Creamy Lemon Dessert Sauce
This Creamy Lemon Dessert Sauce is silky, tangy, and perfectly sweet. It’s delicious drizzled over fresh berries, cheesecake, ice cream, or pound cake. Made with just 5 simple ingredients, this easy lemon sauce is low carb, keto, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
Lemon wasn’t always my favorite dessert flavor, but that changed after I made lemon curd for the first time. Since then, I’ve found myself adding that refreshing lemon flavor to everything from cookies and cakes to this simple dessert sauce.
Love lemon? Try my Keto Lemon Pound Cake, Keto Lemon Cookies, or Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Crumb Bars next.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ready in about 10 minutes
- Only 5 simple ingredients
- Perfect on berries, cheesecake, ice cream, and pound cake
- Low carb, keto, gluten-free, and sugar-free
- Great make-ahead dessert topping
Before You Get Started
- Fresh lemon juice provides the best flavor.
- Use room-temperature egg yolks for the smoothest sauce.
- Whisk constantly while cooking to prevent curdling.
- The sauce thickens as it cools.
Ingredients
- Butter – I use salted butter in this recipe. If you have unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt.
- Heavy cream – Heavy whipping cream yields the creamiest sauce. Light cream or half and half can work in a pinch.
- Sweetener – I used a combination of sugar alcohols and stevia. You should be able to use cane sugar if you prefer.
- Egg yolks – Egg yolks are needed to thicken the sauce.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice gives the best flavor.
How to Make Lemon Dessert Sauce
Step One: Add the butter, heavy cream, and sweetener to a small saucepan.
Step Two: Heat over medium-low heat. Stir often until it reduces slightly.
Step Three: Add the egg yolks to a small heatproof bowl. Very slowly pour in the cream mixture while whisking.
Step Four: Return the sauce to the saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the lemon juice. If there are any small bits of cooked egg, strain the sauce before chilling.
Step Five: Remove from the heat and cool slightly before chilling in the refrigerator.
👉 Tip – Don’t boil the sauce after adding the egg yolks. High heat can scramble the eggs.
Storage
Store the lemon sauce in an airtight container or mason jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this for 2-3 months.
Variations
- Lemon Curd Style – Add a teaspoon or two of lemon zest or lemon extract for a stronger citrus flavor.
- Vanilla Lemon Sauce – Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
- Key Lime Sauce – Try swapping out the lemon for key lime juice.
- Orange Cream Sauce – Replace the lemon juice with fresh orange juice.
- Berry Curd – You can also turn this into a creamy berry sauce by adding two ounces of strained berry puree in place of the lemon juice. Raspberries are my favorite to use in this recipe.
Common Questions
How can I use lemon sauce?
Lemon dessert sauce is excellent drizzled on fresh berries, served over sliced pound cake, or as a topping for cheesecake.
Can I serve this warm or cold?
Yes. This lemon sauce is delicious served warm over cake or pancakes, but it’s equally good chilled and spooned over berries or cheesecake.
Can I use bottled lemon juice?
You can, but fresh lemon juice provides a more vibrant flavor. Since lemon is the star of this recipe, I highly recommend squeezing fresh lemons if possible.
Why didn’t my sauce thicken?
It’s possible you didn’t cook it long enough. It will also continue to thicken as it cools in the refrigerator.
Can I make this ahead?
Yes, this can be made up to 5 days ahead of serving.
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Creamy Lemon Dessert Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup cream light or heavy
- 1 cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 oz lemon juice from 2-3 lemons
Instructions
- Cook the first three ingredients in a small saucepan over medium low heat until slightly thickened.
- Put the egg yolks into a medium sized heatproof bowl or measuring cup. While whisking the yolks very slowly pour half of the sauce into the egg yolks. This slowly warms the yolks so they don’t curdle.
- Now, slowly whisk the yolk mixture and sauce back into the saucepan. Cook over medium low until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Whisk in the lemon juice.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a glass jar and store in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
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Originally Published March 12, 2016. Revised and Republished June 10, 2026.
Delicious.
Going to try for potluck over mixed berries.
I think this would make a great base for lemon ice cream.
That is an excellent idea! If you try it let me know how it turns out 🙂
So you use a vanilla protein powder?? If so what product do you buy??
I don’t normally use protein powder. My husband uses plain whey protein powder sometimes.