An easy keto pound cake might not be the first thing you envision when you picture keto dessert, but maybe you’ll do a double take after you try this one. 😉 My low carb pound cake takes just 10 minutes to prep, 7 ingredients, and has ALL the flavor of a classic pound cake. Serve almond flour pound cake with a touch of whipped cream and berries for a sweet summer dessert, or with coffee at breakfast – it’s healthy enough to do both! I have a few cakes in my collection of almond flour recipes already, but realized that a keto pound cake was a big missing piece. Time to fix that! I used my favorite monk fruit sweetener to keep it extra moist. It makes the perfect keto pound cake.
How To Make Keto Pound Cake
My low carb sugar-free pound cake takes just 10 minutes to prep! Here’s how we make it:
Beat together butter and Besti using a hand mixer. It’s good to go when it’s nice and fluffy.
Add wet ingredients. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Beat in vanilla. It might not be perfectly smooth, which is okay.
TIP: Use room-temperature eggs. If you don’t, the butter may solidify too much.
Add dry ingredients. Lower the mixer speed and beat in almond flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Sprinkle (don’t dump!) xanthan gum over the batter and beat until just combined.
TIP: Scrape the bowl with a spatula. This ensures you got all the ingredients incorporated.
Prepare for baking. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top, rounding slightly.
TIP: We round the top before baking, because keto pound cake doesn’t rise as much as the regular kind with wheat flour. But it will still rise some!
Bake low carb almond pound cake. Start with 25-30 minutes, until golden, then tent the top with foil and bake for 20-30 more minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let bread cool. Allow the bread to cool completely before moving or slicing. You can use the edges of the parchment paper to transfer it to a cooling rack after 10-15 minutes out of the oven.
Why is it called pound cake?
Traditionally, pound cake calls for a pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. I tweaked the amounts a bit for my keto version, since these ingredients work a little differently, to get a very close end result.
Does pound cake use baking powder?
Traditional pound cake does not use any baking powder – the leavening comes from creaming the butter, beating the batter, and the eggs. However, since almond flour is already so dense to begin with and does not rise as easily as white flour, we do include baking powder in this low carb pound cake recipe. Trust me, you want it in there.
Can you make keto pound cake in a tube pan or bundt pan?
Yes! I used a loaf pan, but a tube pan works great as well. You’ll need to update the amount of the recipe as follows:
For a 10-inch tube pan: Multiply the recipe by 2.5. So instead of 12 servings, put in 30 into the box on the recipe card and ingredient amounts will update. For a 10-inch bundt pan: Simply double the recipe (put 24 into the servings box).
Baking time may be different in a bundt or tube pan, depending on its exact shape and material. TIP: Leave some room in your pan for the keto bundt cake to rise. If you have extra batter, you can easily make a few muffins to use up the remaining batter.
What kind of almond flour is okay to 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 result is a more grainy result.
Can you use coconut flour?
No, sorry. You’d need to make multiple other changes for the recipe to work. If you’re looking for something with coconut flour, try coconut flour blueberry muffins instead, or one of my other coconut flour recipes.
Can I use a different sweetener?
I highly recommend monk fruit allulose blend for the moistest sugar-free pound cake. If you don’t have it, my article on keto friendly sugar substitutes has some other options. Just know that the moisture and texture will be different if you use something else.
Can you make almond flour pound cake dairy-free?
Yes, swap out the butter for your favorite vegan butter alternative. (Check the labels on these to see if you’re okay with what they use instead.) You could use coconut oil, but this almond flour pound cake tastes best with butter flavor! While I haven’t tried it in this keto pound cake recipe, I’ve have had success with butter-flavored coconut oil for other recipes.
Troubleshooting Keto Pound Cake
Why is my cake wet in the middle? (Or why did it burn on top?)
The baking time in this recipe is a two-step process – bake it until golden on top, then tent the top with foil and continue baking until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Both parts are important to avoid burning the top or under-cooking the center.
If your cake is wet in the middle, it means it needed to bake longer. You can place it back in the oven IF it hasn’t cooled yet. If your cake burned on top, it means you needed to tent it with foil sooner. Unfortunately you can’t undo this, but it’s probably still good inside – just don’t eat the burned part.
Why did my pound cake crack on top?
Keto or not, pound cakes with a cracked top are common because the batter is very dense. I actually think it looks pretty! If the crack bothers you, you can use a tube pan instead of a loaf pan. (See above for how to adjust the ingredient amounts for a tube pan.)
Almond Flour Pound Cake Storage Instructions
Can you make it ahead?
Absolutely! This pound cake recipe with almond flour is perfect for making in advance. Just follow the storage instructions below.
How to store low carb almond flour pound cake
Store the cake in an airtight container in the pantry for 2-3 days. It’s also fine to refrigerate it for up to a week, wrapped in plastic or foil to prevent drying out.
Can you freeze keto vanilla pound cake?
Yes, you can also freeze this keto pound cake recipe for up to 6 months. I recommend slicing the cake, then wrapping each slice with plastic wrap, so that you can take out a slice at a time. Alternatively, you can also freeze the whole cake. It’s perfect for gifting, so be sure to make a double or triple batch! 😉
How to thaw the cake
Always thaw your pound cake while it’s still wrapped, either in the fridge or on the counter.
More Low Carb Keto Cake Recipes
If you like this keto almond flour pound cake, you might also like some of these other cakes:
Keto Red Velvet Cake – This gorgeous cake is sure to impress – whether you’re keto or not! Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake – One of the first keto pound cakes I’ve made, and still one of my faves. This one is in a bundt pan. Keto Chocolate Cake – So rich and moist, and made with my favorite keto chocolate frosting. Keto Carrot Cake – The perfect spring cake for special occasions… or any day. 😉
Besti Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Just two natural ingredients that taste and act like sugar. It’s the key to a super moist sugar-free pound cake. Hand Mixer – I love that this hand mixer can be stored all together – no more searching for missing pieces. Small Loaf Pan – This pan is the perfect size for this almond flour pound cake recipe, plus it never sticks. Many other loaf pans are actually too large.
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