Low Carb Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

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Careful.  You may just love Low Carb Mint Chocolate Cupcakes.  I love being able to say that these cupcakes are Low Carb, though I know the sugar and chocolate lovers out there will be turned against this recipe already.

I hope that’s not the case.

Truth is, these cupcakes are so simple, so delicious, and so – YUM – that the fact that they are Low Carb shouldn’t even be a factor.

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For me and for my new lifestyle, however, that they ARE low carb means I can enjoy them.  Diabetics can enjoy them.  Dieters can enjoy them.  Kids and adults alike can enjoy them.

Because hello?  They are cupcakes.  Cupcakes – even healthier versions of cupcakes – are meant to be enjoyed.  I wouldn’t eat them if they were just good enough.  Who needs good enough?  I can survive without cupcakes.  But sometimes, I just want one…and when I do, I want a good one.

These work.

The addition of peppermint is a given this time of year.  It tastes like the holidays, and beyond that, chocolate and peppermint just play so well together.

Now, once you read further down, into the recipe, you’ll see that this creation is what many people would call a cheat.  It starts with a box mix, and if you consider that cheating, well, okay.  But let me tell you why I opted to go this route.

Ease.  I didn’t have to research, which I already do a LOT of.

As I have mentioned, my new low carb lifestyle has meant changes for me.  Little by little I am learning to use different ingredients, such as sugar substitutes, sugar free chocolates, and other items that help me feel like I am not giving up parts of me.  I still want sweets, I do.  So I am learning what works for me to be able to still keep those pieces of my life.  It’s these experiments and changes that have helped me get this far since starting my “diet”, and without them, I doubt I would have made it this far.  As of today, I’ve been Low Carb for 4 months, and down almost 50 pounds since beginning an exercise program in March of last year.

That’s a lot for me.

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Having PCOS, with a family history of diabetes, I feel good about this diet.  I know what it’s doing for me.  I know what I can eat, and what I can’t.  Do I miss things sometimes? I do, I really do.  But I will still “cheat” – I just know the consequences, and I decide what is worth it.  I don’t feel like it’s much of a sacrifice anymore.

But going back to the cake mix – I used it because it was Sugar Free.  Sugar Free baking is not the easiest thing to accomplish, so I feel relieved that companies like Pillsbury have stepped up and created a sugar free cake mix for folks like me.  It behaves, I don’t have to do any wild measuring, and the results are fantastic.  So why wouldn’t I use it?

Sure, you can use a regular Devil’s Food cake mix for this recipe if you want.  I know some folks don’t require sugar free, and that’s fine.  Go for it.  But to make things even easier, I didn’t use oil or butter…I used 8 ounces of Coke Zero.

I wanted something easy, something holiday ready, and something I knew all of you could get into.  These cupcakes were it. 

I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I have!

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Low Carb Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

makes 24

Ingredients

  • 1 Box Devils Food Cake Mix (I used sugar-free)
  • 8 ounces Coke Zero
  • 1 teaspoon mint extract
  • 1 large egg

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325.  Line 24 muffin cups with liners. Set aside.
  2. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Combine on medium high until smooth.  Using a spoon or spring loaded scoop, divide batter into 24 muffin tins. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until set.  Allow to cool before icing.

For the Icing

You can certainly purchase a sugar free icing, or make your own.  For my icing, I combined 2 sticks of unsalted butter, one stick of salted butter, 1/2 cup of heavy cream, one small box of sugar-free vanilla pudding, 1 teaspoon of mint extract, and 2 tablespoons of sugar substitute.  I beat these on medium high speed until smooth, then tinted it with red food coloring before piping it.

Estimated carbs per cupcake: 7.5grams

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