Keto gingerbread cupcakes with a sugar-free salted caramel frosting - a finger-licking-good treat suitable for sugar free, gluten free and low carb diets.
Keto gingerbread muffins? Turned into cupcakes with lashings of salted caramel frosting? Ooooooh, yessssss. Im going for full-on decadence with this one.
First, the spices. Ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. Think of all those wonderful festive scents that will waft around your kitchen while they are in the oven!
And while the cupcakes taste wonderfully moist, soft and totally satisfying on their own with that extra kick the spices lend, the frosting turns it up another notch.
Salted caramel frosting! So addictive you could eat it with a spoon. I did, actually, under the pretence that I had to taste whether it was JUST RIGHT. Amazingly, it just kept getting righter. I did it for you, dear reader, in the name of recipe testing. My job does have its perks.
This is the best salted caramel frosting I've ever repeatedly tasted, and it made my day.
Plus, one entire gingerbread muffin plus frosting is only 2.8g net carbs!
Also try my classic vanilla flavoured keto cupcakes.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Almond flour and coconut flour. The combination gives a nice fluffy cupcake consistency. I used a super-fine almond flour. If you have ground almonds, increase by 1-2 tablespoons.
- Eggs. Should be room temperature for a better rise.
- Butter
- Sweeteners: Sukrin Fibre Syrup (or any other fiber syrup) and a brown sugar substitute such as Sukrin Gold. Read more on sweeteners below.
- Spices. I used ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Baking powder
For the frosting you'll need:
- Heavy cream
- Butter
- Fibre syrup and brown sugar substitute
- Salt
The salted caramel frosting is an adaptation of my popular 2 ingredient sugar free caramel sauce.
Basically, I've made it even naughtier and creamier by using butter and cream.
Katrin's Top Tip
For an even smoother frosting, powder the granulated sweetener before using.
Option to also add ½ teaspoon of molasses, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or a pinch of cloves.
Instructions
It's really simple to make keto gingerbread cupcakes. Here are the basic steps:
Step 1: In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend the unsalted butter, sweetener and sugar free syrup until creamy.
Step 2: Add the eggs and continue mixing until smooth and fluffy.
Step 3: Now add the dry ingredients - the flours, spices and baking powder - and blend until a smooth dough forms.
Step 4: Spoon the batter into a cupcake or muffin pan that you have lined with cupcake liners and bake!
Step 5: Now prepare the frosting: Heat the cream and the fibre syrup in a small pot. Let it bubble and stir regularly, until it reduces by half and thickens.
Step 6: Stir in the brown sugar replacement, add a pinch of salt and let the mixture cool. Once it is only lukewarm, whisk in the softened butter. Cool until ready to use.
Step 7: Let the muffins cool completely before you decorate with the caramel frosting.
Variations
Dairy-free: Use coconut oil instead of the butter. For the frosting, use coconut cream in place of the dairy cream and choose a vegan butter.
No frosting: You can make this recipe without the frosting - and voila, you've got yourself keto gingerbread muffins.
Recipe FAQs
I used a brown sugar alternative and a sugar free syrup in this recipe because I wanted to re-create the rich treacle/golden syrup taste regular gingerbread has.
Yes. For the cupcakes you can an additional 2-3 tablespoons granulated sweetener. Ideally use a brown sugar substitute. Consider adding a tablespoon of strong coffee or chai to get the wet / dry ratio right. For the frosting, it's possible to use just powdered sweetener. If you have only granulated, powder it at home in a food processor.
Xylitol and allulose both work. Just be aware that xylitol is toxic for dogs. I'd recommend going for a brown sugar substitute though - this could be a monk fruit sweetener blend or something like Swerve gold.
Sure! Use the frosting from my pumpkin bars.
Storage
Fridge: Store keto gingerbread muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: Option to freeze without the frosting for up to 3 months.
More Gingerbread Recipes
Here are more festive recipes with gingerbread flavor:
- Keto Gingerbread Cookies
- Keto Gingerbread Cake
- Keto Ginger Snaps
- Keto Cinnamon Stars (German Christmas Cookies)
- Low Carb Christmas Pudding
- Keto Sticky Toffee Pudding
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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Recipe
Keto Gingerbread Cupcakes (Sugar Free)
from Sugar Free LondonerNote: The servings slider only changes the first amount in each line and not any subsequent amounts. Please make your own calculations where necessary.
