Spring has sprung and these scrummy keto lemon sour cream muffins (cake tho, right?) are the perfect way to celebrate! Tender lemon muffin base (seriously, it’s tiny cake people – just keeping it real) with a crunchy streusel topping and a sweet and tart lemon glaze – it’s everything you’ve ever wanted a in a low carb muffin! #butreally #itscake
As most of you know by now, I live on an island in Belize where the weather is perpetually summer-like. The temperatures here range from HOT most of the year, to spontaneous combustion is imminent if you’re outside more than 5 minutes in August. ☀️ 🔥 💥
So it’s not easy for me to get in the mindset of “yay, Spring!” like it used to be when I lived in New York and froze half the year.
Still, I got very excited when out of the blue, lemons showed up on the island about a month ago. 🍋🍋 🍋 👈 😍 🎉
They don’t have yellow lemons here usually – it’s all limes all the time in Belize. Which I’m OK with for the most part. But this time of year still means lemon and strawberry (I scored some of those too, new recipe later this week, Woot!) flavored everything to me – so I bought a huge bag of them.
I was amused by the cashier’s obvious confusion – first at the weird yellow limes, and second that I was buying at least 20 of them! 😂 I couldn’t wait to get started cooking lemon flavored everything – the only problem was that I was leaving for the states for 3 weeks and had no time to use them before they went bad…
So I froze them out of desperation, which I’d never done before. ❄️ 🍋 😱
I was terrified that they’d be ruined when I got home from our trip – but it worked great! As an added bonus, when I thawed and cut them in half to juice them with my hand-held citrus crusher thingy, it was easy to get every last drop out of them – much more so then when they were fresh.
The moral of this story is that if you have more lemons then you can use – you can totally freeze them whole and thaw them as needed! I even zested them with no problems! 🙌
So, long story long – against all odds I was able to get lemons in Belize and I made you these keto lemon sour cream muffins with them. And THEY ARE GOOD. SO. GOOD.
Don’t be intimidated by the multiple steps in these keto lemon sour cream muffins either – the muffin portion is made in the blender so it’s super easy, and the streusel topping is mixed with a fork in a bowl, as is the easy lemon glaze. There is lemon juice and/or zest added to every component, so it’s sooooooper lemony people – in the best possible way.
Lemon lovers rejoice! 💞🍋 🙌 You are going to LURV this one!
You might be wondering why the sour cream. It’s an honest question. I wasn’t sure about it myself, but I used to order an amazing lemon sour cream pound cake years ago, and it was so very tasty that I thought I’d try it in these keto lemon sour cream muffins.
The sour cream made the muffins very tender, super rich, and the tart cream flavor really complemented the lemon. I’m hooked, and you will be too!
I made these both as muffins and as mini loaves, to see if it would bake up ok both ways. It totally did, and I’m on the fence about which way I liked it more. Both tasted the same, but I liked being able to just slice off a small piece of the loaf without committing to an entire muffin.
That being said, my muffins were pretty large – so if you make them average sized then you’ll probably be getting about the same amount either way.
The point is – you can make these keto lemon sour cream muffins in almost any format and they will be great. I’m including baking times for multiple sizes in the instructions, but please be aware that ovens and cooking times may vary. Bake it until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and you’ll be in business.
Keto Lemon Sour Cream Muffins – Low Carb
Tender lemon cake, topped with crunchy streusel and a sweet tart lemon glaze! Keto, low carb, Atkins friendly, and gluten free to boot!
- Yield: 8 to 12 servings
- Category: Low Carb Muffin Recipe
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the muffin:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated erythritol sweetener **
- 3 large eggs
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 1/2 cup superfine almond flour **
- 1/2 cup coconut flour **
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum or arrowroot powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup full fat sour cream
- pinch of salt
For the streusel topping:
- 3 Tbsp butter, melted
- 3/4 cup superfine almond flour **
- 3 Tbsp erythritol sweetener **
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp coconut flour
For the lemon glaze:
- 1/2 cup confectioners style erythritol **
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
For the muffin layer:
- Combine all of the muffin ingredients in a blender and blend for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.
- The mixture is thick so you’ll have to stop a few times and scrape the sides down with a silicone spatula to get it going the first minute or so.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F) and then start your streusel topping.
