Breakfast in a Cupcake!

Lately all I have been hearing about is this new craze – THE Maple-Bacon Cupcake! Maybe it’s not so new to all of you but, it was to me!

My co-workers have requested cupcakes from me on various occasions and I thought what better way to somewhat cure a case of the Monday’s by surprising everyone with these incredibly scrumptious creations? So last night on my drive home from work I decided to stop by the grocery store and pick up some bacon –  it was time for me to bake (AND taste) these delectable treats for the first time ever!

I spent a little bit of time googling the recipe that caused me to salivate the most and came across the perfect one (in my opinion). The following recipe was taken from Oprah’s Website.

The MAPLE-BACON Cupcake ….or as I like to call it the Breakfast Cupcake!

Makes Roughly 24 Cupcakes

For cupcakes:

• 1/2 pound thick cut bacon (about 8 to 10 strips)
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cake flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar   *I used: 1 cup of brown sugar* – more than enough!
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. maple extract (found in the spice aisle)
• Maple syrup, to garnish

For cinnamon buttercream:

• 16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature – *I doubled the butter*
• 3 cups powdered sugar (a little less than 1 pound) – *I used 2.5 cups*
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• 1 to 2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375F and place between 8-10 pieces of bacon on a sheet. Bake for 10-15 mins or until golden brown. Set aside 2 pieces and dice the rest.

2. Lower heat to 350°F and place 24 liners into cupcake pans.

3. Combine flours, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about.

4. Add in the eggs to butter mixture 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the dry ingredients and milk in alternating batches – mix well. Add vanilla and maple extracts and diced bacon, and mix on medium speed until completely blended.

5. Spoon batter into cupcake pans. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

6. While the cakes are in the oven you can work on your cinnamon buttercream. Cream the butter on medium speed until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar until it reaches your desired sweetness. Add milk and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Sprinkle in the cinnamon.

7. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely and frost them with the buttercream. Dice up the saved pieces of bacon and garnish the tops of the cupcakes. I also used a little bit of pure maple syrup to drizzle on top of the bacon pieces – it’s a nice touch!

Delicious!!

 Enjoy!!!!!

– Iris