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 soda 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.]
Fluffy sugar-free lemon cupcakes topped with whipped cream cheese frosting make the perfect low carb keto dessert.
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 3/4 cup heavy cream (6 oz)
- 1/4 cup Sukrin Icing Sugar (or Swerve Confectioners)
- 2 ounces cream cheese, soft
- 2 ounces butter, soft
- 1/3 cup Sukrin :1 (or Swerve Granulated)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp LorAnn Lemon Oil
- zest from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Coconut Flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs (cold)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
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.
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Heidi says
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.
Kim says
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
angie says
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.
Kim says
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
Angie says
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!
Kim says
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
Kim says
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
Brandy says
Are lemon oil and lemon emulsion the same thing? I only saw that brand in a lemon emulsion. TIA
Kim says
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
Mari says
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.
Kim says
Hi Mary. Thanks so much for bringing your comment over from Facebook. I’m glad you liked the recipe. Have a wonderful week! -Kim
Jill says
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!!
Kim says
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
Jill says
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.
Kim says
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
Jill says
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
Kim says
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
Shea says
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!
Kim says
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
Kat says
Would lemon extract work in place of lemon oil?
Kim says
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
Carrie says
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!!
Kim says
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
Pamela says
Could you use a ice cream/cookie scoop to put the batter into the cupcake liners instead of piping them?
Kim says
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
Sara says
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.
Kim says
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
Wendy says
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!
Kim says
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