For the streusel topping:
- Combine the melted butter, almond flour, sweetener, lemon zest and coconut flour in a small bowl and stir well with a fork until a crumbly dough forms.
- Spoon the muffin batter from the blender into 8 large or 12 regular muffin cups – or into a small loaf or cake pan.
- Crumble the streusel topping in pea sized pieces over the top of the batter.
- Bake on the middle rack of your oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (large muffins) or 25 minutes (average sized muffin) or 50 minutes (loaf or cake pan) OR until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
For the lemon glaze:
- Combine the erythritol and lemon juice in a cup or small bowl. Stir with a fork until smooth.
- If too runny, add another Tbsp of erythritol (or more) until an opaque but still pourable glaze forms.
- If too stiff to pour, add another tsp of lemon juice to loosen.
- Pour the glaze over the muffins after they are baked and slightly cool. Serve warm or room temperature.
- Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
** For best results, see what brands I use and recommend for my recipes over on the IBIH pantry recommendations page!
Approximate nutrition info is as follows:
1 average muffin (1/12th of recipe) or loaf slice contains:
290 calories, 25g fat, 4.5g net carbs, 8g protein
1 gargantuan (bakery sized) muffin or 1/8th of recipe contains:
435 calories, 37g fat, 7g net carbs, 12g protein
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 290
- Fat: 25g
- Carbohydrates: 4.5g net
- Protein: 8g
If you love lemon desserts like I do – you should also try my low carb Lemon Cloud Pie from last season! It’s a stunner for sure! Oh and my favorite keto lemon bars are pretty awesome too – just sayin’.
Had a little too much fun and need to drop some pounds? Get started today with my free low carb and keto menu plans to kick start your weight loss in 2017!
Can’t get enough delicious low carb recipes? Download all five of my e-cookbooks (over 150 delicious low carb recipes) for just $19.99 for a limited time!
931
This flavor is good but mine were dry. I have never found a recipe that doesn’t get dry when you take the flour out. 😢
★★★★
I loved these. I made them in 6, 2 cup oven safe “ramekins” made by Anchor Hocking. As the nutritional information listed is for 12 muffins, 1/2 of one of these is a serving. I have tried several keto friendly recipes from other sites and I find that I keep coming back here. Everything I’ve made has come out perfectly and tastes amazing. Thank you!
★★★★★
Since your Herb Cheddar Muffins are such a hit at my house I’m going to try this one next…working on how to figure out to change from lemon to another flavor as I have an allergy to lemon’s and oranges…I’m thinking raspberry or blueberry…hummm but if they are as moist as the Herb Cheddar Muffin I’M IN!!!
Where is the link to these I can’t find them!
These muffins are SO good! They’re perfect for breakfast during the week; I can just grab one and eat it on the go. I will say that I definitely don’t recommend using a blender unless you have a fancy Ninja or something really powerful. A regular old blender didn’t cut it for me.
★★★★★
I’m so making these tomorrow. I have Splenda, will that work as a substitute? If so would the ratio be the same?
Also, FYI…I have a home in California and a home on the east coast too. I have a beautiful Meyer lemon tree in California that produces the most delicious lemons year-round. Whenever I go back I fill a suitcase with lemons to bring back with me. (TSA must think I’m nuts🤪, that bag gets hand inspected every time)
Anyway, I zest them and freeze the zest in baggies, juice them and freeze the juice in ice cube trays then put the cubes in large baggies…it works great and I ALWAYS have both on hand.😊
Just made this tonight I have to say they are so yummy! I made 12 large muffins! Thanks again!
★★★★★
We made these twice and both times my hubby and I felt sick(upset stomach, headache) afterwards…. wondering if the lemon curdled the sour cream? Neither of us have sensitivities or allergies… Wondering why this happened to us both, both times. Anyone else have an issue with these muffins? Super tasty, but…
I havent made these yet, but maybe it is the artificial sweetener. It makes me sick to my stomach and gives me a terrible headache. Maybe it is the same for you. .
erythritol in large amounts can cause gastric distress in some people, try monk fruit instead it doesn’t upset your stomach
Has anyone tried Stevia?
