Skinny Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes are a perfect guilt-free treat for Valentine's Day (or any day)! This recipe substitutes applesauce for oil which makes for a light, yet rich little cupcake!
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Happy almost Valentine's Day! Like most people, I have a love-hate relationship with this made-up holiday.
My husband and I started officially dating February 15th, which is now 10 years to the day as I'm writing this. I gave him spicy tuna to try as his first sushi experience and it failed miserably. And here we are, our first married Valentine's Day.
However, what I do love about this day is having a reason to eat tons of chocolate, buy/receive flowers, but mostly - telling people I love them and remembering my first Valentine (Hey Dad).
But, like everyone else, I hate being told to tell people I love them and how to show my love for them.
Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes
One thing I can settle on is having a good reason for some good food - like these Skinny Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes. The awesome trick about these is that while they look delectable (might be biased) they're only 50 calories per mini cupcake.
If you just need a sweet fix then this will do the job without ruining your day. For me, the perfect treat is something flexible enough that I can adjust my portion.
I hate looking in bakery display cases and seeing little tiny treats for 300+ calories, seriously? I start to negotiate with myself like, okay, maybe I can have half or one bite...
What's the point of that? For the same 300 calories, I could have 6 of these, but I guarantee you'd get your fill of them before that. Also - don't tell any pastry chefs you know, but I totally cheated on these and manipulated a boxed cake mix!
Red Velvet History
The history of Red Velvet cake is a little disputed, but one major claim is that its birthplace was originally created in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. The other claim is that it was born in the South.
Either way, in the Victorian Era, they were learning how to make cake softer, hence the term "velvet". The red hue was developed on accident when bakers would mix vinegar and non-Dutch processed cocoa.
Cooking Overview
Using box cake is an excellent shortcut when you need it sometimes. Since your dry ingredients are already mixed for you, there isn't much left for you to do. That makes this recipe super easy to make for endless occasions.
One major swap I made to lighten these up is by using applesauce in place of the oil! Normally, these cupcakes would still be high in calories. But this one quick swap of oil and unsweetened applesauce cuts out (ready?) 965 calories from the total recipe!
You won't even miss it, promise. They still come out like spongy little cakes.
The thing that I have found about substituting ingredients is that it needs to be something approachable, not too weird, and the substitute ingredient has to be something I'll use again.
Like that time I made brownies that substituted black beans for flour might have been a little out there.
But applesauce is a totally approachable ingredient that you'll use again and again in your kitchen or to eat on its own.
RECIPE BREAKDOWN:
STEP 1: Mix the red velvet cake mix with 2 eggs, ½ a cup of applesauce, and 1 ½ cups water until it's well combined.
STEP 2: Pour the batter into a mini cupcake tray and bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the batter, working in batches.
STEP 3: Make frosting while the cakes bake and frost after they've cooled to the touch!
FROSTING FOR RED VELVET
Frost with either cream cheese frosting, vanilla buttercream, or whipped cream for an even lighter option. Note that the frosting is not included in the nutrition facts.
HOW MANY CUPCAKES DOES THIS RECIPE MAKE?
This recipe yields about 3 dozen mini cupcakes! If you make full-sized cupcakes, it would likely be half.
HOW DO YOU STORE CUPCAKES?
You can store cupcakes in an airtight container. Note that if you frost with whipped cream or cream cheese frosting you need to refrigerate your cupcakes because it contains dairy. If you frost with buttercream, you can leave the container on the counter.
There you go! A totally approachable dessert for you to celebrate Valentine's Day and not have it ruin your diet! For another easy treat, I'll be posting something on social media this week that takes 3 ingredients and 10 minutes!
Skinny Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 Box Mix Red Velvet Cake
- 3 Eggs
- ½ Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1 ½ Cups Water
Frosting Options: Cream Cheese Frosting, Vanilla Buttercream, Whipped Cream
Equipment needed: Mini cupcake tray
Instructions
-
Preheat Oven to 325
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Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl until well combined.
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Spray cupcake tray with nonstick spray, work in batches and bake each tray for 10 minutes.
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Pop cupcakes out of tray and cool on a wire rack.
Recipe Notes
Frost with cream cheese frosting, vanilla buttercream, or whipped cream to keep them light! * 50 Calories per cupcake does not include frosting
Yum
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