Makeover for Noon Café ~ Cappuccino Cupcakes

Welcome to the brand new look for Noon Café! It got a complete makeover this weekend to keep up with the times. I hope you enjoy the new website as much as I enjoyed putting it together. 🙂

To celebrate the new look and the new cappuccino logo, I thought I would bake a batch of cappuccino cupcakes! I based my cupcakes on a recipe from Cooking Light magazine. I made three notable changes to the original recipe…I reduced the sugar, replaced the butter with light olive oil, and replaced the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat pastry flour. Then I dressed them up a bit. (After all, this recipe is about makeovers!) Instead of making the espresso syrup in the original recipe, I made a Greek yogurt frosting with a little espresso mixed in. This transformed these coffee cupcakes into cappuccino cupcakes. I also made little coffee cup handles out of chocolate for the side of the cakes. They are cute little cupcakes that are perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up or even for breakfast. (And I promise I won’t tell anyone if you decide to have a cupcake for breakfast! 😉 )

Cappuccino Cupcakes

Based on a recipe from Cooking Light magazine

2 tablespoons boiling water

4 teaspoons instant espresso granules

1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

5 tablespoons light olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

12 baking liners

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cupcakes, combine boiling water and espresso granules, stirring until espresso dissolves. Stir in buttermilk.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring well with a whisk.

Place granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl; whisk until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.Espresso Frosting

1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt

¼ cup Neufchatel cream cheese, room temperature

2 tablespoons powdered sugar, (or more if you prefer a sweeter frosting)

¼ teaspoon instant espresso granules, (or more if you would like the frosting to have a more pronounced coffee flavor)

In a food processor, mix all of the ingredients until the espresso is incorporated and no longer grainy. Chill until ready to use.Coffee Cup Handles

8 ounces dark chocolate (approximately)

Piping bag or zip lock bag

Small piping tip (optional)

Waxed paper

Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat at 30 second increments, stirring in between, until just melted and smooth. Place piping tip (if using) in a corner of the piping bag or zip top bag. Fill the bag with the melted chocolate. Snip a small hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe the “handles” onto the waxed paper and freeze until hardened. (About 10 minutes.) Place one chocolate handle on the side of each cupcake.