lemons
1/4 teaspoon of stevia (I chose not to add stevia)
6 tablespoons salted butter (I used lactose-free butter)
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

Method:

Add the erythritol and arrowroot powder, into a medium pan and stir.
Roll the lemons (this is so you get more juice out of them), and then add the zest to the erythritol.
Separate 4 eggs, then add the 4 yolks to the erythritol. Then add the 4 whole eggs to the erythritol mixture and whisk together until combined.
Juice the lemons, make sure to strain, then stir into the mixture.

Turn it up to a medium heat, and continuously whisk the mixture until it begins to thicken– this will only take a few minutes. Then turn down to a medium-low heat, and continue to whisk. The lemon curd, will thicken suddenly.

Note: I kept removing the pan from the heat and stirring to ensure it didn’t over cook and remained smooth.

Remove the pan from the heat, and continue to whisk for one more minute, then pour the curd into a clean container.
Note: The original recipe then says to add the stevia and butter. However, I thought the curd was already sweet enough whilst still having a nice sharp tang, so I opted to not add the stevia and just the butter. Stir until fully incorporated.

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and then place the lemon curd into the fridge to cool.
Store in an airtight container; this will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.