Indulgent Baileys Protein Cupcakes with a baileys chocolate cupcake, baileys filling and baileys frosting – all protein. Easy, healthy and the best Baileys chocolate cupcakes – low sugar and low fat too!
Jump to Recipe
Randomly passed by some bottles of Baileys at the store and commented on how my mom was a fan of them. And one thing led to another and I was home with bottles of Baileys minis, ready to try a dessert recipe!
The Irish coffee and cream and chocolate flavor in these cupcakes really complemented each other so well. And that too all over – in the cake, filling and frosting too!
A clean recipe here though, since there’s no butter, oil or sugar added.
Ingredients for Baileys Protein Cupcakes
These Baileys protein cupcakes are made with healthy ingredients, sweetened with protein powder, filled with protein filling, topped with a protein frosting too. Here’s what you need for these healthy Baileys cupcakes:
For the Baileys Chocolate Protein Cupcake
- Chocolate Protein Powder needed for a high protein cupcake and also replaces the ‘sugar’.
I used Whey-Casein Chocolate Donut protein powder from HTLT Supps (Quest Nutrition also works) and whey protein powder from Dymatize. - Baileys Irish Cream
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1:1 Zero Calorie Sugar Substitute – I use Lakanto, to keep this recipe sugar free; (code HAYLSKITCHEN for a discount here)
- Instant Coffee
- Hot Water
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Some Lemon Juice
- A bit of Melted Butter
- Baking Soda
The Protein Baileys Filling to fill in:
- Vanilla Protein Powder: I recommend HTLT Supps or Quest Nutrition Vanilla whey-caesin here.
- More Baileys Irish Cream
- Unsweetened Almond Milk
For the Protein Baileys Frosting:
- Chocolate Protein Powder: I recommend HTLT Supps or Quest Nutrition Chocolate here since it’s whey-casein and blends well with the yogurt.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Non-fat Greek Yogurt
- And more Baileys Irish Cream
Tips for the perfect Protein Powder Baileys Cupcakes Recipe
While this protein powder Baileys cupcake recipe is easy, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Grease the cupcake liners if they aren’t silicon.
This will allow the protein powder cupcakes to come off easily.
- Use melted Butter so that it mixes well into the healthy Baileys cupcake batter.
- Don’t over-mix the batter!
Make sure you gently fold the dry mix into the wet to combine them.
If you over-mix it, the protein powder will make the low calorie Baileys protein cupcakes tough, dense and gummy.
- Taste the batter and see if you need some extra sweetener. I’d recommend using stevia powder to maintain the consistency of the batter and have low sugar and healthy cupcakes.
- Don’t let the batter sit out too long; Pour immediately into baking pan and bake.
This is to avoid any reactions between the ingredients.
- Don’t over-fill baking pan cavities or the cupcake batter will overflow!
- Don’t over-bake the mini cake bites or they might get tough; Remove when the tester/knife comes out just dry; Little moisture is okay.
- Let stuffed cupcakes cool completely before filling and frosting, or the filling and frosting will melt away.
How to Store Baileys Chocolate Cupcakes with Filling
Thisis the best Baileys cupcakes recipe and can be stored on the counter, in the fridge or freezer too.
Place easy Baileys chocolate cupcakes with filling in an airtight container and you can keep them on the countertop for 2-3 hours, fridge for 5 days or freezer for 2-3 months.
To defrost frozen Baileys cupcakes, leave them on the countertop or place them in the fridge overnight. I would not recommend using the microwave.
Alternatives for Healthy Baileys Cupcakes
I made these healthy Baileys cupcakes low fat, low calorie and sugar free with the set of ingredients above, but here’s some options to try. I havn’t given them all a go yet, so I can’t say how they all would work.
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: Use All purpose flour or 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour in the same amount by weight not cups.
