These light and fluffy coconut flour keto cupcakes are topped with a sweet sugar-free buttercream frosting. It’s a delicious low carb treat with just 2 net carbs per cupcake!
Jump to:
When I created this recipe for keto cupcakes, I knew I wanted them to be super light and airy. I was inspired by the soft texture of traditional yellow cake and wanted to replicate it.
After all, who doesn’t love a delicious cupcake?
I am so happy with how these coconut flour cupcakes turned out. The texture is very fluffy with a moist crumb. And the buttercream frosting is some of the best I’ve ever made.
If you’ve been looking for low carb cupcakes that actually taste like real cupcakes, these hit the spot!
Making coconut flour cupcakes
This recipe is incredibly easy to make. The frosting is made ahead of time by combining ingredients on the stove, chilling, then beating in cream cheese and swerve.
For the cupcakes, you simply mix the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Then combine them, spoon the batter into a molds, and bake.
If you’re craving the soft, fluffy texture and yummy taste of cupcakes, you have to give this recipe a try!
Simple steps to prepare these tasty treats
Low carb cupcakes are very easy to whip up and only require a few minutes of prep time.
Start with the frosting
- Combine the whipping cream, liquid sweetener and butter in a saucepan over high heat.
- Once the boiling point is reached, remove from heat.
- Stir in the vanilla extract and xanthan gum.
- Place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill for two hours.
- After chilling, add the cream cheese and powdered sweetener to the whipping cream mixture. Beat everything together with an electric mixer until it reaches a smooth, frosting consistency.
Prep and bake the low carb cupcakes
- In a small bowl, combine the coconut flour, coconut, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, powdered sweetener, stevia, melted butter, extracts, and almond milk until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the wet ingredients and mix well.
- Spoon the batter evenly into a six cupcake pan with paper liners in each cup.
- Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes.
- Frost your cupcakes and serve!
Storage
These cupcakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. You can also store them in the freezer to extend the shelf-life. That way, you’ll have an easy keto dessert whenever your sweet tooth strikes.
The secret to making soft keto cupcakes
Coconut flour is one of my favorite low carb baking ingredients.
I have quite a few recipes that call for both coconut flour and almond flour, like my vanilla paleo cupcakes. Blending the two flours has yielded some great results.
But I wondered what would happen if I made these with just coconut flour. It’s much denser and requires more liquid, but is very soft when used properly.
After a little tweaking, the recipe was a big success! Coconut flour is the key to making truly soft cupcakes.
I do recommend sifting the coconut flour to ensure your batter is smooth and consistent. This will give you the best results.
I decided to use some shredded coconut and coconut extract to play up the mild taste of the coconut flour. The coconut and vanilla flavor combination is so delicious!
Variations
Since the base of this recipe is a plain yellow cake, you can dress it up however you like. Here are a few ideas:
- No coconut flavor: Simply leave out the shredded coconut and replace the coconut extract with vanilla. You won’t be able to taste the coconut flour.
- Reduce sweetness: Replace the confectioner’s sweetener with a neutral powder like whey protein.
- Make a cake: Double the recipe to make a 9” round single layer cake.
Have you tried any other variations of these coconut flour cupcakes? Let us know in the comments below!
Other recipes you may like
Looking for a few other low carb dessert recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth? Check out a few of these favorites:
- Keto Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting bring together chocolate and hazelnut for a decadent treat.
- Keto Strawberry Cream Pie with Pecan Crust is delicious, creamy, and so easy to make! No baking required.
- Sugar Free Keto Chocolate Pie combines a flaky almond flour crust, smooth chocolate, and sweet whipped cream topping.
- Easy Low Carb Tiramisu is made with almond flour ladyfingers and a rich custard layer. It’s an absolute dream for anyone on a keto diet.
- Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are a sugar free and low carb take on this classic favorite.
You may also want to check out these dairy-free low-carb cake recipes.
★ FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, AND INSTAGRAM FOR MORE EASY KETO RECIPES.
