Tender keto chocolate muffins with a sugar-free cheesecake center. Just like a bakery but so much healthier. Make your keto mornings fun again. Nut-free option too! This post is sponsored by ChocZero.
Is it weird that I have so many keto recipes that I can’t even remember them all? Or maybe it’s not weird at all, given my advanced age and my penchant for cranking out recipes at a furious pace. One’s aging brain simply cannot keep up!
There are so many recipes in my archives that I truly do forget about some of them. But I happened up on this old recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins, originally written back in January of 2012. Eight long years and this poor thing hadn’t had an update in all that time. I am clearly a very neglectful recipe parent.
Upon choosing to tackle it again, I also decided to give it a complete overhaul, from top to bottom. The original recipe was fine but I’ve learned so much about keto baking in the past 8 years that I thought I could improve upon it, making the batter smoother and more cohesive.
I even changed the name, since “Black and White Muffins” had many people scratching their heads. Keto Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins seems much more apropos.
And while I was at it, I couldn’t help but throw a few of the new ChocZero dark chocolate chips on top, to make them even more appealing! Can’t go wrong with that.
Using a blender can improve your keto batter
I’ve really come to love using a blender to whip up keto muffins and other baked goods. It seems to make a lighter, fluffier, and more cohesive batter. It doesn’t work with all of my recipes, because some are just too thick, but it works very well for muffins.
In conventional baked goods that contain flour, you have to be very careful about over-developing the gluten, causing the end result to be tough. That’s why so many muffin and cake recipes say “mix until just combined”. So using a blender, which goes way beyond “just combined” can be trickier.
But in most keto recipes, we don’t need to worry about gluten so there is no issue with over-developing or over-mixing. In fact, I often find my blender baked goods more tender when they are made this way. It produces an incredibly smooth batter, even when working with more coarse ingredients like nut meals.
One caveat to this approach is that you really do need a good, high powered blender with a large, wide jar and strong blades. Keto batters can be quite thick and you risk burning out the motor.
The good news is that you can still mix this batter up in a bowl if you prefer. They will still be utterly delicious.
Tips for making Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins
Cream cheese filling
The delicious cheesecake-like filling is simply cream cheese, powdered sweetener, heavy cream and vanilla. You don’t want an egg in here, as it will make the filling rise too much and it won’t be as creamy smooth once the muffins cool.
Make this before you whip up your batter, so you are ready to fill the muffins right away.
Chocolate muffin batter
This recipe calls for almond flour but you can actually use any nut meal or seed meal you like here. Because it’s blended up, even the more coarse nut meals should work well. If you are hand mixing, however, you may find that your batter is a bit coarse when using meal.
I had a plethora of hazelnut meal that needed to be used so I chose that, which gave these muffins a delicious hint of hazelnut. If you need to be nut-free, try using sunflower seed flour.
Do be sure that your eggs and almond milk (or hemp milk for nut-free) are at room temperature before whisking in the melted butter. If they are cold, your butter will solidify and won’t blend properly. Using room temperature ingredients is a good idea for most baked goods anyway.
The espresso powder is really only to enhance the chocolate flavor, it doesn’t result in any strong coffee taste. It’s an old trick I learned from my idols over at America’s Test Kitchen.
Assembling the muffins
Once the batter is in the muffin pan, you want to make wells in the center of each one. I used a spoon for this and I pushed the batter up the sides of the muffin cup.
Then plop a nice dollop of the cream cheese filling right into that well. I found it took about 1 ½ tablespoon per muffin, and it didn’t always want to come off the spoon nicely, since it was rather thick. I used a small rubber spatula to push it off into the muffin.
Finally, throw some keto-friendly chocolate chipseon top! This is optional, of course, but it makes the muffins somehow more appealing. Chocolate chips are kind of magic, that way.
If you haven’t tried the ChocZero chips yet, I highly recommend. Since they aren’t sweetened with any kind of sugar alcohols, they are great for those with intolerances.
