The best low carb vanilla cupcakes made with coconut flour. This keto grain-free dessert is sure to please.
My kids are incredibly fortunate little people, and this is never more apparent that in the fall and early winter, when the holidays are approaching and all three of my kids have birthdays. Simply put, there is an absolute glut of presents that come their way from our large and loving extended family. And the kids love it, of course. But as parents, it hits you a little…they get so much stuff when other kids have little to none. It leaves you feeling a little worried that your kids won’t learn gratitude and kindness, that they will become all too used to this influx of toys, clothes and other presents.
Last year, we decided to use their birthdays as an opportunity to teach them kindness and charity. We were hosting a combined birthday party for all three, but the idea of them getting even MORE stuff from their friends was a little distasteful to us. So we asked our extensive guest list not to bring presents for our kids, but instead bring a new and unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots. And I think many other parents were so delighted by the idea, they brought more than one item for the donation. We ended up with what amounted to a whole minivan’s worth of toys to donate (I know this, because I had to pack them all into our car!).
I know it was a little tough on my kids, seeing all the presents that weren’t for them. They asked several times if they could keep one, just one. But it was such a great way to open the discussion about kindness to strangers. We talked about how lucky they were to have a warm house, plenty of food and a loving family who bought them presents. We talked about other families who weren’t so lucky and who might not see any presents at Christmastime. It was all a little over the 3 year old’s head, but the older two really got it and enjoyed dropping the presents off at our local police department for Toys for Tots. I could see the delight on their faces when we filled the entire donation box with our collection.
This year, we aren’t hosting a large birthday gathering. But we intend to continue the tradition anyway, and have each of our kids pick out a toy or two to donate. And as they get older and more emotionally mature, I can only hope that these little lessons sink in and pave the way for greater kindnesses. And I hope to teach them day-to-day kindnesses too, not just holiday ones, because every little bit helps.
Vanilla Bean Coconut Flour Cupcakes and Teaching Children About Kindness
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 3/4 cup Swerve Sweetener or other erythritol
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 7 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp stevia extract
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered Swerve Sweetener or other powdered erythritol
- 6 to 8 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the cake, heat almond milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and use a sharp knife to scrape out seeds. Add seeds and bean to almond milk and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Remove vanilla bean.
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together coconut flour, sweetener, baking powder and salt. Break up any clumps with the back of a fork.
- Stir in eggs, melted butter and almond milk and stir vigorously. Stir in vanilla extract and stevia extract and continue to stir until mixture is smooth and well combined.
- Divide batter between prepared muffin cups and bake 20 to 30 minutes or until tops are set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
- For the frosting, beat butter until creamy. Add sweetener, 1/2 cup at a time, until well combined. Add 6 tbsp cream and beat until well combined. If frosting seems stiff, continue to add cream, 1 tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.
- Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Add seeds and vanilla extract to frosting and beat until combined.
- Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Can i use regular sugar and omit the stevia extract? Thanks.
Sure.
Great recipe 🙂 Only made half the recipe since I was weary of it being dry from using coconut flour and the batter looking odd comparing to normal cake flour batter but it tastes great and they are soft and moist. Unfortunately I didn’t have vanilla beans and just increased the extract. Will try the beans next time. Thanks Carolyn!
Doing half batches is always smart when you are afraid of wasting expensive ingredients. So glad they worked out!
Fantastic article! Thanks! I hear all the time from kids in stores, “I want that” and then a tantrum is thrown if it doesn’t happen. I’ve worked in schools and, while I did see care and generosity exhibited, more needs to be done to help kids see outside their lives to those who have next to nothing…or, really, nothing.
I made these last night, and they were a hit! I was impressed with the vanilla flavor and texture. Thank you!
I made these in a mini bundt pan. I was so pleasantly surprised bc anytime I’ve baked with coconut flour it was either too dry or fell apart. They came out of the pan easily, they maintained their shape. It was an easy recipe and so good. I froze the cakes (mostly bc I didn’t want to eat them all)…and this morning I took one out and am enjoying it with my coffee. BTW, I ran out of the ingredients to make the frosting so I found an nice cinnamon glaze recipe from Maria Emmerich. For the family, I sliced the cake, put a thin layer of cream cheese inside (didn’t make it like a sweet filling, maybe next time) and I drizzled the glaze over it. Thank you for this and your other wonderful recipes. I truly enjoy your blog. 🙂
Sounds like a great way to make them!
Looks like a great recipe and one I would really like to try, without the sprinkles, though, unless they are made with natural food colorings.
I have a couple of questions. I have never cooked with vanilla beans themselves. So when you remove the bean from the almond milk, do you also remove the seeds? And if so, could you use the seeds that steeped in the almond milk for the frosting?
Loved your story about donating to Toys for Tots. When my youngest was little we went to WalMart and picked out a child on the Salvation Army Christmas tree and shopped together for the gifts. We tried to pick a girl about the same age as my daughter.
No, you leave the seeds in the milk and add them to the batter. They are tiny so it’s not like you could get them out anyway.
The cupcakes look yummy!
And I totally agree that it is important to teach kids to help others at an early age!
=) Rikke
My dh is allergic to tree nuts like almonds but not coconut. Could I use coconut milk instead? heard to find LC recipes without almond flour.
Yes, you could use coconut milk. Or even coconut water. You don’t want the thick coconut cream.
You are not only an LC baking guru but a wonderful person too! I love your idea about Toys for Tots and working to instill kindness in your progeny. I did that via example and associated commentary but wish I had had an idea like yours too.
I love the kindness story. (And the cupcakes.)
How did you make the circle sprinkles????
I didn’t. Those are regular sprinkles, for my kids.
Hey Carolyn, just wondering if you have experienced foods being dry that are made with coconut flour? I love the stuff, it smells great, but whenever I use it the final product turns out extremely dry. I’ve heard that mayo helps with moisture in cakes.. do you think that I could add a little mayo to the batter to fix that problem? Honestly, you’re the genius, I’m clueless!
Mayo sounds like a great idea! Because it contains oil, it should help. I haven’t found my coconut flour recipes too dry at all…if anything, they can be overly moist. But mayo isn’t a bad addition to recipes that you find too dry.
I know this is a really old post, but use grated zucchini in coconut flour mixes for cakes and muffins. It keeps it really moist, doesn’t have a strong taste and is good for you. I’ve had no problems with it (as long as you add another egg or two to the recipe as you’ve already said.)
This might be a dumb question, but when you call for almond milk, it’s unsweetened right?
Yes, always unsweetened! 🙂
Can you tell us about how these taste?
They taste like vanilla cupcakes. The cake is a little less sweet than typical vanilla cake. There is a hint of coconut, but not much.
These look amazing! Just one thing the ingredient list says coconut flour but the recipe details say almond flour.
Sorry! A typo I didn’t catch…it’s all coconut flour.
perfect timing! going to make these today for my bday!! thanks!