These gluten free and keto chocolate cupcakes need no introduction! Think an intensely chocolatey and moist cupcake, topped off with a ridiculous chocolate buttercream frosting.
Gluten Free & Keto Chocolate Cupcakes
Ultra (Ultra!) Chocolatey
Calling these keto chocolate cupcakes delicious just doesn’t cut it… they’re insanely delicous! I mean, think ‘death by chocolate’ level sort of good.
So expect ultra-chocolatey cupcakes, topped off with our special (cream cheese!) buttercream frosting. And going a little extra with the frosting decorations is always highly suggested.
And fact is, these guys are essentially little fat bomb treats! Just be sure to use a grass-fed butter for maximum nutritional benefits: it’s loaded with Vitamin-K2 (which de-calcifies your arteries), anti-inflammatory fatty acid called butyrate, among many other perks. So if you have to choose just one product to splurge on, this is it.
The Method
The chocolate cupcakes are a spinoff of our classic keto chocolate cake! Having said that, they have a couple extra ingredients to make them ultra moist! But they both bloom the cocoa with melted butter, leading to that beautifully intense chocolate kick.
The most important thing with chocolate-anything? The baking time! Just be sure to take them out as soon as they’re set and a toothpick comes out clean (a few specks are cool).
You’ll then allow them to cool completely before frosting!
And yes, with the temperatures on the rise, you can most definitely top them off with a scoop of (no churn!) vanilla ice cream too.
The Sweetener
You’ve got plenty of options for the chocolate cupcakes, but do know that they’ll affect the texture quite a bit. Think xylitol and allulose (no aftertaste, softer and fluffier texture), Lakanto (barely any aftertaste, denser texture).
And for visual reference: the pictured cupcakes were made with Lakanto (came out fudgy), while the chocolate cake (and chocolate muffins) with xylitol (softer, fluffier).
Fun fact: it might also be my taste buds here, but I’ve noticed that stevia-based sweeteners (such as Pyure) don’t work so great when chocolate is involved as the aftertaste is accentuated. So I cannot recommend enough that you don’t use stevia here!
Oh, and if just paleo or gluten free (or not restricted by sugars), simply sub 1-to-1 with coconut or regular sugar.
And for the chocolate buttercream, your best options are Lakanto powdered (twice as sweet) and xylitol. But they must be powdered.
So if you’re using xylitol: get your blender out, make sure it’s completely dry, and process your sweetener of choice until powdered. Just make sure you wait a few moments for the dust to settle before opening the blender or food processor.
And if using xylitol, make sure to be careful if you have a pup around the house, as it’s highly toxic to the little guys!
The Flours
To turn chocolate cupcakes keto you’ll need some super fine almond flour (Anthony’s is my favorite!),golden flaxseed meal (make sure it’s golden!)*, coconut flour (again Anthony’s by a mile!),and a touch of xanthan gum.
*Just keep in mind that for best texture and rise, you’ll always want to regrind your flaxseed meal in a dry blender or bullet.
The Chocolate
You’ll want to use a Dutch-processed alkaline cocoa here. As there’s baking powder involved, using cacao won’t give the same results (at all!).
In terms of brands, my favorite will forever be Valrhona, known to be one of (if not the) best cocoas in the world. That said, as long as it reads cocoa and not cacao you’ll be good to go!
Gluten Free & Keto Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the chocolate cupcakes
- 48 g almond flour
- 18 g golden flaxseed meal or psyllium husk, finely ground*
- 8 g coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 56 g unsalted grass-fed butter
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 40 g cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3-1/2 cup xylitol allulose or erythritol (I use 1/3 cup)*
- 2 eggs
For the chocolate buttercream frosting
- 70 g unsalted grass-fed butter at room temperature**
- 70 g cream cheese at room temperature
- 2-4 tablespoons powdered xylitol allulose or erythritol, to taste
- 1-3 tablespoons cocoa powder to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee (optional)
- pinch kosher salt as needed
Instructions
For the chocolate cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Line (or grease and dust with cocoa) a muffin pan, set aside.
- Add almond flour, flaxseed meal, coconut flour, baking powder and xanthan gum to a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined, set aside.
- Add butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder and salt to a large heatproof bowl. Melt over a water bath whisking constantly (or use the microwave in small bursts). Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- Add in the sweetener and one egg at a time, whisking well after each one until completely incorporated. The texture should appear smooth and thick, with all the sweetener dissolving into the mixture (if using erythritol, granules will remain). Add the flour mixture, whisking vigorously until fully blended (about a minute). Divide the batter into prepared muffin pan.
