Back in the day when I was a barista, matcha lattes were one of my favorite things to enjoy. For those who don’t know, matcha is a green tea powder, and a matcha latte involves matcha, vanilla, sweetener and your milk of choice. I always though coconut was the best combination with the matcha, and would frequently make myself coconut matcha lattes. Well, today, I had a craving for cupcakes that resulted in the creation of these low carb vegan cupcakes which are really a coconut matcha masterpieces.
The cupcake itself is incredibly simple to make, as was the frosting. I seriously didn’t expect a gluten free, vegan low carb cupcake to be so amazing! If you can do dairy, there are probably lower carb options, but if you’re dairy free or vegan… these are a home run!
Notes on Baking Low Carb Vegan Cupcakes with a Coconut Matcha twist:
- You can make these with a regular egg in place of the flax seed – just reduce the water to 1/4 cup, and make sure the coconut manna and water mixture has cooled before adding the egg.
- If you don’t want to track down coconut manna, you could use a nut butter in its place. The recipe will taste like whatever nut butter you choose, though!
- These are slightly crumbly when they come out of the oven, so be sure to let them cool completely before removing from the pan. This is why I chilled mine.
- If you wanted to give these a lemony twist, instead of the matcha powder, add the zest of a lemon to the frosting.
- The frosting is where most of the carbs are, so if you want a lower carb option, try whipping the solid part of coconut milk with sweetener and matcha. This will have way fewer carbs and will still taste great.
- Desiccated coconut makes a fun garnish for the top of these!
- Be sure to blend the frosting thoroughly, as it will be lumpy otherwise.
Ingredients
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For the Cupcakes:
- 1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon (so, 5 tablespoons) coconut flour
- 1/2 cup coconut butter/manna
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1/4 cup Swerve, or other granulated sweetener
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
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For the Frosting:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (from a can!)
- 2 tbsp Swerve, or other granulated sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp matcha powder
Method
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To Make the Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease or line 6 wells of a muffin tin (or use a silicone one!).
- Pour water over coconut butter, and stir until smooth and combined.
- Mix in flax, vanilla, Swerve and salt. Let this sit for a few minutes for the flax seed to get all
- In a separate bowl, combine baking powder and coconut flour.
- Slowly add in flour mixture, and stir until there are no lumps and everything is even.
- Divide into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are firm and the edges are just starting to turn golden.
- Remove from the oven and either wait a few hours for these to cool, or pop them in the freezer for 30 minutes while you make the frosting! It's important that these set up completely before being removed, or they will fall apart. So, chill them thoroughly! Liners will also prevent this.
To Make the Frosting:
- Dump all ingredients in a blender and pulverize until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Spoon over chilled cupcakes. Sprinkle with dried coconut, if you'd like!
