Going low-sugar doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice a satisfying sweet treat for your birthday or any occasion. These vanilla cupcakes have classic Funfetti flavor without the sugar or carbs. Made with coconut flour and grain-free NuTrail Birthday Cake granola, these treats are ready for any celebration.
HOW TO MAKE LOW-SUGAR BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES
You don’t need any special ingredients or techniques to make these light, fluffy cupcakes and buttercream frosting. How do you make low-sugar, low-carb cupcakes? With a few simple ingredients swaps.
First, instead of regular flour, you’ll use coconut flour, which has a rich, nutty flavor and soft, spongy texture so your cupcakes stay light and airy, not dense or chewy.
You can use any low-sugar sweetener you like for these cupcakes. However, your best bet is to use a granulated sweetener, rather than a liquid one. This helps beat more air into the butter for cupcakes that rise well in the oven.
And instead of rainbow sprinkles, these cupcakes get crunch, color and texture from grain-free granola. Our limited-time Birthday Cake granola is the perfect enhancement for your cupcakes, but any of our nutty granolas will be delicious in these treats.
HOW TO KNOW WHEN THE CUPCAKES ARE DONE
The cupcakes are finished baking when they’re mostly set in the center. Don’t worry if they’re still a bit soft, since they’ll continue to cook for 10 minutes out of the oven.
LOW-CARB BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
While the cupcakes cool, whip up a simple four-ingredient buttercream frosting.
For the frosting, it’s best to use a powdered keto sweetener. The fine, powdery texture dissolves better. Using granulated sweetener will give your frosting a grainy, heavy texture.
When making the frosting, start with one tablespoon of heavy cream. Then, if the texture is thicker than you’d like, add more cream, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired texture. It should be smooth, light and pipeable.
DECORATING THE CUPCAKES
You can use a piping bag and a start tip if you like to frost your cupcakes. Or keep things simple and smear on your buttercream with a butter knife or an offset spatula.
The most important decoration, of course, is a generous sprinkling of NuTrail Birthday Cake Granola on top. This adds extra crunchy, sweet birthday cake flavor and a low-carb topping that’s way more interesting than rainbow sprinkles.
Whether you make these adorable low-carb cupcakes for a birthday party, a regular Tuesday night, or any other occasion, they’re guaranteed to impress and satisfy. They’re every bit as moist, tender and sweet as the birthday cake you might expect, with a hidden secret: they’re entirely low-carb, low-sugar and keto-friendly!
LOW-SUGAR BIRTHDAY CAKE CUPCAKES
Serves: 12
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
CUPCAKES
¾ cup coconut flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sweetener of choice
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 large eggs
2 tbsp buttermilk
½ cup NuTrail Birthday Cake Granola
FROSTING
½ cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
¼ cup powdered Swerve or other powdered sweetener
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream, plus more as needed
NuTrail Birthday Cake Granola
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with muffin liners
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt
3. In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter and sweetener on medium speed until light and fluffy
4. Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition
5. Reduce the speed to low and add ⅓ of the dry ingredients, followed by 1 tbsp of the buttermilk, then ⅓ of the dry ingredients, the second tablespoon of buttermilk, and finish with the last ⅓ of the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, then fold in the granola.
6. Divide the batter between the cupcake liners, filling each about ¾ full. Push the batter down into the bottom of the cupcake liner.
7. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until set in the center.
8. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. To make the frosting, whisk together the butter, powdered sweetener, vanilla, and cream until light and fluffy. If your frosting is too thick, add heavy cream, 1 tbsp at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. For a sweeter or thicker frosting, add more sweetener, 1 tbsp at a time.
10. Once the cupcakes are fully cooled, frost them and sprinkle with more granola.
