The minute the weather warms up, I am all about the light, bright, fruity flavors. These light lemon blueberry cupcakes are just that. The light lemon cake paired with tart, sweet blueberries is everything. To add a little creamy sweetness, a lighter cream cheese frosting. The combination tastes like a spring day (but better), and I’m so excited to share it with you! The best part?
Making Light Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Though these cupcakes are big on flavor, they’re made with a few sneaky swaps that keep them lighter and WW friendly.
- The cupcakes themselves are made without any oil, eggs, butter, etc. Just add greek yogurt and water to cake mix to get a perfectly moist, fluffy cupcake
- Make the cupcakes minis to control portion size
- The lighter cream cheese frosting is made with low fat cream cheese and Smart Balance instead of butter (more on that below)
To make the cupcakes themselves, just combine greek yogurt, water, cake mix, lemon extract. Whisk it all together (I use a danish dough whisk) until smooth. Lastly, fold the blueberries in gently. Then scoop, bake, cool, frost!
Lighter Cream Cheese Frosting
This frosting is so simple – just 4 ingredients, but it’s SO good. By swapping the cream cheese and butter out for low fat cream cheese and Smart Balance, you can reduce the calories, fat, and WW points without sacrificing flavor or texture.
To make this frosting, beat together Smart Balance (a vegetable oil based butter substitute that’s lower in WW points) and low fat cream cheese until fluffy. You want a uniform mixture before you add in your powdered sugar to ensure a smooth final product. Then, add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. When measuring your powdered sugar, be sure you’re pouring it into a measuring cup, not scooping it (and thus packing it)! Lastly, add vanilla to thin it out a bit. Beat it all together in your stand mixer (or using a hand mixer). Frost each cupcake (1 tsp per mini if you made 60) and enjoy!
Light Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Stand Mixer
- Muffin Pan
- Piping Bags
- Oven
Ingredients
- 15.25 oz lemon cake mix boxed
- 1 tsp Lemon extract
- 1 cup Greek yogurt nonfat
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup Blueberries fresh or frozen
- 3 tbsp Smart Balance or butter, softened
- 2.5 cups Powdered sugar
- Tsp Vanilla
- 8 oz Low fat cream cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine cake mix with greek yogurt, water, and lemon extract. Whisk together until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries.
- Spray mini muffin pan or line with cupcake liners and divide batter evenly among 60 cupcakes (roughly a heaping tablespoon in each).
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cream cheese and Smart Balance and beat on medium speed until well combined and fluffy. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until frosting thickens. Add vanilla and beat on medium speed to combine, until frosting is fluffy.
- Frost each mini cupcake with 1 tsp of frosting. Enjoy!
- Store cupcakes in the fridge, serve at room temperature.
Notes
- If you’re making these minis, it makes 60 mini cupcakes
- Bake at 350F for 13-15 minutes for mini
- If you’re making regular size, it makes 24 cupcakes
- Bake at 350F for 20-23 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
