This delicious keto lemon cake is a low carb copycat of the famous Olive Garden Lemon Cream Cake. Delicious layers of almond flour cake with a lemony cream filling and a tender crumb garnish. How can you resist?
I am absolutely delighted to re-introduce you to my Keto Lemon Cream Cake. It’s been a long time coming, but trust me, the wait was worth it!
I created this recipe back in the good old days, when keto was hardly a twinkle in people’s eyes. While I was firmly low carb at the time, I hadn’t even heard the word ketogenic. And it certainly wasn’t the wildly popular diet it is now.
But 10 years ago, a reader asked for a low carb version of Olive Garden’s Lemon Cream Cake. It was no longer on their menu but I was able to find other copycat recipes upon which to base my sugar free version.
And it quickly became on of my most popular keto cake recipes.
Keto Lemon Layer Cake
This really is a perfect cake for lemon lovers. It features two tender layers of vanilla sponge cake, with a creamy lemon filling and a lemon scented crumb pressed into the sides.
For the updated version, I simplified the cake layers, eliminating some unnecessary ingredients like xanthan gum and stevia extract. I also baked it in two 8-inch cake pans so that I could skip the step of splitting one layer with a knife. I’ve never been very good at that and my layers always end up uneven.
The filling is similar to my original recipe as well. But this time, to stay true to the original Olive Garden version, I put my crumb garnish around the outside of the cake and sprinkled the top with powdered sweetener.
It really is the perfect keto lemon cake!
How to make keto lemon cream cake
This cake isn’t difficult to make, although it does have several individual components and dirties more than a few bowls. It’s a great baking project for a day off. Here’s how it’s done:
- Bake the cake layers. This is an almond flour vanilla cake, and the execution is quite simple. I used only egg whites so that the cake would be lighter in both color and texture.
- Prepare the lemon cream filling. The filling is a combination of cream cheese frosting and whipped cream to make it light and airy. It uses both lemon zest and lemon juice for flavor.
- Prepare the crumb garnish. The crumbs on the outside of the Olive Garden cake is what makes it so unique. I used lemon zest to give them a little more tanginess.
- Assemble the cake. Make sure to reserve some of the cream filling to spread on the sides of the cake so that the crumbs stick. The dust the top of the cake with some powdered sweetener.
- Slice and serve!
Tips for the crumb garnish
Use your hands when adding a garnish like sprinkles, nuts, or crumbs to the sides of a cake. Set the cake on a serving platter over a clean work surface.
Turn the cake as you gently press handfuls of the crumbs into the frosted sides. If you happen to have a cake turntable, you can use that to help you turn the cake evenly.
Scoop up any crumbs that fall onto the work surface and gently apply those to the sides of the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you would prefer to use coconut flour, try making the cake layers with my Keto Chantilly Cake. Simply spread the batter in two cake pans, rather than three. It will take a little longer to bake through.
Yes, you can but your cake will be a little more dense and yellow in color. Use only 3 eggs to replace the 4 egg whites.
The cake layers will work with any granulated sweetener but do be forewarned that allulose can make them very dark on the outside. The frosting requires a powdered sweetener, and some of them are 2 times as sweet so please read your labels.
You can make this cake a day or two ahead of serving it, but I wouldn’t recommend any longer than that. The cream filling is best when fresh.
I can’t see why not! It will make 10 to 12 cupcakes.
Storage instructions
Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve, as the cream filling softens easily.
Store any leftovers in the fridge and cover the cut sides with plastic wrap to keep the cake from drying out.
More delicious keto lemon recipes
- Sugar Free Lemon Curd
- Easy Keto Lemon Muffins
- Lemon Cheesecake Bars
- Keto Lemon Cream Pie
- Sugar Free Frosted Strawberry Lemonade
- Keto Lemon Sugar Cookies
Keto Lemon Cream Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 2 1/4 cups (240 g) almond flour
- 1/3 cup (36 g) unflavored whey protein powder, or egg white protein powder)
- 2 1/2 tsp (2.5 tsp) baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup (136.5 g) Swerve Granular
- 4 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup (59.15 g) water
Lemon Cream Filling
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (136.5 g) powdered Swerve Sweetener, divided
- 1 1/2 tbsp (1.5 tbsp) grated lemon zest
- 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3/4 cup (178.5 g) heavy whipping cream
Crumb Garnish
- 1/3 cup (35 g) almond flour
- 3 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) butter, melted
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325F and grease 2 round metal 8-inch cake pans. Line with parchment and grease the parchment.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until lightened and fluffy. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla until well combined.
- Beat the almond flour mixture into the butter mixture in two additions, alternating with 1/4 cup water. If the batter is very thick, beat in the additional water.
- Divide between the prepared cake pans and spread to the edges. Smooth the tops and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool completely in the pans.
Lemon Cream Filling
- Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup of the powdered sweetener, the lemon zest, and the lemon juice and until well combined.
- In another bowl beat the cream with the remaining sweetener until it holds stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until well combined.
Crumb Garnish
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and toss until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
To assemble
- Place 1 layer of cake on a serving platter. Set aside 1/2 cup of the cream filling and spread the remaining filling over the cake.
- Top the filling with the second cake layer, then spread the 1/2 cup of reserved cream filling over the sides of the cake.
- Using your hands, gently press the crumb garnish over the sides of the cake. Dust the top of the cake with powdered sweetener and refrigerate 1 hour to firm up.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
I made this cake for Easter and was in disbelief I was eating something low carb and gluten free. The lemon cream was so heavenly I stuffed some into fresh strawberries. My sisters and I all agreed they could and would eat this again! I was missing the greek yogurt but subbed sour cream and the cake survived. Thank you for creating this cake.
