Lemon poppy seed cake is a classic dessert and perfect for Spring. This bundt cake recipe is low carb and grain free so it fits in well with your healthy keto diet. Now with an instructional video!
I first made this keto lemon poppy seed cake WAYYYYY back in 2013. It was delicious back then and has stood the test of time, with many copycat recipes. So I decided to give it a shiny new update, with brand new photo and a how-to video. Ready for one of the most delicious sugar-free cakes you will ever eat?
What do you think of when you think of lemon poppy seed muffins, or any poppyseed recipe really? I can’t help it, I instantly think of the episode of Seinfeld where Elaine tests positive for opium after eating poppy seed muffins.
In typical Seinfeld fashion, the scenario seems utterly ludicrous and you think it can’t possibly be true. But apparently it is actually possible to test for opiates from eating a few poppy seed-containing baked goods.
And people have been fired, suspended and denied employment because of it. So I suppose this low carb lemon poppy seed bundt cake recipe ought to come with a warning. Do not eat prior to taking a drug test! If your employment requires regular, surprise drug tests…well, I can’t help you there.
How to Make Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
I love bundt pans for their instant elegance. Bundt cakes hardly need any decoration at all, they look so perfect as is. A little drizzle of glaze or a sprinkling of powdered sweetener is all you need.
But it turns out that I have a very similar recipe in The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen. I did that one as a Lemon Poppy Seed Bread and you could easily bake this recipe in a loaf pan if you prefer. They really take about the same time to bake.
Almond flour is your best choice for a big bundt cake like this one, as it produces the finest results. You always want to choose finely ground blanched almond flour for keto cakes.
Why protein powder? I get this question all the time so I will just head it off at the pass and answer it here. Because gluten is a protein and in its absence, another dry protein helps keto baked goods rise and hold their shape. You can use egg white protein if you prefer.
If you really are in danger of having a drug test thrust upon you, try substituting chia seeds in place of the poppy seeds. The carb count will be roughly the same.
Lemon zest is vital to the flavor. The freshly grated zest of a lemon provides so much of that tart-sweet lemony flavor, so don’t skip it!
Vanilla extract and lemon extract together. Lemon extract can be a little harsh and have a bitter flavor, but it plays really nicely with vanilla, which tones it down a bit. I like to use both in this lemon poppy seed cake recipe.
Room temperature ingredients! Remember to let your butter, eggs and water all come to room temp before proceeding. It defeats the purpose of creaming softened butter with sweetener, if you then add cold eggs. All your lovely butter will clump up again!
What about Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins? Yes, friends, you can absolutely make muffins with this recipe. Just divvy it up into your muffin cups, and try to use parchment or silicone liners. Your bake time will probably be about 25 minutes but start watching them at 20, just in case.
If you’re a lemon dessert lover, you are going to adore this low carb Lemon Poppy Seed Cake, I assure you. It’s tender and sweet, with a spectacular lemon flavor. What could be better?
More Delicious Keto Lemon Recipes
Lemon is perfect for spring and Easter, and I’ve got quite a collection of low carb lemon recipes!
Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
- 3 tbsp poppy seeds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup Swerve Sweetener, or granulated erythritol
- 3 large eggs, (room temperature)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract , (up to 1 tsp if you like strong lemon flavor)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup water
Glaze:
- 1/3 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener, or powdered erythritol
- Fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon
Instructions
- For the cake, preheat the oven to 325F and grease a bundt pan very well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, protein powder, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sweetener until well combined. Beat in the eggs, scraping down the beaters and the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract.
- Beat half of the almond mixture in, then beat in the water. Add the remaining flour mixture and beat until just combined. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
- Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until top is deep golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the glaze, whisk together the powdered Swerve and lemon juice until smooth. If too thin, add a bit more powdered Swerve. If too thick, at a bit more liquid (water or lemon juice).
- Drizzle glaze over the cooled cake.
Notes
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.
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Made it. Love it!! Used a large heart shaped nonstick pan because I didn’t have a bundt pan. Now I just need to work on my glazing skills….
Just made this a second time. I bought organic lemons that were huge and I think it made it even better b/c it produced so much zest! I just love it, and it stays so fresh for several days on a cake plate with a glass dome on top. I love seeing a cake on my counter – one that I can eat guilt-free! My kids don’t like it as much as I do, but for me this ranks as one of my favorites from your site. Thanks Carolyn!
I was not aware that there is a difference when cooking with (especially baking) almond flour and blanched almond flour. I was under the impression it was a matter or whether you wanted it to be blanched or not. However, I am having difficulty now when baking bread, buscuits, etc.. My first try was with a small bag of almond flour (light in color- I assume it was the blanched; next try was with almond flour with husk. How do I adjust for the heavier consistency. My husband (eager for us to get into this) purchased 25# on line of the heavier, darker flour. I must use it, of course.
It’s not so much whether it’s blanched or not, but how finely ground it is. That’s the real issue. There are only two brands that I find to be finely ground enough for cakes…Honeyville and Oh Nuts. I love Bob’s Red Mill, but it’s best for things like muffins, that don’t quite need such a fine crumb.
