The "Diet" Cupcake

With the summer here, I seem to notice more than ever when I have gained some poundage. It seems like every decadent morsel I put in my mouth instantly shows up in my ill-fitting clothes. Problem is, I am not one to ditch dessert. I cannot. It is too wonderful and I would miss it too much. Josh and I are not have as liberal with the sweet stuff as we used to be and I will attribute that to the fact that I rarely keep the baking in the house. We have also tried to have "lighter" desserts if there are such things and I have to admit I think we are being duped. Two of my favorite icecreams claim to be so low fat and low sugar and I am not sure how they can be when they taste that good.

To further the "light" dessert cause, I have been searching Weight Watchers websites and Self.com for some good recipes. This little ditty was listed mainly because the fat is eliminated. The sugar and flour, however, are still front and center. And of course, no one really takes into account that a cupcake is really nothing without frosting. I was completely lazy - as if using a cake mix isn't pure laziness on its own - and I used a container of Betty Crocker vanilla frosting. Whatever the calories are in that product I can only guess.

The recipe cannot be easier. I poured the mix into a bowl, poured in the soda and the egg and beat for two minutes. The batter was extremely lumpy and the minute I poured in the soda some sort of creepy chemical reaction occurred, causing the dough to foam and begin to rise. The batter was also a bit thinner than normal but that did not seem to affect it. I baked for 20 minutes and ended up with nice domed cakes, not overflowing the pan as they normally do.

My only concern - and I will have to wait for Josh's office feedback to confirm - is that the warm cupcakes stuck to the wrapper in the worst way and crumbled the minute you picked it up. Yes, yes I did have to taste one. Quality control and all! The flavor, though was pretty good. Not an intense rootbeer flavor but not exactly vanilla either. I hope that the flavor has intensified through the night.

So to recap, the cupcake is full of carbs and minus a few grams of fat. Kind of a bust when you think about what the goal was. Nevertheless, I give you the Diet Pop Cupcake. Guaranteed to fool the tastebuds but certainly not the waistline. Enjoy but eat at your own risk!

Diet Pop Cake

1 package vanilla cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)

1 can diet rootbeer

1 egg

Pour all three ingredients into a mixer and beat on medium for 2 minutes. Bake in paperlined muffin cups for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

I have also heard that diet Dr. Pepper with chocolate cake mix is delicious as well.

11am, Josh's office sends an update. The cupcakes are good but not my best. Haha, it's a cake mix, how can that possibly be amazing? However, the crumbly texture is gone and they are not sticking to the liners. Also, they seem to fool the health conscience because the one "dieter" in the office absolutely loved them. A mixed review...