Bacon Today reader Becca R. shared with us a bacon recipe for Maple Bacon Cupcakes (which it turns out was originally posted on the amazingly cool food blog Vanilla Garlic in 2007).
Over the years, we’ve modified the recipe to better suit our personal taste and included those updated in the ingredients and instructions below.
If you have any suggestions for improvements to the recipe that worked for you, please let us know! We love trying out modifications because we make these cupcakes as often as humanly possible. 🙂
This recipe makes about 9 cupcakes.
Ingredients for Maple Bacon Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup of finely minced bacon — cooked, drained, and dried
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (leave out so it gets to be around room temperature)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 pinch of kosher salt
Directions for making Bacon Cupcakes
- Fry up about 6 full strips of thick bacon (this will give you around 1/2 cup when minced). Save the bacon grease drippings and place that in the fridge to solidify a bit.
- Mince the cooked bacon to get around 1/2 cup of unpacked volume (any remaining bacon can be cut to use as garnish as shown in the image above).
- Mix together the brown sugar, maple syrup, and butter. Stir together until fully combined.
- Crack the egg and both the yolk & egg whites with the mixture from step 3.
- In a separate bowl, sift the baking soda, baking powder, flower, and salt.
- Slowly combine the dry ingredients from step 6, the wet ingredients from step 5, and the milk. Stir together until they start to combine.
- Add the minced bacon and mix together.
- Taste the raw batter. Keeping in mind how sweet the frosting will be, add more maple syrup to the batter as needed.
- Place the batter into reusable silicone baking cups and place those in a cupcake pan.
- Bake the cupcakes at 350 F for 20-22 minutes. Test with a toothpick as they bake, when the toothpick comes out clean, they’re done! You may want to turn the pan halfway through baking to even out the heat (depending on your oven).
Maple Syrup Cupcake Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
NOTE: You may want to double these amounts if you like high-topped frosting on your cupcakes.
- 4 1/2 tablespoons of butter or margarine
- 1 cup of powdered sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup
Instructions
- Mix the syrup and butter until combined.
- Add the sugar, a bit at a time, and whip at high speeds until combined.
- Add the frosting to the cupcakes.
- Optional: Garnish with any leftover cooked bacon.
photo courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clevercupcakes/3562015711/
I made them! Check them out here.
http://ladybutcher.blogspot.com/2009/10/beer-bikes-birthday-and-bacon-maple.html
If you try it, double the recipe for the cupcakes and triple for the icing, because it only makes about 10 (and frosts about 7…)
Be careful not to add too much maple syrup because it really will break the batter.
Happy baconing!!
Becca, I made these and they came out just great! Photos and description of my adventure are here… http://www.hedonistreview.com I also followed Lady’s recommendation and doubled the cakes and tripled the frosting. Still not quite enough frosting if you want them to be decadent (and what Hedonist doesn’t want that?). Maybe double the frosting for a single batch of cakes? Really lovely though, thank you!
I realize it’s just a phrase and not a genuine dietary restriction, but does anybody else find it funny that the recipe for bacon cupcakes calls for “kosher” salt?
Ben, it is funny! But in a sort of a “that’s wrong” way. I used sea salt and it worked just fine 🙂
I just made these cupcakes, great recipe! I did double the batter and quadrople the frosting. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and about 1 TBS more of maple syrup to the frosting. It made 24 cupcakes.
I didn’t have self-rising flour, so I used a substitute posted on Joy of baking, essentially regular flour with baking powder added. The batter tasted so delicious I couldn’t wait for the cupcakes. Then they turned out tasting a little like bacon and a lot like bacon powder. I’m going to get some self rising flour at the store and make them again. Just a tip to anyone out there, don’t do what I did.
I mean baking powder, not bacon powder. Heh.
This recipe is ingenious. I thank all the bacon bakers of the world.
i just made these today. the frosting is wonderful, and the batter seems like it somewhere between pancake batter and cornbread. i rewrote the recipe for my self and added a little powder sugar to thicken the frosting and took out all the salt. much better now
I used sea salt and it worked just fine
I made these this evening, and they tasted nothing like bacon. They actually tasted like really good cornbread. Also the frosting, while maple-y and delicious, was really thick. Next time, I will be thinning out the frosting somehow.
I made these for my love. We found that they were more muffin-like…I’d even with agree with the cornbread comments. The bacon flavor was really not present. Next time, I will reduce the temp. 350 produced well-done cakes by 15 min. in my oven.
