This weekend a friend of ours threw her boyfriend a bacon and whiskey themed birthday party. As much as I would of loved to combine the two, I knew there were kiddos who would be there, including mine, so went with a bacon type cupcake and left the whiskey out.
I found this fabulous recipe on Sarah Cupcake Website. As I oooo’ed over the picture of the finished product, I once again, forgot to read how much work this cupcake really took!
FYI – give yourself a few hours!
The cupcake is basically a maple cupcake with maple bacon icing and topped with a sugared piece of bacon! I learned a few new things including how to make bacon milk, sugared bacon and once again and something not so new – double check your ingredients before you start (yet so thankful hubby went to the store for more eggs for me when I was short by one). Each component of this cupcake can be eaten on it’s own, which we did do to “sample” them. However, when all of the parts are together, it’s got you craving for more breakfast as you reach for another cupcake.
Maple Buttermilk Cupcakes
*Makes 36 standard size cupcakes*
Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tbl (2 1/4 sticks) salted butter, at room temp
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 5 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup grade B maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups buttermilk
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream together the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until the mixture is combined and homogeneous.
Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely.
Bacon Buttercream *Makes enough to frost 36 cupcakes*
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) salted butter, at room temp
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbl pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 cups bacon-infused milk (recipe below), divided
- 5 tbl all-purpose flour
Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Add the maple syrup and beat to combine. Set aside.
Add 1/2 cup bacon-milk to a saucepan over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to combine. The mixture should turn into a thick paste. Stream in another 1/2 cup of the bacon-milk and whisk to combine. The mixture should begin to thicken almost immediately. Slowly whisk in the remaining bacon-milk and cook until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens, another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. If there are any lumps at this point you can strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.
Pour the cooled bacon-milk mixture into the stand mixer and beat on low speed to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and crank the mixture to medium-high. Let whip away until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes.
*To make bacon-infused milk, cook off 6 slices of thick-cut bacon in a pan over medium-high heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and crumble/cut into small pieces. Add the bacon crumbles to a saucepan with 1 3/4 cups milk over medium heat. Cook just until the mixture comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let steep, covered, for 30 minutes. Strain out the bacon, discard, and refrigerate the bacon-milk until you’re ready to use it.
Candied Bacon
Ingredients:
12 slices thick-cut bacon
1 cup light brown sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lay a rack over a rimmed baking sheet covered in foil and lay out the bacon slices side by side. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the brown sugar over the bacon slices and press it in. Bake the bacon until the brown sugar melts and bubbles, about 10 minutes.
Remove the bacon and let cool for 5 minutes. Flip the bacon slices over and sprinkle/press in the remaining sugar. Bake for another 10-15 minutes, or until the sugar is bubbling. Let cool completely before garnishing the cupcakes.
