After having a baby, I feel a little depressed after thinking about getting back in shape. You may have realized by now that our famiy loves dessert. Trust me, we have tried to go without, but it just makes life so unbearable! Rather than giving dessert up completely, I decided to try a dessert I don't have to feel as guilty about. Even my husband devoured these cupcakes!
Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes Recipe:
(makes 24 cupcakes, 110 calories per frosted cupcake, 2 Weight Watchers Points)
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 pkg. Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix (just the powder, not the recipe on the box)
1 (12 ounce) can Sprite Zero
Frosting:
1 (8 ounce) container Fat Free Cool Whip
1 (1.5 ounce) pkg. Fat Free Vanilla Jello Instant Pudding (just the powder, not the recipe on the box)
Directions:
Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and Sprite together. Continue to mix until the batter is smooth without any lumps. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into every cupcake wrapper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool before frosting.
Frosting:
In a mixing bowl, add Cool Whip and pudding. Mix with a whisk by hand or an electric hand mixer until smooth. Spread over cooled cupcakes. Makes enough frosting for 24 cupcakes.
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YUM! I love funfetti cupcakes! I"ll have to try these out!
ReplyDeleteGuilt free cupcakes? Yes please! Love me some Funfetti :)
ReplyDeleteguilt free?
Deletehttp://www.foodfacts.com/NutritionFacts/Cake-Mixes/Pillsbury-Funfetti-Cake-Mix-189-oz/38158
don't kid yourself...
DeleteYour site is flawed.... it gives Watermelon (1 slice) an A and Watermelon (1 oz) a B+ and then it gives Watermelon Syrup at Sonic a B-. I don't see why you have to be rude on this post. The poster was meaning "guilt free" as in low calorie. The old adage says "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." If you are on a site that has uses "unclean" products then I suggest you direct yourself to a site more appropriate for your views. Try Tosca Reno's clean eating... just sayin.
Delete@Christina "Guilt Free" is a relative term. These are WW points cupcakes and vs. traditionally made they are lower in points. Eating things you like in moderation and altering the recipe to be lower in fat and calories is an important step to losing weight and maintaining it. There is no one cure all to it and I think everyone generally understands that. Whether they practice it or not is another story.
DeleteFor the others who like this recipe. You might also like the Pumpkin version - they are delicious! My kids and their classmates love them and the teenage girls think it is awesome that they are lower in calories and get a kick out of it. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/09/pumpkin-cupcakes-with-pumpkin-spiced.html
You still can't eat 20, but you shouldn't eat 20 of anything :-D
Thanks for posting the white cupcake recipe Elyse.
This is JUST what I need!!! Can other cake mix flavors be used or is it just do-able with the funfetti? THANK YOU! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Jenn!
DeleteYou can use any other cake mix flavors! If you are making cupcakes with a dark cake mix, use a dark diet soda such as Diet Coke. If you are making light cake mix, use a light colored diet soda. Hope that helps! I have tried Devil's Food Cake mix with Diet Coke and it was so good!
To the poster above, these cupcakes are a staple with Weight Watchers followers (myself included) and I"ve made them with Diet Coke + Chocolate cake, Diet Orange + Vanilla cake, Diet Sprite + Lemon cake, Diet Cherry Coke + Devil's Food cake, etc. You can be as creative as you want!
ReplyDeleteThey all turn out great, IMO!
Mine are never this pretty, though!! The photo is awesome. You can almost taste the cupcake just by looking. :)
how many points? Thanks!
DeleteHi Susie!
DeleteThe place I found the recipe stated that each cupcake was 1.5 Weight Watchers Point. I hope that helps! She didn't have any other information and I'm not familiar with Weight Watchers.
Have a great day,
Elyse (one of the sisters)
Hello,
DeleteDo you know if these were calculated with the old Weight Watchers Points or the new Points Plus?
Wow this looks amazing! I cannot wait to try it!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing :)
meg @ http://myborrowedheaven.blogspot.com/
Would this recipe be ok to bake as a sheet cake?? OMG these look so delicious!!! :D
ReplyDeleteI think that would be amazing! Just change the baking time from cupcakes to the time needed to bake a cake as directed on the box. Let us know how it goes!
DeleteAre you kidding me? Just sugar free soda and cake mix? No way! CAn't wait to try these!
ReplyDeleteOneCreativeMommy.com
Thank you for this recipe! In the past 2.5 years I have lost 50 pounds and have kept it off with watching what I eat and exercising. Often this means no fun desserts. I cannot wait to try this! :)
ReplyDeleteAnybody have nutrition info on these cupcakes?
