These low carb cupcakes are pretty dang tasty if I do say so myself. I mean, how can you go wrong with a ripe sweet strawberry cake topped with a thick and creamy vanilla frosting? I don’t think you can!
These strawberry cupcakes are sugar-free, low carb, keto friendly and gluten free. This little bundles of strawberry joy clock in at 5.4 net carbs and 7.4 grams of protein.
You could make these low carb cupcakes dairy-free too, but you would need to skip the topping or just choose a different frosting. The butter and cream in the cupcake batter can be substituted with coconut oil and coconut milk. The coconut adds a second dimension that works very well in combination with the roasted strawberries and vanilla. Um, YUM!
I will say this upfront – calling them cupcakes is a stretch since the batter resembles a muffin base. I’m still calling them cupcakes because they do have a cake batter flavor, And that spiral pipped cream frosting kinda makes them look the part too, so let’s call them muffins in cupcake clothing.
A few things about the strawberries in these low carb cupcakes
Ah, strawberries. I love them, especially in the summer when they are picked fresh from the garden. I have a little 6×4 plot of everbearing strawberries that produce for me all summer long. Those summer berries blow grocery store strawberries out of the water. They don’t even compare.
Summer strawberries are incredibly sweet and have a completely different taste. But what is a lady to do when she wants strawberry cupcakes in the dead of winter?
Roast them.
I roasted my strawberries for this recipe for two reasons. I wanted to intensify the flavor and remove some of the moisture.
Roasting the strawberries is not all time consuming, a few minutes in a hot oven and they are done. So worth the effort, as the roasting really does intensify the flavour.
Strawberries are one of the lowest carb fruits. They do have about ten net carbs per cup. This adds about one net carb per cupcake in this recipe.
A few things about the frosting
Also make sure to grab whipping cream, not coffee cream.
I like to use a 36% fat whipping cream for this recipe, but if you cannot get your hands on 36% whipping cream, any cream that you can whip will be perfectly fine.
Keep all the ingredients for your icing cold cold cold, you want your cream cheese to come out of a cold fridge and go directly into the bowl. Cube your cream cheese first to make it easier on your mixer.
The frosting gets a bit stiff in the fridge but has a very similar mouthfeel to buttercream without an overly sweet bite.
I only add 1/2 cup of sweetener which makes for a slightly sweet frosting, if you want it punchier and super sweeter, add more sweetener!
Be careful to not overbeat your mixture. Overbeating will cause everything to liquify.
This frosting works great for cakes too because it’s pipeable. I added to my low carb sprinkles birthday cake and it held up beautifully.
what are the best sweeteners for this recipe?
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Use your favorite 1:1 sugar substitute.
Powered is preferred over granular, as it blends better and has a nicer texture. Erythritol and xylitol also tend to get grainy when cold. I have found the powdered versions to do it much less.
If you don’t have powdered erythritol or xylitol and only have granular, go ahead and give it a blast with a high-speed blender, or food processor.
My favorite powdered sweetener by far is So Nourished Monk Fruit Blend. I find it has almost no aftertaste at all. I use it in almost every recipe.
Swerve will add a bit of cooling and stevia works just fine if that’s your thing.
Just remember, xylitol is poisonous to dogs and cats. If that’s your choice and you have little furry friends running around, know that it can be deadly for them.
A few tips to get the low carb cupcake batter perfect
Whip your eggs for 2 minutes on high before adding the rest of the wet ingredients. We want the eggs to build a bit of volume before adding the dry ingredients.
Don’t skip the apple cider vinegar. Almond flour and coconut flour are fatty heavy baking ingredients. Baking powder will help the batter rise, but the addition of the acid in the form of vinegar gives the extra lift we need to get a good round top to our cupcakes. The addition of apple cider vinegar also changes the texture a bit, almost like adding buttermilk to pancakes.
Sift the dry ingredients to make sure there are no lumps. I find the powdered erythritol is sometimes a bit lumpy so I simply sift and then crumble the little lumps left behind.
Once you add your dry ingredients to your wet, don’t over blend.
Once the dry ingredients are blended in, fold in your chopped roasted strawberries and stir until just incorporated
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A note about xanthan gum.
Xanthan gum adds a lot of texture to these cupcakes.
You can omit, but I don’t recommend it. I find the xanthan gum holds everything together and mimics gluten quite well.
I’ve made the cupcakes with and without xanthan gum and the texture and crumb were far better with the xanthan gum in the batter.
roasted Strawberry low carb cupcakes – For breakfast!
Keep your low carb cupcakes covered and refrigerated, they will last for 3 days in the fridge. I also find that they are even better the next day. If you like the icing to be a bit softer, leave them on the counter for a few minutes to warm up.
