Gluten Free & Keto Chocolate Cupcakes

Bitten keto chocolate cupcake with buttercream frosting

Gluten Free & Keto Chocolate Cupcakes

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.

Oh, and if baking with cups rather than grams is your thing, just click on US Cups for an instant conversion.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten free chocolate cupcakes, keto chocolate buttercream frosting, keto chocolate cupcakes

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 15

Servings cupcakes

Calories 187kcal

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

Metric - US Cups

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.

Notes

*Psyllium husk powder can be used in place of the golden flaxseed meal, but do expect denser results.

**Your choice in sweetener will 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).

And regarding the amount, I use 1/3 cup but feel free to use even up to 2/3 cup if your taste buds are still not keto adapted (i.e. normal baking sweetness).

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!

Nutrition