ReplyDeleteIt is full of terrible ingredients. To think you are being healthy just because you skimmed off some calories is dangerous. The funfetti cake mix alone is full of hydrogenated oils. Also, here is a link for the controversial ingredients in "cool whip" (which by the way, Cool Whip brand is not even a dairy product and does not even contain cream!It is made up mostly of high fructose corn syrup and water) If people would go back to eating REAL food, we'd see a decrease in chronic illnesses.
Deletehttp://www.foodfacts.com/NutritionFacts/Whipped-Cream/Kraft-Cool-Whip-Fat-Free-Whipped-Topping-12-oz/15726
I'm really glad you gave a link to the nutrition information on this stuff but you don't have to be so mean about everything. This woman was just trying to share a yummy recipe that's a little "lighter" in the calorie department. You don't have to be so harsh. It's just FOOD.
DeleteBravo Christina! Real Food!
DeleteChristina, I think something you need to remember is that people are here looking at this recipe because they have made a concious effort to get healthier. For most people, this begins by trying to reduce calories in their favorite food choices (like cake). From there, they may realize that they can get all-around healthier food at home without using the chemically enhanced stuff most of us are used to. However, this is usually a gradual change. It takes a huge shift in paradigm just to start looking for healthier food choices instead of running through the drive through for dinner. Then, switching to making food at home with a little help (like boxed cake mix) may eventually switch into making food completely from scratch and avoiding the "questionable" ingredients.
DeleteIf you want people to see your point, try being supportive of the change they are trying to make in their life and offering an alternative. Do you have another recipe that is similar to funfetti cake that is low in calories and made of only "real" food? Instead of just lecturing them on how what they are doing is bad, try to show them a better path. However, being condecending and rude is NOT the way to get people to eat healthier. As you can see from the above replies, your criticisms were not taken warmly by the people you were trying to "warn" with your comment.
Just food for thought...
Hopefully people aren't eating this every day and your body is perfectly capable of handling this kind of recipe in small amounts - a "normal" cupcake is just as bad for you – show me a truly healthy cupcake and I will applaud you. If you want to be perfectly healthy then you can't eat them at all I reckon.
DeleteGet a life Christina and stay off this site if you are only a clean eater! If we want to indulge in some toxic artificial ingredients sometimes it's our prerogative.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteChristina, is someone going to force you to eat these? I thought not. As Delia said, if you have a recipe that you would like to present as an alternative, do so, but don't verbally abuse someone (especially on their own site) for presenting a low(er) calorie cupcake option for those people counting calories.
DeleteToxicity data always goes hand in hand with DOSE -- a discussion of one without the other is absolutely meaningless. Water is toxic to the system too, at the right dose. I'm not saying these cupcakes are healthy in the way that eating fruit or veggies as a snack would be. Sugary foods should always be a "sometime treat," but the ingredients list is far from the dire catastrophe you make it out to be.
My qualifications on the subject, before anyone asks? A doctoral degree.
Nutritional information? I'm diabetic, but I'd love to know the amount of sugar and carbs that are in these.. that way I can indulge without spiking!
ReplyDeleteHi!
DeleteYou could check out this website for nutritional information for any recipe:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
Thanks!
Just made these and they are cooling. Mine only made 16 cupcakes even though I measured out 1/4 cup each time. I'm thinking more like 1/8th of a cup is more realistic to make 24 cupcakes and then topping off with what's left (if any).
ReplyDeleteWhenever I make cupcakes (and I make them A LOT), I just use an ice cream scoop to portion out the batter. It's usually the perfect amount. Best wishes!
DeleteWhenever I make cupcakes (and I make them A LOT), I just use an ice cream scoop to portion out the batter. It's usually the perfect amount. Best wishes!
DeleteAnyone know how many PPV this is for weight watchers?
ReplyDeleteHi Mackenzie!
DeleteI just emailed you, but just in case I thought I would write you here too. There are 1.5 WW points per cupcake. Thanks!
gorgeous! saw them floating around pinterest and I want to start baking!
ReplyDeleteDoes diet sprite work the same as sprite zero? I couldn't find any in the store.
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda!
DeleteThat will work just fine!
I made these today after being reeled in from the gorgeous pinterest picture. I've never had anything like them before (or any WW dessert), so I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't care for the consistency, it was a little strange. The cake part sort of just collapsed when I bit into it. It wasn't very cakey. The frosting was great, but required about 1 cup of milk to make it work. I enjoyed trying something new and different, so thanks for the post. At least now I can add a new frosting recipe to my repertoire.
