Testimony of the Day
“Maria, I have been following you on FB and your blog since I started my weight loss/get healthy journey in Nov. of 2010. With your help, guidance, ti…ps, and phenomenal recipes, I can proudly say, I am down 112 pounds and not only do *I* eat healthier, but so does my family (husband and 2 daughters – ages 3 and 6). We’ve enjoyed so many of your recipes and I am constantly putting your books on my… “wish lists.” Well, Monday, I decided I was going to fill my own wish list, just dove right in and ordered ALL of your books at once through your link.. they came in today and I spent the entire evening reading Secrets to Controlling Your Weight, Cravings, and Mood! So much insight in that little book! You touched on many of the problems I still struggle with and have given me even MORE insight to fight my “issues.” I just want to say THANK YOU for all you do.. all you’ve shared for FREE.. and helping me AND my family find a healthier way and STILL be able to enjoy what we eat without feeling deprived! Love to you!!”
What are your goals for today? Diet does NOT mean deprivation!
Click HERE to get started today!
The most common complaint I hear about this diet is that “it costs too much to eat healthy”…well, I have an argument to that!
Parents take the time to research the safest cars, spend tons of money on the best toys, $50 on video games, the best colleges, and vacations, drop $20/ticket to see a sporting event that lasts 2 hours, BUT when it comes to the health of thier children, they don’t realize the connection between food and our emotional, physical and spiritual health. I volunteered at a nursing home and I asked a man what the “secret of a happy life” was, he responded “Take care of your health.” That was when I was a teenager and I didn’t really think much of his answer, but now I understand that when we don’t feel good, the whole day suffers and so do the people around us. Healthy food = healthy moods.
Also, this dessert costs a lot less to make even with the “healthified” ingredients that it does to purchase an unhealthy version at a bakery!
CAKE:
6 TBS coconut oil or butter, softened
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp Celtic sea salt
3/4 cups SWERVE (or erythritol)
1 tsp stevia glycerite
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
FILLING:
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened (or coconut cream if dairy allergy)
1/4 cup SWERVE (or erythritol)
1 tsp stevia glycerite
2 tsp vanilla, divided
CHOCOLATE ICING:
2 TBS butter or coconut oil
1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate
10 TBS heavy cream (or coconut milk if diary allergy)
1/4 cup confectioner SWERVE (or erythritol)
1 tsp stevia glycerite
Make cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a cupcake pan (coconut oil spray) OR use cupcake liners. Sift together almond flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In another bowl, beat together butter and sweetener with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in 1 tsp of vanilla. Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture to blend until batter is just smooth. Spoon batter into muffin pan.
Cream Filling: Beat cream cheese, sweetener and 1 tsp of the vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Place 2 TBS of cream filling into the almond flour batter of each cupcake.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 to 24 minutes or until center is almost set. Let cool before frosting.
Chocolate Icing: Place the butter and chopped chocolate in a double boiler (or in a heat safe dish over a pot of boiling water…see photo). Stir well until just melted (don’t burn the chocolate!), add in the cream, and sweetener. Stir until smooth and thick. Use to drizzle over cooled cupcakes. YUM! Makes 18 cupcakes.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per cupcake)
Traditional Cupcake = 240 calories, 15g fat, 2 g protein, 32.2g carbs, trace fiber
“Healthified” Cupcake = 240 calories, 23g fat, 5.5g protein, 3.6g carbs, 1.3g fiber
Dang Maria! Those look awesome!!! Hope y’all had a great 4th of July!
We are! Hope you are too! 🙂
You are such an inspiration Gretta! <3
You are so sweet! Thank you!
I am originally from New England where Boston Cream Pie is a staple of life. However when I moved to North Dakota I found that Boston Cream Pie just does not exist! So your cupcakes are like a life preserver – now I CAN HAVE Boston Cream Pie and actually eat it without any guilt – thanks ever so much this recipe and for all of the content of your wonderful website.
Thanks for the kind words! 🙂
I want to thank you for all your recipes. And teaching us to eat healthy.I just tried your Boston Cream Cupcakes above. They are so good.
I must of done something wrong with the Icing, I knew it would thin because you said drizzel, but it very thin almost like water. the 10 TLB of cream turned it white and would not mix with the Cho. I have heated it in the Micro. so it would mix a little better. I am waiting for it to cool and see if it will thicken some. (I used the Coconut oil and erythritol). Would you know what I could have done wrong? There wasn’t anything to thicken it.
I couldn’t wait to taste the cupcake, so I ate the one that mashed when I was taking them out of the pan. Also do you let them cool before taking out of the pan?
It was so good even without icing. So I really don’t mind if I can’t use it.