- 1:1 Zero Calorie Sugar Replacement: Regular confectioners sugar or coconut sugar (this won’t be sugar free though, and also higher in calories)
- Black Cocoa: Regular Unsweetened Cocoa
- Unsweetened Applesauce: Mashed Banana or Pumpkin Puree
- Melted Butter: Melted Coconut Oil or Dairy Free Butter
- Lemon Juice: Apple Cider Vinegar or White Vinegar
Options for Baileys Cupcake Frosting
- Greek Yogurt: Coconut Yogurt
- Almond Milk: Regular milk
Some Unique Cupcake Recipes with Protein Powder
- Dirt Pudding Protein Cupcakes
- Snickers Protein Cupcakes
- Stuffed Protein Cupcakes!
- Protein Apple Cupcakes with Protein Peanut Butter Frosting
- Mini Chocolate Protein Cakes
- Maple Bacon Protein Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Protein Cupcakes – Like Tagalong Cookies
Baileys Protein Cupcakes
Ingredients
- ½ cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, see post for subs, 60g
- ½ cup Chocolate Protein Powder, Whey, 45g, about 1½ scoops
- ⅓ cup Chocolate Protein Powder, Whey-casein, 30g, about 1 scoop
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 20g
- 3 Tbsp Zero Calorie 1:1 Sugar Replacement, 36g
- 1½ tsp Instant Coffee
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ cup Hot Water, 120ml
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce, 120g
- ¼ cup Baileys (Irish Cream)
- ½ Tbsp Melted Butter, 7g
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
Bailey’s Filling:
- ¼ cup Vanilla Protein Power, Whey-casein, 22g
- 1½ Tbsp Baileys (Irish Cream), 22ml
- 1½ Tbsp Unsweetened Almond Milk, 22ml
Chocolate Bailey’s Frosting:
- ¾ cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt, 168g
- ⅓ cup + 2 Tbsp Chocolate Protein Power, Whey-casein, 41g
- 1 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 5g
- 1 Tbsp Baileys (Irish Cream), 15ml
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F, line 9 cups of a muffin pan with cupcake lines, and lightly spray insides with cooking spray (or use non-stick pan).
- In a bowl, whisk flour, whey and whey-casein chocolate protein powders, unsweetened cocoa powder, zero calorie sugar replacement, instant coffee and baking soda.
- In a large bowl, whisk together hot water, applesauce, Baileys, butter and lemon juice.
- Add dry mix to wet, and gently fold until just combined.DO NOT OVER-MIX or protein powder will make the cake dense.
- Pour batter into cupcake cavities, dividing equally.Batter should be ¾ way to the top (it will overflow if too much).Don’t let the batter sit out.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes.Toothpick inserted into the center should come out dry.
- Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan.Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, about 15 minutes.
Baileys Filling:
- Let cupcakes cool completely.
- Use a tsp measure to make a hollow cavity at the top of the cupcakes (go about half way deep).
- In a bowl, combine protein powder, baileys and milk (little at a time). Mix until smooth.
- Fill mixture into cupcake hollows, then cover with small piece of cupcake top (which was removed).
Chocolate Baileys Frosting:
- In a bowl, combine Greek Yogurt, protein powder, cocoa powder and Baileys (little at a time) and mix until smooth.
- Scoop out and spread frosting on top of cupcakes, sprinkle on chopped peanuts and chocolate.
Notes
- Taste the batter and see if you need some extra sweetener; I’d recommend stevia if needed.
- Nutrition value is calculated using products recommended below.
- See post for alternate ingredients, tips and storage options.
- Quest Nutrition Chocolate Whey-Casein Protein Powder
- Dymatize ISO 100 Gourmet Chocolate Whey Protein Powder
- Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener
- Use code HAYLSKITCHEN for 15% off your order
- Servings: 9 cupcakes | Serving size: 1
- Calories: 143cal
- Fat: 2.8g | Saturated fat: 1.3g
- Carbohydrates: 15.5g | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 3.8g
- Protein: 15.4g
I have normal
Baileys that I need to use. What type of replacement and measurements should I substitute for?
Hi Dana!
You can go ahead with the normal Baileys! Thats exactly the one I used 🙂
I can’t wait to know how these turn out for you!