Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting – Lightened Up

The holidays wouldn’t be complete without indulging in seasonal treats. At Zipongo, we’re always looking for ways to enjoy our favorite sweets in a healthier way. In last week’s blog, we recommended easy baking substitutions that can lighten up almost any baked good. We used some of those healthy swaps to make a lighter version of our favorite recipe for Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

These cupcakes have all the delicious flavor and texture of the original recipe. We used applesauce as a substitution for both oil and sugar in the cupcakes. We also swapped in nonfat Greek yogurt instead of butter in the cream cheese frosting.

Both of these simple modifications resulted in 50% less saturated fat and added sugar than the original pumpkin cupcake recipe. These delicious cupcakes clock in at under 240 calories each. Enjoy them with friends, family or by yourself with a hot cup of tea.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 18 cupcakes. Ready in 55 minutes + cooling time.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 – 15 oz can pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 cup reduced-fat or light cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup confectioners/powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, canola oil, applesauce, pumpkin and eggs until well blended. In a separate bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture and combine until no lumps remain.
2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups until two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely on a wire rack before adding frosting.
3. For frosting: In a medium-sized bowl, mix cream cheese and Greek yogurt until well blended and smooth. Slowly mix in sugar and vanilla extract.
4. Frost each cupcake with 1 tablespoon frosting.

Nutrition Facts

18 servings

• Calories: 239 (down from 368)
• Total Fat: 12 g
• Sat Fat: 3 g (down from 6 g)
• Total Carbs: 29 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Sugar: 17 g (down from 33 g)
• Protein: 6 g

Bobby is the community and social media manager at Zipongo. He has a degree in nutrition and dietetics and previously worked as a health educator.