These almond flour cupcakes are soft, fluffy and perfectly moist. They come together quickly and are a great gluten-free dessert option for any celebration!
In honor of my birthday (it’s today!!), I wanted to share a healthier cupcake recipe! It’s surprisingly the first cupcake recipe here on EBF, but certainly not the last.
If you know me, you’ll know that my favorite store-bought cake mix is Simple Mills Vanilla Cake & Cupcake Mix, so naturally I took it upon myself to make a homemade version.
I love using almond flour for healthy baking because it’s a simple, one-ingredient flour made from ground almonds. The almonds are blanched to remove the skins before grinding and sifting. This creates a soft and fluffy flour that’s perfect for baking.
There are some awesome health benefits of using almond flour over white flour. For one, it’s gluten-free, grain-free and lower in carbs than traditional flour. In addition, it’s loaded with nutrients including vitamin E and magnesium.
Combine dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix the almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder and salt until well combined.
Combine wet ingredients: In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the coconut sugar, almond milk, eggs, vanilla and melted coconut oil.
Mix: Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in your sprinkles.
Bake: Pour batter into your lined muffin pan. Bake at 325ºF for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick entered into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Serve: Once cupcakes have completely cooled, frost, top with sprinkles and serve!
These cupcakes would be delicious topped with my cream cheese frosting, peanut butter greek yogurt frosting or healthy chocolate frosting. That said, you can’t go wrong with a classic buttermilk vanilla frosting. If going the store-bought route, my favorite healthier store-bought frosting is Simple Mills vanilla frosting.
Almond meal is more coarse and darker than almond flour because it hasn’t been blanched.
Oftentimes people call for almond flour or almond meal in a recipe, but I definitely prefer almond flour for baking because it leads to a light, airy texture. That said, almond meal works great in recipes where you don’t need a light and airy texture (like quick bread) and is awesome for replacing breadcrumbs.
I highly recommend using silicone muffin liners or parchment baking cups for the best results and to avoid the cupcakes from sticking too much. I also recommend spraying your liners with a little cooking spray. Make sure to let your cupcakes cool completely before trying to remove the liners otherwise they could stick. If you want, you can pop the cupcakes in the fridge to cool for an hour or so before removing the liners.
I haven’t tested an egg-free version of these cupcakes, but let me know if you decide to experiment in the comments below!
I haven’t tried this recipe as a cake yet, but it would probably work in a square 8×8 cake pan. If you’re looking for a gluten-free birthday cake that uses almond flour try my healthy birthday cake.
I don’t recommend changing the flours for this recipe. Try my healthy vanilla cupcakes that use whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour.
Yes! These cupcakes can be made 1-3 days in advance. To make ahead of time, let the cupcakes cool completely and store them in the fridge, covered until you’re ready to frost and serve. Alternatively, you can frost and decorate the cupcakes and store them covered in the fridge until ready to serve!
Store any leftover cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. For longer storage, you can store these cupcakes in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you’re storing these in the freezer I would recommend storing them unfrosted. The day before you’re ready to serve, let them thaw in the fridge then frost and decorate as desired!
Be sure to check out all of the popular almond flour recipes as well as the dessert recipes here on EBF!
Leave a Comment
These turned out awesome! I did make a couple of swaps based on what I had/wanted. I only had duck eggs, which are larger, so I used 2 instead of 3. I used 1/2 of a super ripe banana and just 1 Tbsp of oil. I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup. I also added 1/2 tsp almond extract.
Yum! Thank you for sharing the swaps you made, Melanie – they sound so good!
😋
Used Whipped Frosting on Hand
Woo! Glad these were a hit, Debbie. Thanks for coming back to leave a review, I appreciate it so much.
excellent post thank you for sharing
OMG these are amazing! They are the perfect consistency and taste. So fun to make with the kiddos who also loved them!
Yay! I’m so glad this recipe is a hit, Jessica! Thanks for making them with your kiddos and coming back to leave a review, I really appreciate it!
Awesome recipe,even my husband who doesn’t do gluten/dairy free said “this is what cupcakes should taste like. They went together easily, I substituted cornflour for the arrowroot and used vegan butter for the frosting. They were yummy 😋
Yay! I am so glad these cupcakes worked out for you and that your husband loved them, Maddie! Thanks for making them and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!