Carb counts are based on the ingredients and brands that I used. If you change the ingredients or use different brand types, be sure to verify the carb counts!
These cupcakes make a great quick breakfast for on the go. I mean who doesn’t love a good sweet with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning? Also, as an adult choosing to have a cupcake for breakfast is totally my prerogative!
Want more cupcake and muffin recipes?
Low Carb Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
Sugar-free low carb strawberry cupcakes. These cupcakes are a great replacement for the real thing without all the sugar.
Ingredients
Cupcake Batter
- 1 cup of fresh strawberries
- 1/3 cup of butter (or coconut oil)
- 1/3 cup of cream (or coconut milk)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup almond flour (I like Bob's Red Mill)
- 1/4 cup coconut flour ( I like Anthony's)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp xanthum gum
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
Whipped Cream Frosting
- 1 cup cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
Instructions
Roasted Strawberries
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Roast sliced strawberries on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper for 10-20 minutes. Keep an eye out on them. Pull them out before they start browning.
- Chop strawberries into small bits, and reserve any juices.
Cupcake Batter
- Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a standard muffin tin with 9 cupcake liners.
- Add eggs to a mixing bowl and mix on high for 2 minutes.
- Add vanilla, cream, melted butter, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar to egg mixture and blend until well incorporated.
- Sift almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and powdered erythritol in a large bowl.
- Gently add the egg mixture to the dry ingredient mixture. Do not over mix.
- Fold in roasted strawberries.
- Divide batter between the 9 cupcake liners. Filling each liner 3/4 the way full. A standard ice cream scoop is the perfect measurement for this and keeps everything neat and tidy.
- Bake in a 350F oven for 20-25 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool on a cooling rack for about an hour before adding frosting.
Whip Cream Frosting
- Cube one cup of cold full fat cream cheese and add it to the bowl of a stand mixer and blend for 1 minute, until the cream cheese has no lumps. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Add vanilla, powdered erythritol and food dye. (I added a touch of pink)
- Add 1 cup of full fat whipping cream to the bowl and mix on low for 30 seconds, until blended with cream cheese. Turn up to medium and then high until the whip cream and cream cheese fluffy up and resemble buttercream frosting.
- Do not over beat. Over beating will cause the mixture to liquify.
Notes
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs (and sugar alcohols) are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 356Total Fat: 34.1gSaturated Fat: 16.7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 127.5mgSodium: 163.8mgCarbohydrates: 8.5gFiber: 3.1gSugar: 3.4gProtein: 7.4g
Wow! These are absolutely gorgeous and sound amazing. I have a daughter that is all about pink–I think I will make these for her birthday. I love the idea of roasted strawberries!
Hi Joy, if you are making these for kids, you may want to add a bit more sweetener. I find that my tastes for sweets have diminished over the years and I don’t add as much sweetener to my recipes as say a traditional cupcake, or frosting recipe. I’d test the frosting, and add more sweetener as you feel necessary. The roasted strawberries really do make a difference. I also started playing around with emulsions. LorAnn has a strawberry emulsion that tastes like strawberry shortcake, and I find adding it to strawberry recipes adds a real kick of berry flavour without adding a whole lot of fruit and extra carbs. I bet that addition would make these cupcakes even more kid-friendly. Cheers!
Oh my these are so wonderful and moist!!! Would this recipe work in an 8” square pan?
Hi Jennifer, you can absolutely make this as a cake in a square pan, no problem at all. I would add a protective layer on the outside bottom of the cake pan just to prevent the batter from over-browning. Another tip is to add a piece of parchment or tin foil over the top of the cake about 20 minutes into baking to prevent the top of over-browning. I’d bake for 30-35 minutes and use the toothpick text to check for doneness. Hope this helps and glad you enjoyed the recipe! Also thanks so much for leaving a comment, they are always appreciated. Cheers!
Can’t comment on the frosting as I didn’t make it but I did make the cupcakes.
They were perfectly sweetened (not too much), soft and not dry or crumbly at all.
The coconut and almond flour combo is a favorite of mine and it did not disappoint here.
The children approved!
I’d never roasted strawberries before but I think doing so definitely enhanced the flavor. I used a Silpat mat and cleanup wasn’t an issue.
Thank you for a great recipe Laura!
So glad you liked them Rebecca and that you liked the roasted strawberries. I absolutely love that the kids liked them too. Thanks so much for the comment, totally appreciate you taking the time. Cheers!
I made these last night and they were fantastic. I used half butter and half coconut oil. I also didn’t have monk fruit confectioners sugar, so I used 1/2 Swerve confectioners and 1/2 monk fruit granular (I don’t like the cooling from Swerve and this eliminated it). My daughter and her boyfriend were here and he said they were the best cupcakes he’d ever had and my daughter said they tasted like something from a gourmet shop! May have to double the recipe next time!
