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WW Recipe of the Day: Carrot Cupcakes Made Lighter
Lighter, healthier carrot cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting that are just as moist and delicious as traditional carrot cake, in a perfectly portion-controlled package.
I've been a big carrot cake fan for as long as I can remember. It was my go-to dessert all through the late 1980s and early 1990s. I remember going to restaurants where I would bring home most of my dinner in a doggie bag just so I could indulge in a big delicious cream cheese frosted wedge.
Enlightened Carrot Cupcakes
That was before I joined Weight Watchers and started paying attention to things like calories and grams of fat.
According to eTools, a piece of carrot cake with cream cheese icing has 18 PointsPlus value. The triple-layer slice at Outback is even worse. It has about 1,290 calories, 174 g carbs, 68 g fat and 10 g protein for a whopping 58 WW SmartPoints (purple plan)!
Needless, to say, this isn't the kind of dessert I indulge in on a regular basis anymore, unless I'm sharing it with an entire table and having a bite or two.
But I haven't lost my taste for the wonderful flavors and textures of carrot cake.
That's where this recipe from Enlightened Cakes: More Than 100 Decadently Light Layer Cakes, Bundt Cakes, Cupcakes, Cheesecakes, and More, All with Less Fat and Fewer Calories (affiliate link) by Camilla Saulsbury comes in. I adapted the recipe slightly, using the one bowl mixing approach from another one of Camilla's books, Piece of Cake!: One-Bowl, No-Fuss, From-Scratch Cakes (affiliate link), to make it as quick and easy as possible to mix.
Melt
I also substituted the canola oil in the cake and butter in the icing with MELT organic buttery spread. (I received two packages to sample and thought this was a great way to test it out, since it is supposed to cook and bake like butter.)
Scooping Out the Melt Spread
If you haven't heard of it (I hadn't), MELT is an organic spread that's a blend of virgin coconut oil, flaxseed oil, palm oil, canola oil and sunflower oil, with 80 calories and 2 PointsPlus per tablespoon. It's rich and creamy and I can taste the slightest hint of coconut, which I like.
I haven't tried MELT on my toast, since I prefer it spread with peanut butter or almond butter. But it was great when I used it on steamed veggies including broccoli and carrots. (For more information about MELT, check out the links at the bottom of the post.)
These cupcakes were a huge success. They satisfied my craving with just 6 PointsPlus. And Mom, who doesn't really like carrot flavored baked goods, gave them two thumbs ups proclaiming them, "the best carrot cake I've ever had."
Lighter Healthier Carrot Cupcakes Ready to Frost
How Many Calories and WW Points in these Cupcakes?
According to my calculations, each splurge-worthy frosted cupcake has 222 calories and:
11 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
11 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
11 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
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Enlightened Carrot Cupcakes Recipe
Lighter, healthier carrot cupcakes with lemon cream cheese icing, a delicious portion-controlled way to indulge in carrot cake.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time18 minutes mins
Total Time33 minutes mins
Servings (adjustable): 12
Calories: 222
Author: Martha McKinnon | Simple Nourished Living
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus)
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons canola oil (I substituted MELT Spread)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup finely shredded, peeled carrot (about 2 medium)
- 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained very well
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 ounces ⅓-less-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used MELT Spread instead)
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1-⅔ to 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 standard muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg until well blended.
Add the oil, vanilla, egg, carrots, and pineapple and stir until well blended. Gently stir in the dried cranberries.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing it evenly among them.
Bake on the center of the oven for 16-18 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes and then remove the cupcakes from the pan and let them cool completely on the wire rack.
While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the lemon cream cheese icing. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter (or MELT spread), lemon zest, vanilla, and salt with an electric mixer (affiliate link) on medium speed until just blended and smooth.
Gradually add 1-⅔ cups of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the lemon juice until blended. If the mixture seems to soft, add more sugar until you reach a nice spreading consistency.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, frost the cupcakes with the lemon cream cheese icing
Recipe Notes
I love Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus Spice Blend in place of Cinnamon. It's a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ground orange peel, cloves and ginger. Because of the nutmeg in the blend, I didn't add the ⅛ teaspoon called for.
Serving size: 1 frosted cupcake
Click here to see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site.
11 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
11 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
11 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
6 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Nutrition Facts
Enlightened Carrot Cupcakes Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 frosted cupcake)
Calories 222Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Carbohydrates 38.5g13%
Fiber 0g0%
Protein 2.3g5%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: frosted carrot cupcakes, healthy carrot cupcakes
Did you make this recipe?Mention @simplenourishedliving on Instagram and tag #simplenourishedliving - we love to see your creations!
Source: Enlightened Cakes: More Than 100 Decadently Light Layer Cakes, Bundt Cakes, Cupcakes, Cheesecakes, and More, All with Less Fat and Fewer Calories (affiliate link) by Camilla Saulsbury
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
If you like these Enlightened Carrot Cupcakes, you might also like:
- Healthy Breakfast Mini-Muffins - loaded with carrots, apples, oats and whole wheat (Simple Nourished Living)
- Super Moist Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing - a deep single layer cake with coconut (SkinnyTaste)
- Carrot-Orange Ginger Muffins - with the zing of fresh ginger (Weight Watchers)
- More about Melt healthy butter spread made with virgin coconut oil and flaxseed oil including flaxseed oil health benefits (Melt)
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
More about Martha McKinnon
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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