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Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

flourless chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

Gluten-free cupcakes: FINALLY! I’ve been wanting a recipe for gluten-free cupcakes for a while now, but by gluten-free I really mean flourless (or almond flour), since I don’t care to learn the intricacies of gluten-free flour mixing. It seems, well, complicated. One of my favorite gluten-free desserts is this flourless chocolate torte, but I didn’t think it would translate well to cupcakes.

flourless chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

After doing some hunting, I found a recipe from Kate From Scratch — it looked like a great place to start! A few tweaks, and here we are with my flourless chocolate cupcakes.

flourless chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

These are dense, chocolatey, and more cake-like than any flourless dessert I’ve ever made (as opposed to gooey/fudgelike). They were fabulous! Throw on some frosting, and you have a pretty darn delicious dessert. If you’re dairy free too, just substitute your butter replacement (I like smart balance) and it should work just fine!

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
 
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Recipe:
Ingredients
  • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (1/2 cup chocolate chips)
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, chopped into pieces
  • ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp instant espresso powder
  • cupcake liners
  • 4 ounces regular cream cheese, room temperature
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1¼ cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 375 F.
  2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and chocolate and melt in 30 second increments until the butter is completely melted.
  3. Whisk until the chocolate is also melted, and mixture is smooth.
  4. Whisk in the brown sugar and salt, then eggs, until smooth.
  5. Sift the cocoa powder and espresso powder into the mixture, and mix until combined.
  6. Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ full.
  7. Bake until the tops are set, about 15 minutes.
  8. Let fully cool before frosting.
  9. For frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter together in a stand mixer. Mix until fully incorporated, light, and fluffy. Add the cocoa powder, then powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth, then divide evenly among cupcakes.

 

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  2. These look marvelous! Just wondering though- approximately how many cupcakes does this recipe make?

    • I made these for Valentine’s day and they were amazing! I followed the directions exactly and they were rich and decadent. Not dry nor crumbly but very intense and rich which is exactly what I was going for.

      For those that had trouble, check your egg sizes! Small eggs won’t cut it. And I also made these with milk chocolate and they were really good. Follow directions and they work!

  5. I made a double batch of these but they only made a small bakers dozen. I mixed by hand until smooth, but they still fell. Hopefully they taste good. The frosting is delicious at least.

    • Oh no! Sorry to hear they fell! Were you using an odd sized pan, or change anything? I’m sure they’ll still taste good, just not be quite as pretty!

  6. I followed the directions, but these just didn’t work out for me. They were very dry and the flavour was too strong.

  7. I ate one without the frosting, just because I can, I’m the cook. I think it would be better with the frosting as the cake is very very chocolatey. It needs the balance of the sweet of the frosting and the cake. Don’t get me wrong, the cake was delicious and moist but it needed a balance of sweetness or less cocoa. YUM

  8. OK, that’s what it needed…the frosting. I used Earth Balance LF margarine and Tofutti cream cream alternative. I am lactose and gluten intolerant. If the cake is dry, underbake the cupcakes a little or cook a a slightly lower temperature. I need this chocolate fix! Thanks for tweaking the recipe so I can enjoy chocolate again!

    • Hi Sandra – I haven’t calculated the nutrition for this recipe. I’m sure you can easily find a site to plug in the recipe and get the info!

      • Hi!
        How important do you think the espresso powder is in this recipie-is it something I can forgo if I have everything else? Trying to avoid a trip to the store…Thanks!

          • Hi Mary- these look great- just wondering, what kind of brown sugar did you use? sugar in the raw? light brown sugar? dark brown sugar?

            thanks!
            Tricia

  10. THESE SOUND WONDERFUL AS I AM GLUTEN AND DAIRY INTOLERANT SO I AM EXCITED TO TRY. HOPE YOU HAVE MORE THINGS TO TRY. BONNIE

  11. I’ve made twice with a vanilla bean buttercream! So delicious, although they are very, very crumbly. I already use extra large eggs. Do you have any ideas for what I could do so they aren’t falling apart? Maybe add an extra egg? Otherwise the taste is absolutely delicious.

    • Mine are quite crumbly too, and I’ve never given much thought to the solution! Perhaps I should! An extra egg sounds like a great idea… Let me know if you try, and how it works out! Next time I have an oven I’ll give it a go, too!

  12. Thank you for sharing this cupcake recipe! I tried it today and it was good. 😀 It was very rich and chocolatey–a lot more like a brownie than a cupcake, I think. 😀

  13. Hi Mary- these look great- just wondering, what kind of brown sugar did you use? sugar in the raw? light brown sugar? dark brown sugar?

    thanks!
    Tricia

  14. This made 17 cupcakes, which was plenty for just me! I used dark chocolate and they tastes gorgeous, more like brownies than cupcakes but lovely non the less!

  15. These looked fantastic when I checked them at 15 min. Nice and high. I turned oven off and left them to cool for 10 min and when I opened oven they had sunk 🙁
    As lovely as they tasted, brownie like which is to be expected, they were flat 🙁 any ideas what I could do? Add baking powder?? Thanks as making them for a friends birthday tomorrow.

    • Sorry to hear they went flat on you, Sue! I follow the recipe to a T every time and never have an issue, so I’m not sure how to advise you! I don’t keep them in the oven for 10 minutes after the first 15, but I don’t think that would make them fall (if anything it’d make them dry). Sorry I don’t have a solution for you! Good luck!

  17. These were amazing!! I made them for my daughter’s birthday, and I have been asked for the recipe by a few people as a result! I left out the espresso powder, and they were still very rich and tasty! Thanks for sharing!!

Trackbacks

  4. […] Easy to make and difficult to not love, these cupcakes will be made a few more times. Served mine with berries this time. Whipped cream, ganache, nut brittle and Dulce De Leche are some other toppings I want to try. I had to make do with my Iphone for pictures this time but better looking DSLR pictures are in order for next time. And oh, the recipe source is here.  […]