Tender and fluffy, these Keto Strawberry Cupcakes taste absolutely heavenly. They are filled with fresh berries and topped with a creamy sugar free strawberry frosting. Bursting with summer flavor!
Fresh local strawberries make me incredibly happy. I look forward to the season every year, and I haunt my farmer’s markets every weekend. And then I buy way too many because I simply can’t resist.
We love to eat them as is but I also get excited to bake with them. I simply adore desserts like Keto Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Lemon Blondies.
I have been dreaming of these keto strawberry cupcakes for a good few months now. But I wanted to wait until good local berries were in season because they have so much flavor. And they were totally with the wait.
Why you will love this recipe
These keto cupcakes are moist, perfectly sweet, and bursting with fresh berry flavor. I used the same basic batter as my Chocolate Chip Keto Muffins, because sour cream makes almond flour cake so unbelievably tender.
I’ve had trouble making keto strawberry frosting before, as it often ends up too goopy unless you use copious amounts of powdered sweetener. So I tried a different approach this time and cooked the strawberry puree down to thicken it up.
This method has the added advantage of concentrating the flavor too. So you get even more bang for your buck.
Ingredients you need
For the cupcakes
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- Strawberries: Chop the berries finely so that you get good distribution throughout the cupcake batter.
- Almond flour: Good fine almond flour works best here. I tried some with coconut flour and it just wasn’t as good. The berries made the cupcakes too wet and hard to cook through.
- Sour cream: You can also sub full fat Greek Yogurt.
- Eggs: I used one full egg and two egg whites to make the batter even fluffier.
- Sweetener: You can use sweetener here but it’s important to point out that allulose will make the cupcakes brown too quickly. I used Swerve Granular.
- Protein powder: I use unflavored whey protein isolate to help the cakes rise properly and hold their shape.
- Pantry staples: Baking powder, salt, vanilla.
For the frosting
- Strawberries: Chop the strawberries, the measure out a cup and puree them.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter for the frosting, and then add just a pinch of salt to help bring out flavor.
- Cream cheese: Softened cream cheese helps give the frosting some structure without adding insane amounts of sweetener.
- Whipping cream: Whip the cream to stiff peaks for more volume in the frosting.
- Vanilla extract: You can also add a bit of strawberry extract to really amp up the flavor.
Step by Step Directions
1. Make the strawberry puree: Blend the strawberries in a blender until smooth. Place in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring very frequently, until reduced by about half. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare the cupcake batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg, egg whites, and vanilla extract. Add the sweetener and whisk until well combined. Add the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and stir until well mixed.
3. Bake the cupcakes: Carefully fold in the chopped strawberries. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffins cups. Bake at 350ºF 18 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
4. Combine the frosting ingredients: In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until very smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener and salt until well combined, then beat in the strawberry puree.
5. Fold in the whipped cream: In another bowl, beat the whipped cream with the vanilla extract until it holds stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the frosting until no streaks remain.
6. Frost the cupcakes: Pipe or spread on the cooled cupcakes and top each with a fresh strawberry.
Expert Tips
Use silicone or parchment liners ONLY. See the pretty gingham ones I used in some of these photos? They stuck to the cupcakes badly, even though they were greaseproof! Thankfully, I baked some of them in silicone as well.
Use fresh, firm berries for the cupcakes and chop them finely. Overly juicy berries make the batter more wet and harder to bake through. And frozen strawberries leak much more juice than fresh berries.
And yes, you can make mini cupcakes too! They are great for parties. You will get about 36 mini cupcakes from this recipe.
Sweetener Options
I don’t recommend using an allulose sweetener for the cupcakes, as it can make them overly brown. But you can use almost any other sweetener, as they don’t rely on it for consistency.
For the frosting, any good powdered sweetener should be fine. You can add more sweetener to taste, but don’t cut back too much on it as the keto strawberry frosting does rely on it for structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
As with any fruit, it’s best to consume strawberries in moderation on a keto diet. A cup of strawberry halves have 11.7g of carbs and 3g of fiber. I recommend sticking with half a cup or less.
These keto strawberry cupcakes have 7.2g of carbs and 2.6g of fiber per serving. That’s a net carb count of 4.6g of carbs per cupcake with frosting.
These keto cupcakes should be stored in the fridge in a covered container to maintain freshness and consistency. They will last up to 5 days. Allow them to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes or so before serving.
You can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes for up to 2 months.
Other delicious cupcake recipes
Keto Chocolate Cupcakes
These Keto Chocolate Cupcakes are going to blow your mind. You won’t believe that anything made with coconut flour can be this tender and delicious. The perfect sugar-free and gluten-free cupcake recipe!
