Someone Had a Birthday!

In 2012, I was the birthday cupcake champion and made cupcakes for many of my friends. In 2013, my friend Laura was the first lucky (or unlucky) one. Dan didn’t even get birthday cupcakes!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups peeled and diced apple
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups moist-style yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons fat-free, low-fate, or light caramel dip
• 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups or spray it with nonstick spray.
2. In a medium-large bowl, sprinkle apples witjh 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and toss to coat.
3. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg substitute, baking powder, vanilla extract, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.  Add 3/4 cup water, and whisk until smooth.
4. Stir in cinnamon-coated apples.  Evenly distribute mixture among cups of the muffin pan.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted ubto the center if a cupcake comes out clean, 16 to 18 minutes.
6. Let cool completely, about 10 minutes in the pan and 30 minutes out of the pan.
7. Spread cupcakes with caramel dip, and sprinkle wiht peanuts.
8. Enjoy!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Amanda’s Rating: “Nuts and caramel–optional.”

Dan’s Rating: “No nuts!”

Laura’s Rating (aka Birthday Girl): “Caramel looks yummy.  I loved the caramel, but neutral on nuts and apple pieces inside.”

Anonymous Taste Tester #1:“Oooooooh! That’s good!”

Anonymous Taste Tester #2: “Needs more caramel.”

**Taken from

Why wait? Grab a Snickers!

I love snickers!  What is there not to love?  Chocolate!  Caramel!  Peanuts!  However, I have to admit that I am very particular about the temperature of my food.  Who likes a melted candy bar?  No one!  I prefer my candy bars to be either refrigerated or frozen, so I refrigerated my cupcake 🙂

Check out the fancy cupcake holder that my awesome friend bought for me!

Snicker-licious Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups moist-style devil’s food cake mix
• 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons fat-free, low-fat, or light caramel dip
• 2 tablespoons chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg substitute, and baking powder.  Add 1 cup water, and whisk until smooth.
3. Evenly distribute batter among the cups of the muffin pan.
4. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons chocolate chips.  Bake until the center of a cupcake come out clean, 16 to 18 minutes.
5. Let cool completely, about 10 minutes in the pan and 15 minutes out of the pan.
6. Spread cupcakes with caramel dip.  Sprinkle with peanuts and remaining chocolate chips.
7. Enjoy!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Amanda’s Rating: “The cake was moist and had good flavor.  Either more peanuts or none.”

Dan’s Rating:“The only thing that is snickers-like about this cupcake is the top.”

Laura’s Rating: “These are a 5!”

**Taken from

Not 12-carat! 14-carat!!!

My mother-in-laws absolute favorite cake is carrot cake.  Who can blame her?  It is delicious and usually full of fat!  Many people would assume that it is healthy because it contains carrots and raisins, but that would not be a wise assumption.  3 words people!  Cream Cheese Frosting!  For her birthday last year, I modified a box recipe of carrot cake, but this year I decided to go full steam ahead.  This was quite possibly the most involved recipe I have ever made.  But it surely was worth it!

14-Carat Cupcakes

Ingredients
For cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots, roughly chopped if shreds are long
• 1 cup moist-style yellow cake mix
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
• 2/3 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 2/3 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice (not drained)
• 2/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
• 1/4 cup raisins (not packed)
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder

For frosting

• 4 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
• 1/2 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all dry cupcake ingredients except for the carrots and raisins (in other words — cake mix, flour, Splenda, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and baking powder). Mix well and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, egg substitute, and 1/4 cup water until blended.
4. Add the contents of the medium bowl to the large bowl. Using a wire whisk or fork, blend until just mixed.
5. Then, stir in the carrots, pineapple, and raisins. 
6. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray or line muffin pan with baking cups. 
7. Evenly distribute cake mixture among the cups, and place in the oven to cook for 20 – 25 minutes (until a toothpick poked into the center of one comes out clean).  
8. While the cupcakes cook, combine all the frosting ingredients in a small bowl. Using a whisk or fork, blend until smooth. Place frosting in the fridge to chill.
9. Once cupcakes are fully cooked, remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely. Then plate cupcakes, and spread frosting evenly over tops. 
10. Refrigerate until frosting has set and you’re ready to serve.
11. Enjoy!!!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Amanda’s Rating: “Yay!!! They turned out great!  Hard work does pay off.”

Dan’s Rating:“I love the frosting!  What can I put it on?  Can I have another cupcake?”

**Taken from

 

 

 

Elvis Would Love These!

Of course this recipe contains bananas and peanut butter!!

