When I was in 3rd grade, my family and I flew to Arizona to spend Easter with my grandparents. We packed lots of shorts, swim suits, and flip flops for our week in the desert, and I picked out a special dress for the holiday service at church: a light-weight lavender gingham print covered in white daisies. I thought it’d be perfect for the warm weather!
We spent most of the week painting with watercolors, refilling the bird feeder in the backyard, and drawing a gigantic 30-foot tall saguaro cactus with sidewalk chalk on my grandparents’ driveway. We even swam in the neighborhood pool and finally learned how to ride two-wheel bikes on top of all of our sidewalk chalk art.
But on Easter morning, the skies clouded over and the wind picked up. Mom insisted that we wore jackets to church over our summery Easter clothes, but since I forgot one, Grandma lent me her lime green shawl to drape over my shoulders. I looked like a tennis ball!
We quietly sat through the service, listening to the sermon and Grandpa performing with the rest of the church choir, and we stayed on our best behavior so Mom would allow us to eat a tiny slice of carrot cake at brunch after the final prayer. When we eventually walked out into the parking lot to drive home…
It was snowing!
Yes, snow in April in Arizona on Easter! It’s never happened to us again since. My brother and I excitedly sprinted to the car, urging Mom to go faster. As soon as we reached my grandparents’ house, we threw on the warmest clothes we had packed and ran outside to make icy snowballs.
We carefully saved them for two hours, waiting until Grandpa’s truck came down the street. (He had to stay behind to sing in the choir again for the second service.) Then we threw the snowballs at the sides of his car as he eased up the driveway.
I think the only traditional things about that year were dying eggs after church and eating honey-baked ham for dinner. To many sure our holiday this year is a little more on the classic side, I perfected these Carrot Cake Cupcakes, complete with cream cheese frosting, to serve at our Easter brunch!
This dessert is the second installment in Carrot Cake Week on AHB, and when it comes to carrot cake, I like mine packed full of carrots. Yes, even more veggies than cake! None of this spice-cake-with-a-few-streaks-of-orange business. I need lots of freshly grated carrots and an ample amount of cinnamon and nutmeg too. I want it to taste warm and cozy, just like comfort food should.
However, unlike most comfort food recipes, this one is actually healthy! The cupcakes are clean-eating friendly, meaning they’re entirely whole wheat and contain no butter or refined sugar. They’re sweetened with maple syrup instead, which helps keep them moist and adds to the warm, cozy flavor.
Because the cupcakes contain very little fat, you must spray the cupcake liners with nonstick cooking spray. I usually mist them twice to be safe. Low fat cupcake (and muffin) batter sticks to paper liners like superglue, so coating them with cooking spray prevents most of the cake from sticking to the liner. If you use foil liners, you’ll only need to spray once.
Tip: If you forget to spray the liners or don’t quite coat them well enough, seal the unfrosted cupcakes inside of an airtight container for 24 hours. That will loosen the liners from the sides and allow you to peel them off slightly better!
Classic carrot cake demands cream cheese frosting. No, it isn’t clean-eating friendly (if you want a clean frosting recipe, try this one of mine instead), but it’s packed with protein and sugar-free! My secret?
Greek yogurt and instant pudding mix! Greek yogurt is already fairly thick, and the instant pudding mix thickens it even further to give it a similar texture to buttercream, meaning you can pipe it into pretty swirls onto your cupcakes! The cheesecake flavor comes from cream cheese and cheesecake instant pudding mix. It’s sweet, tangy, and delicious!
Now with protein-packed frosting and skinny, clean eating cupcakes… These are basically healthy enough for breakfast! Right?
| Classic Carrot Cake Cupcakes | | Print |
- for the cupcakes
- 1 ½ c (180g) whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ c (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ c (120mL) maple syrup
- ¼ c (60mL) nonfat milk
- 2 c (210g) grated carrots (about 4 medium, peeled first)
- for the frosting
- 1 c (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 (8oz) block fat-free cream cheese
- 2 servings (14g) fat-free, sugar-free instant cheesecake pudding mix
- ¼ c (6g) granulated sucralose (or other sweetener, to taste)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line 12 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. Generously coat with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cupcakes, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Mix in the maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Fold in the carrots.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 23-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cupcakes bake, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl, beat the yogurt, cream cheese, pudding mix, and sucralose with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 minutes, or until thick. Chill for at least 2 hours before piping on top of the cooled cupcakes. (If chilling longer, cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap or foil.)
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and all-purpose flour will all work.
Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the maple syrup.
