Maple Baconator

Somewhere along the line we started a running joke at work that we were going to have a bacon party. Literally just pounds and pounds of bacon cooked in a variety of ways. Last night, our jokes turned into reality as 15 people joined together to create the most epic of dinner parties. We had Bacon beer mac n cheese, Lobster mac n cheese, Bacon wrapped Tennessee whiskey chicken, Candied bacon, Bacon wrapped stuffed mushrooms, Bacon vegetable cheddar soup, Bacon cheddar chive biscuits, and finally Maple bacon cupcakes. It was awesome. Someone even found Bacon soda, which was literally the only bad tasting item on the table. 

While searching for a starting point for maple cupcakes, I was continually redirected to Vanilla Garlic's website (original recipe found here). It was said to be the best maple cupcake on the web, so I had to try it with a little twist of my own. I doubled the recipe and made minis for the party, which cranked out about 70ish little cakes. 

Maple Bacon Cupcakes
Makes 12-16 / 350F oven

9 tablespoons butter, (room temp)
1 tablespoon bacon drippings (solidified)
2 egg, beaten (room temp)
10 tablespoons brown sugar
8 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
2 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
minuscule pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup minced bacon, cooked and drained (extra for garnish, if desired)

Start with the butter and bacon and whip it....whip it real good. Once it looks incorportaed and whippy, add the two beaten eggs, followed by the brown sugar and syrup.

In a seperate bowl, add and sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you are broke like me, simulate sifting by gently tossing the ingredients with a fork. 

Slowly add the flour and buttermilk, alternating between the two in 3 batches. Once the batter looks thick and well mixed, gently fold in the bacon. 

Divide the batter into cupcake liners and bake for 8-9 minutes (**I am using minis AND I am baking in high altitude). Check the cakes by inserting a toothpick and praying it comes out clean. Set those puppies aside to cool. 

Maple Frosting

8 tablespoons butter (room temp)

1 tablespoon bacon grease (solidified)
5 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
2 cup of powdered sugar

Whip the crap out of the butter and bacon grease. Add the maple syrup and let the frosting and continue to beat on high for about 2 minutes or until it there is a good amount of air incorporated. Lower the speed and slowly add the powdered sugar. I believe once I added all the sugar, I let the frosting beat on high for about 3 minutes to get a really fluffy batch. 

Finally frost and garnish with Bacon.

I dipped my bacon in chocolate and wished I had large sea salt to add. Either way, the final product was awesome. 

Till Next Time