Boy, that frosting is good. I thinned it with about a teaspoon of milk. My husband’s comment “More bacon!” (He means that in life in general. 😉
This… sounds… amazing. I love you Bacontoday.com
I first made these cupcakes exactly as written and found that there was a significant “baking soda” aftertaste. Nasty. I then added all-purpose flour and buttermilk to try to save the batch but it didn’t help much. I also added a bit of vanilla and more syrup. Still, nothing could overcome the baking soda thing. SUGGESTIONS: Use all-purpose flour instead of self-rising. It doesn’t make sense to use the self-rising when the recipe also calls for so much baking soda and baking powder. Also, to get a more “present” maple taste, try reducing your syrup over low heat to half. I started with a half cup of syrup, then reduced down to get the 4 TBSP, and the maple flavor was delicious. But… IMHO, this recipe has some problems and there are better ones out there. I’m going back to my tried-and-true version.
What recipe do you use?
Eh I must have added too much maple syrup because the tops keep falling off of my cupcakes lol… but they are still DELICIOUS. However, definitely does not make a dozen. I doubled the frosting recipe and even that wasn’t enough, you might want to triple it. However, great tasting. And it was easy for a beginner like me 🙂
Dear Mr. B. Bacon Maple Cupcakes!?!? Dude.. I think I love you.
I just finished making mine! Scrumptious. I posted a picture on facebook with the attached link: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=141979405854874&id=1399062109&ref=notif¬if_t=feed_comment#!/photo.php?fbid=1460759164500&set=a.1231003140743.2031891.1399062109 I added a lil bit more bacon drippings, maple syrup and brown sugar for a sweeter taste.
I tried making these maple bacon cupcakes yesterday, and while they are tasty, I don’t really think I’d call them cupcakes. They definitely have more of a muffin texture as opposed to a cupcake texture. Bacon is yummy though! And the frosting was fantastic!
I just made these cup cakes today. I thought what could be better then maple bacon cup cakes!!! Well there were some problems with this recipe I tweaked it as I went along and rewrote the recipe for myself. They came out great! With the help of my minor tweaks of course.. Just some helpful hints for anyone who is attempting this recipe, it only makes about 9 cup cakes so I doubled up on the ingredients and was able to get 24 cup cakes. I also doubled up on the frosting ingredients as well however, tripple maybe key as some of my cakes were under frosted. The cake batter and the frosting is a bit thick so add milk to thin them out I put about 4 tablespoons in each. It was the perfect consistancy with the added milk! I would call these muffins not cup cakes and would be awesome with your morning coffee. I highly recommend trying this recipe it was delish!!
This would be enhanced using Jill Connor Browne’s recipe for Pig Candy.
Loved them! I took my excess bacon fat and greased my muffin pans for extra bacon flavor and also so I wouldn’t have to use paper cups. Additionally, I only used all-purpose flour and it turned out just fine!
Hey Mr. B your recipe is awesome, i’ll definitely try, but I come across an article on sugar-free maple food. Here it is http://www.ifood.tv/network/sugar_free_maple . Is the maple syrup used in your recipe is the same. Or if you could make a recipe with this sugar free version for the dieters like us would be great!
My sons BEG me to make these cupcakes. A few grains of fleur de sel or sel gris on top is a nice touch. It’s also worth the trouble to use turbinado sugar. And…use the best bacon you can afford. Yum!
Does any one know if I can use the bacon drippings without them being solidified?
mine wasnt fully solid
This recipe calls for self-rising flour. This flour already has baking powder and salt added to it. So the recipe needs more baking powder (1/2 a tsp)? Let me know if regular flour is appropriate then.
I used cake flour, I added 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder since I did not use self rising flour.
YES YES YES!!!!!! The chef should always eat whats left to ensure tasty-ness. I love this recipe
When i made these, they came out crunchy and corn-tasting. Is that because i may have over-beat the batter?
I just made these cupcakes as they sounded amazing! I am not sure if I did something wrong but they came out very very dry. The flavour was ok but it was hard getting past the dryness. Thoughts?
I read the response(s) that the cake was too dry… When I made the batter to the recipe I felt that the batter was WAY too thick. I added 1 more structure (1 extra egg) and one more fat ( 1/4 of a cup of butter) and I had VERY moist cake… it was awesome… I just wish I’d added more maple syrup… If I had done that, I may not have added the butter… I also made a different frosting. I took 1 1/2 C heavy whipping cream, 1/2 C milk, Vanilla jello pudding (to make a mousse frosting) 1 tsp of vanilla extract and added maple syrup to taste… IF it’s not sweet enough for you, you can add powdered sugar to taste.
