These keto chocolate cupcakes are made with coconut flour and frosted with a generous amount of creamy, delicious peanut butter frosting.
They are so easy to make and they last for several days in the fridge, so I often double the recipe and make twelve of them.
The first time I made these cupcakes, it was for my husband's birthday. He loves the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. It's his favorite.
His favorite candy used to be Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. These days, he loves my keto peanut butter bars. But for his birthday, I wanted a cake or cupcakes. I experimented quite a bit until I reached perfection, and I'm glad that I didn't give up.
These cupcakes are wonderfully fluffy and sweet. The frosting is superb. Even my teenage kids love them. And this is the best compliment a keto baker can hope for!
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Ingredients
Here's an overview of what you'll need to make these keto chocolate cupcakes. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below:
Eggs: I use large eggs in most of my recipes, this one included.
Unsalted butter: I love using European butter. It's so flavorful.
Whole milk: You can use heavy cream if you're opposed to using milk in keto recipes.
Sweetener: I use stevia glycerite. You can probably replace it with a granulated sweetener.
Vanilla extract: Try to use the real thing - pure vanilla extract - and not the artificially flavored stuff.
Coconut flour: It's extremely absorbent, so try to measure it by weight and not by volume.
Cocoa powder: It's best to use natural cocoa powder in this recipe - not Dutch-processed.
Kosher salt: If using fine salt, you should use half the amount listed.
baking soda: If you'd like to try using gluten-free baking powder (though I haven't tested it in this recipe), remember that ¼ teaspoon of baking soda is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of baking powder.
For the frosting: I use cream cheese, powdered peanut butter, and a sweetener.
Instructions
Making these keto chocolate cupcakes is easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
You start by mixing the cupcake ingredients by hand, using a hand whisk, in the order listed. I usually start with the liquid ingredients, then gradually add the dry ingredients. The baking soda is added last, to ensure it doesn't lose its potency.
Next, divide the mixture between six greased foil liners. For some reason, the batter sticks to paper liners but not to foil liners.
Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes in a 350°F oven. Cool them completely on a cooling rack before frosting.
To make the frosting, simply whisk the ingredients by hand until fluffy, adding a bit of water.
Expert tip
Since this recipe relies on baking soda as a leavening agent, you should use natural cocoa powder, and not Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
The Dutched cocoa powder is not acidic so it won’t react with the baking soda, and the cupcakes will be flat rather than fluffy.
If you only have Dutch-processed cocoa powder, you should substitute the 2 teaspoons of baking powder for ½ teaspoon of baking soda.
Frequently asked questions
I make the frosting with PB2 (powdered peanut butter), which I buy at Whole Foods and is also widely available online.
While you can certainly make frosting using real peanut butter, it's the ease of blending the PB2 into the frosting that makes me choose it in this recipe.
I sweeten these cupcakes with stevia glycerite. The amount of stevia I use is equal to ½ cup of sugar. You can experiment with a granulated sweetener if you wish and see if it works. I believe it will.
If using a sweetener other than stevia in the frosting, please use a powdered sweetener. You'll likely need to add a bit more water.
It's been my experience that coconut flour muffins and cupcakes stick pretty badly to paper liners, even if well-greased, but they don't stick to greased foil liners.
This was very noticeable when I made these keto lemon muffins. But it happens with other coconut flour baked goods as well. So I highly recommend that you use foil liners when making this recipe.
Variations
The peanut butter frosting is creamy and decadent, and you get quite a bit of it on each cupcake!
Another good frosting is this Greek yogurt frosting, and this basic vanilla keto cream cheese frosting is excellent. Sometimes I use this keto chocolate mousse as frosting. But I really like the peanut butter frosting with these cupcakes.
Storing leftovers
Once completely cool, the leftovers keep well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Do take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you plan on enjoying them.
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Recipe card
Keto Chocolate Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
Cupcakes:
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons stevia glycerite (equals ½ cup sugar)
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut flour (2 oz)
- ¼ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
- ⅛ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda*
Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 2 tablespoons water
- 8 tablespoons powdered peanut butter such as PB2
- 1 teaspoon (scant) stevia glycerite (equals about ¼ cup powdered sugar)**
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 6 muffin cups with foil (not paper) liners and grease the liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. One by one, whisk in the butter, milk, stevia, and vanilla.
- Mix in the coconut flour, then the cocoa powder, kosher salt, and baking soda.
- Using a 4-tablespoon ice cream scoop, transfer the batter to the prepared muffin cups.
- Bake until set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
- Cool the cupcakes completely, about 30 minutes on a cooling rack, before frosting. Or speed it up by placing them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
- To make the frosting, place the cream cheese, water, PB2, and stevia in a medium bowl. Whisk until completely blended, light and fluffy. This takes a while, so be patient, and don't be tempted to add more water. You can also mix the frosting using a handheld mixer.
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Remove them from the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
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NOTES
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NUTRITION PER SERVING
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 