Unfrosted cupcakes will stay fresh if stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days. The frosting will stay fresh if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
{clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
More carrot cake recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Carrot Cake Cheesecake by Cooking Classy
♥ Vegan Carrot Cake Cupcakes by Simple Vegan Blog
♥ Pineapple Upside Down Carrot Cake by Layers of Happiness
♥ Carrot Walnut Cake by Tastes of Lizzy T’s
Hi Amy, I just made the cupcakes and they taste delicious. The only thing is that they were really dense & more like the consistency of muffins. Did I do something wrong? I thought they would be much lighter.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Vel! These cupcakes aren’t supposed to be as light and airy as angel food cake or classic yellow cake. The large amount of grated carrots we add typically makes these cupcakes turn out a little bit denser. 🙂
Hi Amy,
What would be the substitution for vanilla creme stevia instead of the maple syrup?
Also, is there a gluten free flour option?
Thank you!
Any store-bought gluten-free flour blend should work Sylvie! If you’d prefer to use vanilla creme stevia, then I’d recommend this recipe of mine instead. (It will yield more than 12 cupcakes, but it tastes the same!) 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these!
Hello Amy. I was wondering what I could use instead of coconut oil because I want to try to make these for my dad but he is not a fan of coconut
Thank you! 🙂
You’re so sweet to want to make these for your dad, Olivia! Butter is the best substitute, but any oil will work. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you both think of these cupcakes!
Hi Amy! I made these the beginning of February and immediately placed them in air-tight containers in the freezer… are they still good? If so, what is the best way to thaw them out for an event on Tuesday (note- they have not been frosted yet).
Thank you,
Brooke
Yes, your cupcakes should still be good! The thawing method are the same as the chocolate chip cookies that you made. (I’ll copy and paste that response here too, just in case future commenters have the same question as you about these cupcakes! 🙂
For these cupcakes, there are two different thawing methods. I use the first when I want to eat the cupcakes ASAP, and I use the second if that’s not the case… So I’m guessing the second method will be better for you, but I wanted to give you both just in case! For the first method, I microwave the cupcakes on 30% power until they’re fully thawed (and usually a little bit warm!). I usually thaw individual cupcakes for about 20-30 seconds, so it’ll probably take more time than that if you’re thawing an entire batch. Remember to put them on a microwave-safe plate! For the second method, put your airtight containers in the refrigerator, and put a paper towel in between the cupcakes if they’re stacked on top of each other to soak up any ice crystals as they melt. Does that make sense? 🙂
Thank you so much Amy!!! I’ll let you know how everything goes 😉
My pleasure, Brooke! I can’t wait! 🙂
I was looking for a healthier recipe and read yours. It would be a good idea if you were more informed about using an artificial chemical sweetener such as sucralose causing health concerns and cancer before suggesting it to anyone. Hence the word “artificial” means it is not natural nor healthy.
People who publish online without doing adequate research, promoting misleading information which can cause serious health issues. You lose credibility in my book, it’s not “Healthy Baking”.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Cyn! I have a cream cheese frosting recipe for cupcakes here that doesn’t include sucralose and is clean eating friendly. Perhaps that will be better suited to your dietary preferences! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try it!
What a simple yet delicious recipe! I didn’t frost them and added hazelnuts, almonds and raisins to the mixture. They came out amazing and I could have done with less maple syrup as they were quite sweet! Thank you 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cupcakes, Yasmine! I love your idea of adding raisins; they add such a fun pop of sweetness. Thank you for taking the time to let me know too — it really means a lot! 🙂
Hi Amy, can you use 5% greek yogurt and semi skimmed milk?
Any alternatives to pudding mix?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Anj! Yes, 5% Greek yogurt and semi-skimmed milk will both work. If you can’t find or don’t want to use the instant pudding mix, then use this cream cheese frosting recipe of mine instead. It doesn’t hold its shape quite as well when piped, so I recommend spreading it on top of the cupcakes instead. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of them!
I’ve tried a lot of sugar free recipes and your recipes are hands down the best I have found! The cranberry pound cake is my favorite but these are a close second! I’ve also tried your banana pound cake and it’s a winner too! I freeze your recipes after baking in individual mini loaf pans and keep all three in the freezer and eat one every day. I just thaw at room temp in the afternoon and it’s ready for an evening after dinner dessert!
Oh my goodness, Sandy!! I’m truly honored that you’d say my recipes are the best that you’ve found. That’s such a huge compliment — you just made my entire day!! ♡ It means so much that you’ve tried so many of my recipes and enjoy one of them every day. That’s a really smart idea to make them in individual loaf pans and freeze them! Thank you for taking the time to share; your sweet comment put the biggest smile on my face! 🙂