I wanted to make a special treat for some special people and I think that I chose an excellent recipe to try.  I hope that they will agree.

Banana Cupcakes with Pb Frosting

Ingredients

For Cupcakes

• 2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix
• 1 large banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup Gerber bananas (or another brand of pureed bananas)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For Frosting

• 3/4 cup Cool Whip Free, thawed
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat peanut butter, room temperature

Optional Topping

• 12 slices banana

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine peanut butter and Cool Whip, stirring until mixed well.  Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted. 
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with baking powder and 1 cup water until mixed well.  Add pureed bananas and stir thoroughly.  Mix in mashed banana. 
4. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups.  Evenly distribute came mixture among the cups. 
5. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. 
6. Once cupcakes have cooled completely, spread frosting evenly over the cupcake tops.  Top each cupcake with a slice of banana, if you like.  Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Amanda’s Rating: “Yum!  The cupcakes were moist and had excellent flavor!  I would eat them plain without the frosting!  However, the frosting was also delicious.”

Dan’s Rating: “I would eat these every week!”

**Taken from

Chocolate Cupcakes + Cheesecake = Happiness for Everyone!

My father-in-law recently had surgery and I wanted to take him a special treat to take his mind off things so that he could focus on his recovery.  And this recipe definitely made those that enjoyed it loose their focus for at least the time that it took to consume it, but for many their attention remained on the cupcake long after it was gone as they yearned for another!  They were so good that I made them two days later for my gal-pal’s birthday.  Once again they were a big hit!

Double-Decker Fudgy Cheesecake Cupcakes

Very hard to believe that this beautiful dessert has about 150 calories!

Ingredients

• One 8-oz. tub fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 1/3 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
• 1 drop vanilla extract
• Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 3/4 cups) moist-style devil’s food cake mix
• 3/4 cup club soda
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil baking liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, egg substitute, sweetener, and vanilla extract. With an electric mixer set to medium speed, beat until smooth.
   

   I ❤ my new mixer!!!

3. In a large bowl, whisk cake mix with soda until smooth.
   

   The whisk was covered in chocolate cake batter, so of course I had to lick it clean!

4. Evenly distribute cake mixture among the lined cups of the muffin pan. Smooth out the mixture with the back of a spoon.
   

   Chocolate Cupcakes +

5. Evenly distribute cream-cheese mixture among the cups.
   

   Cheesecake =

   Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

   

   Happiness!!!

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out mostly clean, 24 – 26 minutes. (Make sure the chocolate cake layer is cooked through.)
   

   Yum!

7. Allow to cool completely. Enjoy! (P.S. Refrigerate leftovers.)

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Amanda’s Rating: “Decadent and delicious!  The cake has amazing flavor and hardly any calories.  The cheesecake has a nice texture and flavor.  And it is topped with a TON of chocolate chips!!! How could it be worthy of less than 5 spoons?!?!”

**Taken from Hungry Girl

 

Mealtime Mandy’s Birthday Treats

German chocolate cake is my absolute favorite!!!  So for my birthday I wanted to make a version of German chocolate cake that I could share with my friends. (Yes, that means that I took cupcakes to school…)

Gooey-Good German Chocolate Cupcakes

Hip Hip Hooray! It's a healthy version of German chocolate cake for Mealtime Mandy's birthday!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light or fat-free caramel dip (like the kinds by Marzetti)
• 1 tbsp. finely chopped pecans
  

  Real South Carolina pecans thanks to my future-mother-in-law 🙂

• 2 tbsp. shredded sweetened coconut
• Half a Jell-O Sugar Free Creamy Caramel or Dulce de Leche Pudding Snack
• 2 tbsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Two 25-calorie packets hot cocoa mix
• 1 tsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated) or granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 1/2 cups) moist-style devil’s food cake mix
• 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. To make the frosting, combine caramel dip, pecans, coconut, and pudding in a small bowl; stir until blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.
   

   Gooey-Good Goo!

3. Place chocolate chips, cocoa mix, Splenda (or sugar), and salt in a tall glass. Add 1/4 cup very hot water, and stir until ingredients have dissolved. Add 3/4 cup cold water and stir. Transfer to a large bowl, and add cake mix and egg substitute. Mix batter with a whisk or fork until smooth and blended, about 2 minutes.
4. Evenly distribute batter among the cups of the muffin pan.
   

   Hurry up and get in the oven!

   Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out fairly clean.

   

   Almost ready!

5. Allow cupcakes to cool completely, and then top evenly with frosting. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Enjoy!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Amanda’s Rating: “I could have eaten the entire pan!  That is why I had to take them to school to share with my friends.  Personally, I would have preferred more coconut.  So I will keep that in mind in the future. Bonus Discovery: Jell-O Sugar Free Dulce de Leche Pudding Snacks!!  Amazing!!”

