In early September when planning my fall recipe calendar, I added quite a few cranberry orange treats to my list. I love the bright pop of flavor from the combination of sweet citrus and tangy berries!
And yes… I actually do plan my blog’s schedule that far in advance. My mom jokes that I think in Excel because I have a calendar and spreadsheet for everything… Including my recipe “To Do” list. I’ve already started testing Christmas and New Year’s Resolution goodies!
However, grocery stores in San Diego haven’t quite gotten the memo. I started looking for fresh cranberries in late September to make my growing list of cranberry orange treats, yet despite scouring the produce sections at the local mainstream supermarkets, I couldn’t find anything… Just ten different flavors of dried cranberries with tons of added sugar.
Yet a couple weeks later, while walking through Walmart in search of cold medicine for a bad bug I caught, I happened to glance down their tiny grocery aisle of fresh produce… And I spotted humongous two-pound bags sitting next to the celery. I felt like I had won the lottery, and I actually called my mom because I was so excited!
It’s the little things in life, right??
When I brought my prized bag back home, these muffins and these Healthy Cranberry Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting were the first things I baked! They’re perfectly tender and bursting with sweet fruity flavor, and they’re supremely easy to make. No mixer required—just a whisk and fork!
Plus these cupcakes contain no refined flour or sugar… And just 118 calories, including those gorgeous swirls of frosting!
True cupcake perfection. ??
To make these healthy cupcakes, you’ll begin with white whole wheat flour. In case you’re new around here, it’s an ingredient I use a lot. But it’s not a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flours!
White whole wheat flour is made exactly the same way as regular whole wheat flour, and it has the exact same health benefits too (like extra fiber!). The only difference? Regular whole wheat flour comes from a hearty variety of red wheat, whereas white whole wheat flour comes from a softer variety of white wheat (hence the name!). It has a lighter taste and texture, which really lets these cupcakes’ tender texture and fruity flavors shine!
With just ½ tablespoon of butter or coconut oil (but I do prefer the flavor of butter!) and no egg yolks, these cupcakes get the rest of their tender texture from… Greek yogurt! You knew I was going to say that, right? Greek yogurt adds the same moisture to your batter as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your cupcakes a protein boost, too!
Then you’ll skip the refined sugar and sweeten your cupcakes with vanilla stevia instead. It’s one of my favorite ingredients! Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that contains nothing refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!), and it’s very concentrated. You just need 1 tablespoon for the batter! This is the kind I use because I love its warm flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste. While you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, I buy mine online here because that’s the best price I’ve found. (And you can use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Of course, we can’t forget the fresh fruit… Especially after how hard I searched to find it! You’ll use freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest for the citrus flavor. (The latter actually provides the majority of the sunshiny taste, so don’t skip it!)
Then those gorgeous fresh cranberries! ? So much flavor in each little berry! To quickly dice them, I just pop the cranberries in my food processor and pulse until they’re less than ¼ of their original size. Much faster than chopping by hand!
Before baking your cupcakes, you must coat your cupcake liners with nonstick cooking spray. Low-fat batter sticks to liners like superglue, but this nifty little trick helps them peel away from the liners like traditional indulgent cupcakes!
With your cupcakes in the oven, it’s time to make the frosting! You’ll beat more Greek yogurt, light cream cheese, more vanilla stevia (like this!), and instant pudding mix (like this!) with an electric mixer for 2 minutes, then chill the frosting to give it time to thicken. Super simple!
The instant pudding mix is actually what makes the frosting stiff enough to pipe and hold its shape! If you can’t find it, then use this recipe of mine instead. Just remember, that frosting must be spread with a knife!
How pretty do these cupcakes look?? And they taste even better! ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cupcakes and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Cranberry Orange Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting | Print |
- for the cupcakes
- 2 ¼ cups (270g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp (15g) orange zest (about 2 medium)
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla stevia
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ cup (120mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 medium)
- 10 tbsp (150mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (165g) fresh whole cranberries, diced
- for the frosting
- 1 cup (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 8 oz (1 block) light or fat-free cream cheese, well softened
- 2 servings (16g) sugar-free, fat-free instant cheesecake pudding mix (see Notes)
- ⅝ tsp vanilla stevia, or adjusted to taste
- To prepare the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 14 muffin cups with paper liners, and coat the liners with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg whites, vanilla, and vanilla stevia. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the orange juice. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the cranberries.
- Divide the batter between the prepared paper liners. Bake at 350°F for 22-25 minutes or until the centers feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cupcakes bake, prepare the frosting. Add the Greek yogurt, cream cheese, instant pudding, and vanilla stevia to a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Cover the top of the bowl with foil, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, pipe the cream cheese frosting on top just before serving.
Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
Don’t skip the orange zest! It actually provides the majority of the citrus flavor.
I highly recommend using the vanilla stevia! It’s one of my favorite ingredients (you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine!), and I buy it online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. If you prefer not to use stevia in the cupcakes, substitute ¾ cup (180mL) of agave, honey, or pure maple syrup for the vanilla stevia. Omit the milk. (The batter should be fairly thick, similar to muffin batter.) If you prefer not to use the vanilla stevia in the frosting, then substitute 1 ½ teaspoons of this powdered stevia OR ¼ cup of Truvia or granulated sugar.
The cranberries should be measured when whole, then diced! To quickly dice the cranberries, add them to a food processor, and pulse until they’re no larger than ¼ of their original size.
Frozen and thawed cranberries that have been patted dry to remove any excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh. In a pinch, ¾ cup of diced dried cranberries that have been hydrated may be substituted. To hydrated the dried cranberries, add them to a microwave-safe bowl, add water until it rises ½” above the cranberries, and cover the top with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the cranberries sit while preparing the scone dough. Just before mixing them in, drain and pat dry.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
You just need the dry instant pudding mix—don’t prepare it according to the package directions! For a more classic spreadable (not pipe-able) cream cheese frosting that does NOT use instant pudding (and is clean-eating friendly), use this recipe of mine.
{gluten-free, clean eating option, low fat, lower sugar}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ The Ultimate Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins
♡ Healthy Greek Yogurt Cranberry Orange Pound Cake
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Scones
♡ Healthy Cranberry Orange Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
♡ Healthy Blueberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
I made these cupcakes and they didn’t turn out as I hoped they would. I think I made some errors. When the recipe called to whisk the ingredients I used my electric mixer. The cupcakes came out looking more like a muffin than a cupcake, i’m assuming by mixing the ingredients rather than whisking I changed the texture and look of the final product. Any thoughts?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Ellen! Unfortunately yes, this recipe should be made exactly as directed. When using an electric mixer with healthy, low-fat recipes like this one, it’s easy to overmix and therefore change the texture. Unless instructed to use an electric mixer, my recipes will always turn out best if you use a whisk where instructed and a fork or spoon for everything else. 🙂