Low Carb Coconut Flour Keto Cupcakes
Recipe Video (Click on Image to Play)
Ingredients
Cupcake:
- ¼ cup coconut flour sifted
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup Swerve Confectioners Powdered Sweetener or erythritol powder
- ¼ teaspoon stevia concentrated powder
- 3 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon sugar free vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- 2 Tablespoons almond milk
Frosting:
- ¼ cup whipping cream
- 12 drops SweetLeaf stevia drops or stevia gycerite
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ ounce cream cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Swerve Confectioners Powdered Sweetener
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Line cupcake pan with six liners, set aside.
- Combine coconut flour, coconut, baking powder and salt in small bowl. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, Swerve, stevia, melted butter, extracts, and almond milk until well combined.
- Blend in dry mixture. Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes until done.
Frosting:
- Heat whipping cream, liquid sweetener and butter in saucepan until boiling point reached. Remove from heat.
- Stir in vanilla extract, and xanthan gum. Chill for two hours.
- Add cream cheese and Swerve. Beat with electric mixer until smooth and at frosting consistency.
Notes
Nutritional Data for Unfrosted Cupcakes:
122kcal Calories | 4g Carbohydrates | 4g Protein | 10g Fat | 6g Saturated Fat | 97mg Cholesterol | 196mg Sodium | 78mg Potassium | 2g Fiber | 1g Sugar | 294IU Vitamin A | 34mg Calcium | 1mg IronLow Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
FREE EMAIL SERIES
My Top 5 Secrets to Master Keto!
Note on Nutritional Information
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 are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
First Published: November 12, 2011… Last Updated: February 27, 2020
Belinda
I’m sensitive to eggs but I’d love to try this. Any suggestions?
Lisa MarcAurele
It’s best to use eggs with coconut flour, but psyllium or flax eggs may work.
Milli
Very good recipe! I made it into 2 small cakes for a double layer and used keto cream cheese frosting topping it with drizzled dark chocolate and toasted coconut flakes. OMG! So good. It was a birthday cake for my friend and she loved it.
Lisa MarcAurele
Wow! That DOES sound incredible.
Nancy
Do you know if the frosting can be frozen too? I’d like to freeze the frosted cupcakes so I don’e eat them all at once. 😀
Lisa MarcAurele
Yes. The cupcakes can be frozen frosted.
Karen M Patterson
Hi Lisa, would you provide the nutritional info on the Low Carb Coconut Flour Keto Cupcakes without the icing?
Lisa MarcAurele
Here’s the values for just the cupcakes:
122kcal Calories
4g Carbohydrates
4g Protein
10g Fat
6g Saturated Fat
97mg Cholesterol
196mg Sodium
78mg Potassium
2g Fiber
1g Sugar
294IU Vitamin A
34mg Calcium
1mg Iron
Debb
Oh my goodnes!!!! These are Soooo yummy! A little bit ebbie, but, so fluffy, and the taste!!!!!! Thank you so much for the recipe! I made a total of 24 cupcakes. The first batch I just made the single batch, so we could taste test. Second time, I tripled everything & they’re perfect! And I haven’t even frosted them yet! I’ll take a picture when I’m done.
Lisa MarcAurele
Would love to see how they look if you want to send over a link.
Jay N
Can this be made with coconut sugar instead?
Lisa MarcAurele
Coconut sugar is an option if you aren’t worried about the added carbs.
Debb
I can’t find the concentrated powder Stevia, suggestions?
Lisa MarcAurele
Use the sweetener conversion calculator to substitute another product.
Kristina
I tried making these and they came out tasting like quiche. I only used two large eggs because it was so fluid when I only added 1/4 cup coconut flour. They had nothing like a cake consistency they literally just tasted like egg.. any idea what I did wrong?
Other recipes had the same 1/4-1/2 cup Coconut flour it just seems so little.
Thx
Lisa MarcAurele
You only need 1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut flour versus wheat flour for the same recipe. That’s because coconut flour is so absorbent. However, this is also the reason why more eggs and liquid are used.
