Fluffy sugar-free cupcakes bursting with lemon flavor and topped with whipped cream cheese frosting make my low carb dessert dreams come true. If you follow a keto diet you’ll love this cupcake recipe.
Lemon is one of my favorite flavors – EVER! Not only is it delicious on it’s own, but it enhances so many dishes by brightening the overall flavor. The juice contributes tremendous tang while the rind is full of potent citrus oils. Using both in combination packs a great lemony punch.
I use fresh lemon in many savory low carb recipes on the blog like pork picatta, lemon rosemary chicken wings, or Moroccan chicken. My favorite recipes which include lemon are low carb desserts! Low carb lemon bars are a favorite followed by lemon curd which is good on everything from low carb cake to lemon curd pie.
The lemony flavor in these sugar-free cupcakes is awesome. The acid from the lemon juice reacts with the baking powder providing a nice rise and the lemon zest helps strengthen the lemon flavor. But to make these lemon cupcakes really stand out, I added LorAnn Lemon Oil. This is an extremely concentrated product which has superior flavor. It’s much better than lemon extract.
The texture of these sugar-free cupcakes is almost like the real thing. No one would believe they were eating a low carb cupcake. And the whipped cream cheese frosting compliments the cupcakes very nicely. You could add some lemon oil to the cream cheese frosting if you want, but I didn’t and they were fine. Want to know how good these were? My son had four while my husband and I were lucky to get one each!
Sugar-free Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are 4 net carbs each.
[Recipe and post contain affiliate links.]
Sugar-free Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (6 oz)
- 1/4 cup low carb powdered sugar
Sugar-free Lemon Cupcakes
- 2 ounces cream cheese, soft
- 2 ounces butter, soft
- 1/3 cup low carb sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp LorAnn Lemon Oil
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs (cold)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Cream Cheese Frosting: (A stand mixer works best, but a hand mixer works, too.) Whip the cream cheese to loosen it. Add the powdered sweetener and whip. Adding the heavy cream a little at a time, mix until incorporated, then whip until the frosting is stiff and fluffy. Use right away or cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Preparation: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Position the rack to the middle of the oven. Zest and juice the lemon. Line a 6 well muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a small bowl whisk the coconut flour, baking powder, and salt together to break-up any lumps. Add the lemon juice to the heavy cream.
- Method: In a medium bowl beat the first 6 cupcakes ingredients until light and fluffy (1-2 minutes). Add one egg and beat into the butter mixture until the mixture is light and fluffy (it may break or separate, it’s okay). Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until completely incorporated, making sure to keep that light, fluffy texture. Keep in mind that we want a light and fluffy - almost mousse-like texture throughout this process.
- Add another egg and beat until fully combined. Add half of the remaining dry ingredients, beating again. Add the last egg, beating until fully incorporated, followed by the last of the dry ingredients. Finish by adding the heavy cream, beating until the batter is thick, but still light and fluffy.
- Spoon the thick batter into a plastic zip-loc bag and snip off a corner, producing about a 3/4-1 inch hole. Place the snipped corner into a muffin liner and squeeze the batter into a fat, rounded mound, filling the muffin liner about 3/4 full. Repeat for each muffin liner, adding any remaining batter to those that need a little more. Knock down any peaks with your finger. Lift the pan a few inches off the counter and let it drop.
- Bake: Place the pan into the oven. Turn the oven up to 400° degrees for 5 minutes. Then, turn the oven back to 350° and bake the lemon cupcakes for 15-20 minutes more. They’re ready when they feel firm when lightly pressed with a finger, but still sound moist. Remove from the oven and let cool five minutes before gently removing from the pan and placing on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Frost: Cut the tip off of a quart size zip-loc bag and insert a large open-star tip. Spoon the cream cheese frosting into the bag and twist the bag above the frosting. Starting on the outside edge of the cupcake, squeeze the frosting in a spiral making it smaller in diameter while piping. If it's not perfect, scrape the frosting off and add it back to the bag.
- Keep the lemon cupcakes covered and refrigerated for 5-7 days. Makes 6 very generously frosted cupcakes.
