Glazed Coconut Lime Cupcakes

By Nichole Furlong, Skinny Ms.

When I switched to a low-carb diet, I thought my days of eating cupcakes, cakes, and muffins were over. After all, isn’t the main ingredient in these recipes usually flour? After a few weeks, my cravings for something sweet started to become unbearable. I called up a good friend (who has been following a Paleo diet for a while now) and asked for her advice. Without hesitation, she gave me this recipe for glazed coconut lime cupcakes. “Trust me,” she said, “this is going to do the trick.” These cupcakes really hit the spot, curbing my sweet-tooth cravings and helping me stay on track with my low-carb diet.

Since these cupcakes use coconut milk, almond flour, and coconut sugar, they fully qualify as a Paleo-friendly snack or dessert! If I’m being honest, I’ve even eaten these cupcakes as a quick-and-easy breakfast, too. They’re low-calorie and packed with protein, so why not start the day out right with this sweet-tasting treat?

These glazed coconut lime cupcakes couldn’t be easier to make, although there are a few tips and tricks we want to share with you. Nothing is overly complicated, but following our secrets to success really make these cupcakes stand out. Your non-dieting friends will love this low-calorie, Paleo-friendly dessert, too, which is really the seal of approval!

A Few Secrets to Success

There are a few secrets to making these cupcakes a complete success. Don’t worry, they’re all super easy to accomplish, so you don’t need any special techniques or equipment. Just keep these things in mind as you make your glazed coconut lime cupcakes and they’ll turn out phenomenal!

First, the key to making these cupcakes taste ultra light is mixing the ingredients until they’re light and frothy. That will incorporate a large amount of air into the batter. When they bake up, that air will expand and the cupcake will be unbelievably light. Just like a cloud!

Next, it’s all about the zest. We use lime zest to give these glazed coconut lime cupcakes a burst of flavor, but really you could use any kind of citrus zest. Feel free to swap in lemon, orange, or grapefruit zest if that’s what you have on-hand, but don’t skip this ingredient! The zest really brings a beautiful brightness to the cupcake, perking up the flavors and bringing this sweet treat together.

Finally, whipping up the glaze is easy, but since you’re not melting the sugar it definitely has to be powdered. If you can’t find powdered coconut sugar (sometimes called palm sugar) and being Paleo isn’t a requirement, you can use a clean powdered sugar instead. Or, you can give your store-bought coconut sugar a blitz in a high-powered blender until it breaks down. Once it’s fully powdery, it will combine perfectly with the lime juice to create the perfect sweet glaze for your cupcakes.

We can’t wait for you to try these glazed coconut lime cupcakes! Let us know how they turned out in the comments below.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• about 8 cupcakes
• 1 cupcake

Yield: about 8 cupcakes | Serving Size: 1 cupcake | Calories: 321 | Total Fat: 23 g | Saturated Fats: 7 g | Trans Fats: 0 g | Carbohydrates: 23 g | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 16 g | Protein: 9 g | Cholesterol: 40 mg | Sodium: 178 mg | Smartpoints (Freestyle): 12 |

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 tablespoon lime zest
• 2 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

For the Glaze:

• 1/2 cup powdered coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon lime zest

Instructions

For the Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, coconut milk, honey, vanilla, lime juice, and lime zest. Mix on high speed until thick and frothy. The more air in the mixture from mixing the better!
• Fold in the almond flour, baking soda, and coconut by hand just until combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool slightly before drizzling the glaze over top.

For the Glaze:

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Drizzle over cooked cupcakes.