I made 24 mini muffins and 6 normal size muffins with the batter. I just did the glaze on them without the streusel and they are yummy!! A couple of my big ones turned a little crumbly but still good to eat with a fork 😁
★★★★★
Hi again,
I just made the muffins but I did something wrong. Mine were falling apart. I did use super fine almond flour. My batter wasn’t as thick as you had said it should be. So I definitely did something wrong.
In my previously reply I said I did t see what temp to cook the recipe in the bread pan but I found it. I knew I had seen it but somehow I over looked it. I went over all the ingredients and I pur everything in that it said so help please. They are still delicious. I usually don’t have any trouble with any of your recipes but this time I messed up lol.
Thanks so much
★★★★★
Hi,
I love this recipe and all your recipes. I must have missed the part that said how long to bake if you use a small bread pan and what temp do you bake it at.
I was also,thinking of doubling the recipe and using a regular bread pan. Can you tell me what temp and how long to bake this at.?
Thanks so much for so many great recipes.
I love the lemon flavor and the texture is great, but these are SO SWEET! I have eaten one for breakfast the last two days, and I don’t think I can eat anymore. I thought I loved sweets but this is just too much for me. I may try them again and cut the sugar in half…
★★★
Did you use granulated erythritol as your sweetener? If not it’s possible that’s why they are too sweet for you?
I’ve tried about 10 different muffin recipes and the best were “just acceptable.” But these were heavenly!!
Curious, why mix the muffins in a blender rather than using an electric mixer or food processor? It was a challenge and My blender resigned😕
★★★★★
Hi Melissa,
From someone who lives in a metric country, is there any chance you could add a converter between imperial and metric? It’s much more accurate to weigh instead of using volume.
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I 2nd this. Baking by weight is sooo much simpler
Delicious!! I used Stevia in the Raw, and I believe that is what caused my struggle during the glaze. I had almost triple the amount of Stevia and the glaze would not cloud or thicken.
I’ll most certainly will try this recipe again with the recommends IBIH recommended sweetener. Did anyone else have issue using Stevia?
★★★★★
You are brilliant! These muffins are amazing!! The texture and taste is by far the best low carb baked good I’ve ever had…they do NOT taste dry or low carb! Thank you!!
★★★★★
i added 4-5 fresh blueberries to each muffin, and skipped the streusel…. they were delicious!!!
★★★★★
Came out so soft and tasty! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
These turned out so perfect! They taste like the lemon version of a cake donut. Thanks for the recipe ! These literally kept me from a cheat.
I am a little over one week into eating according to Keto guidelines, and this was the first dessert I made. I concur with other posters here; THESE ARE DEEElicious~!
Thank you for your fabulous recipes and lively voice. You continue to inspire me that I can eat well, lose weight and DO THIS!
I can’t even begin to describe how Ah-making these are! They literally melt in your mouth and the lemon flavor! Ahh! In love. I didn’t have sour cream on hand so I subbed in plain Greek yogurt instead. Took my carb count up just slightly. I’m making these again next weekend when my lemon-loving sister comes to visit. Thank you for sharing!
Delicious and moist! Thanks for sharing:)
★★★★★
This looks absolutely amazing!!! I cannot wait to make these. Can I use monk fruit by lakanto instead of the swerve sweetener?
I am now a follower of your recipes! I’m also a keto girl who loves baking! :)
These are delicious!!! I won’t use my blender for this again. It’s a cheap one and I ended up having to dig it out of the blender and mix by hand. Next time I’ll use my mixer. Thank you for this recipe and for satisfying my sweet tooth!!!
★★★★★
I love lemon muffins so was excited to find a low carb version! made these yesterday (exactly like the recipe) and was disappointed that the product didn’t match up to the outstanding reviews. I am a seasoned cook & baker and I felt the finished product turned out very dry and crumbly. I was hoping they would be at least a little moist because of the sour cream. They were very lemony though! I’m not a huge fan of coconut flour and I’m wondering if that was the culprit. I’m going to eat them still because I don’t want to waste expensive ingredients. I warm one up, slice it open, put a pat of butter on it and eat it alongside fresh raspberries.
★★
I’m guessing if it was dry and crumbly that you didn’t use superfine blanched almond flour. If the skins are still on the almonds when they grind it they won’t bake up right. I have made this recipe many times as have others and it is never dry and crumbly. So while I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with it I am quite positive that the error isn’t with the recipe on this one but with the ingredients or execution.
