These super fun Keto Chocolate Chip Cupcakes taste just like the cupcake form of a chocolate chip cookie! And topped with a sugar-free, dairy-free Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting? Swoon! You’ll definitely want to serve these healthy cupcakes at your next special celebration!
New to keto/low-carb desserts? Grab my FREE Guide to Alternative Sweeteners!

Your only daughter turns 13 once…

So, when she asks for chocolate chip cupcakes…

… Even though you know about chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip cookie cheesecake bars and chocolate chip pancakes…

But you’ve never heard of chocolate chip cupcakes…

By golly, you figure it out and make the 13-year-old chocolate chip cupcakes!

Furthermore, ever since my friend Emily posted her Chocolate-Raspberry Swirl Frosting and my friend Megan posted her Chocolate-Mint Swirl Frosting, I’ve really been aching to try my hand at swirly frosting. Because all the cool kids are doing it…

Keto Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting

Let’s talk about that swirly frosting real quick.

I’ll be the first to admit: I have a lot of kitchen skills and feel pretty confident using most kitchen tools… but I can’t pipe frosting to save my life.

Actually, I was so embarrassed by my frosting job that I *almost* didn’t share this recipe! Because food photography perfectionism is a real struggle, ya know?

I was considering re-making the cupcakes and frosting to see if I could do a better job since food photography is hard enough without having crappy frosting to take photos of!

But… I posted a video of these cupcakes on my Instagram Stories, and EVERYONE wanted the recipe with photos — crappy frosting and all! 😛

So, here you go! (By the way, you can see my Instagram Stories here.)

I’m hoping that you make and love this Keto Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting — even if your piping skills aren’t that great either. 😉

It has just 4 ingredients: palm shortening, Dietz Sweet (my own alternative sweetener blend), vanilla, and cacao powder.

First, whip together the palm shortening, sweetener, and vanilla until it’s light and fluffy — just the way frosting should be.

Next, transfer half of the frosting to a piping bag. Add cacao powder to the remaining frosting and mix until combined.

To create a swirl, put the chocolate frosting on one side of a piping bag and the vanilla on the other side. As you pipe, the frostings will come out together, creating a luscious swirl!

Swirly Frosting FAQs

Do I have to use palm shortening? No, you can use grass-fed butter, if you prefer. Just beware that the vanilla part of the frosting won’t be pure white and will be yellow-ish in color. If that doesn’t matter to you and you tolerate dairy, go with the butter!

Do I have to use Dietz Sweet? Again, nope! Dietz Sweet is my own low-carb/keto-friendly sweetener blend of erythritol and stevia that I use to replace sugar in recipes cup-for-cup. If you’re keto and have a favorite low-carb sweetener, use it. Trim Healthy Mamas may use THM’s Super Sweet if that’s what you have.

Here’s my recipe for Dietz Sweet.

If you’re unsure about alternative sweeteners and want more information before using them, make sure to download my Guide To Alternative Sweeteners right here!

Is the powdering the sweetener necessary? Well, if you don’t like crystallized bits of sweetener, it is. 😉 It’s really easy to powder low-carb sweeteners yourself. I use my coffee grinder when I need to powder 1/2 cup or less and my high-speed BlendTec to powder larger amounts. Simply add the sweetener and process until it’s a fine powder. Best to let the dust settle before taking the lid off your blender or coffee grinder!

I don’t have a piping bag. What do I do? My piping bag actually ripped during this project, so I don’t have one anymore either! I liked my reusable piping bag and tip set a lot because the bag could be washed and used over and over. However, after a year of use, the bag’s seam popped. The tips are still in great shape and work with zip-top bags, too! Just snip about 1/4″ corner off of a gallon-size zip-top bag. You can put a piping tip in the corner, if you like. Or, if you don’t have tips, just use the bag itself!

I’m not keto/low-carb/THM; can I use whole sweetener? Absolutely! Again, because of the pure white palm shortening, using any whole sweetener with color (like coconut sugar or maple syrup) is going to alter the color of the frosting. If you’re going to use a whole sweetener, I recommend coconut sugar because it’s going to have the least impact on the blood sugar while still providing some trace minerals. I only use this coconut sugar.

Keto Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Don’t tell my daughter… but I think cupcakes are nothing more than frosted muffins. And since our Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting is basically fat, well, these “cupcakes” are really breakfast. If breakfast = a muffin slathered in fat. (Can I get an amen??)

So, I actually took one of my grain-free, sugar-free muffin recipes and made a few ingredient swaps to come up with chocolate chip muffins ahem… cupcakes! 😉

The flour mixture is one of my all-time favorites for baking fluffy, light, not crumbly cakes and muffins: superfine blanched almond flour, grass-fed collagen, and a wee bit of coconut flour.

I use this combination in most of my cakey baked things, such as:

• these Keto White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins
• this Keto Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake recipe
• my Grain-Free Maple Carrot Cake
• most of the cakes in Sweet Without Sugar — my eCookbook of nourishing, allergy-friendly, keto/low-carb desserts, which is currently 40% off!

And, it doesn’t disappoint when creating the best cupcake-y texture for these Keto Chocolate Chip Cupcakes!

So, I think I can predict the next question you might have:

Do I have to use the collagen? In my opinion, yes. 🙂 Collagen adds lightness without adding a single carbohydrate to this recipe. Most paleo and grain-free baked goods rely on tapioca or arrowroot starches for lightness, so the nut flour/coconut flour isn’t too dense. Since those are super high-carb and not keto-friendly, collagen fills this role.

I use this grass-fed Collagen. <– Save 10% with my coupon code ALLTHETHINGS!

