Low-Carb Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes
These Low-Carb Chocolate Strawberry Cupcakes are made without almond flour or coconut flour, making them both nut-free and coconut-free, and are a perfect dessert option for date night and holiday gatherings.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree:
- 120 g ~10 medium-sized strawberries, de-stemmed, chopped
- 1 tbsp 0.5 oz water
- 1/2 tsp strawberry extract
- 1/16 tsp gelatin powder
Base:
- ¼ cup + 3 tbsp + 1 tsp 88g classic monk fruit sweetener
- 3 eggs separated
- 1 ½ cup + 1 tbsp + 1 tsp 174g ground sunflower seed meal
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
- ½ cup + 1 tbsp 45g unsweetened cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp + 1 ½ tsp 35g full-fat Greek yogurt
- 50 g just shy of half a stick (¼ cup) melted unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp 1 fl oz water
Frosting:
- ½ cup + ¼ cup + 1 tbsp 195g heavy whipping cream
- 7 oz Mascarpone cheese softened
- 3 tbsp 36g powdered monk fruit sweetener
- 1 tsp strawberry extract
Instructions
- Strawberry Puree: To a saucepan over medium heat, add strawberries and water. With the lid of the pan on, simmer until strawberries have softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Once softened, mash strawberries with a fork or puree with an immersion blender. (If using an immersion blender, you’ll need to tilt the pan so all the strawberries sit on one side as there’s only a small amount of volume to blend.) Stir in strawberry extract and gelatin powder before setting aside to cool.
- Base: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (~175 degrees Celsius). In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together monk fruit sweetener and egg yolks until well-incorporated and the mixture turns to a pale yellow color, about 2 minutes.
- In a separate clean bowl, using an electric mixer with clean beaters, whisk together egg whites until fluffy.
- In another separate mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to bowl of egg yolk mix. Add yogurt and melted butter. Mix with electric mixer to combine all ingredients before adding egg whites, strawberry puree, and water. Mix again until combined, being careful to not overmix and deflate mixture.
- Spoon batter into silicone baking cups about ¾ of the way full (they will rise as they cook) and place each individual cupcake mold atop a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to oven to bake until a toothpick can be inserted into cupcakes and comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. After baking, remove baking sheet of cupcakes from oven and allow to fully cool. (They will continue to firm up as they cool so be careful to not overcook.)
- Frosting: While cupcakes cool, in a mixing bowl using an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Stir in Mascarpone cheese, powdered monk fruit sweetener, and strawberry extract with a spoon until well-incorporated. Scoop frosting mixture into a piping bag and pipe atop cupcakes. Option to top each cupcake with half a strawberry or a few chopped strawberries.
Notes
Where Monk Fruit Sweetener Can Be Purchased: I purchase mine from Lakanto’s website and have it shipped and delivered to my house. If you also want to do this, you can use discount code REALBALANCED at checkout for 20% OFF your order. If you’d rather find and purchase monk fruit sweetener in-store, many grocery stores, especially specialty stores and Costco, carry Lakanto products.
Classic Monk Fruit Sweetener Substitution: Golden Monk Fruit Sweetener, Swerve, or erythritol can be used here at a 1:1 substitution ratio.
What Is Ground Sunflower Seed Meal: Ground sunflower seed meal is, quite literally, ground-up sunflower seeds. I buy my sunflower seed meal pre-ground from Amazon.
Ground Sunflower Seed Meal Substitution: You can make ground sunflower seed meal by pulsing raw sunflower seeds in a blender or food processor until they turn into flour (be careful to not over-blend, as doing this will lead to making sunflower seed butter, which has a consistency similar to that of peanut butter or almond butter). If you can eat nuts, you should be able to substitute in almond flour at a 1:1 ratio substitution.
Gluten-Free Baking Powder Substitution: You can replace this by making your own at home using baking soda and cream of tartar. For the 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder this recipe calls for, you will need to use 1 tsp cream of tartar and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Cream of tartar can typically be found at your grocery store with the spices. This substitution will make your recipe grain-free.
Full-Fat Greek Yogurt Substitution: Coconut yogurt or sour cream can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio.
Mascarpone Cheese Substitution: Substitute cream cheese at a 1:1 ratio.
Powdered Monk Fruit Sweetener Substitution: Classic Monk Fruit Sweetener, Golden Monk Fruit Sweetener, erythritol, or Swerve can be subbed in here at a 1:1 ratio. If you use any of these granulated sweeteners, I would suggest pulsing it in a food processor to powder it, although this isn’t essential. I would not recommend using liquid stevia or powdered stevia.
If You Don't Have Silicone Baking Cups: You can use muffin liners in a stainless steel muffin tin or aluminum muffin tin. Depending on what you bake the cupcakes in, the bake time may be closer to 15 or 20 minutes, so watch the cupcakes carefully toward the 15-minute mark.
If You Don't Have A Piping Bag: Spoon the frosting into a plastic sandwich bag, cut one corner of the bag off, and pipe the frosting from the baggie. Alternatively, you can simply spoon the frosting onto each cupcake and spread using a rubber spatula.
Net Carbs: Per serving, these cupcakes contain 5.2 grams of net carbs. The recipe, as written, yields 12 servings. Net carbs are calculated by taking total carbs, subtracting fiber, and subtracting sugar alcohols.
Refrigerator Storage: The frosted cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight for up to 5 days.
Freezer Storage: The unfrosted chocolate cupcake base can be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. It is best to make the frosting fresh.