Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Flour, two ways

Lemon cupcakes today!!! I used coconut flour and I made them two ways. Chocolate coated for the lowest carb count, which can be made GFCF; and one with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting. You can combine them both if you like a lemon cupcake with a chocolate layer, just be sure you put the cupcake in the fridge to harden the chocolate before you frost it. My recipe makes SIX, but can be easily doubled.

I used agave for the frosting... all I can say is, better than sugar. I cannot find another way to make edible frosting. I think agave is ok in small amounts, but basically I would say, eat the chocolate topped one and give the kids the frosted ones!! This frosting is REALLY sweet with 4 Tablespoons so you can reduce the agave to 2 if you like.. I made them that way because that is what people really seem to like in a cupcake.

NET CARB COUNTS: Add them up however you are making them: 1 plain cupcake using butter/cream: 1.8 carbs. Chocolate topping using Green & Black's 85% bar: 2.25 each cupcake. Lemon Frosting using 2 TBLS agave: 5.8 each cupcake. So, a cupcake with just chocolate is 4g, and a cupcake with less-agave-lemon frosting is 7.6 .. and all three is 9.85.
More-agave-lemon frosting: 11g per cupcake
GFCF version (coconut oil/coconut milk) with chocolate: 4.9 carbs each

DOUBLING TIP: make sure you write out all the doubling measures out to the side on your recipe page or you can easily mess it up. Same thing goes ESPECIALLY if you half a recipe. Make sure you read this through before you start, as some actions may require time sensitive actions (the chocolate).

Coconut flour cupcake TIP: Do not use cupcake papers with these, because it is impossible to grease them enough and you will lose most of the cupcake in the paper.

Important UPDATE: Tip for getting these cupcakes out of the muffin tin in one piece: Cut out parchment paper circles for bottom of cupcakes, and be sure to butter/oil them.  Then when cupcakes are cool, run the back of a butter knife around each cupcake and then try to lift them out with the parchment paper attached.  Coco flour cupcakes stick a LOT.  They also stick badly to cupcake papers, which are impossible to butter well.  I haven't tried foil cupcake liners, mainly because I don't think it's that healthy to bake with foil, but let me know if you try that, that might work better.

Gluten Free Lemon Cupcakes with Coconut Flour
makes 6

3 fresh eggs, cold, separated
3 Tablespoons melted & cooled organic butter or high quality coconut oil
2 Tablespoons organic cream or coconut milk
3 Tablespoons Erythritol
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon of grated organic lemon rind - approx. one small lemon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon good quality stevia, measured exactly, sharp knife! --->
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Whip egg whites in a clean and dry metal (glass 2nd choice) bowl until stiff peaks form.
Place in refrigerator. Preheat oven to 400˚F. In another bowl, blend together butter (coconut oil), egg yolks, cream (coconut milk), erythritol, lemon rind, salt, and lemon extract. Sift together coconut flour, stevia, and baking powder (you can sift it right into the batter if you remove the blender whisks) and add to mixture. Whisk until there are no lumps. Fold egg whites using this method. Grease a muffin tin with coconut oil or butter very well. Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake for 12- 15 minutes until set and a little golden brown on top. Remove from oven, and use the back of a butter knife (as in backwards) to loosen the cakes from the baking pan. Run the knife around the edge of the cupcake and try to get underneath it too (these really stick!) to really loosen it. Take them out to cool on a baking rack or on a plate if you are topping with chocolate.

GFCF Low Carb Chocolate Topping
Half of Green & Black's (or Lindt is low carb too) 85% chocolate bar (or a little less)

Chop the chocolate coarsely. As soon as the cupcakes are out, place on a plate and put the chopped chocolate on top. Let it melt a bit, then spread. Let it cool.





Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
2.5 Tablespoons softened organic butter (7.5 teaspoons)
3 ounces of softened organic cream cheese
2 - 4 Tablespoons agave nectar (4 is really sweet, so go to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons organic lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon organic lemon rind, about half a small lemon

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. In a separate bowl, mix together agave, lemon juice and rind. Pour the liquid mixture into the cream cheese mixture while beating on high. Frost your cupcakes when they are cool!