Exciting day yesterday: Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of our United States. We celebrated with a gathering of friends at our friend Mike's house, with a big BBQ pot luck dinner and plenty of food and drink. My contribution was to bring Bacon Cupcakes, which I realized I had to somewhat invent, as all of the recipes online didn't seem right to me. (How "right" are Bacon Cupcakes, anyway?) I thought about the flavors that I like together...bacon and chocolate (like Mo's Bacon Bar), bacon and maple...
I finally came up with something that seemed palatable. It's a combination of a lot of different recipes, and I ate no fewer than 4 cupcakes to come up with just the right balance of salty and sweet. I still don't think it's perfect, but everyone seemed to like them a lot. The best was when our friends' 2-year old son Josh took his cupcake in hand and said, "There's bacon in it!" That's right, lad. There is a new president, and there is bacon in your cupcake. God bless us, everyone.
Bacon Cupcakes
- 10 slices bacon
- best quality maple syrup
- 1 C. unsalted butter
- 1/2 C. cocoa powder
- 3/4 C. water
- 2 C. granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 C. buttermilk, well-shaken
- 2 T. vanilla
- 2 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 t. baking soda
- 1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place cupcake liners in 24 muffin tins.
2. Prepare bacon. Either chop into 1/2 in pieces and cook until brown & crisp OR put on wire racks on a baking sheet and cook for 35-40 min at 350F. Brush with maple syrup when almost done cooking. Drain on paper towels. Set aside a small portion of the bacon pieces to top the cupcakes later.
3. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over moderately low heat. Whisk in the cocoa. Add water and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. Whisk in one at a time: sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
5. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the cocoa mixture and whisk until just combined (it will be lumpy). Stir in bacon.
6. Fill muffin tins about 2/3 full (note, this is a very drippy batter. I didn't use my usual cookie scoop but filled a measuring cup with a spout with batter and poured it in)
7. Bake 20-25 minutes.
8. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack
Maple Frosting
- 1 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 8oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
- maple syrup
- 1 box Confectioners sugar
- best quality coarse sea salt
- Demerara sugar (if you don't have this, use Sugar in the Raw)
1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth (5 min)
2. Add the maple syrup, about 2 T.
3. Add about 3/4 of the box of confectioners sugar, and beat until smooth and fluffy.
4. Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with a little bit of coarse salt, and a little bit of Demerara sugar.
5. Top with a piece of cooked maple bacon, and a tiny drizzle of maple syrup.
