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: 356 Total Fat: 34.1g Saturated Fat: 16.7g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 9g Cholesterol: 127.5mg Sodium: 163.8mg Carbohydrates: 8.5g Fiber: 3.1g Sugar: 3.4g Protein: 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!
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!