You know, I am really not much of one for Valentine's Day. Call me a grinch, or whatever the term might be on the holiday of love, but it's not one I've ever paid much attention to. I don't even remember getting all that fussed about it as a teenager, when the throes of love were so much more intense and all-consuming than they are as an adult. This may make me a bad blogger, since food bloggers love to celebrate any and every holiday where they can create custom recipes for their readers. I try to keep up, but I am fairly certain I fail miserably. I know that it definitely makes me a bad mother. When I pick my kids up at school and their Valentine boxes are stuffed with homemade treats from classmates, whereas my kids just handed out paper cards, my cheeks burn with shame. I cook and bake for a living, after all, I should be the one out-doing them all on V-day!
Sometimes we have to just accept who we are. This is me, the Valentine's Day Grinch, love me for who I am! But this year, I did have a recipe in mind to share with you. I suppose it's not a Valentine's Day themed recipe per se. I do confess, when I thought of a cappuccino flavoured cupcake, I did so with the intention that it be presented as a V-day treat. The warm, cinnamon-iness of the recipe just screams Valentine's to me. And I love coffee, and anything to do with coffee, and Valentine's Day is about love, so it seemed apropos. Am I stretching a bit here? Perhaps. Just go with it. Humour me.
I had some thinking to do as to how I wanted to recreate the flavours of the classic coffee shop treat in cupcake form. I knew I would modify my favourite vanilla cake recipe with some coffee flavour. But how to mimic the creaminess that comes with a real cappuccino? And what about that hint of cinnamon from the light sprinkling on the top? Would a buttercream frosting be to heavy for something that was supposed to be a frothy coffee confection? In the end, I settled for a coffee-flavoured cupcake topped with sweet cinnamon whipped cream frosting.
The Results: A cappuccino in cupcake form! These really are delightful. And I am very glad I went with a whipped cream frosting, as the whole effect had an airiness that was more reminiscent of the coffee drink. These were a hit with all members of the family, which surprised me since my son claims he doesn't like whipped cream. I guess he does when it's sweetened and tastes like cinnamon!
I do think these make a lovely Valentine's dessert. They aren't particularly heavy, so if you don't want that overly-full, overly-rich feeling that comes with chocolate, these are a nice alternative. I wish everyone much love on Valentine's Day!
Cappuccino Cupcakes
Cupcakes:
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tbsp instant coffee powder
2 cups almond flour
6 tbsp unflavoured whey protein powder
1/4 cup granulated erythritol
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz Greek yogurt
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
30 drops stevia extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Frosting:
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
6 tbsp powdered erythritol
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the cupcakes, preheat oven to 325 and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a small bowl, combine almond milk and instant coffee and stir until coffee is dissolved. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, whey protein powder, erythritol, baking powder, xanthan gum, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat yogurt and butter together until smooth. Beat in egg, stevia and vanilla until well mixed. Beat in almond flour mixture, then almond milk/coffee mixture until batter is well combined.
Divide batter between prepared muffin tins and bake 23 to 25 minutes or until tops are puffed and set, and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely in pan.
For the frosting, beat whipping cream, powdered erythritol, cinnamon and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.
Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or cocoa powder.
Serves 12. Each serving has 5.9g of carbs and 2g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 3.9g.