Hi Carolyn,
Did you use unflavored whey protein powder for this recipe?
Yes, or vanilla.
I made this last week-end and we loved it! so I made it again this week-end but left out the lemon and added cocoa powder instead. Then I drizzled the top with “skinny chocolate.” I’m thinking next I’ll use strawberries. Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Great idea!
I had a bunch of egg whites in my fridge and wanted to make a meringue something or other for Easter. I made individual meringues (w/Swerve) , shaped like little golden nests. Filled them with this luscious lemony cream filling and topped them with fresh strawberries. And a dollop of whipped cream for presentation purposes. Fabulous and yet another instance of my guests being somewhat stunned to find out dessert was sugar and gluten free. You rock!
Sounds amazing!
This looks amazing and is definitely going into my upcoming dessert rotation…!!! And since you bring up the topic of requests…
Shortly before I began low-carbing, I developed an allergy to bananas. Not the worst thing in the world now since they’re high in carbs anyway, but I’ve missed banana bread terribly nonetheless. The silver lining is that I’m not allergic to imitation banana extract, which I could use to maximum effect in my quest to create low-carb banana bread. But wait, there’s more! To further complicate matters, I’m also allergic to zucchini, so low-carb zucchini bread with banana extract in it is off the table as well.
My request, should you choose to accept it, is for a Bananaless Banana Bread recipe (that isn’t banana-flavored zucchini bread!).
I look forward to seeing the exciting creations to which the requests will eventually lead! Best of luck!
Ha, Mike…would you believe I have been working on a banana-less banana bread/cake? It needs some tweaking but the first round, my kids loved it! It just didn’t rise as much as I would have liked. And it did not include zucchini.
Could I use coconut flour instead of almond flour? I have food allergies.
You’d have to do a whole different cake. I suggest using my vanilla bean cupcakes recipe, made with coconut flour. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2013/11/vanilla-bean-coconut-flour-cupcakes-and-teaching-children-about-kindness.html
Thank you!
This is the fourth thing I have made from your website and all the recipes have been winners. I like lemon, I don’t especially love it but chose this as my birthday cake. I am so glad I did! My whole family loved this. Thank you for all you do for the diabetic/low carb/gluten free communities!
Happy belated birthday!
Hi Carolyn from a cold, wet and miserable Dover, UK. The afternoon has been brightened up considerably by the smell of this gorgeous cake in the oven, and the test of the cream filling I’ve just had! Thanks so much for your site and the gorgeous recipes, which make living low carb and sugar free so much easier. It is very much appreciated here in my small corner of the world. Best wishes to you, Caroline.
You are most welcome, Caroline!
Wow! I made this for a friend’s B’day party last night, as there were some of us who are low carb or gluten free and therefore couldn’t eat the “official” cake. Well… There were more leftovers of the official cake than of this one. Rave reviews! As mentioned above, I think next time (yes, there will definitely be many a next times for this recipe) I will add some lemon zest to the crumb topping, and also perhaps to the cake batter. Also suspect that the cake could be chameleon-like if the cream filling were changed – I’m thinking raspberry cream or mocha among others (pumpkin pie spice?). What a great recipe!
Absolutely, Eric. A ton of different fillings would work with this cake.
I can speak from experience that it is versatile! I made it a pumpkin cake with a cream filling. I used 6 oz of canned pumpkin instead of the greek yogurt and added various pumpkin pie spices. For the filling I left out the lemon and just put in some vanilla extract, I think. I didn’t do the crumb topping, but just sprinkled cinnamon or nutmeg on top!
Cake is absolutely delicious. I’m a huge fan of anything lemony and this is… simply heavenly. Thank you!
This cake called to me until I had to make it, although I usually skip fruit and go for chocolate. I LOVED it! I just wish I hadn’t shared it with my dinner guests–I didn’t have to tell them I’d made dessert, after all. The only things I would change next time would be to add more milk to the batter, as it was very thick before baking. I bet I could at least double the liquid, maybe even triple it, and get a lighter cake (although I had no problems with the delicious density of this version). Also, I thought the raw crumbles were a great addition. I used oat flour instead of almond, and for next time I had the idea of adding lemon zest to the crumbs to pump up the lemon flavor even more. Delicious.
Feel free to add some liquid but be careful! I’ve made the mistake of adding too much, to make it resemble regular wheat flour batter, and it doesn’t rise properly. It will start to rise and then completely sink in the middle. Still tastes good though!
I made this in a heart-shaped pan for mother’s day today. It was simply fantastic and unrivaled in terms of keto-friendly cake!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I decided to cut the recipe in half and made cupcakes. I tried one without any frosting and loved it! This is going to be my go-to recipe for white cake/cupcakes from now on. Now I can enjoy my birthday cupcake tomorrow. 🙂
Hi! Looks fabulous – but, may I ask what purpose the whey powder serves – is it just to add protein, or is there another baking-related purpose? I am allergic to whey, & would love to make this cake without it, but don’t want to waste time & money if it won’t work. Thanks!
Protein powder helps it rise in the absence of gluten. You can use other proteins, like hemp or soy, if you want.
I’d love to make this but add blueberries. Would that impact the structure of the cake in any way? Sorry to sound naive but I’m not a baker and want this to turn out right.
No, I think blueberries would be just fine in the cake.
Hi! Your cake is gorgeous. I want to make this for my husband birthday this weekend. Can I remove the Whey protein powder? or sub for something easy to add like possibly more Almond flour?
Thank you!
You need some sort of protein to get proper rising. Hemp, soy or even rice protein powder would work.