Maple Bacon Cupcakes for New Year's Day!

Hi guys!  Happy New Year’s Eve Eve!  I have a fabulous recipe for you today.  I think this recipe would be amazing on New Year’s Day…..as breakfast.  I am going to show you how to make Maple Bacon Cupcakes.  Yep, you read that right….Maple Bacon Cupcakes.  The cake is a sweet, cakey corn bread.  The frosting is a maple buttercream.  And the cakes are topped off with crumbled bacon.  So crazy good.

Why should you eat these on New Year’s Day, you ask?  Good question.  Some believe that eating pork on New Year’s Day will help you to have good luck all year long.  Pigs root forward in the dirt, which signifies forward progress.  I don’t know how much of this is true, but out of all the “good luck” foods for New Year’s….bacon was the one I could get on board with.  Bacon is a popular “good luck” choice because it is rich and fatty, which signifies wealth and prosperity.  I like all of those things;)

Let’s start with the cupcakes…..

I used corn meal, flour, sugar, milk, cream, eggs, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract and butter.  Have you ever made cornbread?  It is ridiculously easy.  You don’t need a hand mixer or any crazy tools.  You pretty much just dump it all in a bowl and mix.

I whisked together all the dry ingredients first…..the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, I mixed together the melted butter, eggs, milk, cream and vanilla.

I poured the wet ingredients into the dry, and I mixed this all together with a rubber spatula.  This batter will be thin, and it may have lumps.  The lumps are totally Ok.

I poured the batter into baking cups and popped these in the oven.  See?  I told you this was super easy.  As long as you have all the ingredients….these are a piece of cake to make.  Get it?  A piece of cake? Ha. 

There is a strong chance I may give this all up and focus on my comedy career.

These are a pretty quick bake.  Wow-I made quite the mess on the tray to the right.  Messy chefs are good chefs.  That is what they always say.  Well, that is what I always say.

While the cupcakes are cooling, I popped some bacon in the oven to get crispy.  I always cook my bacon in the oven.  I put it on a rack that is placed over a baking sheet.  I cook the bacon on 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.  Perfect every time, and it doesn’t splatter all over your kitchen.

Once the cupcakes are cool, you can make the frosting.  I used butter (softened), maple syrup and powdered sugar.

I beat together, with a hand mixer, the butter and maple syrup.  Once that was smooth, I slowly beat in the sugar.  If your frosting gets too thick, add a smidge of milk.

I frosted all of my cupcakes with a butter knife.  I didn’t pipe this on because the bacon will stick better to spread frosting.  Plus, I am super lazy.

I topped each cupcake with crumbled bacon.  When I say these where the “best thing ever”, I really mean it.  I know I throw that out a lot….but I mean it this time!  The cakes are sweet and moist, the frosting is sweet, and the bacon is salty and cuts through all the sweetness.  These are perfection in a cupcake wrapper.  And if they bring good luck….all the better.

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

½ cup cornmeal

1 cup sugar

1 ½ cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Frosting:

1 stick butter, softened

½ cup maple syrup

About 1 lb. powdered sugar

Topping:

5 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, vanilla, eggs and melted butter.  Pour mixed wet ingredients into bowl containing mixed dry ingredients.  Mix thoroughly.

Pour batter into muffin tins lines with wrappers.  Fill about ¾ full.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Set cupcakes aside to cool.

Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat maple syrup and softened butter together with a hand mixer.  Slowly beat in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.  If frosting gets too thick, add a bit of milk to thin it out.

Top cooled cupcakes with frosting and crumbled bacon.

Makes about 18 cupcakes.