Connie N
Thanks for the kind words! You may have melted the oil too much. I just soften mine a little and blend it in. I would spray the pan a little more to help with sticking. 🙂
Mine was way too thin also! I think maybe 10 tablespoons of cream is a misprint? That’s more liquid than powdered sugar. I even tried doubling the sugar but it still came out like chocolate milk. Next time I’ll try just a tiny bit of cream. They were delicious though!
Oh, I just love the chart with the cost comparisons! It’s so very true.
When you say it doesn’t cost much to live healthy, you use very biased examples. I can get a Sausage McMuffin, which is $1.06, and that will be 370 calories. Much cheaper than any other alternatives.
You can eat the cheap food now…. but pay for it later when you body is sick!
Maria,
What is your opinion on using stevia glycerite in recipes and adding bulk in other ways such as canned pumpkin, applesauce, yogurt, etc.? and if it is ok to do this, which ingredient would be best for adding bulk?… I cannot take the cooling effect and aftertastes of all the other sweeteners. I made amazing brownies the other day but they were only amazing for the first 2 chews, after that it just tasted like cool sweetener 🙁
Hmm, have you tried Swerve? I find it to have the best balance of flavor of all the sweeteners out there. If that doesn’t work for you, you could try pumpkin. There is typically too much sugar in applesauce and yogurt. Happy Baking! 🙂
I actually made the brownies with swerve 🙁 I have also tried zsweet before and I get the same cooling effect. This is why I am so discouraged with these sweeteners and I keep throwing away desserts that would otherwise be delicious. This is why I am going to try experimenting with stevia+fruit/yogurt/any other kind of bulk. I just ordered a products from NuNaturals called presweet, which is tagatose. I will try that as well and pray that I don’t have to throw anything away again.
Try Lakanto…
Sounds so good!
Delicious!
Thanks!
I am making these this weekend and can’t wait for the new cookbook! Do you think these will freeze?
Michelle
Yes, I freeze mine for portion control! 🙂
What are some healthy snack idea? My kidos like to eat way too much fruit. Also some packed lunch ideas? We’re brand new to this way of eating.
My Kids book listed above has tons of great ideas for kids. 🙂 http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/147758935X
HI Maria,
Could you please clarify the amount of cream cheese? Is it 24 ounces total? Wouldn’t that yield more than the 18 T needed to have 1 T of filling per cupcake?
Thanks!
Hi! Thanks for pointing that out. I redid the recipe and it is more like 2 tablespoons in each cupcake and I adjusted it to 2 packages of cream cheese. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Maria,
I have just finished reading your book and have now been reading your blog for some recipe inspiration.
Alot of your recipes call for erythritol and stevia glycerite. I live in South Africa and cannot seem to find these. I tried doing research online about erythritol and it says its closest substitute is xylitol which i can find in abundance here, but i have dogs and have read it is toxic for them, so its a no go on the xylitol. Are there any other substitutes for erythritol and stevia glycerite (i have stevia powder?)
All your recipes look great and I cannot wait to try them
Thanks
I list all the alternative sweeteners and their conversions in this book (The Art of Eating Healthy – Sweets). If the stevia powder measures cup for cup with sugar, then you could sub erythritol and stevia for it in a recipe. It may have a little bitter aftertaste though (which is why I use erythritol and stevia). Can you get Swerve?
Hi Maria – I’m all set to make this and I’m looking at the ingredients and instructions for the filling. It says 2 tsp of vanilla, divided. I see where the 1 tsp goes, but can’t find a reference to where you are putting the other tsp of vanilla. I read it a few times, and still don’t see it. Am I missing something?
☺ Sandi
It is in the cake batter. I updated the recipe to clarify it 1 tsp added. 🙂
Thanks Maria! I have another question about the oven temp. It says to preheat oven to 350 degrees, but after you put the cream filling in them, it then says to bake at 300 degrees. I never noticed that and baked them at the 350, does it matter? ☺
Oops. I updated it above. It should be 325. 🙂
Thanks again Maria!
☺
It’s me again! I made these tonight and only yielded 12 cupcakes. Are you using a mini-muffin tin to get the 18? Plus the filling I halved everything and it was the perfect amount for the 12 regular size cupcakes/muffin tin. The chocolate icing did not thicken up enough for me, so I added 1/4 tsp tapioca starch to 1 tsp of hot water (mixed that first) then slowly added to the icing stirring until it started to thicken. It’s perfect, and I am refrigerating these (am I supposed to?). I adjusted my carb count based on the 12 yield, and if I did my math right it should be around 3.5g carbs.
