Guilt Free Red Velvet Cupcakes!

I've been making "guilt free cupcakes" for sometime now and I never thought to blog about 'em. They're kinda awesome yet bizarre, just trust me with the recipe ok?

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 can of diet coke (or approx. 10oz of liquid)
• Cool Whip (I used the "Lite" version)
• 1 package of red velvet cake mix
• coconut shavings (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

• Pre-heat oven to 350

• Mix together 10oz of diet coke with 1 package of red velvet cake mix. Stir till the cake mix is blended into the diet coke

• Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way with the mix

• Bake for about 20-30 minutes (or until a tooth pick is clean when poked into the cupcake)

• Let cool, take a dollop of coolwhip lite and ice the cupcakes. If you want to add a little sweetness I sometimes sprinkle on top some coconut shavings.


TIPS AND ALTERNATIVES:

• I recommend letting the cupcakes sit for at least 5-6 hours before eating. Since you are using diet coke and not eggs or oil to bind up the cake mix it tends to fall apart right away if you dig right in. Allowing them to sit and set will let the cake become more dense and not fall apart as easily.

• Since I just make these cupcakes for personal use I tend to "ice" them as I eat them so the icing doesn't turn red from the red velvet cake mix. Also coolwhip needs to be refrigerated or else it gets super gnarly left out.

• The batter might be thick, thats ok the cupcakes will still be fluffy! Sometimes cake mixes have more or less dry batter depending on the brand, if you feel like your cupcakes are too thick or too runny then adjust the "coke to cake mix" ratio to your liking :)

• You can also make chocolate cupcakes by using chocolate cake mix and diet coke.

• If chocolate isn't your thing you can also use vanilla cake mix with 1 can of diet sprite.

• For a moist more dense cake you can also use pumpkin puree as a coke substitute. Please note you will taste some of the pumpkin in your recipe. I love to use a "spice" cake mix or a carrot cake mix with the pumpkin puree.

• I would not recommend using the cupcakes for a party, I make the cupcakes as a way for me to have something sweet with out all the fat. Dudes might not approve of this recipe, but my boyfriend doesn't mind them :)