These Apricot Cardamom Cupcakes are almost certainly unlike any cupcake you’ve ever eaten – keto or otherwise. Cardamom is my favorite spice by a long shot. It has a savory-sweet, almost perfumey smell, and can be used in all sorts of both savory and sweet dishes. It is widely used in India and also in Nordic countries. I’ll give you fair warning, Cardamom is the world’s third most expensive spice – behind saffron and vanilla – but don’t let that deter you from breaking out some once in a while. I think it’s worth every penny.
You can read the backstory and get the recipe for these Apricot Cardamom Cupcakes in the previous post, but the short story is I modeled them after the world’s best doughnut. Or, at least, the best doughnut I have ever eaten in my life.
I also carried the whole Apricot Cardamom flavor love-story into a bowl of low carb ice cream for you. If you fall in love with these cupcakes, you’ll likely want the ice cream version. You can find that recipe in The Keto Ice Cream Scoop.
I whipped up a huge platter of these mini Apricot Cardamom Cupcakes for a MiniFest we held at The 2 Keto Dudes Carl Franklin’s house. There was uproar over these beautiful little nuggets of keto yum. People absolutely loved them. The whole tray vanished in a flash. There were many comments indicating that folks considered them the best keto cupcakes people had ever eaten. I was just super excited that so many people were trying something new and loving it. Variety is the spice of life!
These Apricot Cardamom Cupcakes are perfectly delicious naked or sans frosting, but sometimes the occasion just calls for a spot of decoration. When that decoration comes in the form of healthy fats, it’s all just goodness!
Now, just a note before we dive into the recipe: yes, there are real apricots in these cupcakes. It’s important for you to understand that keto is not a food list, but a metabolic state. There is *maybe* one half of one dried apricot in one of these mini cupcakes. And it’s more likely a quarter of one. If you think that those couple shards of dried apricot will ‘knock you out of ketosis’ then you do not understand what keto is or how it works. Or you’ve been misinformed by some keto zealots who are living the dogma, not the dream. I am not a fan of restricting things that are not being restricted for any good and sensible reason. Keto does not have to be as restricted as some people will tell you. So enjoy a mini cupcake – they’re two bites. Just don’t eat the whole batch.
However, some folks may prefer to avoid all fruits because it’s a trigger for them – and that’s perfectly fine. You have to do what works for you; and if avoiding all fruit is you then you can leave the apricots out altogether. Cardamom makes a lovely flavor all on it’s own. Or, leave the frosting off and have them plain. Or halve the amount of apricots in the frosting recipe. You do you. With frosting each cupcake is approx. 2.5g, without frosting approx. 2g.
At the end of the day, if you love apricots and a couple of pieces can work in your plan given your goals and progress, have at it. If they’re not in your plan now, come back to them later when they can be. But let’s not restrict things we enjoy for everyone just because we might not be able to partake right now.
Incidentally, when I made these for a Minifest at Carl’s house, he ate 2 of these plus one of each of the other 3 mini desserts that I made and then measured his BG, which didn’t even break 100. So there’s that.
Apricot Cardamom Cupcakes
Use the Apricot Cardamom Muffin recipe and then top with Apricot Cardamom Frosting (recipe below).
Apricot Cardamom Frosting
Author: Carrie Brown | Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 0 mins | Total time: 5 mins | Serves: 40 mini cupcakes
What You Need
- 4 oz / 110g cream cheese
- 4 oz / 110g butter
- 6 TBSP xylitol OR allulose
- 3 oz / 85g dried apricots
- 4 TBSP heavy cream
What You Do
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend on high until well blended and the apricots are very finely chopped.
- Using a piping bag without a nozzle, pipe the frosting atop your cupcakes. If you use a piping nozzle you run the risk of gumming up the works because of the apricot pieces in the frosting. If piping is not your superpower and you don’t want it to be, you can simply spoon frosting on top of your cupcakes, or spread it on thickly with a knife. But I recommend piping. Because it’s fun. And your cupcake recipients will be wildly impressed. Also, your cupcakes will taste better. Effort always tastes sweet.
Top Recipe Tips
- If using xylitol, either use powdered xylitol or blend your xylitol in a high-powdered blender to make powder. Allulose is very fine naturally.
- Store any leftover frosting in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Check out the Ingredients Guide for information on ingredients.
- Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?
Helpful Cooking and Recipe Links
- More baked goods recipes
- Come laugh and learn with us over at The Kitchen Podcast
- Come hang out in The Keto Kitchen Facebook Group
- For lots more great recipes check out our scrumptious cookbooks!
- Check out the categories and tags at the bottom of the post to help you find more recipes using certain ingredients or from certain categories.
Podcast Episodes and You Tube Videos
- How and Why to Measure Food
- Where Are The Macros and Nutritional Info?
- Keto / Low Carb Treats: should you eat them? Hear what Dr. Ken Berry and I have to say about it!
Substitutions
- Don’t. Just buy the correct ingredients and you, too, shall have a fabulous outcome!
- Erythritol or allulose are the sweeteners I recommend because they work very well. You can use any other sweetener you like, but I cannot guarantee the results if you choose to use something different. In low carb and keto baking sweeteners are generally not interchangeable if you want great results.
- You can use any nut milk in place of the heavy cream.
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