Cozy gingerbread cupcakes topped with protein-packed cream cheese frosting. They’re perfect for the holidays & practically healthy enough for breakfast!
A few weeks ago, I headed out for a Girls Night with one of my closest friends, along with a few ladies to whom she recently introduced me. One of them had planned the entire evening for us: we would meet at an upscale wine bar for a light dinner and painting lesson! (If you follow me on my @AmyBakesHealthy Snapchat account, then you already saw a sneak peek of our night!)
We arrived before the art instructor and everyone else in the “class,” so we found seats at one of the long reserved tables and browsed the menu. We chatted, laughing and trading stories, while we nibbled on an array of bruschetta, roasted garlic grilled cheese sandwiches, and a couple of BBQ chicken and chicken pesto flatbreads, all made fresh in house.
Eventually, the instructor arrived and covered the tables in protective paint cloths before handing each of us a wine glass and bottle to decorate. We nervously eyed each other as she set down brushes and pointed out the different colors of paint—none of us had any idea of what to put on them!
A few girls pulled out their iPhones and began scrolling through images on Google for inspiration, showing the rest of us the cute creations that they found. After procrastinating as long as I possibly could, I squirted out blobs of bright teal and reddish-orange paint onto my plate and grabbed the wine glass.
Since I lack any sort of skills with a brush, I turned to the only option I felt comfortable with: a Q-Tip! I slowly painted a thick layer of little dots all around the bottom of the glass, feathering the design and thinning out the dots as I went up the sides, then did the same thing on the bottle. My finished artwork looked decent enough, but the girl sitting next to me who painted a perfect replica of the Grinch on her wine glass truly outshone the rest of us!
As we drove home that evening, I realized that I’m much more comfortable when it comes to “decorating” baked goods in the kitchen compared to painting—like piping swirls of frosting or sprinkling these Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting with a hint of cinnamon as a garnish! Besides, with their warm and cozy flavors, they smell—and taste!—a lot better than the paints we used!
These healthier cupcakes start with regular whole wheat flour. (Or my gluten-free flour blend option, if you prefer!) Sometimes people think that 100% whole wheat baked goods taste bland or dry, but these cupcakes are the exact opposite. They’re incredibly moist and tender, thanks to one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking…
Greek yogurt! With just 1 tablespoon of butter and no egg yolks, the majority of these cupcakes’ tender texture comes from that ingredient. Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your baked goods a little protein boost too!
The iconic gingerbread flavor comes from two main sources: the spices and the molasses. You’ll use a blend of four ground spices today, which are ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. While the ginger is the star of the show, the latter three round out the taste and give the cupcakes a deeper, richer flavor.
As for the molasses, it’s absolutely crucial! Do not try to substitute anything for it because the cupcakes just won’t have that iconic gingerbread taste. Molasses is a dark brown liquid sweetener with a similar consistency to honey. It’s fairly inexpensive, and you can find it on the baking aisle at nearly every grocery store near the other liquid sweeteners, as well as online.
Now here’s my secret tip to making healthy cupcakes… You must lightly coat the cupcake liners with nonstick cooking spray. Low-fat cupcakes tend to stick to both paper and metallic liners like superglue, but giving them a quick mist of cooking spray solves that problem. The liners should peel right off!
Tip: If the liners don’t peel off once the cupcakes have cooled, seal the cupcakes inside of a zip-topped bag or airtight container overnight. The next day, the liners should have loosened and peel away from the cupcakes much more easily.
The frosting is incredibly easy to make and requires just three ingredients: Greek yogurt cream cheese, regular Greek yogurt, and sweetener. I found my Greek yogurt cream cheese at Safeway (their own Lucerne brand), and many Walmart stores sell this brandas well. If you can’t find it, Neufchâtel (⅓-less fat) cream cheese will work as a substitute.
As for the sweetener, you’ll use one of my new favorite ingredients: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way! This is the brand that I use. It comes in a small bottle with an eyedropper, and you can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. You’ll use it in all of these recipesof mine as well!
Now this is my kind of artwork… Simple, cozy and delicious!
| Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting | 5.0 from 1 reviews |
Yields: 12 cupcakes
These tender cupcakes are full of warm, cozy spices and rich wintery flavors. They’re a wonderful and easy holiday dessert, and they’re practically healthy enough for breakfast, too! Leftovers will keep for at least four days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- for the cupcakes
- 2 cups (240g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp (11g) ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp (90mL) nonfat milk
- for the frosting
- 4 oz (112g) block-style Greek yogurt cream cheese
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- cinnamon, for sprinkling
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with cupcake liners, and coat them with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cupcakes, whisk together the flour and next 7 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the molasses and maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the yogurt mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour in 3 equal parts.)
- Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake at 350°F for 19-22 minutes or until the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the frosting, beat together the Greek yogurt, cream cheese, and stevia in a small bowl until smooth. Spread on top of the cooled cupcakes, and sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, use the following blend: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will work as well, if they’re measured correctly. I cannot guarantee whether any other homemade blends will work.
Do not substitute anything for the molasses. It’s a dark, thick liquid with a consistency similar to honey, and it’s what gives gingerbread its iconic flavor and color. Molasses is inexpensive and can be found on the baking aisle near the other liquid sweeteners.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Neufchâtel (⅓-less fat) cream cheese may be substituted in place of the Greek yogurt cream cheese.
Do not substitute any other liquid sweetener (i.e. maple syrup, honey, agave, etc.) in place of the vanilla crème stevia. Liquid sweeteners will make the frosting too thin and runny. If using a different granulated sweetener, you’ll need the equivalent of 6-8 tablespoons of sugar.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
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