Monday, February 6, 2012

Low Calorie Chocolate Cupcakes

I was thinking about what a shame it is that Valentine's Day comes along just when some of us are beginning to make progress with our New Year's diets.

Oh, sure.  We could eat one chocolate and not ruin our diets.  After all, we have to learn to eat in moderation.  But some of us would have trouble with the knowledge that there were chocolates in the house.

Fill them with some sort of mushy unidentifiable middle, and I can pass on them altogether, no problem.  But put caramel inside them, and I'll search for them in the attic in the middle of the night.  Did I say I?  I'm sure I meant some hypothetical person.  Not me.  Nooo, the dogs never wake me in the middle of the night to chase some inconsiderate skunk, leaving me half awake in the kitchen looking for a midnight snack.

So I started thinking about low calorie Valentine treats.  In The Diva Paints the Town, Sophie bakes a Black Forest Cherry Cake for Wolf for Valentine's Day.  The calorie count in the whipping cream alone in that cake would blow anyone's diet.

At the moment, I'm working on Domestic Diva Mystery number 7, tentatively titled The Diva Frosts a Cupcake.  You can imagine what it's about.  But the great thing about cupcakes is portion control.  So I started playing with ideas and here's what I came up with.

Cocoa powder has all the flavor but considerably fewer calories than chocolate chips or blocks of chocolate.  A touch of coffee always intensifies chocolate flavor for virtually no calories.  Add beaten egg whites for volume and suddenly low calorie cupcakes seem quite possible.

Now, these aren't going to replace your favorite cake.  But they're a tasty treat for (drum roll here, please) 136 calories a cupcake! Not too shabby!  They remind me a lot of brownies in flavor and texture.  In fact, they might be a nice treat in a lunchbox for a kid who needs to cut back on calories.

I might just stick some of these in the freezer.  You know, for the next time a skunk comes by.

Of course, if you're one of those people who has to have frosting, well, you're on your own there.  To dress these up, I cut a heart out of aluminum foil, placed the cut-out over the cupcakes, and dusted with powdered sugar.  It does add calories, but if you're making them as a treat for a sweetie who is watching his or her weight, those few extra calories might be worth it.  It's your call.  I popped some nice healthy raspberries on top of some, too. 


Low Calorie Chocolate Cupcakes


4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Pensey's)
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/2 cup sugar + 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons olive (or canola) oil
1/4 cup fat free (0%) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.  Place cupcake wrappers in baking pan.

Combine the cocoa powder, coffee, 1/2 cup sugar, and flour in a bowl. Stir with a fork to combine.

Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites.  When they grow in volume, add the sugar and beat until they can hold a peak. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks, and add the oil.  Alternating between the flour mixture and the milk, add them in small amounts, beating well, then add the vanilla and beat one last time.

Fold about 1/4 of the egg white mixture into the chocolate (to lighten the weight). Fold in the remaining egg whites.

Divide equally among 12 cupcake wrappers.

Bake 18 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  They will shrink a bit as they cool.

Cool on a rack.  Makes 12 cupcakes.


136 calories!


18 comments:

  1. Oh, loving this recipe and the idea of portion control. Last batch of cupcakes i made, I used less batter (about 1/3rd of normal) in each cup. Thicker than a cookie, but smaller than a "normal" cupcake. I did a chocolate ganache drizzle, so less frosting than normal. They were just the right amount to satisfy but not over do. Gonna try the smaller size with your recipe and enjoy a guilt free snack tonight!

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  2. Gorgeous Krista! so glad to know they'll be in your freezer when we drop by....

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    1. LOL! Chocolate keeps well in the freezer, it just doesn't keep long at my house!

      ~ Krista

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  3. Aren't these lovely? Portion control is an interesting thing. It's what Weight Watchers is all about. And it seems to work for so many. Nice of you to help out those looking for sweets, just a little less. :)

    Avery

    (BTW, Made Cleo's chicken wings for Super Bowl yesterday, the ones with maple syrup and brown sugar? Not less sweets, but soooooo fabulous! I'll have to forgo sugar today, me-thinks.)

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    1. Thanks, Avery! Every time I wield a knife to slice a cake, everyone says, just a tiny piece for me. Cupcakes are easier!

      ~ Krista

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  4. This is my kind of recipe. Love the portion control and the low calories. Thank you.

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    1. They're easy to make, Shawn. A little harder not to gobble them . . .

      ~ Krista

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  5. Yummy! And the powdered sugar heart on top looked like a heart-shaped creme filling from INSIDE the cupcake. I couldn't figure out how you did that! :)

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    1. Funny you should say that, Christi! I experimented with marshmallow creme inside cupcakes for a recipe for the book. It's very easy. You make a round hole in the top of the cupcake, kind of in a cone shape, then fill. I bet it wouldn't be too hard to make it heart-shaped with a paring knife. What a cute idea!

      ~ Krista

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  6. LOL, Dave! So I'm not the only one trying to cut back a little bit! I like the idea of a smaller cupcake. Seriously toyed with frosting because that's a big part of why people like cupcakes, but in the end, I decided raspberries or just a little sugar were a better deal.

    ~ Krista

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  7. What a great cupcake recipe.

    Oh btw, I've been looking for salt-free Cajun pepper and at your mention of Penseys, I bought their black and red pepper and I love it. Planning to buy more jars and other spices as well.

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    1. Warning, Dru: Pensey's is addictive! In a good way. They have a nice variety of salt-free seasonings. Before long your spice rack will be full of Penseys spices!

      ~ Krista

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  8. That IS funny, Krista - I recently made a marshmallow filling that I put between chocolate chip cookies. You want to talk about the OPPOSITE of going light!! I was just craving something like that. Ideally, I could recreate the Krispy Kreme filling, but I guess it's for the best that I can't..........

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    1. Have you managed to recreate their chocolate icing? I could lick vats of that stuff!

      ~ Krista

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  9. Krista - This is a wonderful recipe for keeping Valentine's Day on the light side (which is what I'll be doing)! Agreed on the coffee, too, a great way to bring out the chocolate flavor in any dessert. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us -- and a quick thanks to Avery for the Super Bowl wing shout-out. (I'm so happy you enjoyed them!) Cheers!

    ~ Cleo

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  10. Cleo, it's amazing what coffee does to chocolate. And the funny thing is that you don't even notice the coffee flavor. Go figure!

    ~ Krista

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  11. I love, love cupcakes! Now I can satisfy my sweet tooth without putting on the pound! :)

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  12. So glad I can help you out, bakeries in brooklyn. I love cupcakes, too. And testing all the recipes for my upcoming book isn't helping my weight!

    ~ Krista

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