This comment made my day, I am so glad you and your family enjoyed them, Nicole. You can freeze these too without the topping, so if you double the batch you can save a few. Thanks so much for leaving a comment too, many readers have lots of questions about sweeteners, and blends and when readers leave comments like you it really helps. Cheers!
These sound amazing! I’m wondering what kind of cream do you use in the batter?
Hi Carolyn, it’s heavy cream. I am surprised no one has asked this question already, I didn’t realize the type of cream in the recipe wasn’t specified. Thank you for pointing that out!
Thank you! I’m going to make these this weekend, strawberries are in season right now here in South Carolina.
Oh, Carolyn, your comment made me laugh out loud and cry at the same time. Strawberries are already in season? I can’t even get a shovel into my garden right now because the ground is still frozen solid. My strawberries haven’t even peeked their heads up yet. So very jealous! I hope you enjoy the muffins though, and thanks so much for leaving a comment too, they are always appreciated. Cheers!
Thanks for the amazing recipe. What kind of coconut milk are you referring to as a substitute for the cream? Canned coconut milk or the coconut milk that we drink (like with cereal)?
oh good catch Mel and sorry I wasn’t clear I will rectify that right away. Canned coconut milk will replace heavy cream in a recipe, but in this recipe, you could use either. Cheers!
Do these really only have 5.4g net carbs? I wanna make these for my birthday next week and when I put into the carb manager app…. it said they almost have 30g carbs!! I use Anthony’s sugar and everything else accordingly. I’ve lost a lot of weight I want to make sure it’s correct.
Hi Nicole, there isn’t any sugar listed in this recipe, not sure why you’re using Anthony’s sugar. As far as the net carbs go, yes, they have 5.4 net carbs (net carbs being the carbohydrates minus the fiber and sugar alcohols). Your recipe calculator maybe including the sugar alcohols in the total carbs – but they are not normally processed in the body so they don’t tend to count toward net carbs. Most low carb recipes remove the sugar alcohols and fiber from the final carb count. Not sure what program you are using, but verify the individual nutritional numbers per ingredient to see where your calculator is coming up with 30 grams. I find nutritional calculators mess up things like almond milk (even if you choose sugar-free), sugar alcohols, sugar-free chocolate, and fiber syrups and each recipe require a closer look at each ingredient to ensure it’s calculating correctly. I run my recipes through nutrition fox (my recipe card) and spark recipes to verify net carb counts.
Hi Laura – these look so wonderful! Do you think it would bake similarly as a tiered cake in 2 round cake pans? Would love to try this for an upcoming birthday but was hoping for a cake vs cupcakes. TIA! 🙂
Hi Erin, yup, you can 100% turn this recipe into a cake. Time-wise I can’t say for sure because although I have made this recipe into a cake I never jotted down the time. I would keep an eye out on it around the 30-35 minute mark though and go from there. Let us know how it turns out!
Hi Laura I want to try this but I already try another cupcakes with almond flour so you know why the cupcakes doesn’t inflate or pop up to the top with almond flour ? Do you know if people needs to use more baking powder obviously I prefer to use brown sugar instead of sweetner is that a posibility ?
Hi Francis, almond flour is quite heavy and needs a helping hand to rise. A few tricks that will help you get rounded tops – you have to sift your dry ingredients to remove lumps and add a bit of air. The eggs need to be whipped fluffy to introduce even more air. You also need a tiny bit of acid to give the baking powder a lift – you can use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. You also need to use a binder (like Xanthan gum, or psyllium husks, or protein powder). The binder helps hold everything together in the absence of gluten. The binder is really quite necessary because, without it, the baked goods have no structure. No structure makes it very difficult for the leavening agents to work to get a rise out of the batter. That extra air you added in with sifting and whipping makes the job of the leavening agents much easier and produces that rise that you’re looking for. I hope that helps! Also yes, you can absolutely use brown sugar in this recipe in replacement of the sweetener. Cheers!
I want to praise you for you professional and informative replies to commenters. Great Job!
Thanks so much, Brittany, very kind of you to leave such a thoughtful comment. I try to answer everyone, I know not everyone is a seasoned baker and low carb baking has a few sticky challenges so I try to help as best I can. Cheers!
Could I blend the roasted strawberries to add to the cake mixture to make it more “strawberry”? Wondering if that would add too much moisture…
Hi AJ, you can blend them, it will be fine. Only add the strawberries, not the juice that will pour off the berries after being roasted. If you wanted to add a really big burst of strawberry flavour I highly recommend Loranne’s Strawberry Emulsions. No carbs and a big flavour kick.