Foodie Fridays: Low Carb Chocolate Cupcakes with Key Lime Frosting

Ever since I drastically reduced the amount of carbohydrates I eat, I rarely consume cakes or cupcakes.  As far as I am concerned, these desserts are all about the frosting, and frosting contains way more sugar than I want in my diet on a regular basis.  However, I have had a can of key lime frosting sitting in my pantry for far too long, so I decided that St. Patrick's Day would be the perfect occasion to take a break from my diet and have a green-frosted cupcake!

I did want to keep the cake part of this dessert as low-carb as possible, so I played around with a recipe for a gluten-free chocolate cupcake made with almond flour I found in a mystery book I read not long ago.  The original recipe seemed way too dry to me, so I increased the number of eggs and added a little vegetable oil.  The resulting cupcake was perfect for my purposes.  It was quite moist but a bit more muffin-like and therefore not too crumby, so I had no trouble spreading on the frosting without getting crumbs in it.  I halved the recipe to make only six cupcakes, since it will only be my husband and myself eating them.  I just hope they last long enough to make it to St. Patrick's Day!

Low Carb Chocolate Cupcakes with Key Lime Frosting

1 C. blanched almond flour
2 T. cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 T. sugar (I used coconut sugar)
2 eggs
1 T. safflower oil (or any light vegetable oil)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 can (16 oz.) Pillsbury Key Lime Creamy Supreme Frosting

Combine the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, mix together the sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until thoroughly combined (the batter will be thick).  Line a 6-cup muffin tin with paper liners.  Scoop the batter evenly into the liners.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Let cool completely, then frost with the key lime frosting.  Serves 6.

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Here is the chocolate frosting option from the mystery novel if you cannot find the canned key lime frosting (I intend to play around with some low-carb frosting recipes in the near future to see if I can come up with a key lime version):

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

2/3 C. heavy cream
4 oz. dark chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

In a medium saucepan, bring the cream just to a boil and remove from the heat.  Stir in the chocolate until it is melted and smooth.  Stir in the vanilla and salt.  Cool the ganache at room temperature for five minutes, then chill in the fridge until it thickens and becomes shiny and spreadable (about 15-30 minutes).