These Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes are as simple as can be, and they have only 3g carbs! Great for the gestational diabetes diet.
Why Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes?
Cheesecake is one of the most ultimate indulgences. It's rich and heavy and utterly comforting. Adding raspberry to the mix presents another delight to your taste buds and lemon cuts the richness just a bit to make a lighter feel, and it compliments the raspberry so well.
Gestational Diabetes Diet
Not only are they simple and delicious, but cheesecake is the safe dessert of the gestational diabetes diet. What I mean by safe is that cheesecake is loaded with fat from the cream cheese, so as long as you don't go heavy on sugar (and flour in some recipes) you'll be able to enjoy a nice serving without guilt or worry.
Recipe Modifications
The basic recipe has just 3 ingredients: cream cheese, sugar and eggs. So if lemon-raspberry doesn't tickle you, try it plain or with other flavorings. Other good combinations are blueberry and lemon or strawberry and lime.
This recipe originally calls for ¼ c of sugar which helps the structure to not collapse. If using a sweetener that does not convert 1:1 for sugar, know that the middle of the cupcakes will be sunken in. The Almond Flour is an optional ingredient to prevent the sinking. But really, you could probably use regular sugar and not spike you blood sugar. Regular sugar works out to be about 4g per serving, which is 1 teaspoon's worth. If you choose to use sugar, be mindful that there are sugars in the raspberries as well.
If you have it on hand, add ½ c of sour cream or Greek yogurt to achieve a creamier texture.
No base is needed, although you can make one, and no special cake pan.
Nutrition Highlights
If you don't mind the texture, keep the raspberry seeds in the mix. They contain fiber, antioxidants and essential fatty acids. If you don't want them, crush the berries in a fine sieve and just use the juice.
Recipe
Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes
- 1 pkg 8oz of Cream Cheese
- 2 tablespoon Truvia* (or any sweetener using the equivalent of ¼ c of sugar)
- 1 Egg
- 1½ t Lemon Zest packed ( or 2 Tbsps Lemon Juice)
- ¼ t Vanilla Extract
- ⅛ t Salt
- 10 Raspberries
- Let cream cheese reach room temperature.
- Preheat oven to 325?F.
- Line the cupcake pan with wrappers.
- Mix cream cheese, Truvia & egg on medium speed for 5-7 mins until light and fluffy. Stop as needed to scrape down the sides to incorporate all.
- Add remaining ingredients, except the raspberries, to the batter & mix well.
- While that mixes, thoroughly crush the raspberries in a separate bowl with the back of the spoon.
- Add the raspberries and fold or stir gently to create a swirl.
- Pour batter into the liners & bake for 25 mins. Let cool & refrigerate.
Jennilynn
Hi there, does this mean 10 rasberries per cupcake? OR 10 in the whole thing? Thanks!
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
Hi Jennilynn, It would be for the whole recipe. Ten in one cupcake would pretty much make it a raspberry itself, lol. You can add more if you'd like since berries are great for diabetics, but I found 10 to be enough (they break apart and spread throughout) for a good swirl.
As a side note, someone recently made these on Instagram and they suggest not adding the almond flour that's listed as optional. I haven't had a chance to update it yet so I just want to pass it on. - Traci
Nikki
Hi Traci,
I haven't made these yet - Just wondering if you used the Almond Flour in your version and if that's included in your nutritional information?
Thanks!
Traci
Hi Nikki! I didn't use the almond flour in mine, and that's why the middles are sunken a bit. The nutritional information does not include the almond flour. I will say that I have seen many moms say they do OK with regular cheesecake (eaten at the end of a meal, of course), so you may want to try that as well. Also, if you do make these with almond flour, be mindful that almond flour, even the finest ground almond flour, is still grainy compared to all purpose flour, so the final texture won't be as smooth as a normal cheesecake 🙂
Kylie
Hi Traci,
So I see you didn't use the almond flour, so did you use whole wheat flour or none at all? Thanks!!! And excited to try these!
The Gestational Diabetic Chef
Hi Kylie,
I didn't use any flour in these. The middles sank as a result, but that was no biggie to me.
It deserves another mention that I left the raspberry seeds in as well because that's where the fiber is. If you want a smooth texture you'll need to press the berries through a sieve.
I hope you like them!
Traci