Pumpkin Protein Cupcakes + Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR EVERYONE!!
You know, the time of year where I mourn the end of summer by baking up a pumpkin-themed storm for about 6 months straight? Yup… it’s officially THAT time of year, my friends.
One of my favourite things about Fall is being able to break out the pumpkin puree and experiment with new and creative ways to make my favourite pumpkin-themed treats a little healthier, yet just as delicious - and these Pumpkin Protein Cupcakes are no exception.
I just want to mention this right off the bat: I decided to use chocolate protein powder instead of vanilla, which obviously gave it a more “chocolate-y” look. The only for this reason being... I literally ran out of vanilla protein powder, and was too excited to make protein cupcakes that I just decided to improvise.
The result? An equally-as-delicious chocolate pumpkin protein cupcake.
However, if you DO use vanilla protein powder, you’ll get a more vibrant orange colour that’s traditional to most pumpkin baked goods. (But, let’s be honest - not having vanilla protein powder wasn’t going to stop me from baking cupcakes, that’s for sure.)
The true icing on the cake (no pun intended); however, is this Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting. Although it’s not as buttery and sweet as traditional cream cheese frosting, this recipe truly knocked it out of the park. It had just the right amount of sweetness from the maple syrup, and still maintained such a high protein content that it almost shocked me. I’d be happy putting this bad boy on just about everything - like my High Protein Carrot Cake or Morning Glory Breakfast Muffins. Gosh, can you imagine!?
Regardless, this was definitely a winning combo that truly makes the transition into the colder months a little easier to bear.
Recipe & details available BELOW!
INGREDIENTS:
[for the cupcakes]
coconut oil spray/baking spray
¼ cup coconut flour (can use almond)
½ cup buckwheat flour
1 heaping cup of pumpkin puree
1 cup egg whites
½ tsp baking powder
2 scoops protein powder
½ tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or equal parts cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg + sprinkle of ginger)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsps maple syrup
[for the frosting]
1 cup low fat cream cheese
1 cup 0% m.f Greek yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp maple syrup
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with paper liners or silicone moulds, gently sprayed with coconut oil or baking spray.
In a medium mixing bowl, whip egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
In a separate bowl, mix together coconut flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, protein powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
Mix in pumpkin puree, vanilla extract and maple syrup until it forms a thick batter.
Gently fold in egg whites until just combined, making sure not to add too much air into the mixture.
Spoon batter into muffin liners until they reach between ½ and ¾ of the way up.
Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Makes 10 cupcakes
MACROS:
1 cupcake, assembled with frosting
174 calories | 12 P | 21 C | 5 F
