Maple Bacon Cupcakes
By Erin
Maple Bacon Cupcakes to celebrate International Bacon Day! But really who needs a reason to eat bacon? 😉 Bacon isn’t just a breakfast food, it is life. International Bacon Day or Bacon Day is an unofficial observance where people choose to celebrate by cooking with bacon. Held on the first Saturday of September each year, Bacon day celebrations include social gatherings where dishes containing bacon, including bacon-themed breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and drinks are enjoyed. Bacon is basically the ice cream of the food world and it is by far one of my favorite foods. Both by itself and in dishes containing bacon. YUM! Now enjoy some delicious Maple Bacon Cupcakes!
For the Candied Bacon:
4 slices bacon (2 if just wanting on top, 4 if you want to sprinkle throughout)
3 Tablespoons white sugar
For the Cupcakes:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon molasses
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 Tablespoons heavy cream, or additional milk*
1 teaspoon maple extract, if desired
*Note: this makes for a thicker batter to help keep the bacon suspended
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup brown sugar
3-4 cups powdered icing sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon maple extract, if desired
Directions:
For the Candied Bacon:
Preheat oven to 325F.
Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and place the bacon flat on the tinfoil.
Sprinkle half of the sugar over the bacon, then flip the bacon and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
Place a sheet of tinfoil over the bacon and then a second baking sheet overtop.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crisp and cooked through.
Allow the bacon to cool as you assemble your ingredients, and then chop into small pieces.
For the Cupcakes:
Increase oven temperature to 375F
Line two muffin trays with your choice of liners and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar and molasses until light and creamy, 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs, milk, heavy cream and maple extract, followed by the dry ingredients.
Stir in 3/4 of the candied bacon pieces.
Use a cupcake scoop to portion 1/3 cup of batter into each of the prepared cupcake liners.
Bake for 18-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean with just a few crumbs.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely as you prepare the brown sugar frosting.
For the Frosting:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and 3 cups of the icing sugar until crumbly. Add in the heavy cream and maple extract and beat for 2 minutes until smooth. Add more icing sugar, as desired.
Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Swirl the brown sugar frosting onto the cooled cupcakes, starting from the inside, working out to the edges and then back towards the centre and up.
Top each cupcake with a few pieces of the candied bacon.
Enjoy and Happy Bacon Day!
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