And ChocZero gives all my readers 10% off when they use code FOODDREAMER at checkout.
More delicious keto chocolate chip recipes
- Single Serve Keto Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Homemade Sugar Free Chocolate Chips
- Keto Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
- The Best Keto Banana Bread
- Keto Chocolate Chip Blondies
Chocolate Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Muffins
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup unsweetened almond or hemp milk room temperature
- ⅓ cup melted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups almond flour (can use sunflower seed meal)
- ½ cup Swerve Sweetener
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon espresso powder (optional, enhances chocolate flavor)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon dark chocolate chips, sugar-free
Instructions
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sweetener until well combined. Add the cream and vanilla and beat until smooth. Set aside.
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin pan with 12 silicone or parchment muffin liners.
- In a large blender, combine the eggs, almond milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
- Add the almond flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, baking powder, espresso powder, and salt. Blend until smooth. If your batter is overly thick, try adding a tablespoon of almond milk or even water. It should be scoopable but not liquidy.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each no more than ⅔ full. With the back of a spoon, create a well in the center of each muffin.
- Divide the cream cheese filling among the wells, adding about 1 ½ tablespoon to each muffin. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with chocolate chips
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers are puffed up. Remove and let cool in the pan (the centers will sink, this is normal).
Elisabeth Gunningham says
I am making this recipe for the first time – they are in the oven right now! I used to be famous for my Black-Bottom cupcakes, pre keto – and I was so sad that I couldn’t make them any more. Fingers crossed, these will rise to the occasion! I am bringing them to the Oscar party this afternoon. Thanks Carolyn!
Meladalba says
My versions weren’t pretty but they were delicious!
stephanie says
This is the perfect treat for anyone on the keto diet. Thank you so much for sharing.
Chelsea says
These are seriously sooooo delicious!!! We’re obsessed with them! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Lisalia says
I’m new to keto – and LOVE that there’s a delicious treat I can enjoy that fits into my eating goals. Thanks for this AMAZE-YUM-DELISH muffin.
Holly Hodgins says
Where do you recommend I buy sunflower seed flour? The one I found on Amazon is a 12oz bag and wouldn’t cover the 2 cups for the recipe. That would buying 2 bags would make an incredibly expensive muffin. Are there other less expensive options for nut free?
Carolyn says
The 12 oz bag would indeed cover two cups, actually. Sunflower seed flour is only about 100g per cup, as long as you use the scoop and level method. That’s only about 3.5 ounces per cup.
But you can also make your own: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/how-to-make-your-own-sunflower-seed-flour/
Holly Hodgins says
Thank you so much!
Sonya says
I just made these and they were great. I will make them again. Thanks for being so awesome. Congrats on the new book!
gremlin says
is “1/2 tbsp unsweetened almond or hemp milk room temperature” correct? it seems like such a small amount. looking at your Double Chocolate Muffin recipe i’m wondering if that shouldn’t be 1/2 c?
if 1/2 tbsp is correct, is water also fine?
gremlin says
nevermind, i apparently hadn’t refreshed the page in a week. after posting it refreshed, and i see the comment above and that it’s already been fixed in the recipe. sorry!
looking forward to making these tomorrow.
Joys says
These are delicious! Not sure why, but my batter was too thin to make wells, so I just plopped the cream cheese mixture on top and smushed it down into the batter. Thanks for another great recipe!
Carolyn says
You may have needed a bit more flour or cocoa powder. Different cocoa powders have different absorbency so it can sometimes affect the recipe.
Mandi says
I had the same thing happen with my batter… it was almost like a thick cake batter, but still slowly pourable. I tried adding about 1/4 cup more almond flour, but it didn’t make enough of a difference, so I just left it be. I really wanted to be able to make those “wells” in the batter, and while these really are good, having that cheesecake-y goodness right inside would have been so much better.
Carolyn: is the Rodelle cocoa that you link to what you use too? If so, I have the exact same cocoa, so I don’t think that would be it. Other than that, maybe my Kirkland almond flour is to blame?