I am not sure why they world come out dry. Mine were so moist and cake like. Absolutely the BEST dessert recipe I’ve made on Keto! I wouldn’t change a thing! YUMMY!!!
Can I use swerve instead of erithyrol? If so, what’s the ratio for replacement? Thanks! Can’t wait to try!
Swerve IS erythritol so you’ll be fine.
First I want to say, after years of online recipes, I have never commented.
Im new to keto….like 3 days in. I was soooo excited to try this recipe but was skeptical. I love them, my kids love them even my husband who is a sugar junky!!!
Im not in ketosis yet, i dont think, but i have strips coming in the mail soon. It seems like carbs are hidden everywhere and then keeping protein at 77 grams a day, i tried after my daughter was born and was so lost. I was very discouraged. I did more research this time and hopefully it will go better. I havent lost any weight yet though. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!! Id give it 6 stars if i could!!! Also, I’m open to any/all suggestions!!!! Thank you again!
★★★★★
WOW is the only words I can think of, these are so good I reduced the sweetner because I hate the taste of sweetner and they are stil amazing
★★★★★
How much sweetener did you use? I just made these & they are good but the artificial sweetener aftertaste is overwhelming. I used Truvia bc my supermarket hasn’t stocked erythritol in a few weeks. I think Truvia is sweeter than straight erythritol but that’s all I could find!
I made this in a loaf pan yesterday and it is awesome!!! So good! Will definitely bookmark this site and try more goodies! Thank you so much.
Hi was going to make this -looks amazing!
Couldn’t find swerve so got truvia, will this work? Thanks
Should be fine, the flavor may be different though.
I tried this tonight using Truvia and the sweetener aftertaste was really strong. I ordered erythritol by health garden (? I think) which I’ve used before & it definitely doesn’t have as much aftertaste so I will try this recipe again soon!
I had the opposite problem as the person who said they were dry. Mine were still raw and not cooking (12 small muffin cups) but I realized it was prob bc I put the muffin tin on a cookie sheet to avoid spilling the crumbles in my oven. Finally after about 40 minutes of baking I removed the cookie sheet and put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes & they finished baking.
I would give it more stars!
Ok so let me preface by saying I am not the best baker…as my husband and I have been on our keto journey we wanted some sort of treat and this is it! These are amazing…normally I do not post but since I just put my muffins in the over and this is the fifth or sixth time in about 6 weeks I made them I had to write a comment! Thank you so much just enough sweetness for me not over powering I love them!’
Very forgiving recipe. I only had 1/2 a lemon, so I subbed lime juice for the rest. Also replaced arrowroot with 1tbsp beef gelatin powder. Made 36 mini muffins. If you’re avoiding all starches and gums, these will still turn out great- but do use paper muffin cups because the consistency will be like a fluffy cake. Kids and parents loved these too. And I skipped the topping and glaze! This is a REALLY good recipe!!
★★★★★
I’m scared to try making them without greasing the muffin pan. Do they pop easily out of a dry metal muffin pan?
You should grease them or use cupcake liners.
WOW! I just made these muffins and they are the best baked good I have made since starting Keto in July. Love your recipes and your cookbook. Just pre-ordered your new book too. Thanks for making this lifestyle so easy and yummy too!
I did my research on erythritol. They carbs it was counting came from the eythritol. I then read that because it is sugar alcohol that it doesn’t count as consumed carbs. When I took that ingredient out completely the numbers matched. I’m new to Keto and hadn’t heard about the ‘erythritol-carb’ scenario. Now I know. :)
That’s great, glad you were able to figure it out!
Hi these muffins look awesome! What is erythritol? is it an artificial sweetener?
★★★★★
They were some of the most amazing muffins I’ve tasted. The only thing is when I plugged the recipe into myfitnesspal the nutrition facts were way different than what you provided. I halved the recipe, as I am the only person in my house eating low carb, and I was able to make 10 SMALL muffins. They still came out to 17 grams of carbs per muffin!!!
Depends on your sweetener but MFP database is also loaded with errors so it’s not reliable. I’m confident in my numbers.
Amazing!!! My 8 year old loved them. Was wondering what other flavors you could make with this recipe?
★★★★★
The sky is the limit really Kathleen! Replace the lemon juice and zest with any flavored extract and you can do all sorts of cool things!