Notes
Nutrition
Sugar-free Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Hey! I thought this recipe had such a great taste ** I just added more lemon juice**! But I thought the texture was very stodgy and pastey. The only other thing was the frosting was very liquidy for me and adding more solids didn’t help very much. I enjoyed the recipe besides those minor details-Thanks!
Hi Olivia. I glad you sorta kinda liked the cupcakes. Lol. I have never heard anyone complain that they are stodgy. They should be nice and light, especially with the coconut flour. I’m not sure what happened with the whipped cream cheese frosting. It should have been the consistency of stiff whipped cream. You can’t add more cold cream cheese after whipping or you will have lumps. You have to start with whipping the cold cream cheese and gradually adding the cold heavy cream until it almost doubles in volume. I wonder what sweetener you used? An erythritol based sweetener will keep the frosting nice and cold as it melts but I have no idea what a sweetener like Allulose or even plain stevia would do. Anyway, thanks for your comments and sharing your experience with the recipe. Have a nice weekend. -Kim
Can I sub the coconut flour for almond?
Hi Alexus, this recipe was developed specifically for coconut flour, which is extremely absorbent while almond flour is not. I don’t have any cupcake recipes which use only almond flour, however I do have a great sheet cake recipe which can be flavored with lemon. I hope this helps. -Kim
I made this in a mini muffin tin. Very lemony. I will experiment with adding a bit of liquid stevia to the batter next time, I think it could use a little more sweetness for my taste! But still wonderful as is:)
I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe, Erin, and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. Have a nice day. -Kim
I’ve made these 3 times, so far. First time, I didn’t have lemon oil, but did have LorAnn’s lemon bakery emulsion. Not as lemony as I like. Next time I did use lemon oil, still not as lemony as I like. The third time I doubled the zest, lemon oil and lemon juice. Now it is lemony enough for me. I also added lemon oil and zest to the frosting. Did I say I love lemon? Thanks for the recipe.
Made them for my birthday exactly as recipe called for, I did add vanilla to frosting though. These have kept great for 5 days!!! I did not frost them until I was ready to serve them to keep them fresh. Super amazing taste and texture.
These are delicious! Mine came out with more of a muffin texture, but I think I overcooked them a bit. The frosting is a dessert in itself! Absolute keeper. Thank you for sharing it.
It says 1/4 c of heavy cream. Is that a 1/4 c in the icing, and for the cake,too? I know it calls for heavy cream in both but wasn’t sure if it was the same amount in both.
Thanks!!
Yes, Kelsey. It’s 3/4 cups to make the whipped cream frosting and 1/4 cup in the batter for the cupcakes. Enjoy! -Kim
This was the first keto friendly dessert I’ve made that actually tasted good! Thank you so much for rescuing me during my sweet tooth days!
Hi Kim. I have a question rather than a comment. In your recipe for lemon cupcakes, you say that Swerve can be substituted instead of Sukrin. Is it 1 cup of Swerve to 1/4 cup Sukrin? I wanted to make sure because this recipe looks absolutely delicious and I want to try it. Thank you.
Hi Lori. I’m sorry I didn’t get to you earlier, I was visiting my folks last week and traveling this weekend. You can use the same amount of Swerve. They are both 1:1 sugar substitutes. Enjoy the recipe. -Kim
This is SO good! I doubled the recipe but made it without the frosting (I blame laziness.. lol) and it was still absolutely yummy. I didn’t have any lemon oil so I used 1 teaspoon lemon extract and the juice of two whole lemons, and that seemed to do the trick. For my sweetener I used Erythritol plus 1/4 teaspoon each of powdered Stevia and monk fruit sweetener, and I also upped the liquid Stevia to 60 drops to suit my husband’s palate. The baking times are spot on, mine took 20 minutes at 175 C after the first 5 minutes at 200 C, and they turned out moist, tender, not eggy at all, and exceedingly moreish. Thank you so much for another fantastic recipe!
PS. For someone who was asking, without the frosting each cupcake ends up at approximately 217 kcal, 5.1g total carbs, 2g fibre, 3.2g net carbs, 5.8g protein, and 19.3g fat.
