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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Is the Swerve or erythritol in the cake granulated or powdered? Trying these as cake layer in a low carb chocolate and vanilla layer cake with mocha frosting for kiddo’s birthday. 🙂
Granulated. If I use powdered, I usually specify that.
These were excellent! Not just in a not-going-to-send-my-blood-sugar-into-the-stratosphere-and-give-me-a-migraine way, but delicious enough for feeding to my workmates.
Perceptibly coconut flavoured, but that’s a feature not a bug IMO.
I’m now musing over a trifle using these as a base. Maybe peaches and a vanilla custard …
Ok I’m beginning to feel like a failure!! Every recipe of yours that requires baking, I’ve messed up. I followed this recipe to the letter! I ended up with flat, dense hockey puck shaped cupcakes. I’m done! Not baking anymore low carb!
Well, why don’t you tell me a few things about it? Since I know it’s worked for most people, we can discuss it and maybe figure out what’s wrong. What brand of coconut flour and sweetener did you use?
I used Bobs Red Mill coconut flour, swerve sweetener. I’m guessing it’s the Bobs Red Mill! Or maybe my eggs were too big? Idk. No bake cheesecakes for me for now on!
Nope it’s not the Bob’s because that is the only coconut flour I use. Very strange, I can’t figure that one out! How about your baking powder…any chance it was old and had no rising power any more?
Yes that’s quite possible! I measured the last tbsp of the tin I had to make these. Good thing it’s gone now! Thanks for the brainstorming, I really appreciate it!
I can’t say for sure that’s it but it could be. I’ve used this recipe as the base for many other things and it’s never been dense and hockey-puck like so I think something you’re using has to be “off”.
So I know this is a cupcake recipe but any ideas on if this would be ok as an actual cake? If so, would it fill up a 8″ cake pan at all? Judging by it saying Serves 14 (guessing that means 14 cupcakes) I’d probably need to double the cake recipe to get enough to fill the pan. I was wanting to do a multi level cake and was trying to find something that would work thats keto friendly. Also, approx how much frosting does the recipe make? Just trying to decide if I need to double or quadruple it to make enough to cover a cake altogether.
I think it would make a great cake and I think that the batter would probably be enough as is for two 8-inch layers. But you would probably need to double the frosting at least!
I did it in a 9″ cake pan and it took about 15 minutes extra.
Did you grease the pans?
Can one use coconut milk instead of almond milk?
Probably but I haven’t tested it.
Do you think you could bake this as a cake? What do you think the times/pan size would be?
Yes you could. 2 8-inch rounds or 1 9×13. I can’t be sure of the baking time, though so bake for 15 to 20 and then check every few minutes after that.
Oh you are truly wonderful I cannot wait to make these! Because I am dairy free do you think I could swap coconut oil for the butter?
It would work for the cupcakes…not sure about the frosting!
These inspired some cupcakes I made these this week and blogged about them, giving you the credit you deserve. My daughter really liked them and I topped them with a whipped cream and goat cheese frosting and fresh raspberries. Yummy. Thank you very much. Here’s the recipe for that. http://wp.me/p4hG73-2l
has anyone tried this recipe using less egg yolks?
eg 2 eggs and 7 egg whites?
I certainly haven’t but I am sure it would work. The whites give structure to the end result.
These cupcakes were heavenly! Enjoyed them so much, going to make them for my mom’s birthday too. Thanks so much Carolyn for your work in these recipes. I had to change the recipe a little because of what I had on hand but they turned out good! I used vanilla extract instead and I did try regular milk and I increased the sweetener 1/4 more. I also used splenda just because that’s what I always have at my house but in the future I would like to try the swerve. I can’t wait to try more recipes. This was the first time I had cake in the longest time.
So glad you liked it!
So I am trying it out, it’s in the oven right now. I will let you know how it turns out. I also used coconut milk instead of almond milk because of nut allergies.
The cake was very dense. And perhaps it was my flour or using coconut milk instead of almond milk, but it didn’t taste like vanilla at all. It was coconut flavored, very strongly coconut flavored. It wasn’t dry, but it wasn’t a light fluffy cake either. It was closer to an undercooked cookie texture, IMO. It was not super sweet, but not all “regular” cakes are either. I noticed that not only did the coconut flour soak up the moisture like crazy, it also retained heat longer. I planned on an hour of cooling time, but it was still very warm to the touch after an hour at room temperature. So I stuck it in my freezer for 20 minutes, and that cooled it down enough for the icing (not this recipe) to not melt, but it was still warm. So if you have a very sensitive frosting and you are baking on a schedule, be warned. Even though it was not what I was hoping for, it was a sweet treat that was low carb to enjoy.
Would it work to use regular milk? And if you don’t use the stevia should you use more granulated sweetener? Love your websites, so many things to plan to make!
Im making some GF cupcakes for a baby shower and was wondering if I could sub coconut milk for the almond? Wanting more of a coconut/vanilla flavor cupcake. May need to reduce the coconut milk a little, maybe?
Sure, go ahead and use coconut milk. What type? The canned has more fat in it and may change the consistency a little. The carton kind is about the same as almond.
These coconut flour cupcakes look so yummy but I am a splenda lover, can I use splenda in your recipes instead of any of the other sweeteners? I was going to try. I am so happy to find your website.
You can use splenda in the cake, but I am afraid it won’t make a very good frosting!
Ha ha, I just made a batch and while they are yummy, were much more like muffins consistency than cupcakes. Then, I just read the comment where they read 1 tsp baking powder instead of 1 tbsp…and I did that same exact thing!!!! No wonder they are denser lol. I will definitely make them again, using the correct amount.
Hi Carolyn! I made these last night and they turned out moist and delicious! Thanks so much for the recipe! Noticed the recipe calls for 1 tbsp baking powder, which I thought was probably a typo and I used 1 tsp baking powder instead. Just thought I’d check. Thanks again! =)
Definitely 1 tbsp. Low carb and gluten-free things need much more leavening agent to help them rise properly. Yours might be a bit denser than mine were!