After the vanilla cupcakes were all gone, I was feeling empty inside. Well, not totally empty—just a little snackish. You know when you want something sweet but not anything really healthy. And since I still had my bag of coconut flour, I thought why not try some chocolate cupcakes?
These are just as good as the vanilla ones if you ask me. They do have a stronger taste of coconut, but I think it helps since the cocoa powder needs a fatty flavor to give it some chocolaty richness.
Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients(Makes a dozen cupcakes):
- 1/2 cup +2 Tablespoons coconut flour
- 4 eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup cane or palm sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 12 cupcake holders with paper liners.
- Mix together the coconut flour, eggs, egg whites, cocoa powder, sugar, coconut milk, baking soda, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
- Slowly add just enough water so that the batter is slightly runny and easy to mix by hand without exerting too much effort.
- Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake liners. Hit the pan against the counter a few times to even the batter and knock out any air bubbles.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the tops are firm to the touch.
If you like these cupcakes, you might like my paleo vanilla cupcake recipe.
Those look delish! I know full Paleo isn’t right for me, but I am really interested in trying out some of their grain-free options. I’m headed to WF tonight – maybe I can score some coconut (or almond) flour there to play with this weekend!
Chocolate Ganache already sounds fancy when you say it aloud, but then you stick the word Paleo in front of it?? I just want to say it all day and pretend I’m sophisticated…which we know is far from the truth.
I’m loving these! 😀
Coconut milk just got added to the grocery list. I could think a million things that ganache would be delicious on top of!
YUM!! These look really good!
Yum! These look delicious.
Looks delicious 🙂 Do they taste of coconut at all?
These definitely taste more coconutty than the vanilla cupcakes I made, but it works well because the cocoa powder has no richness on its own.
I don’t know if I can hold out until the first Monday of next month when my health store has a 20% off sale and the coconut flour becomes not quite as expensive…
It is still a beauty even with the choco ganache on top. There is beauty in messy chocolate that only the taste buds can see…A must try!
Loved your vanilla paleo cakes (as did my paleo friends). I know I’m gonna love these! Thanks so much for experimenting with this way of eating. I love seeing what create 🙂
I am having my version in the oven now – they look GREAT! Cant wait for m kids to come home from school to try them wih me:-)
Thank you for sharing great paleo recipes!
Since I’ve been eating a more paleo-ish diet, I’ve been loving experimenting with paleo ‘sweets’ This looks SUPER good!!!
can you use honey or agave instead of sugar? if so how much should i substitute?
Yes, you can use 1/2 cup of liquid sweetener. In that case I’d reduce the coconut milk by about 2-3 Tablespoons.
[…] owe these treats today to the ever-inventive Evan, as I adapted them from the lime variant of his many coconut cupcake creations. Thanks […]
[…] paleo chocolate cupcakes get their depth not from coconut flour but coconut milk. Even without oil or melted chocolate, they […]
How can these be paleo if they have sugar in them?
They aren’t 100% paleo but dessert isn’t really a part of the paleo diet, either. If you used palm sugar, it’d be considered closer to the diet.
It’s cane sugar, so it’s healthier than regular sugar.
Are you using coconut milk in the can or regular drinking coconut milk from a carton?
I use canned
Thanks!
[…] http://www.thewannabechef.net/2012/01/27/paleo-chocolate-cupcakes/ […]
I made a batch of 6 chocolate cupcakes on Friday which turned out great, and were absolutely delicious! I had one on Sunday as well, and they still tasted yummy! I have an event this Saturday and wanted to know how many days prior to the event that I can make the cupcakes and them still taste fresh?! I don’t have much time on Saturday to bake them! 🙁 would Thursday be too long?
I would try to make them Friday if you could but if you keep them extra cold and then let them sit at room temperature Thursday should be fine.
Do they freeze well? Need some for kids to take to school as their alternative. Thx!
