Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
Love a good bundt cake?
This excellent low carb and keto option is sure to impress! Our lemon poppy seed bundt cake with a sweet lemony glaze is both low in sugar and delicious! This was actually my first time making a keto-friendly cake and I was so impressed with the taste and texture. What’s more, each slice is only 3 NET carbs!
Side note, if you want more keto desserts, be sure to bookmark this page.
Don’t be intimidated by how many ingredients this cake takes!
This is a homemade low carb dessert that’s easy to mix together and uses mainly staple ingredients if you’re eating keto, like almond flour, coconut flour, butter, cream cheese, and almond milk.
I used Swerve granular as a sugar substitute and Swerve confectioners to make the lemon glaze. You can, however, use the sweetener of choice and adjust the amount to taste. Check out our Best Keto Diet Sweeteners & Sugar Recipe Conversion Guide HERE for any questions you may have on sweeteners.
Other helpful tips for success:
- Use a little xantham gum in the batter because it’ll give your cake a better texture.
- I used almond milk, but you could use canned coconut milk if desired.
- I used lots of lemon zest, but you can opt for lemon extract instead.
- I wouldn’t skip the easy lemon glaze, as it adds so much flavor!
- You can omit the poppy seeds or sprinkle a few on top of the cake to save up to .5g carbs per serving.
Keto Poppy Seed Lemon Bundt Cake
yield: 16 SERVINGS
prep time: 15 MINUTES
cook time: 45 MINUTES
total time: 60 MINUTES
A sweet and decadent cake with delicious lemon flavor that looks fancy, but is easy to make!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 3/4 cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2/3 cup Swerve granular
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 6 large eggs
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 3/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon Swerve granular
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
Lemon Glaze:
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup Swerve confectioners
Directions
1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2
Mix all dry ingredients and set aside.
3
Use a hand mixer to whip up cream cheese until smooth. Mix in each egg one at a time.
4
Mix in almond milk, lemon juice, vanilla extract, melted butter, Swerve granulated, and lemon zest.
5
Combine half of the dry ingredients and mix. Combine in the other half of dry ingredients until batter is mixed. Stir in poppy seeds.
6
Place batter into a greased bundt cake pan.
7
Bake in the middle rack for about 45 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and place on a plate or a cake plate.
8
Meanwhile, mix together Swerve confectioners and lemon juice. Drizzle glaze over the top of the cake.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 16 servings, Serving Size: 1/16 slice of cake
Amount Per Serving:
250 Calories | 21g Fat | 23g Total Carbs | 6g Fiber | 14g Sugar Alcohol | 7g Protein | 3g Net Carbs
Finally, you can have your cake and eat it, too!
What a light and fluffy lemon bundt cake! If you like lemon desserts like me, I think you’ll really enjoy this idea. It’s perfect as a low carb treat, and I think your family will love it! I had a little piece the next morning with my coffee and it was DELISH! 🙂
I can’t wait to try it this weekend
Thanks so much – enjoy!
Xanthan gum makes me gassy. Is there a better alternative?
Hi there! The Xanthum gum can help give your cake better texture, however the recipe will work without it. Hope that helps!
I have found with coconut milk, not canned, and I add some water to make full amout in recipe. Really makes soft texture cup cakes, waffles ettc.
Oh cool! Thanks for the helpful tip!
Xanthan is one I think can be bad for dogs. I personally do not like the sugar sub. And stevia, you can not over use, as it does cause liver problems. I am not that keto, so organic sugar, that is whole, dryed is good for me. Just my 2 cents!
Xylitol is a sugar substitute that is highly poisonous to dogs. Xanthan gum is a thickener…not a sugar substitute.
Ground flax seed or chia seeds are a good substitute.
I can’t find when to add the butter? Was there a step missed?
it’s there in the 2nd step – to make the crust. Hope that helps!
Crust? Second step is dry ingredients. I also don’t see butter in the steps.
OH My! So Sorry – I was looking at wrong dessert. Ok added butter in step 4. So sorry! And thanks for letting us know 🙂
Xanthum gum isn’t a sweeter and I’m notnsure what else to use. Suggestions?
You can buy some in store or online – or just omit. It helps with texture but recipe will work without it. Thanks
Miss Lina- Any chance this recipe can be modified for pumpkin? Also, where have you found the best price on Swerve or Keto approved sweeteners?
I feel like amazon is pretty competitive for pricing online. Have seen it in my natural food store for a couple dollars less, but I have to drive further and end up ordering from amazon.
Also consider this pumpkin pie we recently shared! https://hip2keto.com/recipe/easy-keto-pumpkin-pie/
The glaze seems a bit runny. I’m hesitant to put it on for fear it will just run off and pool in the center. Did you chill yours at all before you glazed the cake?
Hmm no I didn’t..it does kind of soak into cake. Just maybe spread it slowly, or use more sweetener to thicken?
Flavor is great. My toothpick came out clear. I kept the cake in the oven for 48 minutes. It did not come out well from my greased bundt pan though. Bummed mine won’t be as pretty as the picture. Tried a piece from the middle and it was really wet/moist…I freaked thinking it wasn’t cooked but it had to be, right?
Thank you for this amazing cake recipe! I baked it for my mom’s birthday and she thought I bought it. It is hands down the best Keto recipe that I have tried. I’m trying it with cocoa for chocolate.
That is so amazing to hear!!! Thanks so much for sharing your success!
Would it be okay using a silicon Bundt pan instead ?
Yes! That is a silicone pan above! Hope that helps!