ReplyDeleteHow did you get the frosting so white? When I mixed the Cool Whip and pudding mix it turned a light yellow (I don't know why this surprised me, I know very well what vanilla pudding looks like), which made it hard to dye blue. Also a warning: as delicious as it is, it is pretty thick which made it hard to pipe so it doesn't make a great decorative frosting.
ReplyDeleteSorry you had trouble! Mine came out a little off white and didn't have much trouble spreading.
DeleteMy frosting came out yellow and even though the tester came out okay I should have cooked my cup cakes a little longer. They were a little gummy. They were still good though!!!!
ReplyDeleteI made them- they were good (slightly gummy in the middle too, I would have given them another 2-3 minutes but my hubs took them out and didn't have the slightest idea how to check if they were cooked). BUT my question was when to frost them. Since its whip cream you have to refrigerate it don't you? So do you just gobble them all up in a day or do you put them in the fridge or just frost them as you need them? I Ended up mixing the frosting, frosting a few for that day then putting the rest of the frosting in the fridge for later. Only problem was that it started to set b/c of the pudding (didn't think that through all the way). Any suggestions if you family isn't going to eat them all in a day?
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah!
DeleteWe kept all of our leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and they kept just fine! Thanks!
Hi there! I attempted these last night and for some reason, the bottom halves just did NOT cook completely. I followed all the instructions exactly (including putting in exactly 1/4 a cup of batter, which I think might've been too much) and even cooked them about 25-28 minutes, but the bottoms still came out with a super-gummy texture.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else had this problem? I'm chalking it up to the fact that I'm in high altitude, but I'd love to know if anyone else experienced the same thing; tops cooked, bottoms gummy and yuck.
It is 2 Weight Watcher Points Plus Points for 1!
ReplyDeleteLove these! However the frosting was very thick and clumped up. I added 1/3 cup of 1% milk which thinned it a little. Probably could have added more but didn't want to tamper with the recipe too much for my first time.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE these! They are so easy to make and taste delicious. I've been buying all kinds of mixes and making them with the sprite zero. So easy! I have a quick question... should these be kept in the refrigerator because of the Cool Whip Frosting or does the pudding mix do something to the Cool Whip to make it ok at room temperature??? I think they taste better at room temperature, but I've been too afraid to leave them out. Thanks!!!
ReplyDeleteHi!
DeleteI don't know if you should put the in the fridge or not, but we always to just to be safe! Sorry I'm not more help!
Thank you so much for this post!! First time making these and I am so excited! My BF and I are on (Struggling to be on lol) the WW diet and snacks are our biggest problem.. we always seem to be hungry in between meals and craving goodies like these! I'm a big baker and these are perfect. Super easy and only 1.5 points? I'm all in. I just made my first batch and I'm in love!! Can't wait for him to get home and try them tonight-thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt is ok to have light snacks in between meals. My dietician has me on a meal plan where I eat six times a day and my weight is fine. I think it helps to keep metabolism going, but could be wrong.
DeleteI would like to say that I am a personal trainer, exercise therapist, and nutritionist and if you want to lose weight and be healthy then this will not really help with your goals. Less calories doesn't mean healthier. Try sticking with real food and just limiting your portions. Processed ingredients wreak so much havoc on your body. It doesn't recognize what you're putting in it and will cause more health problems than making food from scratch with more calories. The diet industry has really confused a majority of people! Just FYI :)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI just wanted to let you know-I am following weight watchers right now and I plugged the recipe into the recipe builder and I get that these are 2 points for one cupcake. I ate 3 and it told me that was 7 points. So they must be a smidge over 2 points apiece. Not sure where the 1.5 came from...Weight watchers also doesn't do 1/2 points. They either round up or round down. But I was very excited to find this recipe regardless-thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI thought that too, but then I remembered the old WW points system used half points. The original source for this recipe just must have been a few years old.
DeleteI LOVE funfetti- I am so excited to try these, thanks!
ReplyDeleteMade these today and they are delicious !!
ReplyDeleteMade these today and they are delicious !!
ReplyDeleteWould this work with Chocolate cake mix?..... let me know asap! Sitting on the edge ready to try it out!!! :) You guys are great!
ReplyDeleteYes! We have made them with chocolate and Diet Coke! Here is the recipe:
Deletehttp://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/09/skinny-cookies-n-cream-cupcakes-recipe.html
Can club soda be substituted for sprite zero?
