Controllable Carrot Cupcakes

I was invited to come over to a group and was gleefully informed that there would be krispy cream bullets of weightloss doom. O.k. maybe not those exact words hehe. So, I figured time to reel in that good manners excuse of bringing something to someone’s house to share…and make it something I could actually have. Ignore the krispy doom. It had to be something tasty that other folks will actually want to have, easy to eat, portion controlled for my pleasure…*cough* I mean for my ease of counting…yes, thats it. Ah ha!

This is also a hardcore hobbit recipe! In the game there is an Ultimate Carrot Cake recipe that cooks make. It contains a cup of tasty frosting, winter barley flour, and fresh carrots. I didn’t have any winter barley flour on hand but, you know, I think it came out fine with just regular stuff 😉

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg whites
• 3 tbl unsweetened applesauce
• 1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple packed in juice or water, reserve 1/4 cup juice, drain the rest
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 3 ounces fat free cream cheese
• 2 tsp splenda

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the cupcake tin with paper or silicon reusable cups.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
3. In another bowl combine the granulated sugar, egg whites, and applesauce until blended. Add the flour mix and stir until just moistened. Like you do for muffins.
4. Stir in the pineapple, the juice, and carrots.
5. Spoon about a tablespoon or two into each cup, fill them no more than half full. Bake for 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick, if it does not come out clean put it back in for another 5-10 minutes.
6. Combine the cream cheese and splenda. Once the cupcakes are cool spread frosting lightly on top.

Makes 12 servings. Each serving is 131 calories, 0.2 grams of fat, and 1 gram of fiber. You may choose to put more splenda in your frosting, I like my frosting to say “hi, I’m cream cheese! Luuurve me” some folks might not like it to be so in your face about it.The nice thing about working with fat free cream cheese and splenda is that they blend together so easily and nicely, no whipping out the beaters to make frosting. Always a plus.

These cupcakes did the trick, no one even guessed that they were “light” and the hostess was very thankful I brought something to share with everyone that was an alternative to donuts. Everyone wins, hurray!

Enjoy!