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.
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I love mini sized desserts because they are a great for portion control. That’s why I made a batch of red velvet cheesecake cupcakes. I can easily stash away most of them in the freezer for single servings later.
While shopping at the mall with my youngest daughter, I saw some cute little cupcake liners with matching heart picks. I thought it would be nice to bake something in those together. Mini cheesecakes seemed like an ideal Valentine’s Day treat.
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 low carb cheesecake cupcakes, I left out the crust. You can certainly add one if you’d like, but it will probably add more carbs and isn’t needed. Believe me, you won’t even miss it.
Do you need to add red food color?
I stay away from artificial food dyes as they are known to have adverse side effects. Instead, I use a natural food dye. However the beet powder based natural food dye added into the cheesecake batter doesn’t really show. Because of the dark color of the cocoa, I wouldn’t bother adding it next time.
How to frost red velvet cheesecake cupcakes
The tops of the cheesecakes are kind of ugly looking after baked so they definitely needed to be dressed up. I chose to top them off with the same stabilized whipped cream that I used in my no bake key lime cheesecake recipe made in small jars.
The sugar free whipped cream frosting looked very plain, so I grated a 90% cocoa dark chocolate bar 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.
How do they taste?
Before I even baked these little gems, I knew they were going to be fabulous because the batter was so tasty. My daughter and I scraped the mixing bowl clean to suck down every bit of the raw batter.
You can serve these yummy low carb red velvet cheesecake cupcakes to everyone, or just keep them for yourself. No one will ever suspect they are keto friendly and made without sugar. I may even make another batch to share with friends when we get together for game days.
Recipe 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.
Do low carb cheesecake cupcakes freeze well?
These mini desserts freeze well so you can always put half of the batch in the freezer to make sure you don’t overeat them. They are so good that you’ll want to hide them away so you don’t eat more than one. I kept them in a basement refrigerator so I didn’t have to see them every time I opened up our kitchen refrigerator.
Other sweet low carb Valentine treats
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
Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
Video
Ingredients
Cheesecake:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup low carb sugar substitute or sweetener of choice
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- food coloring optional
- 2 eggs
Frosting:
- 1 teaspoon grass-fed gelatin
- 4 teaspoons cold water
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons Swerve Confectioners Powdered Sweetener or sweetener of choice.
Instructions
Cheesecake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 8 muffin tins with foil or paper liners.
- In large bowl, beat cream cheese on medium until smooth. Gradually beat in sweetener and cocoa. Beat in vanilla extract and food coloring (if using). Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Divide batter evenly among the cupcake liners. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until set.
- Turn off oven, open door just a little and allow cupcakes to sit in oven another 10-15 minutes. Remove cupcakes and allow to cool on rack, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Frosting:
- In a small pan, combine gelatin and cold water; let stand until thick. Place over low heat, stirring constantly, just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat; cool (do not allow to set).
- Whip the cream with the powdered sweetener, until slightly thick. While slowly beating, add the gelatin to the whipping cream. Whip at high speed until stiff. Use to frost the cooled cupcakes.
Notes
- Omit cocoa and increase vanilla extract for vanilla cheesecake.
- Add cream cheese into the whipped cream frosting.
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
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.
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First Published: February 3, 2016… Last Updated: October 24, 2019
Aly Simons
Could this be done as a full cheesecake instead of cupcakes? Any changes to help?
Lisa MarcAurele
You may want to up the servings to 12 to fit in a standard 9 to 10-inch pan. Otherwise, you can bake it in a smaller pan and keep the servings the same. However, I generally use two 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese for a regular “pie” size cheesecake. The baking time will be longer and you may want to use a water bath.
Pamela
These are listed as vegetarian but contain gelatin. Is there something else that is vegetarian that can be used in place of gelatin?
Lisa MarcAurele
You can use agar agar for vegetarian.
Samantha
I got real excited to make these for my husband’s birthday today. They were cooked to the right temperature and then “deflated”. The icing was good. Taste like whip cream. But the cupcake itself was salty. Wow I feel so bad and had to double check to see what could of caused it. But don’t see how. Maybe like the chocolate chip cookies I got from this site it will get a little bit better after it’s in the refrigerator. Any tips on what I can do to not have salty baked desserts is greatly appreciated!
Lisa MarcAurele
There isn’t an ingredient (other than cheese) that would make them salty. And like a cheesecake, it’s fine for them to deflate a little after removing from the oven. They should be better after chilling as well.
Laurie James
hey there – do you put the topping on right before serving – or can you put it on and then put them in the refrigerator till later
thanks so much
Lisa MarcAurele
I’ll fix the instructions. It’s added after making (not before serving).
Petra M Rushing
Lisa
You said you used the red can, but following your link it shows a green can and I can’t find the red one? Would like to make these. Thanks for your help
Lisa MarcAurele
I’ve used either this one: https://amzn.to/2MYKvqe or this one: https://amzn.to/2GixqYr
Beth Blair
I use Truvia in the individual packets. How would this translate to the measurements you have in the recipe?
Also, will they need to be stored in the refrigerator?
Thank you
Lisa
You’ll need to use the Truvia conversion chart. The sweeteners listed in the recipe are equal to regular sugar in sweetness.
Rosalinda
Very new at low carb baking. However I want to try these question is will stevia work? I run across recipes most are using swerve but I do not think I can buy it local need to make these tonight. I i tried another recipe with carbquik flour & I don’t like the fake sweet taste from stevia. Does swerve taste better?
Lisa
Many prefer Swerve because it’s a blend of sweeteners. However, straight stevia doesn’t bother me, particularly if vanilla is added.
Alice
The cakes had risen when I took them out of the oven.
However, they sunk in the middle after I left them to cool…
What could be the reason?
Lisa
Did you test for doneness? They may not have been completely set.
Gayle
JUST MADE 3 OF THESE (THAT’S ALL THE CUPCAKE LINERS I CURENTLY HAVE ON-HAND) AND I’VE EATEN TWO! THEY TASTE SO VERY RICH! I THINK I’LL ADD A BIT MORE COCOA POWDER AND SWEETENER TO MY NEXT BATCH, BUT YOU’VE GIVEN US A TREMENDOUS INDULGENT TREAT HERE & I THANK YOU!!!
ps: is there any way I can alter the typeface in your website so that I can read it more easily? This comment is in very light grey, for example … I can barely read it
Lisa
Glad you enjoyed them! I’ll see if I can darken that gray color. I don’t think you can do it on your end.
Michele Clow
I have the Great Lakes gelatin in the green container. Is that the right gelatin for this recipe?
Lisa
I used the red can which dissolves in hot liquid. The green can doesn’t thicken like the red can.