Lemon poppyseed anything gets my vote any day!
Whether cake, muffins, or quick bread, it’s hands-down my favorite dessert. Yes, even over chocolate. 😉
Yet, if you’re on a healing diet or trying to lose weight, the usual lemon poppyseed desserts are a big no-no because of the sugar and refined flour.
Not this one.
You can enjoy it guilt-free because the recipe uses nourishing ingredients… and there’s no sugar!
No sugar?
That’s right. It calls for erythritol (a sugar alcohol) and stevia — 2 sugar alternatives. They are not fake sugars like aspartame, by the way.
(If you’re wondering whether or not sugar alcohols are healthy and safe, or even what they are, this #AskWardee will help you decide that for yourself.)
This recipe comes from my friend Lindsey’s Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook that’s currently 40% off. She’s graciously agreed to share the recipe here with you. Thank you, Lindsey!
Click here for more info on the 40% OFF Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook.
And now for the recipe! It’s a keeper! You’ll make it again and again like we do, I’m sure of it. Enjoy!
Keto Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake {grain-free, dairy-free, THM:S}
Lemon poppyseed anything is my favorite... even over chocolate. Yet, if you're on a healing diet or trying to lose weight, the usual lemon poppyseed desserts are off-limits. Not this one! Dairy-free, grain-free, and sugar-free, this Keto Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake is perfect for low-carb lifestyles or Trim Healthy Mamas looking for S desserts!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2-1/2 cups superfine almond flour
- 1/4 cup Trim Healthy Mama collagen
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1-1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup palm shortening softened (may use butter if dairy is tolerated)
- 1/2 cup erythritol + stevia blend
- 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk may use heavy cream if dairy is tolerated
- 3 organic or pastured eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 organic lemons use juice and zest
- 5 drops lemon essential oil optional, but recommended
Quick Lemon Glaze
- 1/4 cup lemon juice freshly squeezed prefered
- 1/2 cup erythritol + stevia blend powdered
Instructions
For The Cake:
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Preheat the oven to 320° F.
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Grease a bundt cake pan.
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Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the shortening and sweetener.
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Add the remaining wet ingredients and mix until combined.
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Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and incorporate.
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Continue adding in 1/3 of the dry ingredients at a time, allowing each third to fully incorporate before adding more.
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This is a thick cake batter. After pouring it into the cake pan, smooth it out with a spatula.
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Bake 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
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Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Then turn out onto a cooling rack.
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Cool completely before glazing with Quick Lemon Glaze.
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Garnish with additional lemon zest and/or poppy seeds if desired.
Quick Lemon Glaze:
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Whisk the lemon juice and powdered sweetener blend until smooth.
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Drizzle all of the glaze generously over the cake.
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Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- If you're wondering whether or not sugar alcohols are healthy and safe, or even what they are, this #AskWardee will help you decide that for yourself.
Want More Nourishing Keto or THM:S Dessert Recipes?
If you’re ok using sugar alcohols like erythritol in moderation (find out what it is, if it’s healthy, and why you might consider it here), then you may notice it’s hard to find tried-and-true nourishing dessert recipes using it.
Yes, there are lots of keto-friendly recipes on the Web with xylitol or erythritol, but the other ingredients are not necessarily nourishing, whole foods, or allergy-friendly. The recipes are pretty scary, actually!
Which is why I’m thrilled to introduce you to this 40% OFF eCookbook (the Keto Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake is a free release from it)…
40% OFF — Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook: A Collection Of Nourishing Allergy-Friendly, Low-Carb Desserts
If you want nourishing, no-sugar recipes for those special occasions and you’re ok with using erythritol now and then, you’ve got to check out my friend Lindsey’s eCookbook Sweet Without Sugar. (Lindsey is our content director here, by the way…)
The Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook contains 59 original recipes for cheesecakes, tarts, curds, pies, cakes, ice cream, brownies and more using nourishing ingredients like butter, coconut oil, eggs, gelatin, and collagen. It’s high fat, high protein, low-carb/keto, THM-friendly, Paleo or Primal, and allergy-friendly. And… it’s currently on sale for 40% off!
Get more info or buy now here…
We absolutely love these recipes. The fun part? Because we eat treats only occasionally, these 59 recipes (plus a bonus free recipe… see below) will last us for years to come! Literally! 😉
P.S. If you purchase the Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook through this link, I’ll throw in a sugar-free recipe of my own — Sugar-Free REAL ice cream (pictured above). Just forward me your receipt from Lindsey and I’ll reply with my recipe! (Forward to wardee at traditionalcookingschool dot com.)
Looking for more Keto friendly treats from TCS?
- Sugar-Free Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies {Keto, THM:S, grain-free, & low-carb!}
- 4-Ingredient THM Chocolate Coconut Candy (easy keto fat bombs!)
- 2-Ingredient THM Lemon Popsicles {fuel pull, sugar-free, keto}
Do you love lemon poppyseed bundt cake? Will you try this sugar-free, keto version?
We only recommend products and services we wholeheartedly endorse. This post may contain special links through which we earn a small commission if you make a purchase (though your price is the same).
Thoughts on monk fruit instead of these other sugar alternatives?
Hi Nicolette,
We’ve not researched monk fruit enough to comment regarding its use as a sugar alternative.
Sorry we can’t help further with this.
~Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
I just made this, and wow! What an absolute disaster. The only mistake I made was adding half of the sweetener to the dry ingredients, but I caught it and creamed the rest with the wet ingredients. I don’t think that should have resulted in the cake falling out of the pan in big crumbly chunks (and a bunch of little crumbs.) The taste was perfection, but cake is better when sliced! Any ideas what could have made it such a crumbly mess?
Sorry to hear this, Lisa! I also spoke with a TCS team member about this, and our collective thoughts are: 1. Maybe your pan wasn’t greased? 2. The cake didn’t cool completely before turning it out of the pan? I do hope you’ll try again. This is one of our family’s favorite cakes! I make it often, so I know the recipe works as-written. Please let me know if I can be of further help!
I had same issue, but happened when put out on baking rack to cool – mine is wire and widely spaced. Cake started falling big crumb / chunks through it. The pan well greased but one section didn’t release. I used a knife to gently reach underneath and piece fell to rack. Used couple of spatulas to transfer to plate, in large pieces. On plate fit pieces together and glazed fine. Used butter and cream otherwise same as recipe. I think it will try again with either more time or higher oven temp. I cooled for recommended 10 minutes. Outside doesn’t look as browned as in wardee picture. And I want to try adding cream cheese to glaze. 🙂 it is very good and picky hubby likes! Thanks
Is there a way to use honey instead? I love lemon poppy seed and am currently on the GAPS protocol.
Hi Farhaana,
We have not tried substituting honey in this recipe. If you do substitute honey you would need to use less than the 1/2 cup since honey is sweeter than other sweeteners.
Another consideration when using honey is you would be substituting a liquid sweetener for a powdered sweetener you may find your batter is looser.
Substituting honey in this recipe will no longer make this Trim Healthy Mama approved.
Hope this helps!
~Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
Thank you for your reply. Is your stevia blend in the wet ingredients a liquid? If that is a powder do you think adding 1/2 tbsp coconut flour might balance it.
I supposed the glaze would end up more of a syrup 🙂
What is trim healthy mama? Does it include any grains?
Hi Farhaana,
I am happy to help. The stevia blend in the wet ingredients is a powder, you can always adjust your recipe if you would like it more syrupy. Trim Healthy Mama is a healthy eating lifestyle. If you are following Trim Healthy Mama we have suggestions and recipes throughout our website that will help. Here is a link where Wardee talks about she used Trim Healthy Mama using traditional foods and lost 30lbs 🙂 https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/foods-you-need-to-start-trim-healthy-mama/
~Peggy, TCS Customer Success Team
Is coconut oil an acceptable substitute for the palm shortening? I don’t have any of that on hand.
You can try subbing coconut oil, Toni.
Is there anyway we could get the nutrition information? Like carbs etc?
Hi Teresa,
We do not provide food values because of the variations involved in traditionally preparing foods.
🙂
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Is is possible to use an egg substitute? We have a family member with an egg allergy.
Sorry, Christine, I haven’t tried this recipe without eggs. If I were to try it, I would probably use chia eggs.
Is collagen the same as beef gelatin?
Hi Olga,
Gelatin is made of collagen.
The main difference between gelatin and collagen is that collagen will not gel and can be dissolved in both hot and cold liquids.
Some people may also find collagen easier to digest than gelatin.
Hope this is helpful!
~Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
Just made this today. Wish I could post a picture of how beautifully it came out! I’ve recently gone dairy free along with eating THM so I was very excited to find this recipe!! Thank you SO much! Will make it again soon!
I made the recipe today using coconut oil instead of palm shortening and it turned out delicious. I don’t have a bundt pan so I just baked it as a sheet cake, drizzling the glaze over the cake in the pan. Used Meyer lemons. Totally yummy!
Are the poppy seeds optional?
I have not made this without the poppy seeds but you could try it.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
I assume the poppy seeds aren’t necessary as I assume they don’t provide a fat/oil or moisture for the cake. Would you agree?
Also, could I substitute anything else for the collagen? I assume the collagen helps thicken the cake so what about something like chia seeds or cornstarch or arrowroot for thickening?
Correct, you can leave the poppy seeds out if you choose and have a lovely lemon bundt cake!
To answer your second question: I actually use collagen as a flour for this cake. And, because it’s a low-carb/keto recipe, flours like corn starch or arrowroot are not allowed because they aren’t low-carb. Chia seeds would act too much as a binder, therefore I wouldn’t recommend them. If you have an unflavored, grass-fed, non-denatured whey protein powder, you can sub an equal amount of that. Otherwise, I developed this recipe with the collagen as a protein addition and low-carb flour source, so that is why it’s an ingredient. Hope that helps!
Alternatives to the almond flour? I’m allergic.
Hi Brenda,
Another seed/nut flour like cashew or hazelnut might work.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Would this recipe work with Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides (unflavored)? Thank you!
Hi, Deborah.
Yes, you can use that. 🙂
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
What size Bundt pan? 8 cups, 10, 12?
Hi, DavetteB,
This recipe will work with a standard Bundt pan which is a 12 cup pan. For comparison; a regular boxed cake mix makes about 5 cups of batter and the cake baked in a standard Bundt pan will be about 4-5 inches high. Wardee’s recipe makes about 5 cups of batter it looks like to me, so a standard Bundt pan that is 12 cups capacity should work fine.
~Peggy, TCS Success Team