Thanks for the delicious recipe Mellissa. I whipped them up in my Thermomix and they were quick and turned out extra light and fluffy. Will definitely be making these again! You are a dead-set legend!
★★★★
I tried to give the recipe 5 stars but only 4 showed up so here’s the extra one! ⭐️
While I’m not a huge fan of lemon, my mom just started her Keto diet and put me in charge of all the cooking. I knew she would love these! I actually made them in my mini muffin pan and had to make two batches. I didn’t double the recipe, I just used the regular amount but it made 48 mini muffins! And that comes out to around 1 carb each! I couldn’t find xanthan gum so omitted it but they’re perfect and she loves them!
★★★★★
I love this recipe! The streusel topping & glaze make these as good as any wheat flour muffin I’ve ever made. It’s so nice to have a change from blueberry, raspberry, etc. I thought they were quick and easy to prepare.
It is just my husband and me (retired) and he doesn’t like anything with almond flour. I have shared with my yoga friends and I haven’t frozen these yet. How long will they keep in the refrigerator without freezing? I have kept other almond flour muffins for at least a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.
Thank you for another great recipe!
★★★★★
Lemon is my LIFE, lately. I am absolutely going to make these. I love your blog!!! GaAAAH, lol (excited)
★★★★★
I just made this but did a loaf pan. I didn’t have success. I’m so bummed. Not sure what went wrong. It said use a blender….should I really have used the mixer. It’s just mealy and falls apart. Help!
If your almond flour was course like a meal rather than a superfine blanched almond flour then it would cause that problem – the blender is definitely not the issue though!
Hmmm it says extra fine. Now that I refrigerated it and then brought it to room temp it’s much better. It still is falling apart though! ☺
Hmmm, in my last comment, I tried to give 5 star for the rating but it wouldn’t let me click on anything other than 1.
★★★★★
I made these as a surprise for my hubby for Father’s Day and holy moly they were DELICIOUS!! I wouldn’t change a thing, but he wasn’t a huge fan of the glaze, it was too bitter for his tastes. I have no idea how to change it, I think next time we’ll just make half with the glaze and half without. Anyway thanks for sharing this recipe, it truly was AH-MAZING!!
★★★★★
I can’t wait to try these. They look delicious!
These are so yummy! I found this recipe on Pinterest. I’m so excited I found you site. Looking forward to more delicious recipes. Thanks!
★★★★★
Oh My Gosh, these are so yummy!!!! I found your recipe on Pinterest. I then shared a picture of them on Instagram. So delicious. I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thanks so much.
★★★★★
These were SO wonderful. We were wanting more of a muffin experience – so we omitted the icing and added some poppy seeds to the batter. Even our non-keto family members enjoyed these suckers. Thank you for sharing such a delectable recipe. :)
★★★★★
I just made these and they are SCRUMPTIOUS. I had to physically restrain myself from eating the whole batch.
I live in Switzerland and it’s VERY hard to find a lot of the ingredients I would need to bake low carb/keto stuff. I couldn’t find arrowroot or xantham gum, but I did find something called “Johannisbrotkernmehl” which translates to “locust bean gum.” Everything obviously turned out great, so I think it’s okay to use. Also, it has even fewer carbs than arrowroot. Just in case anyone in German-speaking regions needs a substitute!
I also wanted to ask about freezing/thawing– what’s the best way to handle that?
Thanks!
★★★★★
Alex
I too live in Switzerland and have been able to find just about all the ingredients one needs for the low-carb pantry. I ordered xanthan gum from a Swiss online company so I do know it exists; you just have to do an internet search to find the company. Arrowroot is available in Asian stores as well as at least in our local Turkish store, and translates in German to Pfeilwurzstärke, in case you decide to give either one of these a go sometime. Viel Erfolg und en Guete!
Lee
I normally never comment on a recipe until after I’ve tried it, but all of the recipes on your website have turned out so well for me, that I have great confidence that this one will work. We’re having house guests for a week in June and I’m trying to prep ahead of time. I’d like to make these up tomorrow for their visit and was wondering if anyone had tried freezing them? If there would be any problem with freezing and thawing, I’ll wait until the day prior to their visit to make them, but was hoping to have some things made ahead of time.
