For some insane reason, I was wide awake thereafter. Had to find something therapeutic to do. Hadn’t made them a snack for school the day before because I had been dog tired. A thought ran through my head - ‘I’m going to bake some muffins’ … the first time I’ve actually baked at 5.30am! Reached out for my recipe folder on the counter & opened the most in demand comfort bake – Cappuccino Muffins. I love making these. They are simple, get put together real quick, and above all, connect me to Nic @ Cherrapeno where I found the recipe. 
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup vanilla sugar
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsps instant coffee
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Cool on rack.
This is my entry for the 2nd Annual O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. ‘CAPPUCCINO BUTTERMILK MUFFINS’. Do head across to Michelle’s at Bleeding Espresso and be part of tradition in honor of award-winning pastry chef Gina DePalma, author of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen; Gina has been fighting ovarian cancer for the past year and a half, and in addition to physically battling the disease, she has also started the Cowgirl Cure Foundation to raise awareness and money for research as well.
CONTEST RULES
O Foods Contest for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and for the second year in a row, Sara of Ms Adventures in Italy and Michelle of Bleeding Espresso are hosting the O Foods Contest to raise awareness of this important health issue.
There are TWO WAYS to take part in the O Foods Contest:
ONE: Post a recipe to your blog using a food that starts or ends with the letter O (e.g., oatmeal, orange, okra, octopus, olive, onion, potato, tomato); include this entire text box in the post; and send your post url along with a photo (100 x 100) to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
PRIZES for recipe posts:
1st: Signed copy of Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Babbo Ristorante in NYC, who is currently battling ovarian cancer, inspired this event, and will be choosing her favorite recipe for this prize;
2nd: Signed copy of Molto Italiano: 327 Simple Italian Recipes to Cook at Home by Mario Batali (winner chosen by Sara);
3rd: Signed copy of Vino Italiano: The Regional Italian Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich (winner chosen by Michelle).
OR
TWO: If you’re not into the recipe thing, simply post this entire text box in a post on your blog to help spread the word and send your post url to ofoods[at]gmail[dot]com by 11:59 pm (Italy time) on Monday, September 28, 2009.
Awareness posts PRIZE:
One winner chosen at random will receive a Teal Toes tote bag filled with ovarian cancer awareness goodies that you can spread around amongst your friends and family.
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From the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund:
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecologic cancers in the United States and is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women; a woman’s lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is 1 in 67.
The symptoms of ovarian cancer are often vague and subtle, making it difficult to diagnose, but include bloating, pelvic and/or abdominal pain, difficulty eating or feeling full quickly; and urinary symptoms (urgency or frequency).
There is no effective screening test for ovarian cancer but there are tests which can detect ovarian cancer when patients are at high risk or have early symptoms.
In spite of this, patients are usually diagnosed in advanced stages and only 45% survive longer than five years. Only 19% of cases are caught before the cancer has spread beyond the ovary to the pelvic region.
When ovarian cancer is detected and treated early on, the five-year survival rate is greater than 92%.
And remember, you can also always donate to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund at our page through FirstGiving!
Please help spread the word about ovarian cancer.
Together we can make enough noise to kill this silent killer.
Further, you don’t need a beater to get the batter together. A simple whisk is good enough. What’s more, no sifting! Here’s a recipe that falls together in 5-7 minutes flat, and also allows for easy substitution. No cherries = no problem. Use chocolate chips &/or walnuts instead. I love it! The muffins taste great the day they’re baked because the tops are crisp & crusty in a moreish way … almost endearing! They maintain a wonderful taste, sans crisp top, 
A close contender, jostling for space right on top has been this 
CHOCOLATE CHERRY MUFFINS
She has GREAT ideas, & gorgeous pictures – enough to give me an instant dose of inspiration. Also, she has 2 lads & is always making yum stuff to keep them happy. So I stumbled on her post of 
He he, I was chuffed that I got away without breaking the lava lamp my daughter has been wanting for the last 2 years…I never bought it in the first place, & then eventually the daughter forgot. Mighty pleased with myself I hurried & took notes of the recipe, put it all together, spooned the batter into cases, & opened the oven door to shove in the tray. That’s when it hit me! 
There was no raising agent in my poor muffins. Obviously everyone & everything needs a little help to rise (no pun intended, 
Not to be 
Cappuccino Curd Cheese Cream Topping
