Looking for a festive fall dessert that’s a bit more balanced? Try these chocolate sweetpotato cupcakes! Perfect for Halloween, this cupcake recipe features a rich lower-sugar chocolate sweetpotato cupcake base as well as a unique frosting made from sweetpotato, white chocolate, and yogurt. Each cupcake contains 3 grams of fiber, 5.5 grams of protein, and has 35% of your daily Vitamin A needs!
Disclosure: This recipe was developed in a paid partnership with the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission Inc.
Ingredients
Here’s a photo of all the ingredients you’ll need for the chocolate cupcake base:
And here are all the ingredients you’ll need for the frosting:
Here are selected ingredient notes that may be helpful:
- Sweetpotatoes: You’ll use this in both the cupcake base and the frosting. Sweetpotatoes (yes, one word!) are awesome for active women, as they contain complex carbohydrates that provide energy for workouts. They’re also an excellent source of Vitamin A and are a good source of fiber.
- Whole wheat flour: This adds a little extra fiber to the recipe, but feel free to use all purpose if it’s all you have on hand.
- Lower sugar Greek yogurt: There are quite a few on the market these days. I’m a fan of the brands that contain 2 grams of sugar per serving, typically being sweetened with a little stevia. However, there are other varieties on the market that don’t contain alternative sweeteners and simply use less sugar. Feel free to peek around and choose one that fits your preferences.
Instructions
You’ll find the full recipe amounts and instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a helpful overview with photos and tips.
Start by preparing the sweetpotatoes to use in both parts of the recipe. You’ll want to peel your sweetpotatoes and chop ‘em into cubes. Put those in a pot and cover with water.
Bring that to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, it should take around 13-15 minutes for them to become tender. When they are tender, drain them and let cool for a few minutes.
Pop those sweetpotatoes in a mini food processor or blender, and process for about a minute until smooth.
Once that’s all set, you can start preparing your cupcake base. Start by mixing the milk and vinegar in a measuring cup. Let that sit for a few minutes, creating a faux buttermilk.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and ¾ cup of pureed sweetpotato, and mix well.
Add the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir a couple times, then pour in the milk-vinegar mixture. Stir until just combined. The batter should look like this:
Pour the batter into either a greased cupcake tin or a cupcake tin with paper liners.
Bake that at 350 degrees F for about 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick pulls out clean from the center of a cupcake.
While those are cooling, prepare the frosting. Start by melting the white chocolate in 30-second intervals in the microwave, stirring between each. It should only take two intervals, maybe three, to get the chocolate fully melted. Remember to stir between each or the chocolate can burn.
When the chocolate is melted, stir in the yogurt and ¾ cup of pureed sweetpotato. It will look a little thin at first, which is normal. Pop it in the refrigerator while the cupcakes are cooling, and it will thicken up as the white chocolate cools. Your frosting should reach a pipeable texture after about 30-60 minutes in the fridge.
Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes, and enjoy!
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may come up as you’re preparing this recipe:
Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. However, because the frosting contains yogurt, it shouldn’t be left out for more than 2 hours. You can store the frosting separately in the refrigerator and add to the cupcakes immediately before serving.
This recipe is lower in sugar than traditional cupcake recipes. Most homemade cupcakes with frosting contain 30-40 grams of sugar per cupcake, while this recipe has just 18 grams, only 8.5 grams of which is added sugar.
If you’d prefer to reduce the sugar content further, you can use a granulated alternative sweetener like allulose in place of some or all the sugar in the cupcake. You can also use stevia-sweetened white chocolate chips in place of regular white chocolate chips in the frosting.
Yes! To make a chocolate sweetpotato frosting, simply combine a pureed cooked sweetpotato with a bag of melted semisweet chocolate chips. Delicious!
Nutrition Benefits
As a dietitian, I love this recipe for a few reasons:
- Portion controlled dessert
- Lower in sugar than most homemade cupcakes
- Sneaks extra veggies into your day
- Contains a blend of carbs, protein, and fat
- Provides Vitamin A, important for eye health and immune health
- Fun and festive for Halloween!
More Sweetpotato Recipes
If you’re looking for more tasty ways to use sweetpotatoes, be sure to give one of these a try:
- Savory twice baked sweetpotatoes
- Sweetpotato protein whoopie pies
- Brussels sprouts, plantain, and sweetpotato hash
- BBQ ground beef stuffed sweetpotatoes
- Sweetpotato and peanut butter breakfast bowl
I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you get a chance to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Halloween Sweetpotato Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- ¾ cup cooked pureed sweetpotato (approximately 1 medium-large sweetpotato; see instructions)
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1 tbsp distilled vinegar
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
For the frosting:
- ¾ cup cooked pureed sweetpotato (approximately 1 medium-large sweetpotato; see instructions)
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- ⅔ cup low sugar vanilla Greek yogurt (i.e vanilla varieties with 0-5 grams sugar per serving)
Instructions
- To prepare the sweetpotatoes for both the cupcakes and frosting, peel the two sweetpotatoes and chop into 1-inch cubes. Place in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to cook for 13-15 minutes over high heat, until sweetpotatoes are tender. Drain and let cool for a few minutes, then puree in a food processor or blender.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-count cupcake tin, or line it with paper cupcake liners.
- Next, start to prepare the cupcakes. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vinegar. Set aside for now.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs, yogurt, vanilla, and ¾ cup of the cooked pureed sweetpotato. Stir until well combined.
- Add the whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Stir a couple times, then pour in the milk-vinegar mixture. Stir until combined.
- Portion the batter evenly into the wells of the cupcake tin. Bake at 350°F for 15-17 minutes, or until cooked through. Let cool fully in the pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Place the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30-second intervals to melt the chocolate, stirring between each interval.
- When the white chocolate is melted, stir in the yogurt and ¾ cup of sweetpotato puree. Place in the fridge for an hour while you continue to wait for the cupcakes to cool.
- Frost the cupcakes immediately before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Placing the frosting in the fridge for an hour will allow it to firm up into a pipeable texture. However, if you don’t mind a softer texture, you don’t have to wait that long.
- If you’d prefer to reduce the sugar content, you can use a granulated alternative sweetener like allulose in place of some or all the sugar in the cupcake. You can also use stevia-sweetened white chocolate chips in place of regular white chocolate chips in the frosting.
- Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days. However, because the frosting contains yogurt, it shouldn’t be left out for more than 2 hours. You can store the frosting separately in the refrigerator and add to the cupcakes immediately before serving.
Nutrition
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