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There’s something about lemon cake that makes it feel a little less ‘naughty’ than other cakes. Which is just as well, as these low-carb cupcakes are a crowd pleaser that you’ll find it hard to stop at one! The outside is slightly crisp, with a light, moist filling.
These cupcakes feel a little rustic to me, so I like to serve them with a blob of sugar-free frosting rather than piping it on, but if you’d prefer something a bit fancier you might want to double the frosting ingredient amounts to give you enough to work with.
Recipe Tips
Note that these muffins are more on the dense side. If you prefer fluffier muffins, add 1-2 tsp of baking powder and 2-3 large eggs. Keep in mind that this will also result in more muffins or bigger muffins.
Hands-on Overall
Serving size cupcake
Nutritional values (per cupcake)
Net carbs4.4 grams
Protein8.4 grams
Fat24.9 grams
Calories271 kcal
Calories from carbs 6%, protein 12%, fat 82%
Total carbs7.2 gramsFiber2.8 gramsSugars3 gramsSaturated fat7.9 gramsSodium77 mg(3% RDA)Magnesium75 mg(19% RDA)Potassium234 mg(12% EMR)
Ingredients (makes 12 cupcakes)
Muffins:
Frosting:
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve or Erythritol (40 g/ 1.4 oz)
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
- 3 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temperature (50 g/ 1.8 oz)
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (60 ml/ 2 fl oz)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (15 ml)
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 °C/ 320 °F (conventional), or 140 °C/ 285 °F (fan assisted). In a large bowl, combine almond meal, Swerve, poppy seeds and baking powder. Mix well.
- In anther bowl, whisk the eggs with the butter, yogurt and lemon juice. Add to the dry ingredients and the lemon zest and stir to combine, or use a hand mixer to process until well combined.
- Divide the mixture across a 12-capacity muffin tin (about 65 g/ 2.3 oz each). Bake 20 - 25 mins. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, use either a hand held or stand mixer to beat the butter, cream cheese and cream together.
- Add the powdered Swerve and lemon juice, and continue beating another 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add a scoop of the frosting to each cupcake, then sprinkle with the remaining poppy seeds.
- Enjoy immediately or store up to 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge.
- To make the cupcakes fancier with more frosting, simply double the ingredients for the frosting and decorate using a piping bag. To make these cupcakes fluffier, see recipe tips above.
Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes
Step by Step
Ingredients
- 3 cups almond flour (300 g/ 10.6 oz)
- 3/4 cup granulated Swerve or Erythritol (150 g/ 5.3 oz)
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- zest of 1 lemon
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp sugar-free vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp melted butter (30 ml)
- 1/2 cup Greek full-fat yoghurt (125 g/ 4.4 oz)
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve or Erythritol (40 g/ 1.4 oz)
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (100 g/ 3.5 oz)
- 3 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temperature (50 g/ 1.8 oz)
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (60 ml/ 2 fl oz)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (15 ml)
- 2 tsp poppy seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160 °C/ 320 °F (conventional), or 140 °C/ 285 °F (fan assisted). In a large bowl, combine almond meal, Swerve, poppy seeds and baking powder. Mix well.
- In anther bowl, whisk the eggs with the butter, yogurt and lemon juice. Add to the dry ingredients and the lemon zest and stir to combine, or use a hand mixer to process until well combined.
- Divide the mixture across a 12-capacity muffin tin (about 65 g/ 2.3 oz each). Bake 20 - 25 mins. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, use either a hand held or stand mixer to beat the butter, cream cheese and cream together.
- Add the powdered Swerve and lemon juice, and continue beating another 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add a scoop of the frosting to each cupcake, then sprinkle with the remaining poppy seeds.
- Enjoy immediately or store up to 5 days in a sealed container in the fridge.
- To make the cupcakes fancier with more frosting, simply double the ingredients for the frosting and decorate using a piping bag. To make these cupcakes fluffier, see recipe tips above.
Nutrition (per cupcake)
Calories271kcal
Net Carbs4.4g
Carbohydrates7.2g
Protein8.4g
Fat24.9g
Saturated Fat7.9g
Fiber2.8g
Sugar3g
Sodium77mg
Magnesium75mg
Potassium234mg
Detailed nutritional breakdown (per cupcake)
| Total per cupcake |
| 4.4 g | 8.4 g | 24.9 g | 271 kcal |
| Almond flour (blanched ground almonds, almond meal) |
| 2.2 g | 5.4 g | 13.1 g | 148 kcal |
| Swerve, natural sweetener (Erythritol and chicory inulin based) |
| 0.6 g | 0 g | 0 g | 3 kcal |
| Poppy seed, spices |
| 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 0.3 g | 4 kcal |
| Baking powder, gluten-free |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Egg, whole, fresh, raw (free-range or organic eggs) |
| 0.1 g | 1 g | 0.8 g | 12 kcal |
| Lemon zest (peel), fresh |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Lemon juice, fresh |
| 0.3 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Vanilla extract, sugar-free, alcohol-based |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Butter, unsalted, grass-fed |
| 0 g | 0 g | 1.9 g | 17 kcal |
| Yogurt, plain (full-fat, Greek style, 5% fat) |
| 0.4 g | 0.9 g | 0.5 g | 10 kcal |
| Swerve, natural sweetener (Erythritol and chicory inulin based) |
| 0.2 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 kcal |
| Cream cheese, soft (full-fat) |
| 0.3 g | 0.7 g | 2.8 g | 25 kcal |
| Butter, unsalted, grass-fed |
| 0 g | 0 g | 3.4 g | 30 kcal |
| Lemon juice, fresh |
| 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Poppy seed, spices |
| 0 g | 0.1 g | 0.2 g | 2 kcal |
| Cream, heavy whipping, pouring, full-fat (30-40% fat) |
| 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 1.9 g | 18 kcal |
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