March 5, 2010

Bacon . . . Cupcakes?

Nope, this is nota joke. There are actual, real-life pieces of bacon on those cupcakes. It seems bacon has crossed some culinary lines into dessertland.I like bacon. I use it quite a bit. I didn’t realize how much I used it until a friend gave me this recently:

Clicking on the photo will take you to the shop this comes from.

She said she saw it and it reminded her of me. It makes me smile every time I see it. It got me thinking though. . . do I really talk about bacon that much? I don’t think I’m obsessed or anything. (If you are, you’ll enjoy that link. I thought it was hilarious, so I guess that means I am obsessed.)

OK, back to the subject at hand. I found the recipe for these cupcakes in a Food Network Magazine several months ago. I made them for a little get together, and I’m pretty sure they were a hit. Even one of my Celiac friends ate a couple, knowing full-well she’d probably be sick later. They were that good.I actually made them in my mini muffin pan so I’d have more to go around — about 40 or so.

However, I do have a couple of qualms with this recipe. Maybe I’m splitting hairs. Or being a whiner. I’ll let you decide. . .

1. These don’t taste like maple french toast. This recipe won a contest in which the participants had to incorporate maple syrup into a recipe. There’s maple syrup in both the cake and the frosting, but I didn’t notice the flavor in either, despite using 100% pure Grade B maple syrup — the dark, flavorful stuff. (I have been congested lately, so my tastes have been a little wonky. If anyone who ate these disagrees, please let me know.) Next time I’d use maple flavoring in both the cake and the frosting.

2. The recipe was overly fussy without being spectacular. This recipe calls 2 types of flour, 2 types of sugar, divided eggs, half-and-half andpotato starch. Who has potato starch on hand all the time? (I do, but I’m weird.) For such a fussy recipe, I expected the taste and texture to be amazing. Yes, they were delicious, but it would have been just as good using a standard vanilla cake recipe and adding cinnamon, nutmeg, and bacon — essentially a baco-fied spice cake.

Like I said, though, they were great. I loved the different reactions when I brought these out, ranging from a skeptically raised eyebrow to an enthusiastic high-five.

Maple French Toast and Bacon Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the Cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 3.9-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon potato starch
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature
1 cup chopped cooked bacon (about 10 strips)

For the Frosting:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.

Combine the flours, pudding mix, baking powder, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl with a whisk.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on low speed until combined, 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the bacon.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar cinnamon. Add maple syrup a couple teaspoons at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Spread on the cooled cupcakes; top with chopped bacon, if desired.

Nat's Notes:
1. The amounts of bacon listed above is doubled from the original recipe. The most frequent comment I got about these was that they needed more bacon.

Desserts - Cakes and Cupcakes

11 comments »

11 Responses to “Bacon . . . Cupcakes?”

1

Oh Mandie! — March 5, 2010 @ 1:17 am

I have to tell you, this sounds utterly disgusting to me, but then again I'm a strict "my breakfast syrup absolutely cannot touch anything other than pancakes or french toast" kinda girl.

My husband on the other hand, after hearing what I was reading is absolutely begging me to make these for him now. So I'm sure we'll be trying them very soon.

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2

Rebecca — March 5, 2010 @ 1:50 am

Interesting for several reasons, but above all, what on earth does one do with potato starch?

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3

Sarah Junsay — March 5, 2010 @ 1:59 am

Absolutely worth the 3 days of sickness!!!! Gotta say though, didn't taste syrup at all and yes, NEEDS MORE BACON!!! So so so so yummy! I'll eat them again (if you ever make them–sounds like too much work for me to do) :) Thanks for sharing!

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4

Natalie — March 5, 2010 @ 2:05 am

Rebecca – I had potato starch from last year when I went on my gluten-free kick. Some gluten-free recipes called for that. I've seen it used in rolls and such… maybe to make them softer? I dunno. :)

Sarah – You were sick for 3 days?! AHH!! I'd feel awful if I made these again….and you ate them again.

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5

Winklepots — March 5, 2010 @ 2:19 am

When I saw your post, it immediately reminded me of the local VooDoo Donut shop in downtown Portland. Their best seller is the maple bar topped with bacon. I haven't tried it yet, but everyone raves and I'll bet these cupcakes are the same way. Tasty weird. :o)

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6

ElegantSnobbery — March 5, 2010 @ 3:00 am

Oh man, that sounds absolutely revolting. I'm intrigued! And will make some! :D

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7

Jenni — March 5, 2010 @ 3:00 am

Let me know how they are with the maple flavoring. 2 T seems like an awful lot, considering that 1/2 teaspoon of flavoring is generally used for 2 cups of syrup. But then again, I didn't taste the cupcakes, so I don't have anything to compare with.

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8

Natalie — March 5, 2010 @ 4:11 am

Mandie – know what? I'm that kind of girl, too. I have a separate plate for my bacon and eggs if there's syrup floating around. I really liked these, though. It's more like a salty-sweet taste instead of bacon covered in maple syrup. I think you should listen to your husband :)

Holly – Maple bars are my favorite! Bacon on them would only make them better, I think :)

Jenni – The reason I suggested 2 T was because I made some cinnamon rolls a couple of months ago and the frosting called for 1 T, which I thought was a lot. It turned out amazing. A 1/2 tsp is fine for syrup because the maple isn't competing against any other flavors — you're just adding sugar. I think it would need more in the batter because of the spices and everything else. I guess you could start at 1 T and see how they taste.

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9

Sare — March 5, 2010 @ 5:57 pm

I thought they were great. Really sweet actually (that is what adding a salt does, ironically, right?) I agree though that they needed more maple because I didn't notice it that much. Would you add a bit to both the icing and the cupcake (with frosting they aren't muffins anymore right?)? I think the cake needs it more, but it was excellent the way it was (I am just curious to know what it would taste like with more maple….ooooh and I LOVE maple bars too. If you ever figure out how to make an icing that tastes just like what they put on maple bars, that would be a piece of heaven for me).

P.S. If you fed this to people without the bacon on top, they'd have no idea there's bacon in it.

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10

Karly — March 6, 2010 @ 2:48 am

I looooove bacon. I've made bacon cookies, but never bacon cupcakes! Yum!

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