ReplyDeleteHi Megan!
DeleteI have never tried it with club soda. It may have a little less flavor, but I am sure it would work. Let us know if you try it!
Oh my goodess, this sounds amazing! I can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteThis recipe is amazing. I was just thinking there should be a way to make cupcakes without the added fat from the oil and all. Thank you for posting :)
ReplyDeletedo you know about how many calories it is without the icing? just curious?
ReplyDeleteHi Katie!
DeleteI am so sorry. I don't know how many calories are in the plain cupcakes. We have a new site we are launching this month that will calculate calories, WW points, etc. so keep an eye out!
Um, I m confused.... I followed your instruction and I ended up 12 cups instead 24. How do you makes it 24 out of one box? Did you made two box to get 24 cups? Please clarify this one. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, they are addicted!!! :)
I watch carbs (Type 1 diabetic) and would LOVE to know if you happen to know the number of carbs. Obviously it helps using Sprite Zero and such, but that is the info I need so I can devour these delicious looking treats!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI just made these and they did come out pretty gummy even though i followed the recipe perfectly. It also did not make anywhere near 24 cupcakes lol only 16 even though i only used a 1/4 cup to measure them out. I assume this ups the calorie count but I'm not sure by how much. My boyfriend loved them, though, so that's a good thing! Anything to get the guy to eat a little healthier.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this this morning for my son's 4th Birthday, he is allergic to eggs and although traditionally I use different egg subs., this one sounds good. I'm going to do a white cake mix with the sprite and add a couple different food color drops in each cupcake and swirl for a rainbow effect.
ReplyDeleteWell the cup cakes didn't turn out well, I think I baked them too long. So I did another cake w/Sprite in a cake pan instead of cup cakes and put blue food coloring in it, I should have put more food coloring in because it turned out a little green on top but blue throughout the rest. It was an instant hit. So Very Moist! There wasn't hardly a bite left, thank you for this recipe :)
ReplyDeleteOh I forgot to add that I used a white cake mix and put sprinkles in the batter then used the blue food coloring. <3
ReplyDeleteLoved them!!! Made them tonight turned out great but frosting had a weird consistency to it....was still awesome tho :)
ReplyDeleteI tried these tonight and they were okay but they turned out very dense and heavy. I'm not sure what I did wrong. :(
ReplyDeleteYummy! Thanks for the recipe idea. I've done the "Diet Coke" cake before but never thought to put it in a cupcake form and the icing wowza! Those following the new WW pts plus plan these are 3 pts plus! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI just made it as a cake for the curiosity factor! it definitely has its pros and cons.. but overall not bad.. it seems to act a little like an angel food cake (being delicate, and a different texture while eating)... I'll make it again in summer to go with some fruit for sure! but personally.. i'll probably stick to the eggs and oil ;) It was nice to keep the white color without digging out egg yolks tho!
ReplyDeleteIs there anything you would recommend substituting for the Sprite Zero? I can't have any artificial sweeteners.
ReplyDeleteWe used the sprite zero in place of eggs and oil. I know applesauce can be used in place of egg also. Not sure on the measurement though. May have to google that. Best of luck! -The Six Sisters
DeleteSo I made these last night - the cake turned out great. But we made the icing right after the cupcakes and refrigerated it until the cupcakes were cool. Well by the time we took the icing out to ice the cupcakes, it was really clumpy and didn't look very appealing. Did you make your icing right before you iced the cupcakes? And did the consistency change on the cupcakes after you refrigerated them? Ours tasted good, the icing just looked gross.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry about that! I have only made my icing when it came time to frost so I have never refrigerated it before hand. Not sure if that may have changed the consistency of the icing.
DeleteThanks so much for the recipe. We made these yesterday. Here is the link to ours....http://thepatrioticpam.blogspot.com/2013/01/super-moist-and-easy-cake-recipeits.html.
ReplyDeleteMy boys LOVED the cake, but the icing was not our favorite. But it was easy and fun to try!!!
Thanks for sharing.
Pam @ http://thepatrioticpam.blogspot.com
These are fabulous!!!!! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIf you are honestly here because you are making a conscious effort to get healthy, PLEASE do not believe that this recipe is the way to go...have mercy, read the ingredient lists on each of these "foods", then look up all of the words you can't pronounce. This does not equal healthy or even safe.
ReplyDeleteI just pulled a batch of these out of the oven and CAN'T wait for them to cool! I made mine with raspberry sparkling water (0 calories, sugar, caffiene, and sodium!) Just wondering how you determined the calorie count?