Thanks for sharing how you made this recipe your own, Anu. Also, thanks for calculating the recipe with out the frosting. I’m happy you liked it! Have a great week. -Kim
I have made several attempts at low carb baking, but this is the first recipe that I consider a success. My husband who is not doing Keto also loves them. The only thing I did differently than your recipe was add a tsp of Xanthan gum to the batter. They turned out perfect. They had a good texture and tastes really good.
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Tammy. Having your husband enjoy them too is a bonus! Thanks for taking the time to come back to let me know. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. -Kim
I made your chocolate zucchini muffins and they were great. First low carb baked good I’ve made that was edible. I’ve found I detest things made with almond flour for some reason. I wonder, could this recipe be adapted to remove the lemon, add in a little cocoa and red food coloring to make a red velvet cupcake. Thanks for your recipes!
Hi Mandy. I have found that coconut flour and cocoa powder work similarly. I would sub 2 tbsp of the coconut flour with cocoa powder and add an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder. So, remove 2 tbsp of coconut flour and add 3 tbsp of cocoa powder. BUT MAKE SURE TO SIFT the cocoa powder before use in any recipe. It tends to compact during shipping and most people don’t sift it once getting home. It’s very important. I haven’t tested this recipe we just made up on the spot, but this is the first way I would try it if I were testing it. Good luck! -Kim
Thank you Kim! I’m going to give it a go!
These look so good! How do you calculate the nutrition facts?
Hi Helena. For most of the recipes (the years 2014-2018), I used the program MasterCook. I am now using Fatsecret.com (my favorite food tracking site) because it’s free and I feel more accurate. You have to be careful how you add ingredients to any calculator, however. I weigh my ingredients (ounces and in grams) and always enter raw weights. I find that this gives me the most accurate carb counts. I am human, though, and I do make mistakes. -Kim
These are super moist and yummy! It needed lemon in the icing though for more flavour. Great recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing!
I absolutely cannot believe how good these are. Wonderful recipe!
These cupcakes were delicious, especially the frosting. My first real dessert being on the keto plan. I brought them to a dinner party as dessert and everyone enjoyed them. I didn’t have the lemon oil so I used just a little more lemon juice. While you could taste lemon, I plan to use lemon oil the next time for stronger lemon flavor.
In re-reading your description, you mention that the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda providing a nice rise, but the ingredients list baking “powder”. Can you clarify which to use. Thanks!
Hi Ruth. I’m so glad you like the cupcakes. Regarding your question on “baking powder” that was a mistake. I will go back and fix it. Thank you for alerting me to the confusion. Have a wonderful day! -Kim
Good evening Kim! I’m still seeing Baking Powder on the ingredients list. Is it supposed to be baking powder or baking soda?
Hi Jennifer. It’s supposed to be baking powder. I changed all of the mentions of leavening to baking powder (I think!). -Kim
Kim, if you were close by, I’d hug your neck. The Lemon cupcakes were the finishing touch to our white chicken Enchiladas. I’m so thankful I happened upon your web page. I’m 4 weeks into a keto diet, and was beginning to wonder if all recipes were “blah”…. you proved me wrong. I’m an avid fan of yours!
THANK YOU!!!!
I’m so glad you liked them, Karen. Food should never be boring! lol. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. -Kim
How much calories with these cupcakes how much less calories would these cupcakes ave without the frosting?
I sorry I don’t have those numbers, Michelle. -Kim
These are perfect! I made them to take to a friends house as a dessert to her dinner. They are not keto but I was hoping they would like them. They loved them! Even said they looked like they were from a bakery. I made dehydrated lemon zest and took this opportunity to sprinkle a bit on top of each one. They looked so pretty. I didn’t have any lemon oil so I used orange extract along with the lemon juice. Next time I will use lemon extract. Thank you for this recipe!
