Sugar-Free & Grain-Free Creamsicle Cupcakes
Here at Gluten Free & More, we’ve been on a baking frenzy! We’re working on the September/October issue of the magazine, which is The Baking Issue. For my article, I decided to focus on one of my favorite desserts – cupcakes! But, to give myself a challenge, I decided to make them 5-ingredient cupcakes! These 5 ingredients don’t include water, oil, vinegar, salt, or pepper (not that you’d use pepper in cupcakes, but that’s my standard rules for our 5-ingredient feature in the magazine). These Sugar-Free & Grain-Free Creamsicle Cupcakes are a sneak peek at what’s to come in this issue.
I don’t usually give sneak peeks, but I just couldn’t help myself with this one. Creamsicle is such a beloved flavor for the summertime that I couldn’t possibly hold out on you!
What’s great about these cupcakes is you get an indulgent, celebratory treat without the sugar and grains. Using Swerve cake mix and Swerve confectioners allows you to have your (cup)cake and your skinny jeans, too! If you’re not familiar with Swerve, it’s a non-glycemic, zero calorie, natural sweetener made of erythritol. It won’t spike your blood sugar and is diabetic and keto diet friendly. It comes in granulated, brown, and confectioners, and they also offer bake mixes that are grain-free and sweetened with Swerve.
I hope you enjoy this little sneak peek at the September/October issue! Find it in stores at the end of August or beginning of September, depending on your local retailer.
Sugar-Free & Grain-Free Creamsicle Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 3 large oranges
- 1 (11.4-ounce) package Swerve Vanilla Cake Mix
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup vegetable shortening
- 3½ cups Swerve Confectioners
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Finely grate the zest of the oranges. Squeeze the juice.
- Whisk together the cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, ⅓ of the grated zest, and ⅓ cup orange juice. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely.
- In the bowl of a mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the vegetable shortening and Swerve Confectioners. Mix on low until fully combined. Add ½ the remaining orange zest. With the mixer on medium speed, add orange juice, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a light, spreadable consistency is achieved. Beat for another minute. Pipe or spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining zest.
Nutrition
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These sound so good I haven’t had one in years. I don’t think my store carries Swerve any suggestions? thanks Shirley
Hi Shirley,
Have you checked their website’s Find SwerveFind SwerveFind Swerve page? You can put in your zip code and it will show you where you might be able to find it near you. You can also order it on Amazon, Walmart, and Thrive Market. If you can’t find it near you or don’t want to order it online, you can use regular confectioners’ sugar (but it will no longer be a sugar-free recipe) and you can use a different cake mix (however, this cake mix is grain-free and uses almond flour, so you might want to look for another grain-free almond flour based mix to ensure the same consistency in the finished product).
Hope this helps!
3½ cups Swerve Confectioners?
I just read the possible side effects of swerve and a little bit could cause some people digestive problems…3 1/2 cups seems like a lot.
Hi Mary,
Yes, the 3 1/2 cups is for the entire batch of frosting. I’ve never had a problem with digestive symptoms from eating Swerve and I don’t know anyone who has, but that’s not to say it isn’t possible. From what I understand, erythritol is well tolerated compared to other sugar alcohols. Swerve answers the question about digestive discomfort on their website better than I could, if you’d like to check it out: https://swervesweet.com/faqs#health-safety
Hope this helps!