Keto Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
These Keto Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes are like the best part of the pumpkin pie. All creamy pumpkin pie filling and sweet whipped cream topping! A perfect low carb dessert for your healthy holidays. And only 5g total carbs per serving!
Keto Turtle Cupcakes
Keto Turtle Cupcakes feature tender pecan flour chocolate cake with sugar-free caramel frosting and toasted pecans. Heavenly low carb and grain-free dessert for pecan turtle lovers!
Keto Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
Strawberry Puree
- 1 cup (144 g) chopped strawberries
Cupcakes
- 1/3 cup (76.67 g) sour cream
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg whites
- 3/4 tsp (0.75 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (91 g) Swerve Granular
- 2 cups (220 g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (27 g) unflavored whey protein powder, can sub egg white protein
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) salt
- 1 cup (144 g) finely chopped strawberries
Strawberry Frosting
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened
- 3 ounces (85.05 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup (144 g) Swerve Confectioners
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) salt
- Strawberry Puree , (see above)
- 1/3 cup (78.86 ml) whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) vanilla extract
Instructions
Strawberry Puree
- Blend the strawberries in a blender until smooth. Place in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
- Cook, stirring very frequently, until reduced by about half. Let cool completely.
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a standard metal muffin pan with 12 parchment paper liners. You can also use silicone liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, egg, egg whites, and vanilla extract. Add the sweetener and whisk until well combined. Add the almond flour, protein powder, baking powder, and salt and stir until well mixed.
- Carefully fold in the chopped strawberries. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffins cups. Bake 18 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool in the pan.
Strawberry Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until very smooth. Beat in the powdered sweetener and salt until well combined, then beat in the strawberry puree.
- In another bowl, beat the whipped cream with the vanilla extract until it holds stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the frosting until no streaks remain.
- Pipe or spread on the cooled cupcakes and top each with a fresh strawberry.
Nutrition
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Absolutely delicious! So fresh-tasting and scrumptious!
Hi! Unless I missed it, I’m wondering about substituting coconut cream (top part/fat like cream in canned coconut milk). I love all your recipes (minus seafood ones with the exception of fish).
Thank you!
I am not sure what part you wanted to sub it for?
My daughter asked for this for her birthday, could this recipe be made into a cake and how long would it be baked for if it was in 2 – 8″ round pans? Or would you recommend a different recipe altogether? She fell in love with the idea of strawberries in the cake and in the frosting…
You probably can but you will need to keep your eye on them.
Another delicious recipe! Mine were not the prettiest specimens, but tasted great. They did not have a smooth top and didn’t look completely cooked. But a clean toothpick and past history of not listening to Carolyn’s warning to not overcook lead me to remove them in time. They are very moist and a fantastic way to use up some berries
Hi,
This looks great however I am allergic to both the milk proteins, Casein and Whey. Can I use pea protein or some other type of veg protein instead?
Plant based protein often has a grayish or greenish appearance. As long as you are okay with that! 🙂 You can also use egg white protein powder.
Most heavenly and crowd pleaser!
Hey, thank you for the recipe! Do you think I could use vegan protein blend (rice protein 65%, peas protein 25%, hemp protein 10%)? It’s low carb (0.9 g pro 100 g).
These are some of the best keto cupcakes/muffins I have made. Thank you, Carolyn for such fabulous recipes
Delicious! Wish I could post a picture!
Well they took a while to make and lots of dishes etc to wash but man were they worth it! Freaking amazing! Thank you so much!
All I have on hand is salted Kerrygold butter. How should I adjust the salt in the frosting recipe since it calls for unsalted butter.
I made the strawberry cupcakes they r awesome I did make them w no frosting which I prefer thank you
Delicious! Easy to make, turned out great. Moist but with good structure. I didn’t make the frosting, but instead just used some whipped cream and it was like strawberry shortcake. Will definitely make them again.
Very nice! I was thinking that they could easily be muffins, without the frosting! 🙂
Carolyn, I love love all your recipes! I really don’t need any other keto source. Please don’t stop making and sharing your fantastic talents. I tell everyone about you and your amazing recipes! Thank you so much
Thank you so much! <3
Hi,
I read the tips and the other info concerning the ingredients, but I didn’t see any comments as to whether the whey protein can be substituted with a different protein powder (like collegan protein powder) I assume it can’t since it isn’t mentioned. I just want to make sure.
Thank you,
Joyce Guy
Egg white protein works but not collagen… it tends to make almond flour baked goods very gummy.