Came here to say Thank you for your website/blog, and specifically this recipe. Like you, I love anything lemon! I did not have lemon oil on hand, but had Flavorganics Lemon Extract. They came out wonderful. My husband who despises coconut, spotted it right away- for its texture. I realized, I did not use the specific brand you recommended. Is Bob’s Mill super fine And does not result in the tiny granules in the end product? Next time I will try to pulverize my coconut flour. But even with the grainy texture, I loved the cupcakes! Oh, and mine turned eight, not six…had to stretch the frosting a tad.Thank you, again!
Hi Sasha. I’m glad you like the cupcakes. Yes, Bob’s Red Mill is very finely ground as is Sukrin’s brand. I can get the Bob’s Red Mill in my grocery store. Next time make 6 and make a mug cake with the leftover batter. Thank you for your kind words and taking the time to leave a comment. -Kim
Hi, glad to find your website. Love it! Could I use lemon juice instead of lemon oil? It’s what I usually have. Thank you, Happy Thanksgiving (:
I haven’t tried it with the lemon juice, Holli. You would need to use more lemon juice to get the same taste and too much may adversely affect the recipe. You can try lemon extract, but I thought the lemon oil tasted better than the extract. Another option is to use some lemon juice, and then use more of the lemon zest. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! -Kim
I’m interested in your frosting. It’s very simple and I like that. I’m making a 3D birthday cake and need a frosting that can hold up to being colored and pipped. Does your frosting harden a bit?
Hi, Jennifer. No, it doesn’t crust, but because of the fat content it does get firm in the refrigerator. Depending on how warm your venue is, it should hold up to being out for a an hour or two if made with the xanthan gum. I would make a half batch and see how it holds up for you. Maybe adding a little meringue powder would help? I haven’t used meringue powder in 15 years or so, so I really don’t know. -Kim
Are these 6 larger cupcakes? Could I use a standard sized pan?
Thanks, love all of your recipes.
These are standard sized cupcakes, Peg. I haven’t tried the batter in a larger size cup so adjust cooking time. -Kim
Thanks Kim. I need a doz, so i will double.
I made these as written. They have a wonderful texture, but I didn’t care for the lemon oil so next time will leave it out. This is really a delicious recipe that can be modified for a variety of flavors. I made vanilla ones today.
Glad you like the recipe, Heidi. You are right, the basic recipe can be changed up many ways. Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your week. -Kim
Your website has great recipes, BUT the ads that continually pop up in the middle of the page are so annoying that I leave your site and go to another site that doesn’t have the crazy amount of ads that your blog does. You have continuous ads on the side and popping up at the bottom, AND popping up in the middle of the page. That is ridiculous and too much.
Hi Angie. Thank you for letting me know. What device are you using? I actually have my ads set at a lower level than most blogs, so I will have to take a look to see if anything has changed on my partner end. All of my recipes (except the most popular) have “jump to recipe” buttons you can utilize so you can get to the recipes faster. Thanks again for letting me know. Have a wonderful afternoon. -Kim
I use my laptop to look at recipes when I am cooking in the kitchen. When I use my phone to look at your website, there are not near as many ads as when I use my laptop. Thank you for looking into this matter!
Okay. So, it’s the laptop. You can get a Google extension that will block ads. I actually have to log in as a completely different person to check on the site from desk top/lap top. I have’t done that in a long time. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks again. -Kim
Hello again Angie. I’m assuming that you were on mobile. Just so you know, I have one ad at the bottom of the page from my ad network that you can hit the “x” on to close and the one that slides up behind it is for the newsletter. Those are the only two ads that pop up. If there are any more, then it a bad ad that snuck through the ad network. Again, I am sorry that you had a bad experience on the site. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week. -Kim
Are lemon oil and lemon emulsion the same thing? I only saw that brand in a lemon emulsion. TIA
No, Brandy. They are different. It’s on Amazon and it’s also called a candy flavoring. It’s super concentrated and has a wonderful flavor. I’m going to use it from now on in my desserts because it gives a true lemon flavor without that weird fake flavor from the lemon extract from the grocery store. I bought mine as part of a flavor pack that had tangerine, orange lemon, lime and grapefruit oils. They are teeny-tiny but I am very happy with them. -Kim
Just made these and they were so worth it. Believe me when I say they are good and easy to make. I have tried a lot of recipes and thrown a lot away. I did add a teaspoon of vanilla to the frosting. This recipe will be saved and made regularly.