Hello! I made these today and they turned out yummy! Only problem was they were a little too moist and crumbly. I only had 1/2 c. Of sour cream so I used plain Greek yogurt to make up the 1 c. Think that could Of been the reason? Also, how should I store these??
Thanks for your wonderful recipes!
★★★★
Hi..I can’t eat coconut flour. Can I just use all almond?
You can try it but it will definitely change the texture.
Oh man, these are delicious! I tried keto baking early on, and was so frustrated by the mediocre results that I hadn’t made anything in a long time. I generally hate the graininess of coconut flour, and the bitter taste of fake sweeteners. I’m so glad I gave this one a shot! The level of sweetness is perfect. The glaze in particular totally makes this recipe. I almost skipped it out of fear of the too-bitter erythritol thing. I’m so glad I didn’t. This muffin mix may become my new go-to with all sorts of flavors. Thank you! I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
For those struggling with the blender– it does get super thick. My blendtec wouldn’t budget it once all the flour was added. I blended all the wet ingredients together first, then added the flours. Next time, I will add the coconut flour very last, I think that is what sucks up all the moisture. I hadn’t gotten my lemon juice and zest together, and had to stir it in by hand. So far it seems to have turned out fine.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed these! I agree with you on the glaze – it’s essential!
I used my food processor instead of a blender and it worked effortlessly!
★★★★★
Hi Melissa,
I am a long time reader, I find your website and recipes so useful. However, I am allergic to egg, so most baking recipes are off limits to me for keto. I have tried things like flax seed and other alternatives, but the results are lackluster. I have recently been reading about aquafaba (the water from cooked garbanzo beans) as being a good substitute for egg in baked goods and meringues etc. I was wondering if you were familiar with aquafaba. and if so do you think it would make a good substitute for keto baking recipes that usually require a lot of eggs.
Thank you!
I’ve heard of aquafaba Carol, but have never used it. Not sure what the carb count would be either, but I’ll look into it and maybe try some experimenting when I get the chance. Meanwhile, if you try it please report back and let us know how it goes!
I *can’t* get this recipe to work, and I’ve tried it three times. I used my Vitamix twice, and it sounded like it was about to churn itself to death. The third time, I used the stand mixer. I haven’t been able to get the same consistency at all. I love the flavor profiles of the recipe, just not sure how to blend it all without the machine going on strike. Any tips??
I have an older model blender which I knew wouldn’t handle this task. I used my food processor with the dough blade & it workded great.
Well, I forgot to add the lemon juice to the muffin portion, then forgot to add the zest to the streusel portion. *sigh* Luckily, there was enough zest in the muffin and juice in the glaze to make these a resounding success!! I subbed 1/2 tsp psyllium powder for the xantham gum. Not sure if it made a difference, but the consistency of this muffin was so impressive! Almost a little lemon-cheesecakey! For a recipe containing so much coconut flour, I was very impressed.
★★★★★
Made these today and LOVE them. However, I will probably increase the erithyrol in the batter to 1 cup and I will use my stand mixer…not my blender. Will also decrease lemon juice to 2 TB. for glaze. I used twice as much powdered erithyrol as recipe said and never did get glaze quite as thick as I wanted it to be. But they are REALLY good. LOL I just want them to be a little bit sweeter.
★★★★
These were delicious! Thank you for this recipe! Perfect light flavor!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for the fantastic recipe, Mellissa! I actually didn’t trust that these would appeal to all of my family members, so as an experiment, I made these and also, the full wheat flour/real sugar version on a different website for Easter. Without exception, everyone loved these BETTER than the ‘real’ version…this included several men who do not subscribe to healthy or alternative eating styles AND my 8 year old daughter (who also loves sweets!). I did make them with Meyer lemons and I mixed Ideal and Swerve about half and half. For the glaze, I used the Sukrin melis confectioner’s sugar substitute. Again, thank you and keep those great keto recipes coming!
That’s so awesome Tiffany! I love that you did a side by side test – thanks for sharing your results!
I would like to try these! I do very little baking, always afraid of getting my sweet-tooth ignited! However, it would be great to have 2-3 recipes for when I MUST! Could I sub glucomannan powder for the xanthan gum? I know glucomannan is pure fiber and I’ve used it as a thickener many times, but I don’t know if that’s the purpose of the xanthan gum in this recipe…or if it might mean I couldn’t freeze the muffins?
