Sugar-Free Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Everything around Easter time is always so sugary, and a friend of mine wanted something special for her grandma to be able to enjoy. I tested out these sugar-free cupcakes and they turned out delicious! Make sure you eat them up in the first few days though, because they dry out pretty quickly. The amount of cupcakes always varies for people on how high they fill the cups, but mine made about 18-20 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. hot water
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. Splenda, granulated
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and set aside. Heat 1/2 c. water in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until it starts to bubble (1-2 minutes). Add the cocoa to the water and whisk until blended (it will start to get thick). In an electric mixing bowl, add the flour, Splenda, baking soda and salt and mix a few times. Add in the butter and mix until the mixture becomes crumbles. In a medium size bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and cocoa mixture together. On low speed, slowly pour in the wet mixture to the mixing bowl. Scrape down the sides and mix until everything is smooth and combined well. Use a cookie dough scoop (or spoon) and fill the prepared cups about half way full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops bounce back and all of the batter is cooked.

For the frosting....

Ingredients:

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream
1 stick butter, softened
4 Tbs. Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. coffee extract

In a glass microwave safe bowl, heat the chocolate in 30 second intervals stirring in-between microwave times. Pour the melted chocolate into the bowl of a mixer to cool. Add in the cream on low speed. Add in the butter, Splenda, and extracts and bring the speed up to medium. Beat for about 3 minutes until fluffy.

You can always spread the frosting with a knife, but I prefer to pipe mine for most cupcakes. I added bunny and chick picks to make them festive for Easter!