These delicious keto churro cupcakes are moist and delicious with a cinnamon and vanilla cake and a cinnamon cream cheese frosting. You won't believe that they are low carb and gluten free!
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Churros are basically fried sticks of pasty dough. They are typically coated in a cinnamon sugar mix and they are delicious but about as far from low carb as you can get.
I've been on the quest for a great keto friendly churro for a while now and have continuously come up empty-handed. Plus, deep frying is a pain in the behind.
These cupcakes are a great compromise! They have all the same flavors but are easy to make while still being keto friendly and gluten-free!
Tips for making Churro Cupcakes:
- I don't like to take chances with removing these little gems from the cupcake pan so I almost always use paper liners. I also spray the inside of the liners with cooking spray.
- I have made this recipe with both Swerve and Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener. They both work fine but generally I prefer Monk Fruit as it doesn't seem to recrystallize when chilled the way that pure erythritol does.
- The cinnamon topping will stick to the cupcakes better if you dip them in the mixture when they are still warm. But don't worry if you forget, it will still work just fine.
- These cupcakes will keep for about a week in the fridge, assuming that they last that long of course! They can also be frozen for up to several months in a tightly sealed freezer safe container.
- I opted to pipe the frosting onto these cupcakes using a Star tip (Wilton tip 21) to keep with the churro theme, but you can frost these cupcakes any way you like.
Ingredient substitutions:
- Vanilla Protein Powder - The protein powder is simply for texture and is my not-so-secret weapon for keto and gluten-free cakes. I use Isopure since it has great macros, but any vanilla protein powder will work. If you don't have protein powder, substitute with about 1 ½ tablespoon of coconut flour or an additional ½ cup of almond flour.
- Butter - You can substitute Ghee or even coconut oil for the butter in the cake but you may be able to taste the coconut flavor in the cake. I'm not saying that's a bad thing though 😉
- Heavy Cream - Feel free to swap full-fat coconut milk for heavy cream.
Optional chocolate drizzle:
The only way to improve on a traditional churro is to dip it into chocolate and these churro cupcakes are no different. If you would like to make a chocolate drizzle, simply melt about ¼ cup of Lily's Chocolate with a tablespoon of butter.
Be sure to check out these other great recipes:
- Mexican Street Corn Salad | Keto
- Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes | Keto, Gluten Free
- Keto Snoball Cakes
- Low Carb Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
📖 Recipe
Churro Cupcakes | Keto, Gluten Free
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ¼ cup super fine almond flour
- ¼ cup low carb vanilla protein powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 8 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup Powdered Sweetener
- 4 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup Heavy Cream
For the frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoon butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ cup Powdered Sweetener
- 2-3 tablespoon Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
For Topping:
- ¼ cup Granular Sweetener
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners and/or spray with non-stick spray.
- In a medium bowl combine the almond flour, protein powder, salt, Cinnamon, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the butter, vanilla, sweetener, eggs and heavy cream using an electric mixer.
- Working in batches, add the dry ingredients in with the wet, mixing after each addition, until you have a smooth creamy batter.
- Distribute batter evenly between the muffin tins, filling each cupcake about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
For the Cinnamon Topping:
- When the cupcakes are cool enough to handle, but still slightly warm, combine the granular sweetener and cinnamon (for the topping) in a small bowl.
- One by one, remove the cupcakes from the pan and gently press the top of the cupcake into the cinnamon topping mixture. Set the cupcake aside to fully cool. Repeat this with all of the cupcakes.
For the frosting:
- In a medium bowl, combine the butter, vanilla and cream cheese using an electric mixer. Next, mix in the sweetener and cinnamon.
- Add 1 - 2 tablespoon of heavy cream until you get a smooth frosting like consistency.
- After the cupcakes have completely cooled, spread the frosting evenly between them. Then sprinkle the tops with any remaining cinnamon topping.
Notes
Be sure to read the entire post for tips, tricks, and help troubleshooting.
The nutrition information listed here is only an estimate and is simply provided as a courtesy. It nor any other information within this post should constitute medical or nutritional advice. Be sure to read all packaging and ingredient labels for potential allergens. Optional ingredients are not included unless otherwise specified.
Carrie says
I made these last night for my family. My son had no idea that they were sugar free and low carb. My mother-in-law especially enjoyed them. She rarely eats sweets due to her diabetes. She was astounded that they tasted so good. I was astounded not only by the taste, but also by how easy it was to make. Thank you!
cecilia mora says
excelent recipe ! we love it at my house !
Morgan Browning says
This is absolutely delicious! We changed our recipe to coconut flour instead and added another scoop of vanilla protein powder to it and omg divine!!! Thank you for this recipe!!😍
Sabra says
So glad it was a hit! Thanks for the great review Morgan 🙂
Meka Dempsey says
Hi there. I’ve been made this twice and am just unsure on how to get that “smooth creamy” consistency. Are all the liquid ingredients room temp? Thanks.
Sabra says
Hi Meka, are you referring to the cupcake batter or the frosting?
Rose says
Can I double the recipe for a 9x12 cake?
Sabra says
Hi Rose, that should work fine you may need to increase the baking time a little though.
Hanh says
I ordered Vanilla Isopure to come next week but only have unflavored isopure on hand at the moment. Do you think that would work if I add vanilla extract or powdered vanilla.
Sabra says
Hi Hanh! That swap should work perfectly 🙂 Enjoy!
Hanh Tran says
Thank you! Do you think vanilla extract would work or would it make the mixture too watery with the extract (a little shouldn’t hurt right?)
I had vanilla powder just need to find haha
Sabra says
I don't think such a small amount of liquid would bother it too much 🙂
Hanh says
In the cake mix, 8 Tbsp butter. Is it melted or softened?
Sabra says
Hi Hanh! Either would be fine. Hope that helps 🙂
Rachel says
Made these for my type 1 diabetic coworker and she loved them!! Thank you for this!
Courtney says
Hi! These look delicious! I am going to make these Gluten Free...is the powdered sweetner = to powdered sugar for non-keto? And for the vanilla protien powder can I sub with vanilla pudding powder? Thanks!