Wendy has been sticking to her KETO diet lately, and I’m proud of her for being so disciplined.  Although she hasn’t cheated (as far as I know), she has talked so much about chocolate cake that it won’t be long before she does.  She has one specific cake on her mind.  The cake she is longing for is one that was brought into work several months ago by one of the managers at our office.

That cake had a special ingredient…

Zucchini

When Wendy admitted to not knowing that there was a difference between liquid and dry measurements, I knew I would need to step in to help.

I told her I would try to duplicate the recipe.

On Tuesday she handed over 5 small zucchini,a zip top bag filled with cocoa powder, and a bottle of Stevia concentrate.  Seeing that she was serious, I committed to create this cake for her.

My low carb chocolate cupcake recipe was adapted from Lisa’s Low Carb Yum Best Low Carb Chocolate Cake Recipe.

This recipe makes 24 cupcakes, contains 96 calories, and 2.5 net carbs.  It requires planning ahead because unless you bake low carb/sugar-free regularly, you probably won’t have all the necessary ingredients on hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut flour

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup low carb sweetener (1:1 sugar replacement)

1/4 teaspoon Stevia concentrated powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)

8 large eggs (beaten)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups zucchini (shredded)

Using my food processor I shredded 4 small zucchini which is apparently the secret to making this low carb cake recipe so moist.

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk coconut flour, sweetener, Stevia concentrate, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.
3. In a separate container whisk eggs, coconut oil, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
5. Stir in the shredded zucchini.
6. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling about halfway.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
8. Cool on wire rack.
9. Once cool, frost with chocolate buttercream frosting, if desired.

I highly recommend frosting with chocolate buttercream frosting.  The recipe is from Lisa’s Low Carb Yum, is unbelievably tasty, and completely worth the extra calories!

Wendy had a happy day!