These Sugar Free Cupcakes are quick and easy to make all in one bowl in just 30 minutes. They’re naturally sweetened soft and light with hints of vanilla. So good you wouldn’t even know they are sugar free, and that cream cheese frosting is sweet, creamy and a little bit tangy. Perfect for morning tea’s, brunches, mothers day, and birthday parties.
What Makes These Cupcakes Special
- Lashings of sugar free cream cheese frosting
- They’re lower in calories because of the Monkfruit sweetener
- They more filling that regular cupcakes thanks to the Spelt Flour
- Only 7 basic ingredients to make the cupcakes
- Make them in one bowl, with less mess
- They freeze well
- They'll totally satisfy your sweet cravings!
- No weird after taste
Cupcake Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Sugar Substitutes: I'm a big fan of Monkfruit. It’s a granulated natural sweetener that measures just like sugar, and comes in white, golden and brown varieties, and for this sugar free vanilla cupcake recipe, I went with Lakanto Monkfruit White. There are several brands of monkfruit on the market, and alternatively you could also use granulated stevia as well.
- Milk: I used full fat milk for this recipe, however feel free to use whatever milk you prefer.
- Flour: Plain white flour can be used instead of White Spelt Flour. Equally you could wholemeal spelt flour, however this will make the cupcakes a little darker on the inside.
- Vanilla: Vanilla bean paste can be used in the same quantity instead of vanilla essence.
- Cream Cheese for frosting: leave it out of the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to soften up before making the frosting. The softer it is the easier it will be to make.
So you might be wondering if they taste the same as cupcakes made with regular sugar. The answer is that they are not quite as light as traditional cupcakes, but knowing that they are sugar free and on the healthier side more than makes up for it.
How To Make This Recipe
- Prep: Preheat fan oven to 180 degrees C (360 degrees F). Prepare 12 hole muffin tray with foil liners
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and baking powder with a whisk for a minute or two, until thoroughly combined.
- Add in Wet Ingredients: To the same bowl, add the granulated sweetener, eggs, vanilla essence, softened butter and milk. Use a spatula to fold in all the ingredients together, making sure there are no flour pockets.
- Fill Cupcake Liners: Spoon out the cake mixture evenly across all 12 cupcake liners, smoothing with back of a spoon where needed.
- Bake: Bake in a fan oven at 180 degrees C (360 degrees F) for 20 – 23 minutes. Let cupcakes come to room temperature before adding the frosting.
Frosting Ingredients
- Frosting: Mix frosting ingredients together (making sure butter is softened to room temperature first). Spread generously onto each cupcake.
I’ve always thought cupcakes were a little bit of an indulgence, and if I’m honest, a bit too much effort. Not these cupcakes though. They are a healthier version of a vanilla cupcake and have no added sugar. Instead they’re sweetened with Monkfruit which is a granulated sweetener that measures just like sugar.
In fact you can’t even tell there’s no sugar in them, they taste just as sweet but don’t come with all the calories of sugar. I love using monkfruit in my sugar free baking as its a one to one sugar replacement, its low GI, almost zero calorie, and keto friendly. Plus there’s no weird aftertaste.
Recipe Tips
- Spatula: A spatula definitely makes mixing the batter easier, allowing you to mix in all the flour pockets to get a batter that is evenly mixed through
- Cupcake Liners: I love using the foil liners as they are a bit sturdier than the paper ones. However if you only have paper ones, you can double them up.
- Muffin Trays: I used silicone muffin trays, however metal ones can be used as well and work the same, however do make sure to use the liners so the batter doesn’t stick
- Baking Powder: Make sure your baking powder is not old, or past its used by date as this will cause the cupcakes not to rise as much. To test your baking powder, add 1 teaspoon to a cup of boiling water. If it bubbles, its OK to use, if not, it’s lost its effectiveness. Fresh baking powder will give a nice lift and dome effect.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Be careful not to overmix the batter and this will make the cupcakes loose too much air and become dense during the baking process. Mix the batter together gently with the spatula until just combined.