I think if you want to try to get things less dense, you need a bit more protein powder and a bit more leavener. But it’s not going to be perfect for cakes and such, the texture will be less fine. Muffins should be great with it. Tell me what recipes you have in mind and I can help you try to figure out proportions of other ingredients to get a better result.
This Saturday I plan to bake the Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake and I do have the whey protein powder. If I use the almond flour I have (not the blanched) do I need to change your recipe? I also made Dr. Davis’ basic bread with the blanched alm. flour the first time – was good texture. The second was with the unblanced purchased on line and it is dryer and texture is not as smooth. We ordered our 25# of almond flour from Honeyville – but it came in a box from Hudson Nut in California. Also, what leaven do you suggest I should use to make the bread lighter? Thank you so much for your help. We are not giving up on this. Already feel wonderful.
I’ve never used Honeyville unblanched. I suppose the skins would make things a little less smooth. I would suggest adding about 1/4 cup greek yogurt to make it more moist, and about 2 more tablespoons of whey. Then up the baking powder by 1/2 tsp or so. I can’t say for sure that this will work, but I think it will help. Because of the added moisture from the yogurt, you may need to bake a little longer, 5 to 10 minutes.
I made these into muffins last night with meyer lemons since that’s what I had on hand they were soooo good! My glaze once again too runny even though I followed directions so will try again but nevertheless very tasty!
You have worked your magic once again! This looks wonderfully delicious.
That looks so good! I love poppy seeds, especially when they’re in a paste and rolled up in a poppy seed cake. There’s no hope for me if I have to take a drug test. 🙂 So, since I’d fail anyway, I might as well be munching on this cake!
The lemon poppyseed bundt cake looks wonderful – plan to make really soon. Have only been on sugar-free, wheat-free for 2-1/2 weeks now and just getting into the baking. Any suggestions fo the glaze other than ‘powdered’ sweetner? Unable to find that around here. What about just granulated sweetner with lemon juice? Thanks.
It will be rather gritty with the granulated, but I know some people who have success grinding their granulated in a food processor or magic bullet. The other alternative is to do a cream cheese based glaze, because then you can do liquid sweeteners like stevia or sucralose. The glaze from my Gingerbread bundt would be perfect. https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/10/gingerbread-bundt-cake-with-lemon-glaze-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html
That looks amazing, and lemon poppyseed is one of my favorite flavors. Unfortunately, I think it might be dangerous for me to have a whole cake in the house. If I were to make muffins instead, any suggestions on how to adjust the baking time?
Hi Beth…great idea, you can always pop muffins in the freezer to avoid eating all in one go. The baking time for these muffins will be about the same… https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/04/almond-raspberry-jam-muffins-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html
Thank you thank you thank you!!
Hi Carolyn,
A quick question … when baking with almond flour, I’m finding that it consistently takes much longer to get the centers to cook through than the recipe calls for, resulting in a highly over baked exterior.
I’m hoping that those with more experience might provide suggestions.
I’m looking forward to trying this; it’s my husband’s fave. He always ordered (past tense) the lemon-poppyseed loaf at Starbucks. He’ll be thrilled to have it again.
Sounds to me like you have too much moisture in your batter. It’s a killer for low carb, gluten free things and can make them gummy on the inside. What kind of almond flour are you using? I love Honeyville. I am a huge fan of Bob’s Red Mill, but their almond flour is more like almond meal. It has bigger particles and so you don’t get the same consistency and it doesn’t bake as well in cakes. It’s often great for muffins, though!
One thing about cakes like these is they will brown a lot on the outside, as you can see from my pictures. More so than a flour based recipe would. But it’s not overdone, it’s just darker in colour. I also have really dark non-stick pans so they tend to make the exterior darker after baking.
This looks SOOOOOOOOO good. I seriously need to make this today!! Great recipe!
They are expensive, but then so are other opiates…I heard. Anyhoo I love a good Bundy so pack this up and send it my way. I have no interviews scheduled 🙂
“you heard”…sure, Gerry, sure. 😉
Looks so incredible, Carolyn!
I love lemon poppy seed anything! The added glaze is the perfect touch. I also love that you used almond flour. Do you think the xanthum gum is a must?
Hi Kim…no, xanthan is not a must if you want to skip it. It will be a touch more fragile, though, so let it cool properly before slicing into it. I find that gf things hold together better after they are cool.
This looks so good! I just made lemon muffins, and didn’t even think to add poppy seeds – maybe a good thing with how expensive they are? 🙂
They are crazy expensive for what you get aren’t they? I have yet to find a good quality reasonably priced source.
Love that episode of Seinfeld! And I’m loving this recipe…..my mouth is watering. YUM!
This sure looks GOOD, Carolyn! I’m off desserts right now, but I’ve printed this out to try one day. Don’t ya just love what whey protein brings to baked goods? I like a little in my cakes and breads, too.