You can try it Mary, or just omit the xanthan gum and they will be a little more crumbly but still good!
I just made these! So goood!! Fooled my kids! They thought they were regular (flour and real sugar). Nope and nope. Great foolproof dessert for close minded people! LOL. Good job Melissa! I also made lemon cheesecake. Again they were so wonderful!! Fooled my kids with that too. 😉😘
OMG – lemon! And what an awesome idea to freeze them! Great way to save citrus that I thought I would use but then didn’t. I just zested and juiced 2 lemons this am and froze.
I too love sour cream in breads and cakes. I even use it in my cheesecake recipe as I love the texture and slight tang it adds.
I’ll be baking these this weekend – thank you!
★★★★★
I too am allergic to coconut in all it’s forms. Can the coconut flour be substituted for something else? Maybe oat flour?
You can try that but I can’t say for sure that it would work – please let us know your results if you do!
Hi! I’m wondering if they would work if i substituted the xanthan gum for chia seeds or ground flax? I love this recipe and can’t wait to try it, just don’t want to have to run to the store and get the xanthan gum lol.
I’d just omit it rather than adding either of those subs which are very absorbent and could change the texture a lot.
I just made these tonight and these are literally UH-MAZING. Keto baking can be such a bust sometimes, so I am always skeptical when I set out to make something. I was literally blown away. The flavor and texture are absolutely perfect. It’s basically cake. I cannot stop raving about these. My kids absolutely love them. I honestly have to give some of these away because they are so good I can’t have them lingering in the house or I will eat them all! I even broke my fast to devour one of these.
If you like lemon and you’re in doubt about these–MAKE THEM. JUST SHUT UP AND DO IT! :)
★★★★★
Thanks for that resounding endorsement Caitlin! 😂 🙌 Your enthusiasm for how good these were rivals my own, which makes me happy! It’s good to know I’m not the only one who gets so excited about awesome keto desserts! I loved these, and I’m glad you did too! Thanks for letting me know they were a hit!
Could these be made dairy free… maybe use full fat coconut milk instead of sour cream??
It would change the flavor but the consistency is similar so it would probably work fine! Let us know if you try it and how they turn out!
I was thinking coconut milk ‘soured’ with a little ACV. That way you still get the sour like you’d get from sour cream. Would a little more coconut flour be needed, since the milk is runnier than sour cream? Maybe an extra tablespoon?
Sounds feasible but you’d have to try it to know for sure! Please do report back with your results for others looking for a dairy free version!
These look amazing……What’s is xantham gum? Do u need it for recipe?
I use psyllium husk powder in the place of xantham gum in recipes. If it calls for 1/4 tsp of xantham, I use 1/2 tsp psyllium…or you can just leave it out. The amount the recipe calls for is very minuscule.
These muffins were an absolute hit at family dinner. So moist! I must confess to being leary of erythritol sweetener so I used my neighbor’s wildflower honey instead. The smell of the coconut flour and honey combined was insanely wonderful. Thank you!
★★★★★
If your looking for low carb, wildflower honey defeats the purpose. Although natural, it is loaded with carbs as is regular sugar.
These are the best low-carb cakes I’ve ever eaten. I found them quite a faff to make so won’t be making them very often, but then I made fairy cakes and got 24 out of the recipe (which is quite enough for a snack or dessert!) so will be taking them out of the freezer for quite some time to come, especially as I couldn’t even get my husband or son to try them, so will have to eat them all myself!!!
I think the texture is absolutely perfect. The cake part is moist and the crumble part is crumbly and the icing has a lovely tang to it. I honestly wouldn’t know they weren’t made with wheat flour!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Anna – that is quite a compliment and I’ll take it! 😊
I can’t even describe how amazing his tastes! Almost like a lemon pound cake loaf…so delicious! It’s the sour cream. Yummmmm! Thank you!
Hey I just wanted to say I have been following your blog for a while now & sending others your way… But I recently started to react to coconut (flour, meat & oil) and I’m hoping you might know of another flour I can sub to get a similar light effect in my LC baking now that the coconut is no longer a viable option for me?
Can I use sweet drop stevia instead of errbritol? What would the conversion be? Thank you!