I haven’t tried to freeze this recipe but I imagine that they would.
I would like to use whole eggs instead of all whites- but not sure how many whole eggs to use? Any suggestions?
Oops, re-read the recipe more carefully… 4 eggs plus 2 whites! Whew… some days are skiddy-whompus, today is one of them!
Haha, those days are called Monday mornings for me, too.
Hi, I want to make these for my son’s first birthday this week, with honey I think. Can you share what you topped the cupcakes with? Thanks!
The topping was not paleo, just a classic buttercream: http://thewannabechef.net/recipes/miscellaneous/vanilla-buttercream
[…] Ingredients: 1/2 cup +2 Tablespoons coconut flour 4 eggs 2 egg whites 1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder(NOT Dutched) 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar ( I used evaporated cane juice) 1 cup coconut milk (I used regular ol’ raw cows milk cause I didn’t want too much coconut flavor) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Instructions: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 12 cupcake holders with foil liners. (Be sure to use foil liners. I used paper ones, and there was a lot of sticking, which wasn’t so nice. Update: they don’t stick quite so much if you let them cool completely first.Lesson learned.) Or if you are making them mini, it makes around 30. Mix together the coconut flour, eggs, egg whites, cocoa powder, sugar, milk, baking soda, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. If your batter isn’t “runny” add just a tad of water. Scoop the batter evenly into the cupcake liners. Drop the pan lightly onto the counter to smooth the batter and knock out any air bubbles.(I did this and mine still had some air bubbles. Apparently I didn’t bang enough. So, really bang it, just don’t let the batter fly out!) Bake for 30-35 minutes for regular, and 15-20 minutes for mini – until the tops are firm to the touch. Lightly adapted from The Wannabe Chef […]
I was wondering, does the recipe still work if I use zero calorie sugar instead of palm sugar, or do I need to make more alterations?
If the zero calorie sugar you use is granular and advertises a 1:1 substitution with regular sugar then it should be fine.
Can I substitute almond flour for coconut flour?
Almond flour doesn’t quite bake like coconut flour so it’s not suitable for a 1:1 substitution. I’d recommend looking for a cupcake recipe designed to use almond flour.
Got it. Thanks!
[…] 6. Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes by The Wannabe Chef […]
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Can I use almond flour/meal? I am not able to find coconut flour well I found it but it was sold out
This particular recipe won’t work with almond meal. However if you look under the cakes/frosting section of my recipes there should be one or two almond-based cake recipes there that might suit you.
Could you use xylitol instead of the cane or palm sugar??
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure but I think it would work!
Did you use full-fat coconut milk, or can I use lite (about 50 calories per 1/3 cup)?
This recipe works best with full-fat but you can use a lighter version; the cake will just be less moist..
[…] 47. Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe […]
Do you have the recipe for the chocolate frosting in the picture?
[…] Paleo Chocolate Cupcakes (made a cake instead) – I’ve been looking for a clean eating cake recipe for my son’s birthday next month. I would use this recipe again, might try it with whole wheat flour and add some more sugar. Coconut flour and Almond flour have a distinct texture and I’m not sure I’m a fan of using either for a cake. […]
Do you know how this would do in a cake pan vs. cupcakes? My birthday is next week and I’m looking for a recipe that will work as an actual round without sinking. Just curious! Thanks so much!
Hey Dani, I’ve never tried this recipe that way but I think it would work. It’s very dense. An alternative would be this recipe: http://www.thewannabechef.net/2012/06/29/gluten-free-chocolate-flag-cake/
I was wondering how many carbs and sugars were in the coc and the vanilla paleo cupcakes? my daughter has type 1 diabetes and I’m thinking about making these for her bday. thank you!
these sound delicious but can i use honey instead of the cane sugar? and how much would i need ?
You can try using 1/2 cup honey in place of the sugar, and add a couple of minutes to the baking time to account for the extra moisture. The cupcakes will probably come out a little more dense that way