These paleo and keto almond flour chocolate cupcakes are gorgeous and perfect for any special occasion! They have a soft and tender crumb, a light texture, and an intense chocolate flavor.

If you have any kind of special occasion coming up, these paleo & keto almond flour chocolate cupcakes are perfect! They have a soft and tender crumb, are incredibly moist, and have an intensely rich chocolate flavor.

Jump to:

• 🍫 Natural, unsweetened cocoa powder vs. dutch processed cocoa powder 
• Why use both baking soda and baking powder
• Butter or oil
• The sweetener
• 🔪 Easy instructions
• 🧁 To bake
• Keto frosting
• Storage instructions
• 💭 Top tips
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🍫 Natural, unsweetened cocoa powder vs. dutch processed cocoa powder 

Natural cocoa powder is acidic and reacts with baking soda, while dutch processed cocoa powder is neutral and will not react with baking soda. Dutch-processed cocoa is usually called for when only using baking powder.

For this recipe, I use natural, unsweetened cocoa powder with baking soda for proper leavening. The homemade buttermilk is acidic too so it also reacts with the baking soda to give added moisture and rise. 

Why use both baking soda and baking powder

Since I'm using baking soda, buttermilk, and natural cocoa to leaven the cake you may wonder why I also use baking powder.

This is because baking powder gives added leavening and helps keep the cake from falling after an initial rise in the oven.

Butter or oil

For this recipe, I prefer to use grass-fed butter, even though the chocolate taste will easily overpower the butter flavor.

I prefer grass-fed butter because it not only produces a better texture, but it has many health benefits such as vitamin K-2 (which is good for your arteries!), healthy fats, and anti-inflammatory properties.

While I love avocado oil and it can be used in place of the butter, avocado oil will cause the cupcakes to be a bit heavier and denser so they might not rise as well.

The sweetener

*Update- I now recommend using xylitol or a monk fruit/allulose blend! They both have zero aftertastes and make the crumb extra soft! However, you can use an erythritol-based sweetener if you prefer.

For the sweetener, I recommend an erythritol-based keto sweetener.

I like to use a Monk Fruit Erythritol Blend because it has less of an aftertaste than pure erythritol and can easily be masked by the chocolate flavor. 

To see a full guide on how to pick the perfect sweetener, see my Ultimate Keto Sweetener Guide!

For Paleo, use coconut palm sugar.

*Note-As a special gift to my readers, I've teamed up with Besti Sweeteners to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.

🔪 Easy instructions

Start by setting out some milk or non-dairy milk on the counter with 1 tsp. of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar. This is basically a homemade buttermilk mixture.

Buttermilk helps achieve a moist crumb. It also reacts with baking soda to help them rise, so it's quite important!

Then, in a large mixing bowl whisk together some blanched almond flour, ground flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder.

If there are any clumps, use your fingers to break them up. Set aside.

Next, add the butter and the sweetener to a medium-sized pot and heat over low heat until butter is melted and most of the sweetener has dissolved.

Then, add the homemade buttermilk mixture, 2 Tbsp. of brewed coffee, and pure vanilla.

The brewed coffee will not make the cupcakes taste like coffee! It just enhances the chocolate flavor.

If you would rather, though, you can replace the coffee with additional non-dairy milk.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry then add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. 

🧁 To bake

Evenly distribute the batter between 12 muffin cups. The batter should barely fill the baking cups over halfway.

Do not over bake or the crumb will be dry - and no one wants dry cupcakes! They are done when a toothpick inserted into the center barely comes out clean. 

Keto frosting

Cool completely and frost with Keto Chocolate Frosting, Vanilla Keto Buttercream Frosting or Keto Cream Cheese Frosting.

Or if you prefer cake, be sure to check out my layered sugar-free keto chocolate cake recipe!

Storage instructions

These keto chocolate cupcakes can be stored, tightly covered, at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

They can also be frozen! To freeze, wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap then place them in a freezer-safe baggie in the freezer for 2 - 3 months.

When ready to eat, remove the wrapping and thaw at room temperature. Takes approximately 3 hours.

💭 Top tips

• Do not over bake, if you do, they will turn out dry! They are perfect when a toothpick inserted into the middle barely comes out clean.
• The recipe below is for 12 keto chocolate cupcakes. It can easily be doubled, though, to make 24 cupcakes.
• While oil can be used, I recommend using grass-fed butter. Grass-fed butter has many health benefits and produces the best texture. Oil is a bit heavier than butter so it will cause the cupcakes to sink.
• This recipe calls for natural, unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutch processed cocoa powder. Dutch-processed cocoa powder will not produce the same results.
• All ingredients must be room temperature. Cold ingredients prevent the flours from mixing properly and can interfere with how the cupcakes rise.

If you’ve tried these Keto Almond Flour Chocolate Cupcakes, please let me know in the comments below!

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📖 Recipe