- Eggs: whisk the eggs together in a separate bowl before adding to the dry ingredients. This reduces the amount of mixing that has to happen, which reduces the risk of over mixing and possibly making the cupcakes a little too dense.
How to Tun These Cupcakes into a Cake
- Which tin to use? I would recommend using an 8 inch springform tin, lined with baking paper/parchment paper on the bottom, and the sides of the tin greased with butter.
- How long to bake? Once you’ve made the batter, pour it into the cake tin, and bake at 180 degrees C (360 degrees F), for 35 to 40 minutes.
- How do I know its done? To test if cake is done, insert a cake skewer (or toothpick) into the centre. If it comes out clean, cake is cooked, if there is batter still on it, cook for another few minutes.
Sugar Free cupcakes are not difficult to make - even these Chocolate Earl Grey Cupcakes. They’re surprisingly easy once you know how. Made with pantry staples and a natural sweetener that measures like sugar, you can achieve a soft, light, moist and fluffy cupcake just like those ones you see in the shops.
The difference is that you know what goes into it when you make your own and you can totally replace the sugar for something healthier, whilst still retaining that sweet and delicate flavour of a traditional cupcake.
More Sugar Free Baking Recipes:
- Fudgy Sugar Free Chocolate Cake
- Sugar Free Chocolate Brownies
- Sugar Free Chocolate Date Cake
- Sugar Free Orange Cake
- Sugar Free Banana Bread
- All Sugar Free Baking Recipes
Sugar Free Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups White Spelt Flour
- ¾ cups Granulated sweetener that measures like sugar
- ¾ cup Unsalted butter, softened
- ¼ cup Milk
- 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
- 3 large Eggs - (room temperature)
Frosting
- ¾ cup Cream Cheese
- 3 tablespoons Powdered sugar sweetener
- 2 tablespoons Unsalted butter, - softened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat fan oven to180 degrees C (360 degrees F)
- Prepare 12 hole muffin tray with foil liners
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and baking powder with a whisk for a minute or two, until thoroughly combined.
- To the same bowl, add the granulated sweetener, eggs, vanilla essence, softened butter and milk. Use a spatula to fold in all the ingredients together, making sure there are no flour pockets.
- Spoon out the cake mixture evenly across all 12 cupcake liners, smoothing with back of a spoon where needed.
- Bake in a fan oven at 180 degrees C (360 degrees F) for 20 – 23 minutes.
- Let cupcakes come to room temperature before adding the frosting.
Frosting
- Mix all the frosting ingredients together in a bowl (making sure butter is softened to room temperature first – not microwaved as it will make frosting too runny)
- Use a dinner knife or spoon to spread generously onto cupcakes.
Notes
- Sweetener: I use Lakanto Monkfruit Classic sweetener in this recipe. It’s a granulated natural sweetener that measures just like sugar. You could use another brank of monkfruit if you cant find Lakanto, or granulated stevia as well.
- Milk: I used full fat milk for this recipe, however feel free to use whatever milk you prefer.
- Flour: Plain white flour can be used instead of White Spelt Flour. Equally you could wholemeal spelt flour, however this will make the cupcakes a little darker on the inside.
- Vanilla: Vanilla bean paste can be used in the same quantity instead of vanilla essence.
- Baking Powder: Make sure your baking powder is not old, or past its used by date as this will cause the cupcakes not to rise as much. To test your baking powder, add 1 teaspoon to a cup of boiling water. If it bubbles, its OK to use, if not, it’s lost its effectiveness. Fresh baking powder will give a nice lift and dome effect.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Be careful not to overmix the batter and this will make the cupcakes loose too much air and become dense during the baking process. Mix the batter together gently with the spatula until just combined.
- Storage: Keep frosted cupcakes covered in an air tight container in the fridge. They are best consumed within 2 – 3 days
- Freezing: You can freeze frosted cupcakes for upto 6 weeks. Let them defrost naturally when you’re ready to eat them.
Nutrition
Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners.
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