It won’t bulk up the same so I think the muffins would be much denser – the glaze definitely wouldn’t work. You might get away with it in the muffin and streusel, I can’t say what will happen to the texture though. Since erythritol measures like sugar, just use the amount of drops that you would use for the same amount of sugar in the recipe.
I never leave reviews but I have to . These muffins are absolutely amazing,! The flavor and texture are spot on perfect.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Lauren!!! I’m always a little nervous when I rave, just in case people don’t have the same experience as I did, so I’m thrilled to get your feedback – thanks for taking the time! 💞
So I had a handful of lemons that needed to be used and I opened your email tonight, saw your lemon recipe and decided to give these a try. They turned out great! So nice to have a good low carb lemon recipe for spring. I enjoy your Instagram and website. Thank you for doing the hard work for us! I’ve been eating LCHF for 2 years and I’ve kept 25 lbs off. Your recipes certainly help me stay on track. Thank you!
Thanks for making them and reporting back Carleen, I’m so happy you liked them too! And congrats on keeping the weight off!!
Hi! I’m allergic to almonds also so I’m wondering if I can substitute peanut flour for the almond flour? I’ve done that before but not sure if it would work in this recipe.
Thanks!
Not sure how the peanut flavor would interact with the lemon – might be overpowering a bit? Maybe sunflower could work and is a little milder?
I’m allergic to almonds, I have recently seen macadamia or walnut flour–have you ever worked with either of these to know if you could possibly substitute with the macadamia or walnut flour? So much of low carb and keto is made with almond flour, how I miss almonds!!!! I”m so glad I have found your website recently, such a great resorce for recipes!
I’m also wondering if you ever use stevia in any of your recipes, I mainly use the brown (less processed)?
Must be wonderful to live on an island, I bet it’s much easier to keep up your vit. D levels:)
Thank you!
★★★★★
I haven’t worked with either of those but in theory they could work just as well as almond flour. I would check the fat content – I know Macs are high so you might need a little less butter. Let us know if you try it and how it turns out!
Melssa, you really scored on the lemons! I used to live in San Pedro (so glad the Palapa Bar got rebuilt!) too and I missed fresh herbs and lemons so much! I love your creativity and your photographs, you amaze me!
Thanks so much Gail – and so you know from experience how shocked and excited I was when I saw them! 😱🍋😍🎉 There is a small grocery on the island now called Greenhouse and they have fresh herbs at least, but I’ve never seen lemons there either. So I still have some in the freezer that I’m hoarding for later recipes. I also just got spaghetti squash on the mainland which I couldn’t believe! It’s amazing the things you take for granted when you live in the states ha ha!
I never dreamed lemons could be frozen! I am forever in your debt for that. I love lemon ANYTHING and will be making this as soon as I post this!
These are To DIE For! I love anything and everything ‘lemon’ so was hoping they would be as good to eat as they looked! And WOW … they didn’t disappoint!!! In fact, making these has motivated me to get back to my baking passion and start converting my long-loved recipes into Keto-friendly versions!
I always have lemons on hand but for those of you who don’t, keep a batch of “Lemon puree” in the freezer. When I have lemons about to start going bad or get a good buy on bulk lemons I’ll process them in my Ninja – the entire lemon, skin, seeds and all. Pour the puree into ice cube trays or small muffin pans; freeze til solid then pop into a baggy. I use this in smoothies, baking and for cooking!
★★★★★
I just made these! They came out perfect! Thank you! (also, I am always jealous when you talk about Belize! I want to visit!)
★★★★★
Thanks so much Lia, that was fast ha ha!
These are simply gorgeous. If they taste even half as good as they look, we have a winner.
Perfect for Spring ….and my Easter Brunch.
Well done Melissa!
Thanks so much Deborah – hope they are a hit! Be sure to report back!
This looks amazing, I’ll have to try it out soon :)
You won’t regret it Melissa!
These look amazing and just oooze springtime. BUT, do you think I could reduce the lemon and add blueberries, or sub out the lemon all together? I’ve been looking for a recipe like this but I have a hard time with lemon in my breakfast breads. I don’t know why and I have considered the possibility that I am defective. Thank you for any suggestions.
Mary what you are describing sounds like my Blueberry Streusel Muffins – give those a try, they do have a little lemon but it’s subtle and you can definitely omit it!