Ineta
Hi, is nutrition per 100g or per serving?
Lisa MarcAurele
It’s per cupcake if you get 6 cupcakes.
Kellie Patterson
Hi there, I am looking to make these yummy cupcakes. I would like to add Americolor food dye to the frosting. do you think this will effect the consistency of the frosting? Have you ever added color to the frosting?
Lisa MarcAurele
If it’s liquid, it might if too much is used. But you should be able to counter that with a little more powder or using less cream.
Valerie
Hello I don’t have the stevia drops was wondering if I could just use swerve granular for it? How much would I use? I can’t wait to try these!
Lisa MarcAurele
I’d start with 1/4 cup and adjust up as needed. You may also need to increase liquid.
Victoria
I’m on the keto diet and I’ve been craving for something cakey and theses cupcajes hit the spot!! Theses cupcakes are bomb!! Thank you x
Matias
I was wondering what you could use instead of the icing?
Lisa MarcAurele
You can just leave the icing off for muffins. Or, sprinkle on a little bit of powdered sweetener. You can also drizzle a glaze made with water and powdered sweetener.
Matt
First off, these are delicious, thank you so much!
How did you get that these are 5 net carbs above the nutrition facts section though? Looking at the 5 total carbs in the nutrition section, and subtracting the carbs from dietary fiber to arrive at net carbs gets you to 2 net carbs. Plus when I added all the ingredients to my carb manager app, it also calculated 2 net carbs, and that was for both the cupcake and frosting together.
I will be making this again either way, I just want to be sure I properly track my net carbs
Lisa
That’s an old note from a less accurate nutritional calculator. I’ll delete it.
Melanie
These cupcakes looking amazing, is there any way to use honey for the sweetener?
Lisa
Of course. You can use about 1/2 cup honey to replace both the low carb sweetener and stevia.
Christina Zavala-Mendez
Thank you for this recipe! I made this into a 6″ cake because I was craving a slice of cake. This made a great sponge cake texture and I loved the flavor. I had to make it again, but this time I used it for a base to a coconut tres leches cake. The only change I made for the tres leches was to use coconut oil in place of butter to make it dairy free. I’ll only use one milk for the topping (coconut milk out of the can). Can’t wait for my “un leche” cake 🙂
I am looking forward to using this recipe for many things!
Lisa
I’ve been wanting to try a low tres leches cake. I think you just gave me the inspiration!
Angie
Just came across this and am new to the keto diet. What is the difference between the powdered sweetener and the stevia powder? I’ve tried stevia and am not a fan of the taste so I have Swerve instead. I was just going to use swerve for both but curious as to the reason for the separate ingredients. Can’t wait to try them, thanks!
Lisa
The stevia powder is concentrated. I use it to cut down on the erythritol. If you don’t want to use it, you can use about 1/4 cups Swerve instead for the cupcakes.
Valerie Cooper
So would that be 1/2 cup of swerve altogether?
Lisa MarcAurele
For the cupcakes, you’d use 1/2 cup total Swerve if not using stevia. You may want to reduce it down a little to about 1/3 cup as I find 1/2 cup a bit too sweet for 6 servings.
Shawna Adams
Best keto cupcake recipe that I’ve tried! Sifting the flour really helps give the texture more of a cake feel. I enjoyed the cupcakes without the frosting and just a little peanut butter slathered on.
Girault Fiona
Hi, i doubled the recipe for me greedy kids,,left out coconut flakes and extracts. I added in a total of 80g of sugar free low carb blueberry jam by dropping a small amount into the centre of each cupcake before baking. I got 16 cupcakes that rose fabulously and taste delicious – none left. Many thanks for sharing this recipe.
Lisa
Nice touch adding in the blueberry jam!
Crissy
Is the nutritional fact table for the cupcakes frosted or non frosted? Mainly is it 22 grams of fat unfrosted? Need a high fat diet for my son and these look like they may work.
Lisa
It’s with the frosting.