The Best Keto Vanilla Cupcakes

Delicious classic vanilla cupcakes with a light texture and a creamy buttercream frosting. As always, these keto cupcakes are low-carb and gluten-free.

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 tbsp flaxmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 6 eggs, large
• 2/3 cup erythritol sweetener, like Swerve
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp heavy cream, you can add another tbsp if your batter is too thick

For the buttercream:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sweetener, like Swerve confectioner's. (Start with 1/4 cup, and you can add more to taste.)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp heavy cream, add heavy cream if your frosting is too thick

Instructions:

For the cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. Because coconut flour tends to stick, grease the liners with nonstick spray.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, sweetener, salt, vanilla, and eggs. Add the cream, and whisk until smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the coconut flour, almond flour, flax meal (or xanthan gum) and baking powder. Break up any lumps. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir to combine. The batter will be thick, but scoopable. If your batter seems too thick, add another tbsp or so of cream to thin it out.
5. Evenly divide the batter among the liners, filling each 3/4 full.
6. Bake the cupcakes for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
7. Remove the cupcakes from the oven, and let them cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. Carefully — they will be fragile — turn them out of the pan onto a rack. Let the cupcakes cool completely.
8. Once cool, frost the cupcakes

For the frosting:

Using a stand or handheld mixer, beat the softened butter, vanilla, and sweetener together until creamy.

1. If your frosting seems too thick, add a bit of heavy cream -- one tbsp at a time -- to thin it out.

NOTES:

• With the ingredients I used, these cupcakes came out to be 130 cal and 1 net carb each.
• I encourage you to input the nutrition facts of the specific brands you use for the most accurate tracking.
• You can substitute 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum for the flax meal, if you prefer.

TIPS FOR BETTER KETO CUPCAKES

I know that keto baking can be a bit tricky. As with other keto baked goods, here are some tips for low-carb baking success:

• Make sure that your ingredients — especially eggs and butter — are at room temperature before beginning. If you need to bring eggs to room temperature quickly, you can place them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes.
• Use fresh baking powder. Baking powder makes these cupcakes rise — so you want to double check that your baking powder is active. To test if your baking powder is still active, place a teaspoon of baking powder in a bowl and pour 1/4 cup of boiling water over it. It should bubble up right away. If it does, it’s still good.
• Cupcakes made with coconut flour can stick to paper liners. To prevent this, you can grease the liners with non-stick spray before filling them with batter.
• Keep an eye on these cupcakes while baking — coconut flour tends to get really brown, really fast.
• Check on it the cupcakes intermittently, and remove them from the oven once a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
• Let the cupcakes cool completely before eating, especially if you will be frosting them.
• You can store these cupcakes in Tupperware at room temperature for a couples days — but honestly, they’ve never lasted that long at my house!