☺ Sandi
Hi, Yes, I store in the fridge. I have even froze them. Not sure what happened to the icing. I make this all the time and haven’t had that problem. Good job adjusting to make it work! The quantity depends on a lot of factors. I put a lot of filling in each one so that might have affected it. 🙂
You reign supreme, Maria! Made just a quarter batch of these last night to see if we’d like them…and was left bemoaning the fact that I didn’t make a full recipe’s worth. Absolutely phenomenal success. Thank you so much for sharing your talents!
Awe, thank you! 🙂
We have major tree nut allergy & unfortunately have been advised to stay away from foconut as well. Can flax flour be substituted? Thx
I would sub sunflower seed flour or chia flour. Flax is very estrogenic.
Hi, these sound so yummy! Just curious about the technique for adding the filling. Do you just plop it into each tin after filling and it sinks in during baking, or do you have to bury it and get it in the middle first? Thanks!
I just fill half way, add filling then add rest. 🙂
Love your recipes, but… I have to disagree with the cost. We are on a very tight budget with no vacations and “fluff”. I have around $400 a month for 3 adults to spend on groceries… that is anything that needs to be “purchased” – food, toothpaste, laundry supplies, toilet paper, etc. And, no, we do not have gov’t assistance. This “lifestyle” has made that $400 even tougher to keep under. White flour and margarine… not to mention potatoes, rice, pasta, and white sugar… are WAY cheaper than almonds and coconut oil and goes a lot further! Not to mention, trying to add “organic”, “grass fed”, etc. I am not complaining, mind you, but I get tired of the “This way of eating is not expensive”. For those that are struggling to put food on the table in the first place, this way of eating IS expensive.
I completely appreciate the difficulty of your situation. I think what in most peoples cases leads to a reduced cost is their shopping is the removal of processed pre-packaged foods (which are more expensive than baking) and once keto-adapted, eating less calories. As their leptin resistance (from high carb eating) subsides, they feel full most of the day and eat less (many clients end up eating 2 meals a day which is what Craig and I do also). Also, in our meal plan packages we don’t use many specialty ingredients (little to no nut flours, little sweetener). Just good whole foods in the right ratios of fat/protein/carbs.
I made these today…very yummy…but the stuck to my paper cupcake liners so bad that we could only get a glimpse of what they were. We ate em with a fork to scrape off the paper….what can we do? (Spray the liners?)
Thanks! Yes, you can spray liners. 🙂
I used those parchment paper cupcake liners and they’re awesome! These just fell right out of them with no sticking at all!
Ok Maria these are fab! Thank you. Everything turned out delicious, but the quantities were very different. The recipe made 10 regular/small cupcakes. Half of the filling was left over, that’s after packing the insides with as much creme filling as possible. The icing covered 8 cupcakes and I used half the creme and about 1.5 times the amount of swerve confectioners sugar that the recipe called for in order to get a spreadable consistency. And my frosting looks nothing like your picture, nothing fluffy about it. So all in all a huge yummy success, but my quantities were all over the map.
Hi Maria
Made these cupcakes tonight and they sunk in the middle after I took them out of the oven. They baked about 20 minutes and seemed done when I checked them. Wondering if you could tell me what I did wrong. Thanks!
Hmm, not sure. Maybe not fully cooked?
I made these last night. The filling was way too much for me though. I put in a heaping tablespoon for the filling and had about 1/3 of the filling leftover. I ended up mixing it into the frosting which was DELICIOUS! I sent a half of the batch with my daughter back to college. She couldn’t believe that they are actually healthy!
Awesome! Thanks! 🙂
Just made these for the first time. Everything went great until the icing. It came out running and very light in color. I finally got out hand mixer with whisk attachment and whipped it up some which seemed to help. I now have it in the fridge hoping it will become a spreadable icing! Hope so as these are going to a birthday party! Can’t figure out the icing issue. Any thoughts? I absolutely love your recipes and made it so that we never feel like we are dieting or doing anything different than it’s all healthy!
It should be ok after it cools. 🙂
I made these for Christmas but the icing didn’t turn out right. Fortunately I saved it and put the icing in the refrigerator. It restored the texture to what I’m pretty sure it was supposed to be. These are the yummiest cupcakes ever!!!
Thanks!!!
Can I leave the stevia glycerite out? I don’t have any and really want to make these today!
Yes
Hello! Can I get away with almond flour that is not blanched? Is there a significant difference in results to replace all butter with coconut oil/milk as indicated for dairy free? Thank you!!
You are like a low carb guru & I’M so happy I found you ! Thank you very much for the wonderful recipes & I will tryThem all ! 😊
Hi Maria – are you cutting the cupcakes in half and filling them or are you piping the filling to them through a hole? Looking forward to making a batch ASAP! Thanks, Kristi
You can do it either way 🙂