This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx on behalf of Ocean Spray.
These light and fluffy lemon cupcakes are dotted with beautiful red cranberry seeds and topped with a lemon Greek yogurt frosting!
Yes, you read that recipe title correctly - these cupcakes are made with cranberry seeds! I'm so excited to share this recipe with you guys because I had never heard of cranberry seeds being used for cooking or baking up until a short while ago. These Lemon Cranberry Seed Cupcakes with Lemon Greek Yogurt Frosting turned out incredibly delicious and the color and texture from the cranberry seeds is delightful.
Ocean Spray recently unveiled their new cranberry seeds and I must say, I had so much fun baking with them! Cranberry seeds are very similar to poppy seeds in size and texture and are naturally a beautiful, vibrant red color! I imagine the cranberry seeds would make a great replacement for poppy seeds in just about any recipe.
The texture of these cupcakes is light and fluffy and the lemon Greek yogurt frosting is the perfectly smooth, sweet and tangy complement to these muffins.
How to Make These Cupcakes
- Very important - before you do anything you need to strain your yogurt overnight for the frosting! This ensures that your frosting will be sturdy enough. If you skip this step, the yogurt will contain too much liquid and you will end up with a runny mess on top of your cupcakes. To strain yogurt, place yogurt in a fine-mesh strainer positioned over the top of a bowl to catch the liquid. Place plastic wrap over top and refrigerate yogurt overnight.
- In a large bowl, beat yogurt, lemon juice, lemon extract, and powdered sweetener with an electric hand mixer until frosting thickens, 2-3 minutes. Refrigerate frosting while you bake cupcakes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, stevia or sweetener of choice, baking powder, and salt. Add cranberry seeds and whisk to combine.
- In a separate medium bowl, beat together milk, eggs, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract until fully combined. Add wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Spoon batter into cupcake pan, filling each liner about halfway full. Bake cupcakes for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Remove frosting from the refrigerator and spoon it into a gallon zip-top bag. Snip the corner of the bag with scissors and pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Garnish cupcakes with lemon zest and cranberry seeds if desired and enjoy!
A Few Notes for Making These Cupcakes
If using stevia or another sugar substitute for this recipe, be sure yours has a one-to-one replacement ratio with sugar. Many zero-calorie sweetener brands have "baking blends" which have a one-to-one replacement ratio with sugar, which work perfectly for this pie. This is the brand I used for this recipe. You may also use regular cane sugar.
The Lemon Greek Yogurt Frosting is a wonderful, more healthy alternative to traditional buttercream but is not a last-minute recipe. You must strain the yogurt overnight to get the consistency required for the frosting. If you would like to use a regular buttercream instead, try the lemon buttercream I use in this cake recipe instead. It is decadent and delicious!
More On Ocean Spray Cranberry Seeds
Ocean Spray® Cranberry Seeds are a new innovative, upcycled, and clean-label product. Cranberry seeds are harvested from cranberries certified as sustainably grown and offering an array of powerful nutritional benefits to support a healthy lifestyle. Cranberry seeds are part of Ocean Spray's commitment to food innovation and health and wellness.
Ocean Spray Cranberry Seeds can help support heart, digestive, immune, and cognitive function as part of a healthy diet. These tiny red seeds are an excellent source of fiber and also contain zinc, magnesium, and Omega 3 fatty acids.
To learn more about the health benefits of cranberry seeds, visit www.cranberryseeds.com.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Cranberry Seed Cupcakes with Lemon Greek Yogurt Frosting
Ingredients
Lemon Greek Yogurt Frosting
- 2 cups whole milk Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar - or Swerve confectioners
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut flour - to thicken frosting, optional
For Cupcakes
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup stevia baking blend - or sweetener of choice*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoon Ocean Spray Cranberry Seeds**
- ⅓ cup olive oil - extra virgin
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk - I used unsweetened almond
- zest and juice of one large lemon
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon extract
Instructions
- Very important - before you do anything you need to strain your yogurt overnight for the frosting! This ensures that your frosting will be sturdy enough. If you skip this step, the yogurt will contain too much liquid and you will end up with a runny mess on top of your cupcakes. To strain yogurt, place yogurt in a fine mesh strainer positioned over top of a bowl to catch the liquid. Place plastic wrap over top and refrigerate yogurt overnight.
- In a large bowl, beat yogurt, lemon juice, lemon extract and powdered sweetener with an electric hand mixer until frosting thickens, 2-3 minutes. Add the coconut flour if you'd like the frosting a bit thicker and mix to combine. Refrigerate frosting while you bake cupcakes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake pan with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, stevia or sweetener of choice, baking powder, and salt. Add cranberry seeds and whisk to combine.
- In a separate medium bowl, beat together milk, eggs, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and lemon extract until fully combined. Add wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Spoon batter into cupcake pan, filling each liner about two-thirds full. Bake cupcakes for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Allow cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.
- Remove frosting from refrigerator and spoon it into a gallon ziploc bag. Snip the corner of the bag with scissors and pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Garnish cupcakes with lemon zest and cranberry seeds if desired and enjoy!
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