This is a group SuperSouls,that I Assumed, There I go!! Would be more organic, green. Do not people know what silicon is? It is found in brest inplants, and when they get broken, and go into the body, it is toxic. So now I can not get away from it, in kitchen things and in medical uses! Sad!!
silicon is a naturally occurring chemical element, whereas silicone is a synthetic substance.
Could this go in a regular loaf pan? Or possible made into muffins?
Yes! That should work too! If using loaf pans you may need two. Also, it may change or shorten the baking time a bit. Hope that helps!
I’m confused. Your nutritional information says 23 total carbs per serving, with 6 g fiber. But then it says 3 net carbs. With those figures, I would think net carbs would be 17. In your narrative, though, you said net carbs are 5. Help me understand.
Hi Zaneta. Thanks for bringing this to our attention! There was a glitch in our system that deleted the sugar alcohol field from our nutritional label. We have since added it back in. Please note that the 3 net carbs were calculated based on 23 total carbs minus 6g fiber & 14g sugar alcohols. I hope this helps clear up any confusion. Thanks again!
I zested 2 whole lemons and only got 1 tbs of zest, so by your calculations… I’d need 8 lemons zested for this recipe. It kind of seems like a waste. I went ahead and made the recipe with just the 1 tbs of zest, but I think they’ve have been better with the 1/4 cup for sure. Still good, maybe next time I’ll add lemon extract along with the zest to intensify that lemon flavor. Thank you for the recipe! Yummy! They freeze well too.
Thanks for sharing! You’re SO welcome! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Made this without the poppy seeds. The best dessert I have ever made! My husband loved it and said it must be in our house on a regular basis. I had to bake it for almost 15 minutes longer because of our 7200 elevation. Will try the poppy seeds next time.
That is so great – thanks so much for sharing!
I love this recipe! I added Blueberries to it! I also baked it in cupcake tins instead (for about 25-28 minutes)! With the blueberries, it made 24 good-sized delicious Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed muffins!! I freeze all the muffins and just take a couple out an hour or two before dinner, so they’ll be thawed for me and my husband to have them for dessert!
Oh yum! Great idea! Thanks for sharing with us, Rita! Super glad you have been enjoying this one!
How did yours come out so yellow?
Ours had to stay in the oven longer. And we didn’t flour the bundt pan so have to do it again since it fell apart completely. Nonetheless, it was AMAZINGLY delicious!!
Hmm I didn’t color it – so that’s the color it ended up being 🤔 Sp glad you enjoyed it! Sorry about the pan! Thanks for stopping by Sahar
Looks like a great recipe! If I omit the lemon zest, how much lemon extract would I need to use? Thank you!
For 1 teaspoon lemon zest, substitute 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, or 1 teaspoon lime zest. Hope that helps 👍
Mine turned out beautiful! If anyone wants an icing that’s not runny – just add some cream cheese and little extra sweetener to make it sweet. I drizzled icing and almond slices on top and my boyfriend, who I make a bread or cake for every week for breakfast, asked nervously, “is that cake for us?” Because it looked (omg tastes) so good! This recipe also calls for way less sweetener than many other keto recipes. Thanks, girl!
Yay! You’re welcome, Haylie! Thanks so much for letting us know how it turned out! Enjoy!
Just finished baking it, tastes great but had a major problem… the center did not cook… it stayed pasty like even after cooking additionnal 15 min! I use a silicone mold, could that be the problem? What happened?
Hi Annie! It could have played a part as silicone can be tricky to use for baking bundt cakes. It could also be that the size of your bundt pan and/or oven temp were off. Even a slight difference can cause an underbaked cake. If it happens again, you could try decreasing the oven temp by 25 degrees and covering the cake with foil. Check it with a toothpick after about 10 minutes. This should help set the middle without drying out the outside of your cake. Hope that helps!
I LOVE this recipe!!! I have also swapped the fruit and liquids to make an orange cake and a strawberry cake, leaving out the poppy’s, of course. I’ve left out the fruit all together, subbing extra milk for the juice, making a vanilla cake. And, I’ve added cocoa to make a delicious chocolate cake!! One thing to note…just my family’s opinion…you MUST thoroughly chill this cake before trying it. I mean like over night. I made it in the late morning/early afternoon and put it in to chill. We had it after dinner and it was TERRIBLE! Every one of us thought so. I wanted to just trash it, but my husband insisted we not waste it. So, we put it back in the fridge for him to eat later. The next day he had a piece and made me try it. I don’t know what changed, but that was the best darn keto cake I’ve ever tasted. Within a day or two the whole family had devoured it!!! It’s my go to cake!!
You have made some great suggestions, Angle l.! Thank you so much!
Any idea for substitutes for the almond milk? Whipping cream?
Unsweetened coconut milk, whipping cream, or even sour cream perhaps.
How many lemons did you use to get 1/4 cup of zest?
I think about two large lemons – you can estimate that amount 👍
This looks like an amazing cake. I’d rather use lemon extract than zest. How much lemon extract would equal the 1/4 cup zest? I saw a reference to lemon extract from another postet but it was for the equivalent of a half a teaspoon. Can’t wait to try this delicious looking recipe!
I had to look this one up. It says: If you’re using lemon extract, measure out half a teaspoon for each teaspoon of lemon zest called for in your recipe.
This was so good! The texture and moistness was spot on! It also came right out of the Bundt pan easily. Once cooled, I put up cut up strawberries in the hole in the middle and whip cream on top. Delicious!
YUM! Thanks for commenting, Becky! Happy to hear how much you loved this one!