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 cup almond flour 100g
- ¼ cup coconut flour 30g
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened 114g
- ¼ cup Sukrin Fibre Syrup 65g
- ⅓ cup Sukrin Gold 65g
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the frosting:
- 6 tablespoon heavy cream 90g
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened 114g
- 4 tablespoon Sukrin Fibre Syrup 80g
- ⅓ cup Sukrin Gold 65g *** option to powder it in a food processor for a smoother frosting
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 175 Celsius / 350 Fahrenheit.
- In a food processor or with a blender, mix the butter, granulated sweetener and sugar free syrup.
- Add the eggs and blend.
- Add the dry ingredients and spices and blend until smooth.
- Fill the batter into a cupcake pan lined with parchment paper. My batter was quite thick - it softens as it heats. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out without crumbs sticking.
- To prepare the frosting, heat the cream with the fibre syrup in a small pot and let it bubble over a medium heat until it reduces by half - around 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in the brown sugar replacement, add a pinch of salt and let the mixture cool. Keep stirring from time to time.
- Once the caramel is only lukewarm, whisk it into the softened butter.
- Let the cupcakes cool completely before you decorate with the caramel frosting.
Paula Porter
Could I use Yacon Syrup instead of the Sukrin Fiber Syrup?
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, I think that would work.
Sasha
Delicious as always Katrin, thank you I really appreciate how I can count on you and your recipes
I'm just getting back on track after several months. I really appreciate how quick and easy it is to bring these together.
I'm wondering whether it would be a good idea to weigh out & store the dry ingredients in air tight containers for greater ease- what do you think? A big reason I fell (& rolled) off the low carb wagon is the constant cooking whilst working 45 hour weeks.
Katrin Nürnberger
Yes, that's a great idea. I think preparation is key. You could also make larger batches of goodies and store them in the freezer. I freeze all my bakes.
Suzanne
Absolutely the best keen on muffin recipe I’ve ever tried these are the bomb !! Thank you !!
Anisha
Hello 🙂 Would this work with erythritol gold? I noticed you haven’t mentioned if it’s a powdered sweetener you used for the frosting and wanted to double check if I use a granulated sweetener will it melt or does it have to be powdered? Also does the syrup need to be a fibre syrup or could you use any sugar free syrup? Thanks
Katrin Nürnberger
Hi, yes, you can definitely use golden erythritol. I made this recipe a while ago and you're right, it does not mention powdering it first. I don't think I did it, otherwise I would have mentioned it. All I remember is that it tasted good! However, if I made this recipe today I would definitely powdered the erythritol first. I have only tried this recipe with a fiber syrup so far. This is thicker than a regular sugar free syrup. My feeling is that you should be able to use a different (more liquid) sugar free syrup for the cake batter (or replace it with a little more brown erythritol). However, it may make the frosting more liquid than you like, so I'd leave it out there and use more erythritol instead.
Paqui
Maravilloso
Laura
Another lovely cupcake recipe thank you. Partner and son, both sugar lovers ,enjoyed them very much. I have a question if you don’t mind about powdered sweetener. I bought the 100% Erythritol one but I really don’t like it (no offence) is the sukrin blended one any better ? Or, if I had the right kind of blender could I make my own out of the sweeteners I prefer? I like natvia with a bit of sukrin gold to counter the tastes. Could something like that work as an icing sugar of sorts? Thanks very much, laura
Katrin Nürnberger
Of course, if you blend it into a powder you're good to go for icing. Sukrin has a good taste, as does Lakanto, if you can get hold of it.
Heather
I was looking at the Sukrin Gold products in your recipe and they both have barley malt extract..made here in the U.S. at Sukrin USA..so how is this gluten free? I know the UK has different standards as far as barley malt extract and labeling requirements, but that isn't the same here in the U.S. This product would be considered glutenated here in the U.S. Is there a truly gluten free alternative for these ingredients in your recipes?
Katrin
You could use another sugarfree syrup, for example the one by Lakanto.