- Bake for 14-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Always keep in mind, however, that your cupcakes will continue to cook while cooling!
- Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes in the muffin pan. They'll be particularly fragile right out of the oven, so you need to let them set. Keep stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
For the chocolate buttercream frosting
- Add the butter, cream cheese and sweetener to a large bowl. Cream the mixture with your stand mixer using the paddle attachment (or with an electric mixer) until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. You'll want to scrape the bowl every so often to ensure an even mixture. Add cocoa powder to taste, espresso powder and salt and continue to beat until fully incorporated.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag with a tip and decorate each cupcake.
- The cupcakes keep well, stored in an airtight container in the fridge, for about 3 days. And they also freeze beautifully, just thaw it out in the fridge overnight.
I followed the instructions as is, making one sub for psyllium husk, but actually put less in. These came out horribly. The batter was so thick as I was mixing that my wisk broke. I had to add more liquid to the batter to make it work. They came out very dense with little rise. I checked my baking powder, and it is still bubbling (so that’s not the issue). Overly complicated for bad cupcakes. Too embarrassed to serve these to guests.
I’m sorry Bethany, but it sounds like you didn’t follow the recipe. Having said that it does sound like something went wrong, but in my experience it would be more in line with the sweetener you used- care to give me more deets? Say erythritol blends with inulin (such as swerve) can soak up the liquids in excess. I need more deets to diagnose the problem (and beyond you tweaking around the recipe)… but also you adding more liquid as the batter was too dense, for your liking, would also result in dense cupcakes (grain free batters are ULTRA thick). xo!
nice recipe, i’ll try this one
AMAZING!!! The cupcake is great on its own and the frosting is delicious as well. I’ve made these quite a few times now. Love these! Thanks so much for sharing this amazing (chocolate fix) recipe! ❤️
Any replacements for golden flaxseed or psyllium husk? What is purpose of these particular ingredients?
They are a binder because there is no flour with gluten in it to hold the cupcakes together. Flaxseed and psyllium husk perform that function.
I made these and they are delicious but your macros are way off
There’s a good 100 calories more per cupcake and more fats and proteins as well
🙂
Absolutely The Bomb! Not overly sweet, cupcakes were rounded on top and dense, yet not wet inside. I used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener and it’s perfect! The frosting is light and fluffy, same as a high sugar recipe, but not nearly as sweet. I’ve finally found a keto dessert recipe that’s not just ‘settling’. ❤️ I’ll add a picture when I read-check your information. Thank you so very much! Next… Can you make a REAL cookie that’s keto? Many attempts, about to give up.
Hi!!! I cannot wait to try the actual recipe and eat the cupcakes!!! But I have to say that the thing that caught my eye was the beauty of the frosting piping design on both the cupcakes and the cake!!! I believe that made in a pure white frosting that cake would be a beautiful wedding cake! Anyway, I have decided to learn how to pipe frosting! At least to duplicate this beautiful design!!! I have purchased tip kits and bags but I am at a loss on how to pick the exact tips used!!! The tips come pretty much on their own… I have watched YouTube and believe I can replicate the swirl – but what tip made the star shapes? Thanks so much for your time and patience with us!!!
Is it possible to make these only using almond flour, or is the coconut flour a necessity?
These cupcakes were absolutely delicious!!
Thank you so much!!
Made tonight with my kids. Very good! Only needed 14 min, great flavor. Moist and good texture.
I made a frosting from another website that wasn’t great, should have used yours!
I made these before and they were delicious!!! So one question do you freeze then before frosted?
You could even freeze them frosted Kristy! The frosting will defrost well xo!
I use stevia with chocolate and you want to use probably a 4th or 5th as much as you normally use for drinks and other things
Hello,
Anyone have an idea of how to use stevia in this recipe? I get severe GI issues with anything like erythritol, xylitol any kind of sugar alcohol… I am surprised that I seem
The only one who reacts this way. Stevia I don’t react to
Do the macros include the frosting?
Hello, I was wondering what the golden flaxseed is needed for? Can I substitute it for chia seeds, more almond flour, or an extra egg?
Amazing! I am in love! I didn’t have quite enough plain granulated erythritol so I used golden. The batter was thick enough to be cookie dough. I was not convinced they would be chocolatey enough with the cocoa powder alone. Suuuper chocolatey! These don’t need frosting. Next time, I will do a ganache instead.