Pineapple Upside Down Protein Cupcakes

I've actually never had a pineapple upside down cupcake and am not even certain I've tried the cake either. I saw a picture of these somewhere and really wanted to try them out! Of course my version is "healthyfied" with protein powder & healthy ingredient substitutions, although you would never be able to tell. And now I know what I've been missing out on. These magical cupcakes are DELICIOUS!!! I can't believe how much I'm loving them. They are some of my all time favorite protein cupcakes I have ever made. In other words, I really think you should try them out yourselves. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cupcakes

1 scoop Vitacost ARO vanilla whey protein powder

1/3 cup almond meal flour

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or oat flour)

¼ cup Vitacost coconut sugar

¾ teaspoon baking powder

3 egg whites

¼ cup plain greek yogurt

¼ cup vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

Pineapple Topping

½ cup crushed pineapple, drained and patted dry

4 cherries, pitted and sliced in half

2 tablespoons Vitacost coconut oil, melted

8 tablespoons Vitacost coconut sugar

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place 8 silicon cupcake liners on a sheet pan.

2. Add ¾ teaspoon of melted coconut oil into the bottom of each cupcake liner.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coconut sugar into each cupcake liner, on top of melted coconut oil, then place a slice of cherry in the middle.

4. Spoon 1 tablespoon of crushed pineapple into each cupcake liner, on top of coconut oil, sugar, and cherry.

5. For the cupcake batter, add egg whites, greek yogurt, and almond milk to a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.

6. Add the remainder of cupcake ingredients to the mixing bowl with wet ingredients and stir until batter is well combined.

7. Evenly spoon batter into the 8 cupcake liners (on top of pineapple mixture) and bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes.

Makes 8 servings

1 serving is 1 muffin

  

Macros for 1 serving

193 calories, 7.2g protein, 28.6g carbs, 6.3g fat, 16.8g sugar, 1.9g fiber

Nicolette’s Tips

* For a lower sugar content, replace the coconut sugar with xylitol or sugar-free sweetener of choice (only do this in the muffin batter)