These Sugar Free Chocolate Cupcakes were a big hit with guests when I made them for a friend’s wedding.
Sugar Free Chocolate Cupcakes
These chocolate cupcakes work well for those who can't have sugar. They're even better with the Sugar Free Chocolate Frosting!
Recipe Details
Servings: 12 cupcakes (nutritional info is for cake only)
Calories: 194kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup boiling water
- 1½ cups sifted cake flour (sift, then measure)
- 1 cup Splenda Granulated (see Tips below)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake papers.
- In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and boiling water, whisking until blended and smooth; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, Splenda, baking soda and salt. Add the butter and mix with an electric mixer until the mixture is crumbly.
- In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, milk, cocoa mixture and vanilla. Add ⅓ of the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Beat on low speed with electric mixer until blended. Beat at medium speed for an additional 30 seconds until mixture is smooth (scrape down sides of bowl, as needed). Repeat two more times, until all the wet mixture has been added.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pan. Fill 10 cupcakes for a fuller cupcake, or 12 for smaller cupcakes.
- Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the pan; cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Splenda Granulated is a *no sugar* product that can be used cup for cup to replace sugar in a baking recipe. The product info can be found HERE: http://www.splenda.com/products/granulated
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake, Calories: 194kcal, Carbohydrates: 16g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 63mg, Sodium: 215mg, Potassium: 93mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 423IU, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 1mg
I tried this recipe and was very disappointed. The cupcakes looked great but were not sweet at all. I will play around with the amount of Splenda I add next time.
Mine came out and they are dry. I made it how it say but they are dry. ? What did I do wrong?
Not sure…
I have been baking with Splenda for years but have bee trying other sugar substitutes that are diabetic friendly really love swerve they make both confectioners and granular can made English toffee that sugar eaters couldn’t tell the difference also Xyla I’ve made donuts, ice cream and ice cream sandwiches no after taste with either of these products like you get with Splenda . I also use 1:2 almond flour 1/2 regular flour to cut carbs
I was asked to do a sugar free cake for a bday. I’m not a good cake person. I make everything into cupcakes. This time I turned the cupcakes into a cake! I used a 9′ round. I just watched my bake time carefully. I had to double the recipe in order to not have the cake back to thin. I used Trivia baking blend and only 3\4cup for a single recipe. I also used coffee instead of water. It was delicious!
I made a frosting out of sugar free chocolate pudding,cream cheese and sugar free whipped cream! It Was Amazing!
Happy to hear!
I’m excited to try this recipe. My son is turning 1 soon and my 5 year old is a type 1 diabetic so I’ve been trying to find a good cupcake recipe to keep the carbs cut back a bit.
How was it? My type 1 diabetic daughter was just diagnosed and I am looking for a good easy kid friendly recipe
Try it out to see if you like it!
Thank you – my favorite Aunt is coming over to visit & she has a sweet tooth plus is diabetic. I want to give her something she enjoys and I will certainly try this recipe.
Made these cupcakes .. for some reason it was spongy like a cupcake … did i over beat it?
looking at the comments i used a quarter of the splenda mentioned .. with the frosting it turned out just perfect infact a tiny bit sweeter.. overall they were good.. I wish I could get the spongy texture too..
OMG .. I hope this is good .. trying it just now for my dads bday! Thankyou for sharing
I am about to try this recipe for the first time. However, I do not like Splenda in food or drinks. I use XZylitol as this has no after taste . Will let you know if it works
Will have to try this!
Can you substitute wheat flour for all purpose flour in this?
What did you use for the frosting?
I’m not sure about the whole wheat flour. Here is the frosting recipe I used: https://www.recipegirl.com/2007/03/16/sugar-free-chocolate-frosting/
Question? On your receipt, what is the white looking pearls topped over the chocolate cup cakes? Is it sugar based? Thanks for the answer. Kathy
They are candy/sugar pearls. You can pick them up at a baking supply shop (or online), and sometimes at craft stores like Michaels or JoAnns too.
hi this sounds like an awesome cupcake.
i just had stomach surgery and im not aloud to have sugar so im deffinetly gonna make these with the recipe for sugar free frosting 🙂
thanks for the recipe.I will make this cake for my fathers birthday.
Never mind I’ve just seen the sugar free frosting recipe underneath lol x
What about the icing on top…?? That would hav to be sugar free too right other wise what’s the point I want to make these for my diabetic mum but don’t know what to do about the buttercream on top xx
Just popped some in the oven for my mother who’s diabetic, have to say looks yummy already! 🙂
Hello! I am so glad to see other brides requesting sugar free cupcakes! I too am making sugar free cupcakes, 1 dozen, per a brides request. Although, Spenda isn’t good for anyone to eat because of the asparteme. I use two, all natural prodcucts found and made naturally. They are called Xylitol and coconut palm sugar. Both work great in baking with no funny aftertaste. I grind the Xylitol up to a powder, add cornstarch, and use that for my sugar free powdered sugar. Makes a wonderful sugar-free pwdered sugar. Nex time you need to make sugar free cupcakes, I would give them a try. Your cupcakes are beautiful!
Love these! Needed sugar free cupcakes for à wedding tomorrow (bride’s dad is diabetic) and I was an absolute “deer in THE headlights” as far as diabetic foods / cakes are concerned! Just made them and they are GREAT! Thanks à bunch for posting this recipe!!!
