Sugar Free No Flour Chocolate Cupcakes

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We're back on the low carb wagon, have been for a few days now. As always, this puts us into a different mode, food wise.

That said, it's not really difficult once you set your mind to it, and the huge selection of great food available is always a treat.

As usually happens after a short while, I go into sweets withdrawal, which means it's time to get out the old recipe book. Well, not really the old recipe book, because tonight, I'm looking for something brand new.

I always start this search with almond meal, also called almond flour. Not as fine as wheat flour, but it sure adds a lot to the flavor.

I haven't been baking for a while since when we're off low carb, I tend to just buy from whatever bakery is available. Once I get back into the habit, it seems to get easier. Tonight, I made a HUGE mess in my tiny kitchen. The good thing about my small kitchen is that even when it looks like a bomb has gone off, it cleans up in a snap.

I love living in the motorhome.

I think it's worth mentioning here that I frequently bake (and cook) in the motorhome. A lot of people ask about how it's done, but once you get used to only having the kitchen implements you really need, it becomes quite easy. I have very few kitchen appliances. After years of having at least one of everything ever made for the kitchen, I find I'm quite happy with just a good quality stick blender (make sure it's powerful enough to meet your needs) and a good selection of knives.

Now, on to the cupcakes.

This recipe comes from the CDKitchen. The original recipe can be found here, but in case you hate clicking links, here's the ingredients.

2 cups almond flour
1 cup Splenda or other heatable sugar substitute
6 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons baking powder
5 tablespoons cocoa powder

I'm not including their frosting recipe, because, to my way of thinking, it's a bit carby. And, you know what? I like my own frosting much better. My frosting includes some cream cheese, a bit of butter, a hit of vanilla and some Splenda. On occasion, I add other flavorings, sometimes nuts, whatever strikes my fancy at the time. It's my go-to frosting recipe and it always get raves. But back to the cupcakes.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
Whip egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff.
In separate bowl, cream butter with egg yolks until light yellow and fluffy.
Add vanilla and sugar substitute, beat until mixed.
Fold about 1/3 of the whipped egg whites into the butter mixture
Now add the whole thing to the whipped egg whites.
Fold lightly.
Add half of the almond flour and again, fold lightly.
Add remaining almond flour, baking powder and cocoa, fold thoroughly,
Be careful not to break down the whites.
Fill paper muffin cups in muffin tin about half full.

Bake at 325 degrees F about 15 - 20 minutes

Without frosting, these come to a mere 4 carbs each (2 grams of fiber, so only 2 grams of usable carbs). Add whatever you use for frosting (they would also be great with fresh whipped cream) and they are still a nice low carb treat.

I really liked these, they weren't too sweet and they weren't too chocolate-y.

Terry, who is not a chocolate fan at all, thought they tasted a bit like something you'd buy at a health food store (the kiss of death from my Hunny Bunny). I believe what he didn't like was the chocolate. I used an unsweetened cocoa powder, which I found a bit bitter, but it didn't ruin them for me.

I would make these again, but will most likely try the recipe without the cocoa powder, maybe use an orange flavoring, or maybe add a banana. What I really appreciated was the texture, they were quite light.

One thing I'd like to mention. I know a lot of people aren't on board with the low carb way of eating. I'm in the camp that this is a very individual decision, since every person's body and metabolism is different. Terry is borderline diabetic and our Doctor has suggested this as a way for us to control his blood sugar, so we're going to follow our Doctor's orders.