Hi Mary. Thanks so much for bringing your comment over from Facebook. I’m glad you liked the recipe. Have a wonderful week! -Kim
The taste of the cupcakes were great I didn’t throw them out like you said ingredients are spendy. I just put a bit more frosting on them lol. I used swerve for the sweetener. I think you hit the nail on the head with the coconut flour being packed. That is probably where things went wrong. And over cooking. But the taste was great!! Thank you for all your recipes and for your help!!
Good Jill. I’m glad they weren’t so dry that they ended up in the trash! Lol. You’re welcome. Glad I could provide some ideas. -Kim
Thanks Kim. I made them and the tops turned out more like a drop biscuit. They were a bit dry but I think I over cooked them. I’m new to low carb and the baking process of it. Any suggestions on what I might of done or didn’t do. Thanks again. Great recipes and I enjoy trying most of them.
Hmmm. I’m sorry your cupcakes didn’t turn out. It makes me sad when a recipe doesn’t turn out for a reader. These ingredients are expensive. Don’t throw them out. You can always mix them with cream cheese and make cake pops. I do that with any recipe flop that tastes good…
I’m trying to think, Jill. The cupcakes should be nice and moist. Out of the refrigerator and cold, they will be firm because the fats will be cold, but closer to room temp, they should be nice. Make sure you don’t pack down the coconut flour before you add it and use cold eggs. Did you use an erythritol based sweetener like Sukrin or Swerve? Was the batter thick and mousse-like? Over baking will dry them out. The tops will be dome and then flatten as they cool, but the texture should be light, airy and moist. -Kim
Do you have to put these in a bag to put in muffin tin? Can you just spoon in like regular cupcakes? What would the sufferance be? Thanks
No, Jill, but the tops are smoother and it’s easier to get them into the muffin cups. If you have a scoop, that would work great, but I don’t have one. -Kim
Hi there! I’m just curious what the “:1” means in the ingredients list •1/3 cup Sukrin :1 (or Swerve Granulated)
I can’t wait to give these a try!
Great question, Shea. The “:1” means that that particular Sukrin product is a 1:1 sugar replacement. It is is made of erythritol with enough stevia to bump the sweetness to the same level as sugar. Enjoy the recipe. They are really good! Have a great week. -Kim
Would lemon extract work in place of lemon oil?
Kat, lemon oil tastes much nicer than lemon extract and has a truer flavor. I tried the recipe with lemon extract first and did not like it as well. The Loran oils are very nice. -Kim
Just made these this weekend. Couldn’t find any icing sugar so I made a sugar free lemon mousse to top it with. They were delicious!! I did cook them a tad too long, though. But now I know for next time!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Carrie, I love how topped the cupcakes with lemon mousse! Wow! I BET that was delicious. Thanks for sharing and commenting. Have a great week. -Kim
Could you use a ice cream/cookie scoop to put the batter into the cupcake liners instead of piping them?
Hi, Pamela. I don’t have a scoop so the plastic bag with big hole works great. Sure, try the scoop. Please let me know how it worked. -Kim
They came out delicious! My family knew they were sugar free (because I’m the one that made them), but they couldn’t believe they were gluten free.
Awesome, Sara! Thanks for letting me know that you and your family enjoyed the cupcakes. I hope you enjoyed your Mother’s Day. Have a great week. -Kim
These look yummy!!! Have you ever tried them with almond flour instead of coconut? I mean, I know I’d have to make adjustments, just wondering if you knew how they’d come out.
Happy early Mother’s Day to you!
Thank you, Wendy! No, I haven’t made a cupcake in all almond flour yet just because they tend to be a little heavier. It’s on my list, though. I would still use a traditional cake method of creaming the ingredients to get a lighter texture and adding a little whey protein powder or oat fiber 500 would help lighten the texture, too. I hope this helps. Have a wonderful week! -Kim