Healthy Lemon Pound Cake
Yields: 1 cake, 12 slices
 
This healthy pound cake is a dream come true! It has the same tender texture and bright sunshiny flavor but absolutely none of the guilt that comes with traditional pound cakes. Leftovers will keep for at least 5 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
  • for the cake
  • 2 ¾ cups (330g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 1 ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp (15g) freshly grated Meyer lemon zest
  • 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp (15mL) liquid stevia
  • ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup (120mL) freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice (see Notes before beginning!)
  • ½ cup + 2 tbsp (150mL) nonfat milk
  • for the drizzle (optional)
  • 2 tbsp confectioners’ style erythritol
  • 1 ¼ tsp nonfat milk
  • ⅛ tsp almond extract
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9x5” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.)
  3. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 40-50 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with some crumbs attached. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. To prepare the optional drizzle, stir together the stevia, milk, and almond extract in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle on top of the cooled cake just before serving.
NOTES:
IMPORTANT LEMON NOTES – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: This recipe was specifically designed for Meyer lemons, so I highly recommend using them, if you can! Meyer lemons are sweeter, less acidic, and have a higher pH compared to regular lemons. When made with Meyer lemons, this cake has a lovely moist and soft texture. When the batter is too acidic (aka if you use ½ cup of regular lemon juice instead of Meyer lemon juice!), then your cake will fail to rise properly, turn out denser, and almost look "raw" on the inside (even when it's 100% fully baked all the way through!).

So if you only have regular lemons, then use 2 tablespoons of regular lemon juice AND 6 tablespoons of milk in place of the Meyer lemon juice. That ratio prevents the batter from being too acidic, so your cake will turn out with the same texture as when made with Meyer lemons. Because the zest provides the majority of the lemon flavor, rather than the juice, it'll taste almost exactly the same too!

For the best results, use lemons that are pure yellow, without any green spots. Lemon zest that's pure yellow provides the brightest citrus flavor.

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES:Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.

EGG WHITE NOTES + ALTERNATIVE:The cake requires 3 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 3 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser. If you prefer to use whole eggs, then use 3 large eggs AND decrease the milk by 1 tablespoon to compensate for the added volume from the yolks.

STEVIA NOTES + ALTERNATIVES:I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they're not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for each other. I strongly recommend using the same one that I do for the best results.

However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the cake, substitute ¾ cup (180mL) of honey or agave AND omit the milk. The baking time may vary slightly. I do not recommend substituting pure maple syrup; it will overpower the lemon flavor. In place of the liquid stevia, you may also substitute ¾ cup (144g) granulated sugar AND decrease the milk to 6 tablespoons, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. The baking time may vary with this substitution as well.

MILK ALTERNATIVES:Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.

ERYTHRITOL ALTERNATIVE:Regular powdered sugar may be substituted for the confectioners’ style erythritol in the drizzle. If using regular powdered sugar, you’ll need less milk as well. Start with ½ teaspoon and gradually increase as necessary to achieve your desired consistency.

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION:For the gluten-free flour, use the following: 1 ½ cups (180g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 2 teaspoons xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if measured like this.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, sugar-free}
Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2016/07/05/greek-yogurt-lemon-pound-cake/