Celebrate zucchini season with this decadent keto chocolate zucchini cupcake! Of course no keto cupcake is complete without a mound of rich, creamy keto frosting, and this mocha frosting is the best I’ve ever made!
Holy lot of zucchini batman! It’s been a long and crazy week of zucchini-themed low carb recipes here on IBIH, and I’m wrapping up with a fantastic low carb cupcake made with pureed zucchini and an intensely chocolatey cocoa powder.
Adorning the top is a smooth and rich low carb mocha frosting that is to die for!
In fact I’d gladly eat this keto mocha frosting as a mousse with a couple of berries for garnish – when you try it you’ll know what I mean!
But let’s talk about the chocolate keto cupcake itself, which is where all that zucchini is hiding. It’s good.
REALLY. GOOD. For reals.
Fluffy and super rich, it has everything you want in a great keto cupcake! It’s not only tender and *cringes* …moist (ugh I hate that word but it’s the only one that applies here,) it is SO very chocolatey in the best possible way!
A note that as with all chocolate desserts, especially sugar free and keto ones where there is less to hide behind, it’s very important to use a good quality cocoa powder.
I prefer a “dutch processed” cocoa (or a blend of dutch and natural) because it tends not to be bitter – this is the one I used, which you can find in a lot of grocery stores.
I highly recommend it, but if you can’t find it then at least use a cocoa powder labeled “premium” even if it costs a few dollars more than the usual brands. You won’t regret it!
As in the keto Sun-Dried Tomato and Asiago Zucchini Bread that I posted yesterday, I pureed the zucchini into these keto zucchini muffins which gave it the lovely fluffy texture without chewy shreds of zucchini weighing down the cake.
I could go on and on about how delicious these keto chocolate zucchini cupcakes are – and they definitely taste incredible, but after posting four days in a row I’m sick of myself right now.
I’M. BORING. MYSELF. With myself. Ugh.
Meanwhile, why are you even STILL HERE? You should be making these keto chocolate zucchini cupcakes already!
Go on – beat it! SCAT.
Then report back ASAP, because YOUR words are never boring to me!
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes w/ Mocha Frosting – Low Carb
- Yield: 8 cupcakes 1x
Description
These delicious low carb Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting are rich and fluffy perfection! Gluten free and Keto friendly too!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 6 Tbsp butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup shredded zucchini, packed
- 1 cup almond flour
- 3 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar substitute (I used Swerve)
- 3 Tbsp premium cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
- 3 Tbsp Swerve Confectioners
- 1/4 tsp coffee extract
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp premium cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
To make the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F)
- Combine the wet ingredients (butter, eggs, vanilla extract, almond milk, zucchini) in a magic bullet or blender and blend for 20-30 seconds or until smooth.
- Combine the dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, xanthan gum) in a medium bowl and stir until mixed and there are no lumps.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the liquid is absorbed and a thick batter is formed.
- Spoon the batter evenly into 8 cupcake liners or greased tins.
- Bake at 350 degrees (F) for 22 minutes. Remove and cool before frosting.
To make the frosting:
- Combine the softened Mascarpone cheese, sweetener, coffee extract, vanilla extract, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and mix gently with a fork until smooth. (Don’t mix too aggressively or your Mascarpone will separate!)
- In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff.
- Mix 1/3 of the whipped cream gently into your mascarpone mixture until smooth.
- Fold (GENTLY) the Mascarpone mixture into the remaining whipped cream until all streaks of white are gone and the mixture is smooth but still fluffy.
- Spread or pipe onto your cooled cupcakes.
- Chill to store, but these are best served at room temperature.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite low carb products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page!
Approximate nutrition information per serving:
1 cupcake no frosting: 193 calories, 21g fat, 2.7g net carbs, 5g protein
1 cupcake with frosting: 318 calories, 33g fat, 3.5g net carbs, 7g protein
Note: I used organic heavy whipping cream which has no fillers and therefore only trace amounts of carbs. If you use regular, add about .5g net carbs per frosted cupcake.
- Category: Low Carb Dessert Recipe
- Cuisine: American
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Holly says
Super easy to make, great texture and looks lovely- however for me, it doesn’t have much flavor other than sweet. Like I’m eating the idea of a chocolate cupcake. Next time I will try adding some almond extract and frosting. Appreciate all your recipes!
★★★★
Terry Gillett says
It’s hot mid-summer 2021 here right now so I won’t be baking these cupcakes just yet (though it will be difficult to wait) or the cheesy keto zucchini bread (featured in today’s “Zucchini email from IBIH”).
I just wanted to attest that I laughed out loud (loudly) at the part where you wrote you were boring yourself. Cracked me right up, because I wasn’t expecting it!
Carry on! And thanks for all the amazing recipes.
DuA says
Did you squeeze the liquid of the zucchini?
Laura says
Wow! These are just amazing! I had to wait a week for all of my ingredients to finally get here, but it was definitely worth the wait. These were super “chocolaty” and moist. Definitely make the frosting, it’s incredible. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
★★★★★
Erin says
Any way to use coffee grounds instead of coffee extract to get the mocha taste? Excited to try these!!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sure as long as you strain them out well!
MOONYEAN C LEFEVRE says
I have been searching for a moist chocolate cake/cupcake that is low carb and this one “takes the cake” love the zucchini it the mix gives it moisture. Will have to modify the frosting for dairy free but that shouldn’t be too hard. LOVE Mellissa’s recipes.
Sarah B says
So, it snowed… a lot. Did you know that Asheville NC received all of its allotted snow for the year in just one storm? After building a whole snow family, the kids wanted cookies. I looked through my pantry and fridge and matched what I had to these cup cakes. I did not have mascarpone, so I made your cream cheese froststing.
All I can say is wow, the crumb is so tender, it’s what I have always loved about zucchini bread, the moistness. So, I made those yesterday and between the 4 of us…. there is only one left, hidden in the vegetable drawer for my breakfast.
Thank you Melissa
Lynn Ellis says
I just made these cupcakes and they are yummy. I’m still trying to decide whether to make the frosting or not. I just might because I love my sweets. I am so glad I’m finding all these recipes online. I was recently diagnosed with diabetes and have cut out all grains and sugar. These recipes make is so easy to follow and I’m coming along great. Thank you!!
Sara says
I made these tonight for my birthday as per the recipe – I’m following a lchf diet, and they turned out as illustrated and delicious. My 7 year old really enjoyed, as did our celiac friend. Thanks.