Carolyn says
I have a big bag of Rodelle in my cupboard and it is indeed what I used. If your batter was like a “thick cake batter” then it was ideal and I am not entirely sure what the problem is? But I suppose it could be the almond flour. I’ve had a number of people make these without issue.
Mandi says
I meant that as a thicker cake batter that pools and is still liquid enough that it’s impossible to make wells for the cream cheese.
Tricia says
In the article you mention using hazelnut flour- how much would you use (instead of almond)? I like to bake using grams and have found with your recipes 1 cup of almond flour works out to be 100g- would it be the same with hazelnut flour?
Thank you for all the top notch recipes you provide us with!
Carolyn says
It measures pretty much the same.
Adrian says
Is the 1/2 tablespoon of almond milk correct? That small amount of liquid seems unlikely to affect the batter, which made me wonder if maybe it was supposed to be a half cup instead.
Carolyn says
Thanks for catching that, it’s supposed to be 1/2 cup! Fixing now…
Jodie Reimink says
Hello-
in the recipe it doesn’t list Xanthum Gum, but it is listed in the directions. How much should I add? (I added 1 t. and they came out great, but wasn’t sure of the purpose of it). Thank you!
Carolyn says
This recipe is an older one and I’ve discovered it doesn’t really need the xanthan anymore.
Tracy says
Grew up in the 70’s my favorite Girl Scout cookies were the Scot Teas, thin crispy dusted with granular sugar, and the sandwich cookies, lol. Now it’s the Thin Mints, Samoas and Shortbread. Love your recipes, can’t wait to try the muffins. Sounds like a winner! Thank You!
Sonja says
I was wondering about the stevia drops – i have stevia extract, is that the same thing? Very excited to make these muffins!
Carolyn says
The same thing…I use the liquid extract.
KathyJND says
Oh, these are so yummy! Both the chocolate and the cheesecake portions were great. My blender wouldn’t fit all the batter, so I mixed it with a hand mixer and then added it to my blender in two batches. It was so fascinating to see the difference in the batter after the high-speed blending. So much smoother! I get it now. Definitely making these regularly!
Carolyn says
Glad they worked out!
Roberta says
Thank you, Carolyn, for the tip about using the blender for the batter: I have a Vitamix that makes wonder for a lot of things, as many people that have one can say; lately my mum made me a big surprise and bought me a food processor (a KitchenAid, my next point on my wish list is the stand mixer): since it has a wider jar and is dishwasher safe (unfortunately the Vitamix isn’t, big negative point) I am finding it to be more helpful in a lot of recipes: could it do the same job in this one or should I stick to the blender to have a satisfying result with the batter?
Carolyn says
Good question! I haven’t tried this in a food processor but it may work well.
Robin says
These were delicious. I’m diabetic controlling it with exercise and diet. I took my glucose before having one and one hour after. Before my glucose was 99, 1 hour after it was 98. It didn’t affect my sugar at all.
Carolyn says
Nice! I love hearing that.
RHONDA says
Do you know how well these freeze? I’m the only one in the house that will eat them.
Carolyn says
They should freeze fine.
Kathleen Polacik says
Love this recipe, thank you, was wondering if you have a replacement for the protein powder , I cannot have whey, thank you ?
Carolyn says
I use this egg white protein when I don’t want to use whey… http://amzn.to/2myXsZi
Jen says
These reminded me of the chocolate cheesecake brownies my friend’s mum used to make for us when I was a kid about 30 years ago. So I tried to bake them and they are delicious! Very similar. I did put in 1.5 tsps of Xanthan Gum and they turned out fine. I also added chocolate chunks (100% cocoa).
Barb says
I don’t see xanthan gum in the list of ingredients, but it is in the directions. Just wondering…
Thank you…
Nancy says
How much xanthan gum? I see it in the instruction list for the muffins, but no in the ingredient list. Thank you.
Carolyn says
You can leave it out. That must be an error.