Wonderfully fluffy vanilla keto cupcakes are delicious on their own and downright sinful with the decadent, luscious chocolate frosting.
“I think you should make vanilla keto cupcakes,” announced the husband. He loves my chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. But variety is the spice of life, and he wanted some variety.
So I immediately set out to make them (isn’t he lucky!). I decided on a rich chocolate frosting because I like the contrast in colors and flavors.
Purists will probably prefer a vanilla frosting, in which case I highly recommend using the frosting that I use when making this keto carrot cake. The amount of frosting I use in that cake should be enough to frost six cupcakes.
The ingredients you’ll need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these tasty cupcakes (exact measurements are included in the recipe card below):
- Eggs
- A neutral oil, such as avocado oil
- Vanilla extract
- Sweetener (I use stevia)
- Almond flour
- Salt
- Baking powder
- For the frosting, you’ll need unsalted butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and a sweetener.
How to make keto cupcakes
The recipe card below will give you detailed instructions. The basics are simple and easy:
- Quickly mix the cupcake batter by hand, in a single bowl.
- Divide between six cupcake liners.
- Bake for about 15 minutes.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, make the chocolate frosting.
- When the cupcakes are cool, frost them. Done!
Use foil liners
I highly suggest using greased foil liners when baking with almond flour or coconut flour. It’s been my experience that keto baked goods do much better in terms of sticking when I use foil liners.
If you’re concerned about baking with aluminum foil, use paper liners, but grease them well. There could still be a bit of sticking, but it might be worth it to you. Your call!
Why I use oil in these keto cupcakes
I like to use oil in this recipe because I feel that it keeps the cupcakes extra moist. I use macadamia oil, but any neutral-tasting oil (such as avocado oil) will work.
I believe that unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, would work too, although I haven’t tried that.
A tip for making the cupcakes cool faster
If you don’t want to wait an hour for the cupcakes to completely cool, you can place them, still on the cooling rack, in the fridge. They will cool in about 20 minutes.
What to do if your keto cupcakes have an uneven dome
As you can see in the video below, my cupcakes had an uneven dome when I pulled them out of the oven. This is not an issue at all – simply shave it off prior to frosting them, as I show in the video.
Why I use Dutch-processed cocoa in the frosting
Dutch-processed cocoa is not as acidic as natural cocoa butter. It’s smoother, milder, and darker. So it will work best in this recipe.
However, if you only have natural cocoa powder, that should work too. Dutch-processed cocoa powder will usually be marked as “processed with alkali.”
Is this a healthy recipe?
That would depend on how you define “healthy.” I think that these keto cupcakes are a big improvement over refined-carb ones. They are low in carbs and relatively high in fiber. Almond flour is a healthy choice, and I believe that stevia is a safe sweetener.
However, they are still a dessert, so they should be an occasional indulgence rather than a daily occurrence. And they are high in calories – about 400 calories per cupcake.
This is with a generous amount of frosting, though. You could lower the calorie count (if this is a concern) by simply using less frosting.
How to store these keto cupcakes
Once completely cool, store them in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days. Remove them from the fridge an hour before enjoying them. The frosting won’t be good when cold.
Vanilla Keto Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
INGREDIENTS
Cupcakes:
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup neutral oil, such as macadamia oil or avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals 1/2 cup sugar)
- 1 cup blanched finely ground almond flour (4 oz)
- Pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (gluten-free if needed)
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (4 oz)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (20g; it's best to use Dutch processed)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoon stevia glycerite (equals 1/2 cup sugar)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line 6 muffin pan cavities with foil liners and lightly grease the liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, vanilla and stevia.
- Add the almond flour and whisk it in thoroughly until batter is very smooth.
- Whisk in the salt and baking powder.
- Divide the batter between the cupcake liners. The batter will be fairly thin.
- Bake until puffed and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 15-17 minutes.
- Place the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove the cupcake from the liners and place them directly on the cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour, or place in the fridge to cool quickly (should take about 20 minutes in the fridge).
- If your cupcakes have an uneven dome, gently shave it off before frosting, as shown in the video below.
- To make the frosting, place the softened unsalted butter, heavy cream, cocoa powder, vanilla, and stevia in a medium bowl. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat on low to incorporate, then beat on medium about 1 minute, until frosting is light and fluffy.
- Spoon the frosting on top of the cupcakes and gently spread it. Or use a piping bag to pipe it onto the cupcakes.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., has been following a healthy real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She has taken 