ReplyDelete110 calories per frosted cupcake, 2 Weight Watchers Points.
DeleteCan i use cook and serve pudding powder or does it have to be instant?
ReplyDeleteI have never tried it using cook and serve so I'm not sure. I am so sorry! Let us know if you end up trying it.
DeleteJust made these and just finished icing them. They are awesome! Thank you for the recipe! The only issue I had was that they stuck to the wrappers... so next time I plan on not using them, but instead spraying the pan. Thanks again! Totally am going to recommend!
ReplyDeleteWonder how these would be with Red Velvet Cake Mix? Anyone tried this>?
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that I've seen where you can do the red velvet with diet Dr. Pepper!
DeleteMade them and LOVED them! My frosting did not look as pretty as yours but it tasted wonderful! I just have to remind my hubby even though they are healthier, he cannot eat 5 :)
ReplyDeletejust made these for our college Bible study group. they were a great hit! :)
ReplyDeleteIs the frosting suppose to have a gritty texture to it from the pudding mix? I just tasted it and it still seems gritty, even after Ive mixed it well. It tastes good though!
ReplyDeleteIf you beat it long enough, it will be smooth! Good luck! -The Six Sisters
DeleteI made these cupcakes for my sister's birthday, and they turned out amazing! I followed the recipe exactly, but the batter only made 14 cupcakes for me. I guess my cupcakes were just on the large side, but that's a good thing of course!
ReplyDeleteAfter lettimg the frosting set for a bit the gritty texture dissolved :) Thanks for the recipe. Im trying to get my kids to eat better and even though this isnt extremely healthy anything helps. Better than candy. My husband even liked them. I actually made spice cake cupcakes with cheesecake pudding frosting. They were very good!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if this works with gluten free cake mixes? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try this, my son has an egg allergy and I usually have to use an egg substitute anyways, this sounds perfect!
ReplyDeleteI just made this, and left them in the oven for 20 min as directed, when i took them out to cool,i wanted to see how they good they would come out of the cupcake holders, they are do not come off the paper easily and the actual cake part seemed really dense and not like a normal cupcake, the taste was great but not sure how easy its going to be to get them out. and I had to add 1/3 cup of milk to help with the frosting, without the mild the frosting was really thick and the taste of the vanilla pudding really stuck out. But over all I think they will be delish! Thank you for the suggestion!
ReplyDeletegenius!!! yummy
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try these! I'm currently out of vanilla pudding mix and was wondering if you could use chocolate pudding mix the same way. Anybody tried it? Seems like it should work but was curious if its been done before! Thanks so much for all of your posts...it's always a win for me!
ReplyDeleteI think that would work just fine!
Deleteim trying this tomorrow! my usual recipe is with devils food cake mix duncan hines brand with a container of no sugar added apple sauce and egg substitue (2 wwp+) ...they come out just like normal cupcakes but this diet soda metgod would be quicker! a butterfinger crushed and mixed into a tub of free cool whip is the best "frosting" (1 wwp+)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe :) we just used cool whip with no pudding as our "frosting". I also had no diet soda on hand so used regular sprite, only adding about 7 calories per cupcake, which I'm sure we evened out without the pudding.
ReplyDeleteWow, there certainly are some militant naturalists commenting on this site. The fact is, having a cupcake every once and a while- even a full-fat, corn-syrup laden, boxed, processed, refined sugar, bleached flour version- is not going to harm a normal person. Of course, it shouldn't be a regulat part of your diet- but neither should an organic, gluten-free, agave sweetened, carob frosted paleo-cupcake. They are *treats*. This recipe is about taking a boxed mix that people are likely going to use anyway and making it a more reasonable choice for the faction of people out there that are simply looking for better- not perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd if I hear the "if you can't pronounce it, you shouldn't use/eat it" adage again, I'm going to lose it. Just because you are too lazy to truly research your food doesn't mean all of us are. Some of us are smart enough to let our fingers do the walking: we can not only learn how to pronounce Sodium stearoyl lactylate, but can easily discover that it is derived from coconuts and helps to make our bread fluffy and moist. Imagine how much better of we'd be as a society if people just spent more time learning and less time spreading fear and misinformation.
I generally refrain from posting links in my comments, but i hope the sisters will excuse me this one time. i heard this interview quite a while ago, but think it's got a lot of useful info that may relive some readers out there:
http://www.npr.org/2013/02/18/171936209/sometimes-food-additives-are-pretty-innocuous