I LOVE THE FROSTING!!!!!!! THE CUPCAKES TURNED OUT GREAT!!!! Instead of using their recipe I just used pancake batter with 3 tbs of maple syrup:)Also, i used 3tbs of maple syrup and 1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar they are amazing!!!!
i must have really done something wrong. mine turned out like CRAAAAAP! 🙁
Mine did too. But I am not giving up. I am going to adjust the recipe a little to make them sweeter, moister and less salty. (Icing is ok slaty, but my cake was too salty which didnt work well.) I am thinking of cooking the bacon in some maple syrup and adding more butter and syrup to the cake.
Ok, so I just made another batch. I left out the bacon dripping, adding a half tbsp of butter instead (Unsalted). I crisped up the bacon and left the pieced large-ish and added more maple syrup and milk at the end to make the cup cakes moister. I also folded a couple of teaspoons of raw granulated sugar in with the bacon at the end. They already taste ten times better. The batter only yields about 10 cupcakes though, and the icing barely ices those, so i suggest at least doubling the icing ingredients.
What is the yield on this recipe, 24 cupcakes?
about 10, the icing barely covers that. At least double the icing for 10 cupcakes.
these cupcakes were not sweet at all turned out like cornbread
I never like to say anything negative, but this recipe was not good. In fact, I threw them out after eating half of one muffin. The recipe only made 9 muffins and they tasted like cardboard. I followed the recipe to the tee. Very disappointed because it sounded awesome.
i followed it to the tee as well but mine came out delicious 🙂 friends who tasted it actually loved it and asked for the recipe.
I baked these the other day and mine looked ut like the one pictured! i didnt have self rising flour so i made my own. my brother said it was a little dry but to me it tasted perfect hehe
here’s some links to some photos i took 🙂
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/Cookstah30/more%20ads/FR00092.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/Cookstah30/more%20ads/WP_000191.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/Cookstah30/more%20ads/WP_000190.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/Cookstah30/more%20ads/WP_000194.jpg
http://i973.photobucket.com/albums/ae214/Cookstah30/more%20ads/WP_000196.jpg
How many dose this make?
the actual recipe makes 6-8 cupcakes but if u only fill the cups about alil over halfway full you can make 12.
I maid this and mind came out so good that now i have landy asking me to make soom for our parte at work.. thanks
awesome! mine turned out so well too! i followed the recipe as written hehe
I’m curious – Why is kosher salt specified in a recipe with bacon? Seems like a contradiction, like only using vegetarian friendly ingredients in a sauce that’s going to be spread on top of a slab of meat…
–S
(p.s – I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as kosher salt ’til I read this…)
Some cooks like to use kosher salt because it doesn’t have any iodine or chemical additives in it, giving it a “cleaner” taste. Also, its chunky crystals make it easier to pinch.
I followed this recipe to a T but in the end the batter was so thick i added more milk and syrup, tasted it and decided to add more brown sugar for taste, I was worried they would be dry but i just tried one and they are super DELISH!!
Made these the other night. This recipe only made 9 cupcakes and they came out pretty dry. They need sour cream or something to make them moist. I also recommend buying maple extract to get my maple flavor. I also minced my bacon too small.
Was not find of these…..I am a baker, and have heard of cupcakes like this and decided to do a test trial for a family brunch. Even AFTER adjusting and adding this and that, the recipe just wasn’t good. Salty, dry, and very faint maple taste. I would recommend adding a bit of maple extract to your maple syrup, but with a different recipe. I’m working on mine so when it’s perfected I will post for you all!
Way too dry and the consistency of the frosting was too loose even after addin more powdered sugar
Just made them. they sunk like CRAZY the second I took them out. They’re cooling now. Something is WAY wrong with this recipe. i’ve never had cupcakes fall that much before. ),:
I tried again. This time I removed the bacon fat, added an extra half tablespoon of butter. added extra maple syrup (not much at all) 2 tablespoons white sugar, an extra 1/8 cup of milk (about) and made the full 12 cupcakes with it. Just came out of the oven and they look and smell AMAZING!!! can’t wait to taste them!!!
nice recipe!
Would this work as a cake? If I just cooked it longer?
Where does the minced bacon go?
I tried this recipe today! Amazing!!! Fluffy and super tatsy, the only problem, the frosting it end up beein too sweet and too liquid, but he cupcakes are amazing!!
Is the butter salted or unsalted?
Hello Mrs. V, Either butter would be fine, but I would recommend unsalted butter, since the bacon will add saltiness. Thanks!
Unsalted