Greetings from South Africa!!!
Hi, thanks for this. My friend has diabetes and always likes to eat sweet things. But none of them like them. I’m always looking for sugar free deserts but they never turn out quit right. But since all of the great reviews I can’t wait to to try them and see what he thinks. They are his Christmas present and he has been looking forward to them for weeks!
Hope he likes them! I personally wouldn’t use the baking splenda nowadays- there are better non-sugar options for sweetening out there… but you’d need to investigate that.
HI! I made tthese not long ago for my Daughter Abigial who has sever exczema and MRSA she isnt Allowed sugar! she loved them@ i use Nativa and only 1/2 cup instead of whole cup as very sweet! I will be makeing them tonight for her 7th birthday on 19th dec and melt sugar free chocolate to dribble on top of cupcake .with sugar free candy on top!
ill put them in cupcake cases and stand on cupcake stand . as birthday cake!
thank you its hard getting sugar free stuff!especiqlly for child!Ruth
No, at SAMS and Walmart they still sometimes have the ‘Splenda for Baking’ and it’s part sugar & part Splenda. The yellow bag is plain Splenda w/no sugar.
“Splenda Sugar For Baking” in the orange bag contains sugar, unless there’s another product similar (if there is, I couldn’t find it). As Sharon asked and Lori answered, the Splenda in the yellow bag is just plain Granulated Splenda, which contains no sugar. Very confusing recipe; it should not specify the Splenda for Baking if it’s going to be sugar free.
That being said, my husband is diabetic as well and I have experimented with Splenda a lot. I have been unable to add more than half of the Splenda specified in a recipe without bitterness; the balance I have been adding in as sugar or slightly reducing the amount. I can’t ever make a recipe with ALL of the sweetener as Splenda; it’s WAY too bitter.
Hi Kat, When this recipe was published a few years ago, they must have been calling the product “Splenda for Baking.” It is now called “Splenda Granulated” (no sugar added). I’ve changed the recipe to reflect that- thank you! I find it too bitter too when too much is added. It definitely tastes different than just using regular sugar. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Is the unsweetened cocoa, cocoa powder??
yes!
i am 12 and have had diabetes since i was 5 and love sweet things but cant often have them so im always looking for a good sugar free recipe to try so this realy helps me out
I tried this recipe a few weeks ago.. I love love loved them am making another batch of cupcakes today… thank You so much..
The recipe calls for Splenda Sugar for Baking. Is that something new, or is it the usual Splenda in the yellow bag? Thank you!
Yes, that’s the stuff.
I made these for a fundraiser for the American Diabetes Association here in Anchorage. They are amazing even with out the frosting! Thanks for sharing the recipe and I LOVE your website.
Happy to hear they worked out!
**Well I have been looking for a “good” sugar free cup cake for my hubby for a long time and I have to say this one is very good. I made a few changes, (1) I put a 1/2 of brewed coffee in place of that boiling water,(you can smell it but can’t taste it,) to bring out the choc. flavor even more.(2) I made a hole into thefinished cooked cupcakewith a small melon baller and mixed up some sugar free chioc. pudding using some light cream not milk and after it was set I filled the cake holesover the top alittle and put that little plug of cake back in it just made a choc fudgey topping to drissel over them. I used 2oz. of unsweeten baking choc. (chopped) and 1/4 c. of lite cream and microwave in short times til melted and shinny then add 2 tblsp. of splenda and splash of vanilla stir well and taste for sweetness. then drizzle by spoons full to cover top of cake. it is almost as good as the hostess cup cake topping of choc. fudge.. try it if you love choc and cant use sugar this is for you.
thanks for the recipe
my hubby is in love for the treats I have made him and next I will try for a vanilla
a friend Lorna Deane 3-7-11
@Lorna Deane, Thanks for the tips! Very helpful for those who may wish to try this one 🙂
I just made these at the request of a client. I doubled everything the recipe called for because they requested 2 dozen. I tried to QC one and the first bite was okay. I had a deep “sugar” aftertaste so I tried a second bite and wow…this is almost too sweet. Next time I will cut back on the Splenda and the vanilla. Very nice texture though. Very light and fluffy. Make sure you fill the cup completely to have nice full cupcakes.
@Karolyn Hampton, Thanks so much for your feedback. It’s so tough to work w/ Splenda- the results are never very good. Will try cutting back the splenda next time I have to make these!
I made these last July for my daughter’s first birthday party. Everyone loved them – most of them couldn’t even tell they were sugar-free!
I made these cupcakes for my husband and his family who are diabetics. My husband wasn’t able to finish a whole cupcake. He told my that they were horrible. I had to apologize to my family. My husband said they were too bitter and had no sweetness to them.
Thank you! I’m making cupcakes for Easter and though I was told I didn’t need to bring anything sugar free (three diabetics will be there) and I wanted to make some for them. This is perfect.
I am so glad you posted this…I just got a request from a bride for a small splenda cake and was dreading finding one to use. This sounds perfect!
I can’t eat sugar and I have been using Splenda for many years now. Of course I prefer sugar, but I gain a lot of weight if I have it. Diabetes runs in family and I want to be carefulas well.
I don’t follow the intructions listed in the Splenda box.
For a 2 cups flour cake, I only use 4 TBSP of Splenda, otherwise I cannot handle the taste.
Normally I don’t like sweet treats too sweet, than it works for me.