carrot cupcakes (healthified)

Let me begin by saying I will not every proclaim a dessert to be healthy, just that some desserts can be made in a way that you can save yourself a few hundred calories.

And life without dessert is meaningless.

I made these cupcakes out of the "Eating Well: Desserts" cookbook. It said they were perfect for a children's party so I trusted that children wouldn't mind eating them.

I have one word: YUM. They were so moist and and chewy with the right amount of spice and chunks of fruit. I LOVED them. Everyone else enjoyed them too.

The frosting was a bit different. It is basically just cream cheese and marshmallow fluff whipped together. Even though it was marshmallow fluff, it wasn't overly sweet. It complimented the sweetness of the cupcakes very well, but I think it was best to make and serve the same day. The next day the frosting wasn't quite the same, but that didn't stop me from eating it.

It calls for cake flour which I don't keep on hand. If you are the same way an acceptable substitute is to replace 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of constarch for every cup of flour.

There are only 195 calories per cupcake (including the frosting).

Carrot Cupcakes

makes one dozen cupcakes

cupcakes

1/2 cup pitted prunes

1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple

1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour (if you don't have cake flour see my tip above)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 large egg white

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup grated carrots

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or lightly oil or coat the cups with nonstick spray.

2. In a food processor, combine prunes with 1/4 cup hot water and process until smooth; set aside. Drain pineapple in a strainer set over a small bowl, pressing firmly to extract most of the juice. (I just spun my pineapple in the good old salad spinner) Set the pineapple aside and reserve the juice for another use. (such as drinking it)

3. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a mixing bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, sugar, oil, and the prune puree. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until blended. Stir in carrots and the reserved pineapple.

4. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling them about 2/3 full. (mine got pretty full but I kept to the 12 cupcakes) Bake cupcakes for 25-30 minutes, or until they spring back when lightly pressed in the center. Let the cupcakes sit in the pan for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (I used fat-free)

1/2 cup marshmallow creme, such as Fluff

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I used bottled)

2 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans (left out so kids would eat)

In a bowl, beat cream cheese, marshmallow creme and lemon juice with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Spread each cupcake with frosting and sprinkle with pecans (or in my case, sprinkles).