My H got prediabetes diagnosis. Both of us love baked goods and cakes. Can anyone share low carb cupcake recipes that do not include obscure and/or expensive ingredients?
The cookbook called “Run fast, eat slow” has a great muffin recipe that uses almond flower (ground almonds). The almond cake in that cookbook is also good.
Actually every recipe is great in this cookbook. I love the moroccan lentil salad, the meatballs, it’s all good –
https://www.amazon.com/Run-Fast-Eat-Slow-Nourishing/dp/162336681X
I second that! 
OP, are you also looking into cutting sugar out completely by replacing with other stuff?
You can google “keto cupcakes” and get a bunch of recipes to try because keto is so popular now.
I made birthday chocolate cupcakes for a friend that were pretty good, using coconut flour (and stevia). I make chocolates all the time (coconut oil, unsweetened baking choc, stevia), and have messed around with cheesecake a little bit, and I make pretty decent muffins now too.
Almond flour is fairly pricey but coconut flour is reasonable, and you use less of it. Stevia (and/or erythritol) are one time buys that last a long time. Nothing else is really obscure - eggs, oils, vanilla, cream cheese, baking cocoa powder, normal stuff you can find anywhere.
MY DH is diabetic; these are not exactly low-carb, but low added sugars and beans are a slow burn.
This is an adapted recipe from this month’s Costco magazine; they are absolutely delicious!
1 15oz can drained beans (I used chickpeas)
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/4 cup flour
2-3 tbs maple syrup
1/3 cup brown sugar (I omitted)
1tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 baking powder
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup choc chips (I substitued with 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder)
preheat oven to 350
place everything except nuts into food processor and blen for approx 1 minute until smooth; fold in chopped nuts
and spoon into either a prepared 8 x 8" brownie dish (cut into squares when cool) or into mini cupcake papers (I did this) Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clen
Yum!
Right, isn’t it low sugar you need as opposed to low carb??
Actually, for diabetes it’s low-carb. Potatoes and flour are just as bad as sugar!
@BunsenBurner Yes, he switched the sugar to Splenda. We both met a nutritionist and learned the better eating habits to lower his A1C. The talk was focused on carb/sugar/fiber intake and the portion control. I don’t know how much I understood, though.
Thank you, everyone for your suggestions!! I will bake something this coming weekend!!
According to the American Diabetic Assn. beans are a so called superfood; I use beans / lentils etc almost every day of the week. They are nutritious, filling and tasty. The above recipe, while not it’s carb free, is a good alternative for cake
Portion control is a big factor, along with small and frequent meals to keep the blood sugar steady and avoid spikes.
It really is better to look for new foods rather than try and make cakes etc low carb. And as well as understanding that this is a minefield (as per Costco recipe) the issue of portions and calories is equally important. If your DH is overweight, losing weight is the first step.
Sugar, starch and fiber are all carbohydrates. I think there needs to be more clarity if you want low sugar, low GI, high fiber, or literally low carbohydrates.
Aren’t diabetics generally looking for low net carbs (carb-fiber=net) and/or very slow carbs?
Anyhow i’ll dig out the cupcake recipe I used if you’d like it.
Paging @Consolation!
I don’t know of any good recipes of that type that I would consider actually low carb. I have made a good lower carb pumpkin cheesecake, (no flour, no sugar), and a fabulous flourless chocolate cake made with only butter, eggs, and chocolate is definitely lower carb if you use 60% or 70% dark chocolate.
Best advice is to focus on other foods, alas. I was just thinking that I was going to explore baking more with coconut and almond flours, though most of the recipes I have seen to date contain too much regular flour to be low carb. Once in a while it’s okay, but if you have them in the house it is not going to be once in a while.
My best advice is to NOT USE SPLENDA, especially not 1:1 instead of sugar. It is revoltingly sweet. And it does have carbs. When I make the pumpkin cheesecake, I use a combination of erythritol and a liquid sweetener, and cut way back on the stated amount of “sugar” because of taste and because too much erythritol will give you the runs. Do it by taste before adding the eggs, if you can.
Google “All day I dream of food” It is a great site run by a woman with Type 1 diabetes. There are incredible recipes for everything from soup to nuts. She also has lots of cookbooks, but I usually just use the recipes on line. You may not be used to all the ingredients, but you can find them online or in your market. It will be worthwhile to invest in a few ingredients so you can help your husband.
There’s one that looks good there: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/chocolate-coconut-flour-cupcakes-with-espresso-buttercream-low-carb-and-gluten-free/
This is the one I made (mug cake - in microwave. Cream cheese frosting.) https://jenniferbanz.com/keto-mug-cake
That I dream of food site isn't written by a type 1 diabetic that I can see? Did I miss it? She wrote had GD and her "diabetes stuck around" (she should have a better diagnosis than that as a normal weight woman, like some genetic analysis for MODY types) . I am not clear what sort of diabetes she has but she is clear that it is not a site about dieting LOL. I was taken with those chocolate thins. Either way, most type 2s have an intake excess not just a carb problem. Keto/paleo eaters that don't need to watch calories are usually also very active.