Editor’s Note: After making hundreds (maybe thousands) of chocolate cupcakes for my home bakery, my recipe has been revised to an almond flour base, and this revision is much better. If you need the coconut recipe, I’ll put it at the bottom.
Low Carb Chocolate Cupcakes, Sugar Free Frosting
Back when I posted this a few years ago, it was near Valentine’s Day. I promised to post as many heart recipes as possible, because Valentine’s Day is my jam!
As mentioned above, since then, I’ve opened a home keto bakery and have greatly improved the recipe. My chocolate cake gets raves and sells out all the time.
These are good. So good that they fool non-keto bakers. I’m so proud of this recipe.
Low Carb Chocolate Cupcake Recipe with Many Options
Top with Chocolate frosting or my new favorite, this keto vanilla buttercream. My biggest seller is chocolate with peanut butter frosting and I promise to bring that recipe to the blog soon. However, you can top with this Texas Sheet Cake frosting or my other wildly popular German Chocolate Cake Frosting.
My original (not low carb) chocolate fudge cupcake has never lost its amazing popularity, and that’s the standard I used to bake against.
I wanted chocolate flavor, easy execution, and moist chocolate cupcakes that would freeze well.
Ingredients for a Low Carb Cupcake
After literally baking hundreds of these chocolate cakes, I know this recipe works. It’s a combination of almond and coconut flours with lots of eggs and good shot of espresso. You can leave the coffee out by adding a little more milk. It’s still amazing. I use sour cream for extra moistness.
I am still using Swerve (powdered erythritol) as my sweetener.
The Process for the Low Carb Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Make sure you mix the dry ingredients together with a whisk very well. Add eggs one at time.
Always spray the cupcake liners. For some reason coconut flour batter sticks more to the liners. The only liners I know to be truly non-stick are Oxo’s silicone liners.
What kind of Unsweetened Cocoa Should I use?
After much trial and error, and much frustration, I have found the one cocoa powder, actually a cacao, from Better Body Foods that works perfectly. I used to use Hershey’s natural with some of their extra dark. They changed their formula and it was a huge disappointment. The ONE powder that works amazingly well with lots of flavor is the cacao from Better Body Foods.
What is Swerve?
I wrote an F.A.Q. Swerve article here answering the most common questions. 
Chocolate Frosting for a Low-Carb Cupcake Recipe
This is the easiest (but trickiest) part of a low-carb cupcake recipe. I use the Swerve Confectioner’s sugar with butter and a little cream cheese. Unlike regular confectioner’s sugar, you won’t need to use as much. I rarely use more than one cup. My ratio is 1/2 cup butter to 1/2 cup Swerve. You will NOT use as much as you think you will.
I chose not to pipe the frosting because I wanted a small amount of frosting per cupcake. Piping tends to use a lot of frosting which would be too much.
Mini Hearts Garnish
Quite by accident, I found the cutest little topper. I melted down 72% dark chocolate and filled this mini heart mold.
I ordered these adorable reversible cupcake liners on amazon.
Happy Heart Day everyone. Love All.
You might also love these grain free red velvet cupcakes and these most recent grain free coconut cupcakes.
You will love this with this amazing chocolate frosting.
Keto Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes
Low Carb Chocolate Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour 230 grams
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour 26 grams
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cups unsweetened natural cocoa powder I use Better Body Cacao
- 6 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup granulated swerve powdered erythritol
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 4 tablespoons sour cream
- 1/4 cup strong coffee Optional can replace with more almond milk
- baking spray
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup butter unsalted room temperature
- 1 cup Confectioner's Swerve
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa see notes
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream if needed
Instructions
Chocolate Cupcake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Whisk together almond four coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum, cocoa powder. Set aside.
- Mix avocado oil and erythritol (Swerve) together)
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Add coffee, milk, and sour cream. You can mix these together first.
- Add vanilla to wet ingredients.
- Add dry ingredients and mix on medium just until mixed. Don't overmix.
- Spray cupcake liners.
- Pour evenly making 12 cupcakes.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until a center is 207 degrees f. (no more than 210).
- Cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting Instructions
- Sift together cocoa and swerve. Set aside.
- Whip together butter and cream cheese until completely smooth. You may need to whip these in separate bowls. Make sure butter is softened, but not melted.
- Add cocoa swerve mixture to butter 1/4 cup at a time.
- Add vanilla.
- Add heavy cream if you need to. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of boiling water instead to get a frosting easy to pipe.
Notes
Nutrition
Please follow me on instagram. If you make this recipe, please tag me #spinachtiger.
If you love this recipe, please give it five stars. It means a lot. xoxo
The Original Recipe (Coconut Flour based). (Improved Recipe is above).
could you use olive oil instead of avacodo oil in this recipe?
You can. Avocado oil is very neutral so I like it.
Love that ut used almond flour and small amount of coconut flour. Awesome
Will this still work without the coffee?
Yes you can leave coffee out.
The recipe did not give nutrition info, Carbs, calories, etc. ?
How many eggs???
I thing the recipe is incomplete!
Hi there! Thank you for your great recipes! Just a quick question please? Is there a misprint or is that the correct amount of coconut flour? Your ingredient list says 1/2 cup of coconut flour? And it yields 12 cupcakes? Is that correct as is or a misprint or am I blind? Thank you for your assistance in this regard.
Definitely fulfill chocolate cravings. Great texture.
Interesting. I haven’t done much baking so thanks for the tip on buttermilk + coconut flour. Just wish I had found your site before Valentine’s Day!