Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes Recipe

My mini red velvet cheesecake cupcakes recipe combines two fabulous flavors in one keto friendly treat. These low carb cheesecake cupcakes are perfect for holidays or as dessert for only one or two people.

Article Index

• Why you'll love it
• Ingredients
• Tips
• Instructions
• Variations
• FAQs
• Related recipes
• Recipe

I love mini sized desserts because they are a great for portion control. That’s why I like to make extra cupcakes that I can easily stash away in the freezer for single servings later.

The great thing about making low-carb cheesecake is that you don’t need to use any flour substitute if you make it crustless. Although I usually include a crust when making them, I’d rather skip the extra carbs that come with it.

That’s why I prefer my cheesecakes crustless. So, for these tasty little red velvet cheesecake cupcakes, I left out the crust. You can certainly add one if you’d like, but it will add more carbs and isn’t needed. Believe me, you won’t even miss it.

Why you'll love it

You can serve these yummy cupcakes to everyone, even if they aren't watching carbs. No one will ever suspect they are keto friendly and made without sugar.

The recipe is super simple to make too. You just whip up the creamy cheesecake batter in a mixing bowl, bake in a lined cupcake pan, and frost. It couldn't get much easier!

This is also a delicious dessert to make for Valentine's Day.

Ingredients

One of the best things about this red velvet recipe is that it uses common baking ingredients. In fact, you may even have everything you need.

Cream cheese

Since this is a cheesecake cupcake recipe, you need to have some cream cheese to get the classic flavor. Just make sure you soften the cheese before using so it mixes in well with the other ingredients.

Sweetener

If you aren't low-carb, you can use regular sugar in the cake and powdered sugar in the frosting. Otherwise, I recommend keto-friendly sugar substitutes to keep carbs low.

Cocoa powder

Red velvet gets a dark color from unsweetened cocoa powder. Most recipes use red food dye to give a red color but you can leave the dye out.

Eggs

To hold the cake together, you need to include eggs as a binder and thickener. They also help give cheesecake a smooth texture.

Whipping cream

I love to top these cupcakes off with a whipped cream based frosting. It's very light and fluffy.

Gelatin

To keep the whipped cream from flattening, you need to add a stabilizer. My preferred stabilizer is gelatin.

Vanilla extract

The great thing about adding vanilla extract is that it gives a touch of sweetness without any added sweetener. It really enhances the taste of any sweet baked good.

Note: Scroll down to the bottom of the post to view the full ingredient list with amounts used within the recipe card.

Tips

• Make a traditional cream cheese frosting. You can use and eight ounce block of cream cheese softened to room temperature and mix it into the powdered sweetener. Then add in a little heavy cream at a time until desired consistency. Blend in a teaspoon of vanilla to enhance the taste.
• Chill the cupcakes completely. To prevent the frosting from melting, you'll need to make sure the cupcake are completely cooled before frosting.
• Allow a slow cool. Although it's not always necessary, slowly cooling cheesecake at the end of baking help prevent cracking on top. That's why I like to open the oven at the end of the bake time and leave the cheesecakes in with the oven off for a bit before removing.

Instructions

Ready to see how easy it is to make these cupcakes? Just follow these simple steps.

Prepare batter

First, you'll beat the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until smooth. and sugar substitute. Then gradually beat in the sugar substitute, cocoa powder, vanilla, and red food coloring (if using).

Next, add in the eggs, one at a time, beating after each is added.

Bake

The cream cheese mixture is then divided into a prepared muffin pan lined with cupcake liners and then baked until set.

Once the red velvet cheesecake cake has firmed up, the oven is turned off and the oven door is propped open. The cupcakes are allowed to cool down slowly in the oven for about fifteen minutes.

Remove the pan from oven and place the cupcakes on a wire rack. Place them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.

Prepare frosting

The frosting is made by first whipping together the powdered sweetener and heavy whipping cream until thickened. Then the gelatin is mixed into cold water to soften then heated to dissolve completely.

The gelatin water is then slowly streamed into the heavy cream mixture while beating with an electric mixer. Once stiff peaks form, the frosting is done.

Frost cupcakes

The tops of the red velvet cupcakes are not that pretty after baking so they definitely needed to be dressed up. You'll want to place the frosting in a piping bag to squeeze it out in nice mounds. I use this same whip cream frosting on my no bake key lime cheesecake in a jar recipe.

The sugar free whipped cream frosting looked very plain, so I grated a 90% cocoa dark chocolate bar into chocolate curls to sprinkle on top. Then, to dress them up for Valentine's day, I put the little festive holiday picks in them that came with the cupcake papers.

Variations

I have a keto ricotta dessert that’s basically mini cheesecakes baked in muffin cups. However, I never thought to frost them so they actually look like cupcakes.

I enjoyed these so much, I plan to try some different flavors. Just leave out the cocoa powder and up the vanilla extract for vanilla. Or omit the cocoa and add in pureed berries for either strawberry or raspberry. You can even add in some sour cream to the filling.

The whipped cream frosting can also be changed as well. A few ideas are to add in cream cheese or cocoa depending on the flavoring you are aiming for. Flavor extracts can be added as well.

FAQs

Related recipes

If you want some other great keto dessert recipes to celebrate Valentine’s Day, be sure to check out these truffle recipes:

• White Chocolate Keto Truffles are an amazing treat that will be remembered on any special day.
• Dark Chocolate Truffle Candy is sure to bring a smile.
• Low Carb Strawberry Dessert whips up in a jiffy for a fast treat.
• Cream Cheese Truffles are an easy yet elegant treat for your Valentine.
• Strawberry Coconut Flour Mug Cake makes the perfect dessert for two.
• Chocolate Raspberry Truffles in heart shapes are made easily with only 3 ingredients.

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Recipe

First published on February 3, 2016. Last updated on February 6, 2021, with additional recipe information and new images.