Keto Key Lime Cupcakes
Bake your way to Low-Carb bliss with these scrumptious Keto Key Lime Cupcakes!
Who knew that lime and cream would make such a beautiful duo? I certainly never would have guessed. In my youth, I was always puzzled by things like key lime pies and citrus creamsicles– that is, of course, until I tried them.
I think for a time my great devotion to chocolate prevented me from exploring other flavors. Thank goodness for the gentle persuasion of family and friends, or my recipes would be sorely lacking in some crucial, classic pairings! And…I must admit that sometimes there is indeed life beyond chocolate! 😉
These delectable cupcakes are a bit tart, yet the coconut milk or dairy (both options are in the recipe below), balance the citrus and offer a lovely delicateness in flavor. I can’t wait for you to take a bite, they are a true treat–perfect for the summer weather and they make a lovely alternative to traditional vanilla or chocolate birthday cupcakes.
Plus there isn’t much prepping involved, these can be made and ready to serve within an hour’s time.
Tips:
- Make double sure your oven is preheated before baking, I can’t tell you the amount of times it’s slipped our minds–it makes a big difference!
- Adding lime zest to the cream cheese frosting gives extra zing, as does grating additional zest over top after piping.
- If you prefer lemon to lime, you can absolutely swap them out one-for-one in the recipe and I think orange could also work well here.
- Edible flowers like purple pansies can be a lovely accompaniment to these cupcakes if you want some added flair for a special occasion.
- These are delicious served right after you finish frosting the cooled cupcakes, but they are also really yummy if they’ve been chilled in the fridge overnight. Something about the cold just makes the citrus flavor pop.
- Occasionally we like to wrap a ribbon around one of these cupcake containers when giving these as gifts to friends. The separate compartments keep the icing tidy so all of your hard work doesn’t go to waste.
If You Enjoyed These Cupcakes, You Might Also Love Our:
•Low-Carb Lemon Blueberry Bread
•Magic Keto Birthday Cupcakes
Enjoy The Recipe, Happy Baking!
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Keto Key Lime Cupcakes
- Total Time: about 40 min
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
*4.4 net carbs per cupcake
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2.5 cups almond flour (Bob’s Red Mill)
- 2/3 cup Swerve Confectioner Sweetener
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (Hain brand is grain-free)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon gelatin
- zest of 3 limes
- 2Â eggs
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp coconut milk (or half + half, cream)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (or oil of choice)
- 3 tablespoons key lime juice (or regular lime juice)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Go ahead and get out a long sheet of aluminum foil that spans the entire length of the cupcake pan plus an additional inch. Set aside for later.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, Swerve, baking powder, baking soda and gelatin. Add lime zest overtop and whisk together again until evenly combined.
- Add your eggs, milk, olive oil, lime juice and apple cider vinegar and blend together with whisk until combined well and batter is smooth.
- Pour batter into muffin liners just a touch over 1/2 of the way full, no more. (If you have any extra batter you can bake an additional cupcake in an extra cupcake pan or using the same pan after these have cooled.) Place your pan into a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 14 minutes, then gently rotate the pan 180 degrees and place your piece of foil very lightly over the cupcakes. We create a little dome with the foil. Then bake for an additional 12 minutes. (Make sure to use a timer). The foil will keep the cupcakes from over-browning.
- After baking, take the pan out of the oven and let your cupcakes COOL COMPLETELY before removing from the pan. We like to place the pan in the freezer to cool for about 20-25 minutes, works beautifully.
- While you’re waiting for the cupcakes to cool, go ahead and mix together your frosting: With a hand mixer, blend together your softened cream cheese and butter. (It will become smooth once you blend in the Swerve). Â
- Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes, serve and enjoy!! Store any leftovers in an airtight container and place in refrigerator. (These cupcakes are excellent chilled). See Tips in post above for additional recommendations.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 26 min
- Category: Low-Carb
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Cupcakes
What a beautiful way to enjoy limes. These cupcakes make the perfect summertime treat! And I agree, sometimes we need to step away from the chocolate (although it is hard) and enjoy those zesty citrus flavors.
Haha, yes, but it’s so hard to!! 😉 And thank you my friend, I love a good citrus cupcake.
I’m a sucker when it comes to cupcakes! These cupcakes are are absolutely beautiful and delicious looking. Excited to try them!!
Awww thank you dear Natalie! 😀 I’m such a sucker for them too, the frosting is just too hard to resist.
These look so delicious! Something about refreshing lime sounds perfect during the summer months for a cake. Thank you!
You’re so kind, thank you Jennifer! I feel the same way, I just love citrus cakes in the summer, especially when they’re chilled! 😀
These cupcakes look absolutely yummy to eat and they are beautiful too! I love key lime pie, so I know I would love these and I love to try new Keto desserts! Pinning for later! Thanks for the recipe Catherine!
Awww thank you so much Kim and for pinning, too!! 😀 I agree about key lime desserts, I look for any excuse I can to make them, spring or fall!
I love key lime pie, but I don’t love almond flour. I recently made some keto blueberry muffins with it and hated them so much that I threw them away. They looked beautiful, but tasted horrible to me. All I could taste was almond flour even though they were full of blueberries. Are there any alternative substitutes that could be used either in place of, or in conjunction with, all of that almond flour to have a different taste and smoother texture?
Hi! Thanks for your question. I love almond flour with the right ratio to other ingredients. But I know what you mean, I’ve definitely had an experience where all that I tasted was the almond flour! That seems to be the case particularly if the recipe is hot and not cooled–the heat brings out the flavor, cooling it will render it more mild and allow the other flavors in the recipe to shine. For this recipe, I really do recommend using the almond flour and giving it a shot, making sure to cool and chill the cupcakes before eating. You could use cashew or hazelnut flour in it’s place here as well, but I do not at this time have a nut-free version of this recipe. I really hope this helps and hope you enjoy these if you should try them, they really are scrumptious.
Hi Catherine,
I am about to try out your recipe as I love tarty desserts. Thank you so much for sharing this.
Can I use heavy cream or whipping cream instead of half and half? Do I need to lessen the recommended volume if so?
Thank you!
Hi Chris, we want to apologize for our very belated reply, we totally missed this comment!! You can definitely use heavy whipping cream in this recipe instead of half and half, so sorry again we’re just now seeing this!