I had just converted my mother to a ketogenic diet, and her birthday was coming up soon. I was scraping at the air trying to find something that was low carb, delicious, and would rifle her cravings away for any type of real cake. I remember a few years back, I had made soy bean brownies…right then and there I knew I had to make a cake from them.
Luckily my local supermarket sells organic soy beans, so I headed over there and picked some up. I went online to search for some recipes, but low and behold – there’s not many out there! I found my old brownie recipe and adapted it from that, making sure it would rise more and be more fluffy that those dense, chocolatey morsels.
I ended up making this twice – once as a cake, and the second time as cupcakes. The cupcakes turned out much better when I used Splenda. The first time I only used stevia, and I was not pleased with it at all (not to mention the aftertaste was much stronger).
If you’re looking for a delicious, low carb chocolate cake – this will be the one. Soy isn’t fantastic for you, so keep that in mind, but everything is in moderation, right? For those of you who are curious about why I chose soybeans, as they are quite controversial, check out this article.
These cakes are extremely moist, but make sure you are tasting the batter as you make it. Sometimes brands of cocoa powder taste different, and if you don’t use enough, you will have a bean-like aftertaste.
Yields 8 total cupcakes at 3.4g net carbs each.
The Preparation
Cupcake Brownies:
- 16 ounces canned organic black soy beans
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup stevia/erythritol blend, such as Swerve
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
Icing:
- 8 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons stevia/erythritol blend, powdered
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
The Execution
Cupcake Brownies
1. Preheat your oven to 325 F.
2. Open your can of soy beans and drain them. Put them into a colander and rinse them WELL. Seriously, they are in a salty brining liquid, and need to be washed for at least 1-2 minutes. I use my hands to make sure all the beans have been washed well, but you must be gentle to ensure they stay intact.
3. Dump your beans into a mixing bowl (or blender), this is where the fun will begin.
4. Add 3 eggs, 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract, and about 1-2 Tbsp. Splenda.
5. I like to use a hand blender, as my real one is not great. If you have a good blender, then use it. Blend it very well, make sure there’s absolutely no lumps from the beans whatsoever. It should be the consistency of a semi-watery batter when you are finished.
6. In a separate bowl, mix together your 5 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder, 1 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. baking soda.
7. This is a bowl intensive recipe, so be prepared for some dishes to clean afterward. Get another bowl out and add your room temperature butter and the rest of the Splenda.
8. Cream it together until its light and fluffy, then add your remaining 2 eggs. Continue to beat with a hand mixer for another minute.
9. Slowly add your bean mixture to your creamed eggs, and blend well.
10. Use the colander you used to drain the beans, and sift the cocoa powder mix into your batter. Slowly mix them together until you have everything in there. In my picture, the batter looks dense. Keep blending it until it becomes lighter in color and more fluffy. This will ensure that they rise well.
11. Get out your cupcake tray and spray them down with coconut oil. Add your cake batter to the holes, filling them up almost completely full. For me, this made 8 total cupcakes.
12. Stick them in the oven and set a timer for 40 minutes.
Icing
1. In yet another mixing bowl, put your 8 Tbsp. butter and cream it well.
2. Add your splenda and continue to beat until it is well mixed.
3. Add your heavy cream, vanilla, and peanut butter and continue to mix until it is consistent.
4. Slowly add your cocoa powder and stir it in with a spoon until it is incorporated. Then you can beat it for 1 minute until everything is mixed well.
5. Refrigerate your batter while your cupcakes are in the oven.
Finishing Off (Optional)
1. Once your cupcakes are at room temperature, remove your batter from the fridge.
2. Mix your batter well with a knife, ensuring that the consistency is back to light and fluffy.
3. Generously apply your icing to your cupcakes.
4. In a mixing bowl, pour in 1/2 Cup heavy cream and Splenda to taste.
5. Whisk heavily until the cream is light and fluffy.
6. Cut the corner off of a Ziploc bag, and fill with cream.
7. Add your cream on top of your cupcakes once iced. If you have an actual pastry bag, more power to you!
This makes a total of 8 servings of Low-Carb Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes. Each serving comes out to be 331 calories, 28.6g fats, 2.5g net carbs, and 10.6g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 16 ounce canned organic black soy beans | 422 | 20.9 | 28.2 | 24.5 | 3.7 | 38.6 |
| 1 tablespoon water | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1/2 teaspoon sea salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 large egg | 393 | 26.2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 34.5 |
| 1 tablespoon vanilla extract | 37 | 0 | 1.6 | 0 | 1.6 | 0 |
| 3/4 cup stevia/erythritol blend | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder | 100 | 2.5 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| 1 teaspoon baking powder | 2 | 0 | 1.3 | 0 | 1.3 | 0 |
| 1/2 teaspoon baking soda | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 tablespoon butter | 610 | 69 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| 8 tablespoon butter | 814 | 92.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 | 1 |
| 3 tablespoon stevia/erythritol blend | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream | 101 | 10.7 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
| 1 teaspoon vanilla extract | 12 | 0 | 0.6 | 0 | 0.6 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon peanut butter | 95 | 8.1 | 3.2 | 1 | 2.3 | 4 |
| 3 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder | 60 | 1.5 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Totals | 2684 | 230.9 | 61.8 | 41.5 | 20.4 | 87.7 |
| Per Serving (/8) | 335 | 28.9 | 7.7 | 5.2 | 2.5 | 11 |

Low-Carb Chocolate Brownie Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcake Brownies
- 16 ounce canned organic black soy beans
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 5 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup stevia/erythritol blend such as Swerve
- 5 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoon butter softened
Icing
- 8 tablespoon butter softened
- 3 tablespoon stevia/erythritol blend powdered
- 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 3 tablespoon unsweetened dark cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Drain the canned soybeans. Place in a colander and rinse well for 1–2 minutes, making sure to get all traces of the canned liquid off the beans.
- Pour the beans into a mixing bowl (or blender). This is where the fun begins! Add the water, sea salt, three-fifths of the eggs, vanilla, and about one-tenth of the sweetener.
- Blend together well, making sure not to leave any lumps from the beans. The batter should be slightly watery when finished.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, add the room-temperature butter and remaining sweetener and cream together until light and fluffy. Add the remaining eggs and beat for another minute.
- Slowly add the bean mixture to the creamed eggs, blending well.
- Using the colander used to drain the beans, sift the cocoa powder mix into the batter. Break up any lumps as you go. Slowly mix together until fluffy and light in color.
- Get out a cupcake tray and spray it with coconut oil. Pour in the cake batter, filling them almost completely full. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Add the softened butter to a separate mixing bowl and cream together well. Add the sweetener and continue to mix until well combined. Add the heavy cream, vanilla, and peanut butter, and continue mixing to an even consistency. Slowly add in the cocoa powder, stirring with a spoon until well incorporated. Beat the mixture for about one minute.
- Refrigerate the icing while the cupcakes finish baking. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool. Once at room temperature, remove the icing from the fridge and mix well with a knife, ensuring that the consistency is light and fluffy. Generously frost the cupcakes. Serve and enjoy!