What is superfine blanched almond flour? Unlike most almond flours and almond meal, superfine blanched almond flour is the finest ground, closest-to-regular-flour-you’re-gonna-get-in-a-nut-flour flour. It is a very pale, almost white-brown color with no specks of almond skin. I cannot guarantee the best results if you’re using another type of almond flour/meal.

Since the skins of almonds contain the most phytic acid, there is less phytic acid in blanched almond flour.

This is the superfine blanched almond flour I use.

Make sure to check the Notes section of the recipe for more tips and substitutions! Are you ready to make these fun Keto Chocoalte Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting?!

My daughter and her friends certainly enjoyed these during her birthday sleepover! 🙂

5 from 2 votes

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Keto Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting

These super fun Keto Chocolate Chip Cupcakes taste just like the cupcake form of a chocolate chip cookie! And topped with a sugar-free, dairy-free Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting? Swoon! You'll definitely want to serve these healthy cupcakes at your next special celebration!

CourseDessert

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 27 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 7 minutes

Servings 12 cupcakes

Author Lindsey Dietz

Ingredients

For the Keto Chocolate Chip Cupcakes:

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2cuppalm shortening*
• 1/2cupDietz Sweet
• 1/4cupfull fat coconut milkor almond milk**
• 4pastured eggs
• 1teaspoonvanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

• 2-1/2cupssuperfine blanched almond flour
• 1/4cupgrass-fed collagensave 10% with discount code ALLTHETHINGS!
• 2tablespoonscoconut flour
• 1-1/2teaspoonbaking powder
• 1teaspoonbaking soda
• 1/2teaspoonsalt
• 1cupstevia-sweetened chocolate chips

For the Keto Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting:

• 2cupspalm shortening*
• 1/3cupDietz Sweet or other keto-friendly sweeteneror whole sweetener of choice, powdered***
• 2teaspoonsvanilla extract
• 4tablespoonscacao powder

Instructions

For the Keto Chocolate Chip Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a muffin tin with liners and set aside.
3. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients and set aside.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream together the shortening and sweetener.
5. Add the coconut milk (or dairy-free milk, see note) and vanilla.
6. Then, with the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to fully incorporate before adding the next.
7. When all the eggs are incorporated, add in half of the dry ingredients. Mix well, then add the other half, scraping down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
8. Divide the mixture evenly among 16 liners.
9. Bake 24 to 26 minutes, or until the tops are very golden brown.
10. Remove from the oven and carefully take each cupcake out of the tin and allow it to cool on a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

For the Keto Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Frosting:

1. First, powder your sweetener in a high-speed blender or coffee grinder, if you haven't already. Set aside.
2. Using the whisk attachment for your stand mixer or a hand mixer, whip palm shortening until light and fluffy (about 2 to 3 minutes).
3. Add the powdered sweetener and vanilla and keep whipping until smooth and fully incorporated.
4. Remove half of the frosting and transfer to a piping bag or zip-top bag with a hole cut in the corner.
5. To the remaining half of frosting, add cacao powder and mix until combined.
6. Then, add it to the piping bag or zip-top bag.
7. Squeeze the air out of the bag and pipe a bit onto a plate or the counter to get it going.
8. Frost the cupcakes.
9. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

*May use butter if dairy is tolerated. Beware: it will affect the color of the vanilla frosting.

**If you tolerate dairy, you may also use 1/4 cup heavy cream or sour cream instead of a dairy-free milk.

***Use a coffee grinder or blender to powder your sweetener.

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Speaking Of Sugar-Free/Keto Desserts…

My eBook Sweet Without Sugar is full of ’em! 🙂

Have you had to break up with sugar (and whole sweeteners) due to blood sugar imbalance, gut issues like candida, weight problems, or food allergies? Or, you know it’s time to end your love affair with sugar but the thought of going without sweets is killing you?

You love dessert…

But unfortunately, dessert doesn’t love you back. 🙁

What if…

• eating dessert no longer has to feel like a guilty pleasure?
• dessert isn’t just grain-free or gluten-free but totally sugar-free as well?
• dessert was a healthy part of a nourishing diet?
• you ate cheesecake, cookies, cobbler, pie, and more without upsetting your tummy?
• dessert didn’t spike your blood sugar or cause you to gain 5 pounds overnight?
• the sweets you eat didn’t contribute to gut dysbiosis?

Now, it IS possible!

As if making nourishing treats without sugar (or even maple syrup or honey) wasn’t enough, I wanted to make every bite count for nutrition, too. That’s why ingredients like pastured eggs, butter, cultured cream cheese, coconut oil, and Fair Trade cacao abound in recipes such as…

• Memaw’s Chocolate Pie
• Orange & Dark Chocolate Milano Tart
• Thin Mint Tart
• Chocolate Curd
• Orange-Vanilla Cake
• Cherry Ripple Cheesecake
• Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake
• Strawberry-Lemon Swiss Roll
• No-Peanut Butter Cookies
• Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
• Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream
• …and SO many more!

Learn more about Sweet Without Sugar — it’s currently 40% off!

More Keto-Friendly Desserts You’ll Love…

• Probiotic Pomegranate & Clementine Cheesecake (no-bake!)
• Paleo White Chocolate Peppermint Shortbread Cookies
• Grain-Free Maple Carrot Cake (with cultured maple cream cheese frosting)
• Stevia-Sweetened Watermelon Mint Sorbet
• Low-Carb Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Keto Probiotic Berry Cheesecake Popsicles
• 2-Ingredient THM Keto Lemon Popsicles

Frosting… yes or no? And, what do you think of chocolate chip cupcakes?