Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing
We all know that chocolate and peanut butter are best friends, but usually eating any combination of the two will send you into a major sugar coma. Consider the Reese’s Peanut Cup which has 22 grams of sugar in just one pack! Well stay calm, because the PB Chocolate combo can definitely be enjoyed with a little help from Team ChipMonk. Today we’re unveiling a decadent chocolate cupcake recipe plus PEANUT BUTTER icing. Made with a blend of almond flour and coconut flour, they’re perfectly moist and get an amazing sweetness from our AlluMonk allulose + monk fruit sweetener blend. If you’re looking to wow your family or office with some desserts that pack the flavor without the sugar, then read on!
RECIPE: Low Carb Chocolate Chip CUPCAKES WITH Peanut Butter FROSTING
(LOW SUGAR, LOW CARB, GLUTEN FREE, KETO Friendly, DIABETIC FRIENDLY, ALMOND + COCONUT FLOUR, ALLULOSE + MONK FRUIT)
SERVINGS: 16 CUPCAKES (300 CALORIES, 5G NET CARB EACH)
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
BAKE TIME: 25 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 40 MINUTES
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE Chocolate CUPCAKES
- 1/3 cup (37g) Coconut flour (we used Walmart’s Great Value Organic Coconut Flour)
- 2/3 cup (75g) Blanched almond flour (we used Nature’s Eats Blanched Almond Flour)
- 1/4 cup (22g) Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (96g) AlluMonk Allulose & Monk Fruit Sweetener (Hoosier Hill Farms Allulose is also a viable choice if you want to skip the monk fruit; Lakanto’s Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol is another option)
- 1 teaspoon (5g) Baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (3g) Sea salt
- 3 large Eggs (150g)
- 3 Tablespoons (42g) Butter
- 2/3 cup (175g) Unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon (4.3g) Vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (90g) Unsweetened chocolate chips (we used Bake Believe Dark Chocolate Chips, but Lily’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips or Pascha 100% Cacao Chips could also work!)
FOR THE Peanut Butter FROSTING
- 1 cup (226g or two sticks) Butter
- 1 cup (245g) Creamy peanut butter with no sugar added (we used Laura Scudder’s from Walmart)
- 1 cups (192g) AlluMonk Allulose & Monk Fruit Sweetener (Hoosier Hill Farms Allulose is also a viable choice if you want to skip the monk fruit; Lakanto’s Monk Fruit Sweetener with Erythritol is another option)
- 1 teaspoon (4.3g) Vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (32g) Unsweetened almond milk
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C
- Line muffin pan(s) with paper cupcake liners. Because coconut flour tends to stick, grease the liners with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (coconut flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, baking powder, and salt)
- In a separate bowl, microwave the butter for 15-30 seconds to soften, but it should not be melted if possible. Stir in the eggs, unsweetened almond milk, and vanilla extract.
- Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients bowl and mix well (ideally with an electric blender)
- Using a large spoon, pour the batter evenly into the muffin cups
- Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool off for at least 15 minutes (they must not be warm when you ice them)
FOR THE FROSTING
- Use a food processor / blender to blend your sweetener to make it powdered (this allows it to mix in better with the shortening/butter)
- In a large bowl, microwave the butter for 15-30 seconds to soften, but it should not be melted if possible, Stir in the peanut butter and beat with an electric mixer until creamy and well-combined.
- Gradually, with mixer on low speed, add your powdered sweetener until completely combined. Make sure to scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a spatula so all ingredients are well-combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract and salt.
- With mixer on low-speed, add almond milk and stir until well-combined. Gradually increase speed to high and beat for 30 seconds.
- Spread or pipe frosting onto completely cooled cupcakes.
NOTES / TIPS
- Please note, Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener is approximately 90% erythritol by weight. As a sugar alcohol, erythritol can cause bloating and stomach upset if consumed in large amounts. You could consider using an alternative sugar-free sweetener like allulose or ChipMonk’s own blend: Allumonk (a blend of monk fruit and allulose). You can see our comparison chart of low carb sweeteners on our blog here: The Best Low Carb Sweeteners (A Visual Guide).
- Fill your muffin liners to the top (or almost). Almond flour and coconut flour don’t rise as much as wheat flour, so the muffin liners should be pretty full.
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Here’s the equipment we like to use at home for this recipe:
- Small personal blender to “powder” your sweetener
- Muffin pan: Wilton Non-Stick 12-Cup Muffin Pan
- Silicone Cupcake Liners
- Mixing bowls: Pyrex Smart Essentials 8-Piece Mixing Bowl Set
- Whisk: OXO Good Grips 11-Inch Better Balloon Whisk
- Stainless steel measuring cups/spoons and silicon spatula set
- Piping bag for icing
- Hamilton Beach 6-Speed Electric Hand Mixer
- 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.
- 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.
- These low carb cupcakes store very well. They’re fine on the counter for a few days, or in the fridge for about a week. If you want to store them for even longer, they are freezer friendly, too!
- This recipe work great for a cake as well! You can make a 9x13 sheet cake or a 2-layer round 8” or 8” cake instead
NUTRITION
When prepared via the above instructions, each cupcake has just 300 calories, 27g of fat, 5g net carbs, and just 1g of sugar. For comparison, the peanut butter chip cupcake from Sprinkles has 585 calories, more than 60g of carbs and nearly 50g of sugar!
Note: Net Carbs = Total Carbs - Dietary Fiber - Allulose / Sugar Alcohol.
USEFUL LINKS & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
If you loved this recipe, check out our other recipes and baking guides on the ChipMonk blog
GUIDES
RECIPES:
- Recipe: Keto Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
- Recipe: Low Carb Keto Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Recipe: Keto & Gluten Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies
- Recipe: Zero Carb Keto Marshmallows Using Allulose
- Recipe: Low Carb Chocolate Whoopie Pies
- Recipe: Keto Carrot Cake Whoopie Pies
- Recipe: Low-Carb Matcha Green Tea Coconut Cookie
- Recipe: Keto Chocolate Orange Cookie
- Recipe: Low-Carb Keto Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Icing
- Recipe: “LeMonk” Low Carb Lemon Vegan Cookies
- World’s Easiest Meal Prep: Salsa Chicken
- High Protein, Low Carb Meal Prep: Turkey Bowls
LOW CARB SWEETENERS:
- AlluMonk (Allulose + Monk Fruit Sweetener)
- Learn more about Allulose and Monk Fruit (our low carb, natural alternatives to sugar)
Let us know what you think! Leave a comment or shoot us an email at info@chipmonkbaking.com