**Taken from Hungry Girl

Another Happy Birthday!

One of my gal pals celebrated her birthday this weekend and I wanted to make her a special treat.  A few weeks ago, I began searching for the perfect treat and discovered that her wedding cake was a Boston Cream Pie cake, so I knew that I just had to make these cupcakes for her!

Boston Cream Cupcakes

The recipe says that it makes 12 servings, where are the other 7 cupcakes?

Ingredients

• Half of an 18.25-oz. box (about 1 3/4 cups) moist-style yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 3 tbsp. chocolate frosting, room temperature
• 2 tbsp. light chocolate syrup
• One 60-calorie sugar-free or no-sugar-added vanilla pudding snack (like the kind by Jell-O)
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 no-calorie sweetener packet

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, egg substitute, and 1/2 cup water. Whisk thoroughly. Evenly distribute mixture among the cups of the muffin pan.
3. Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 – 22 minutes.
   

   Wow! Those are some good lookin' cupcakes! Cupcake Wars here I come!

4. Allow cupcakes to completely cool. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine chocolate frosting with chocolate syrup and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.
5. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a knife or narrow spoon handle to create a small centered hole through the top of each cupcake, stopping about midway through the cupcakes. Set aside.
6. Open pudding cup and stir in vanilla extract and sweetener. Place pudding in one of the bottom corners of a sealable plastic bag.
   

   Fantastic Filling!

   Remove air and seal. Snip off a small part of that corner with scissors.

7. Gently squeeze the bag and evenly pipe pudding through the hole in the bag’s corner and into the holes in the cupcakes.
   

   They have been creamed!

8. Evenly spread frosting-syrup mixture over the cupcakes. (Don’t worry if some of the pudding filling gets mixed in!)
9. Serve and enjoy! (Refrigerate leftovers, if you’ve got ’em.)

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Amanda’s Rating: “The filling and frosting both had great flavor.  However, I think that the one cupcake that I ate lacked both.  There definitely wasn’t enough filling.

Show me the cream!

Next time I would make a larger opening for the filling and top with more frosting.  When I was done, I had leftovers of both and I will be sure that next time I use every drop of both.”

**Taken from Hungry Girl

Super Dessert for the Super Bowl

In case you haven’t noticed, I have been cooking up a storm recently.  And I love it!  So last weekend was the super bowl and we were going to watch the game with friends.  Dan was taking his Super Chili and I wanted to take something super too!

Recently, I have developed a special place in my heart for specialty cupcakes.  Dan and I have visited Sprinkles in Chicago and New York City.  We went to a cupcake shop in Wilmington, N.C. and are frequent customers at Sweet, the local cupcake shop in Florence.  So I decided to step up to the challenge and try a fancy cupcake recipe.  And I am glad that I did!

Razzle Dazzle Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

Before the Razzle Dazzle

After the Razzle Dazzle

Ingredients

For Cupcakes

• 2 cups moist-style chocolate cake mix
• Two 25-calorie packets diet hot cocoa mix
• 1 1/2 cups raspberries
• 1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
• 1 tablespoon mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 no-calorie sweetener packet (I used Splenda–of course!)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For Frosting/Topping

• 1 Jell-O Sugar Free Double Chocolate Pudding Snack
• 2 tablespoons chocolate frosting
• Optional: 12 raspberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make frosting, place pudding in a small dish.  add chocolate frosting and stir until mixed thoroughly.  Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.
3. Place contents of cocoa and sweetener packets in a tall glass.  Add chocolate chips.  Cover with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until ingredients have dissolved.  ass 1/4 cup cold water and stir again.
4. Transfer cocoa mixture to a blender.  Add raspberries and egg substitute.  Puree until blended.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, baking powder, and salt.  Add pureed cocoa mixture to the bowl and stir until completely blended, about 2 minutes.
6. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups and/or spray with nonstick spray.  Evenly distribute cake mixture among the cups.
7. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake come out clean.
8. Allow cupcakes to cook completely, then evenly distribute frosting among the tops.  Finish each off with a raspberry, if you like.  Refrigerate until ready to use.
9. Enjoy!

Makes 12 servings (With frosting each cupcake has about 124 calories and without frosting each cupcake has about 108 calories)

Amanda’s Rating: “Good flavor.  I am not sure what role the frosting played in the topping.  The pudding alone would have been just fine. The cake was very moist.”

Dan’s Rating: “I can’t taste the raspberry in the cake.”

***Taken from