Almond Flour Chocolate Bear Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Whipped Cream Frosting
These easy almond flour chocolate bear cupcakes are super light, soft, and moist. They’re not too sweet and the chocolate flavor is enhanced by the addition of espresso powder in the batter. Plus, they’re perfectly balanced with the homemade peanut butter whipped cream, which only requires three ingredients!
This recipe is gluten-free AND low in sugar… but I promise no one will even be able to tell! 🙂
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About these almond flour chocolate bear cupcakes
It was recently my dad and brother’s birthdays. They’re both chocolate + peanut butter lovers, so I thought I’d make them a dessert that has both!
My dad limits his carbs/sugar intake, so I knew I had to get creative with the ingredients. After doing some research, I found Arman Liew’s recipe for his almond flour cupcake, which has seven hundred 5-star reviews!!! They’re naturally gluten-free and low carb, so of course I had to make them, but put my own spin on it. I bloomed the cocoa, made them into kawaii bears, added in a peanut butter element, and subbed in alternative sugar.
Texturally, these cupcakes are incredibly light, fluffy, and moist, while the whipped cream is like a dreamy cloud of peanut butter. In terms of flavor, the cake isn’t too sweet and the chocolate is enhanced with the addition of espresso powder. The peanut butter whipped cream also isn’t too sweet and has the perfect amount of PB flavor, so it isn’t overpowering.
Overall, these gluten-free chocolate cupcakes are very beginner friendly, since no special equipment is needed. All you really need is a mixing bowl, and hand whisk. And after baking, melted chocolate is used to decorate the faces.
If you’re looking for a fun and simple weekend baking project, this is the one for you! If you’re interested in other kawaii recipes I have, check out these!: Chocolate Bear Mochi Muffins, Shortbread Bear Cookies, Aang Sugar Cookies, BlueBEARy cookies, Coconut Ube Bear Cookies, Red Velvet Bear Cookies, Strawberry Kirby Sugar Cookies, StrawBEARy Sugar Cookies, Bunny Sugar Cookies, Teddy Bear Chocolate Chip Cookies, Keroppi Matcha Sugar Cookies, Frog Matcha Sugar Cookies, Soft, Less Sweet Ube Sugar Cookie Bears (Dairy-Free!), Pig-Shaped Snickerdoodles (Vegan), Cat-Shaped Black Cocoa Cookies (Vegan), and Chick-Shaped Lemon Cookies.
Tips for baking and decorating
Blooming cocoa powder
Blooming cocoa powder simply means dissolving it in a hot liquid, such as water or coffee. This releases even more chocolately flavor, amping up your baked goods.
Making peanut butter whipped cream
The whipped cream is simple. You dump in the three ingredients (heavy cream, peanut butter, and powdered sugar) into a bowl, and whisk until you get stiff peaks.
However, whipped cream can be easy to over whip if you don’t keep an eye on it! To fix clumpy whipped cream, stir in a tablespoon of heavy cream at a time to loosen up the mixture. Then, whisk it to the desired consistency.
Adding the bear face details
For the faces, I used melted white and milk chocolate chips. I added the details on using a piping bag, but feel free to use a toothpick or cookie scribe!
Storing the cupcakes
Store these cute chocolate peanut butter bear cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week!
I really hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make these gluten-free bear cupcakes cookies, I’d love to see them. You can tag me at #bitesbybianca / @bitesbybianca on Instagram. Enjoy!
If you’re interested in other kawaii recipes I have, check out these!: Chocolate Bear Mochi Muffins, Shortbread Bear Cookies, Aang Sugar Cookies, BlueBEARy cookies, Coconut Ube Bear Cookies, Red Velvet Bear Cookies, Strawberry Kirby Sugar Cookies, StrawBEARy Sugar Cookies, Bunny Sugar Cookies, Teddy Bear Chocolate Chip Cookies, Keroppi Matcha Sugar Cookies, Frog Matcha Sugar Cookies, Soft, Less Sweet Ube Sugar Cookie Bears (Dairy-Free!), Pig-Shaped Snickerdoodles (Vegan), Cat-Shaped Black Cocoa Cookies (Vegan), and Chick-Shaped Lemon Cookies.
Almond Flour Chocolate Bear Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Whipped Cream Frosting
Ingredients
Bloom the cocoa powder:
- ½ c cocoa powder (50g)
- ⅔ c hot water (160g)
For the cupcakes:
- 2 ½ c almond flour (240g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt ($0.01)
- ¾ c sugar substitute, I used allulose, feel free to use regular granulated sugar! (150g)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- ¾ c Greek yogurt (210g)
- 1 tsp espresso powder
For the peanut butter whipped cream:
- 1 c heavy cream (240g)
- ⅓ c smooth peanut butter (88g)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar
For the decorations:
- 3 tbsp melted white chocolate
- 1 tbsp melted milk or dark chocolate
Instructions
Bloom the cocoa powder:
- In a heat-safe bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and boiling water until smooth. Set aside to cool. (This step dissolves the cocoa powder, bringing out even more chocolatey flavor in baked goods.)
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Line a cupcake tray with paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together together the eggs, vanilla, and sugar until smooth.
- Add the Greek yogurt and espresso powder, then mix until combined. It's okay if the batter is slightly lumpy.
- Pour in the bloomed cocoa and whisk until smooth.
- Dump in all of the dry ingredients. Stir until no dry clumps remain.
- Use a muffin/ice cream scoop or spoon to add batter to each cupcake liner, with each liner being about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. The cupcakes will be done if you stick a cake tester in the middle and it comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs.
- Cool cupcakes in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them onto a wire rack and let them cool completely before decorating.
For the peanut butter whipped cream:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, peanut butter, and powdered sugar until stiff peaks. It should be smooth and able to hold its shape, but shouldn't be clumpy. If it's too clumpy, the whipped cream is over whipped. To counter this, stir in a tbsp of heavy cream at a time and the mixture should loosen. Whip again until you get the desired consistency.Transfer to a piping bag and cut a large tip.
For the bear decorations:
- Using the peanut butter whipped cream, pipe on a circle in the middle of each cupcake for the bear's head.
- Pipe on two smaller circles on top for the bear's ears.
- For the faces, you can use a piping bag, ziploc bag with the end snipped off, toothpick, or cookie scribe. I used a cookie scribe.
- Use the melted white chocolate to draw on the snouts and ears.
- Add on the nose and eyes using the melted milk or dark chocolate.
- And now you're done! Enjoy!