Reduced Guilt Carrot Cupcakes

Let's face it: no one likes a low-fat baked good that tastes like cardboard. So when I set out to make these cupcakes as a thank-you to the people at Good Guide (with whom I interned for a few weeks--you can read more about my experience here) I had to make something delicious yet relatively healthy--gotta impress people, afterall! In an effort to make these cupcakes healthier without sacrificing flavor in the slightest, I employed a few tricks of the trade.

For most cake recipes you can use the following tips with amazingly good results!

--replace some of the white flour with whole wheat flour (ideally ww pastry flour)

--replace half of the oil or melted butter with unsweetened applesauce (will not work if the recipe calls for softened or cold butter)

--cut the sugar by a third (you most likely won't notice a difference at all!)

And for the classic cream cheese frosting:

--low-fat cream cheese (aka neufchatel--damn those French!) tastes just as good as the full-fat version, but with 1/3 less fat and way less calories--a win-win for everyone!

This following recipes are based on those found in The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Reduced Guilt Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (frosting recipe follows)

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 C whole wheat flour (ww pastry flour is preferred)

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 C granulated sugar

1/2 C packed light brown sugar

3/4 C vegetable oil

3/4 C unsweetened applesauce

1 lb carrots, grated

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9" x 13" cake pan with non-stick spray (or line cupcake pan with liners). Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

Whisk the eggs and sugars together in a large bowl until frothy and the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 minute. While whisking, slowly add the oil and applesauce until the mixture is thoroughly combined and emulsified, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the carrots.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan (or cupcake liners) and smooth the top. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached, about 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cupcakes will take about 15-18 minutes depending on your oven.

Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

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Low-fat cream cheese is one of those rare dairy products that I think tastes just as good as the full-fat version. So go right ahead and swap out regular cream cheese for the low-fat one, called neufchatel cream cheese. Your love handles will love you for it!!

To make a silky smooth frosting, it is super important to let the cream cheese and butter sit out at room temperature or about an hour. If either ingredients are even slightly cold, they will make a lumpy frosting.

Reduced Guilt Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces neufchatel (low fat) cream cheese, softened

4 T unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 C powdered sugar

Beat the softened cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and continue to beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.

When the cake/cupcakes are thoroughly cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting and enjoy this classic combination!!

These are the special Good Guide-approved "perfect 10" cupcakes I made--so fun and totally delicious!! :)