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    Meal Type / Desserts / Cakes & Cupcakes / Double chocolate bacon cupcakes

    Double chocolate bacon cupcakes

    June 12, 2012 by Sarah Menanix · Modified: Jun 28, 2014

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    DoubleChocolateBaconCupcakes

    Candied bacon is all the rage these days, and pairing it with chocolate seems to be a popular choice. To test the fad, Lucas and I shared a strip of chocolate covered bacon on a candy shop stop on our Colorado trip earlier this year. Who knew the salt and sugar combination would be so tasty? These double chocolate bacon cupcakes add extra intensity to those sweet shop flavors, combining the texture of ooey gooey ganache with crispy oven-baked bacon sprinkles.

    DoubleChocolateBaconBites

    Now, under normal circumstances I wouldn't choose double chocolate cake, but these cupcakes weren't for me. The boyfriend is catching up to me in age and deserved a baked good to celebrate turning 26. Lucas isn't a huge fan of sweets, but he will never turn down a piece of bacon. So it's no surprise that I worked candied bacon into his birthday dessert last night. In fact, bacon was the theme of the meal, starring in both the main course and the dessert. Before I share the savory bacon entrée though, I'll spoil your appetite by telling you about these incredible bites. They're so rich and decadent, it's worth filling up on dessert first. You'll thank me when you take your first bite.

    ChocolateBaconBites

    As a die-hard dessert lover, I usually only swoon over truly sweet (and typically fruity) confections. That is, until I met brown sugar-coated baked bacon. If you've never baked bacon encrusted with brown sugar before, you are in for a treat that will rock your world. You thought bacon was the bee's knees, but candied bacon blows traditional pan-sizzled bacon out of the water. It took every ounce of my being to resist snacking on spoonful after spoonful of candied bacon sprinkles while I topped the cupcakes. Personally, I preferred the specks of sugary bacon by themselves, but the birthday boy was in heaven over the marriage of the double chocolate cake and candied applewood smoked bacon bits. Here's a creation that'll make you forget that you're a vegetarian or that you've already had your daily allotment of Weight Watchers points. As proof, two of my usually vegetarian friends caved to the salty sweet combination at our research meeting today. With moist chocolate cake, warm velvety chocolate ganache, and crisp sugary bacon, these cupcakes are dangerously delicious...the perfect way to feel young and reckless. Happy birthday, Lucas!

    ChocolateBaconCupcakes

    If you're still skeptical about candied bacon, check out my friend Tina's chocolate beer battered cupcakes with maple bacon frosting for more evidence that the pairing is out of this world.

    Double chocolate bacon cupcakes
    Makes about 3 dozen mini cupcakes

    Candied bacon

    • 5 strips of applewood smoked bacon
    • About a cup of packed brown sugar
    1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
    2. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack across the top.
    3. Spread the brown sugar out on a plate and press each strip of bacon into the sugar to thoroughly coat each side.
    4. Place each sugared strip of bacon on the wire rack, making sure they aren't touching one another.
    5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the bacon is crispy, but not burned (My oven is wonky, so it took a few minutes longer for me).
    6. Remove from oven and let cool. Chop into tiny pieces.

    Chocolate cupcakes

    • Scant ⅜ cup milk
    • Scant ½ tablespoon white distilled vinegar
    • 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
    • ¾ cups all-purpose flour
    • ¾ cups sugar
    • ¾ teaspoons baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon plus 1 dash baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon plus 1 dash teaspoon salt
    • 1 large egg
    • 6 tablespoons warm water
    • 1½ tablespoons canola oil
    • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    1. Combine the milk and vinegar in a cup and let sit for 10 minutes.
    2. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a mini muffin tin by spraying it with Pam.
    3. Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer (or a medium bowl if working by hand).
    4. Add the egg, water, milk, oil, and vanilla, and stir until just smooth.
    5. Fill the prepared mini muffin tin ⅔ full.
    6. Bake about 8-12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without any batter and perhaps just a few crumbs.
    7. Let cool on a wire rack.
    8. Pour a teaspoon of ganache (recipe below) over each cupcake and sprinkle with a teaspoon of candied bacon bits. Serve with a glass of milk.

    Chocolate ganache

    • ½ cup heavy whipping cream
    • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips*
    1. In a medium saucepan over low heat, bring the cream to boil.
    2. Pour the cream over the chocolate chips and let sit for 2-3 minutes.
    3. Stir until thoroughly combined (at first, it'll look too milky like it won't combine, but it'll eventually turn into velvety ganache).

    *I made a batch with semisweet chocolate chips and with bittersweet chocolate chips and found the latter too overpowering for my taste.

    « Gingersnap strawberry cheesecake bites
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    44 Comments

    1. Veronica -

      June 12, 2012 at 7:12 pm

      I am a fan of sweet and salty foods. I take potato chips and dip them into a bowl of creamy vanilla ice cream. This recipe sounds crazy good!

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        June 12, 2012 at 7:15 pm

        Now that's just silly! :) Wish I could give you one!

        Reply
      • chris dariano -

        October 12, 2012 at 12:59 pm

        My vice as a child was pretzels in chocolate ice cream !!.. Snixy I am making these as a dessert for my annual soup party. I think the soup might be taking a back seat this year....

        Reply
        • Sarah Menanix -

          October 18, 2012 at 9:44 pm

          Yum! Let me know how it turns out:)

          Reply
    2. Ane: uten gluten -

      June 13, 2012 at 10:18 am

      Oh my. Drooling! This looks like heaven.

      Reply
    3. Priscilla M -

      June 14, 2012 at 9:34 am

      There's a neighborhood cupcake shop near my house that sells maple bacon cupcakes, and they are fantastic. So I can only imagine that the combination of chocolate and bacon can be pretty awesome, too :)

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        June 17, 2012 at 12:57 am

        I've been wanting to try maple bacon cupcakes since my friend Tina made them - sounds delicious!

        Reply
    4. Sally -

      June 14, 2012 at 4:28 pm

      OMG these look out of this world!! Thank chocolate ganache... incredible! I don't eat too much bacon but i'm literally drooling over it looking at these pictures. What a great, creative recipe! I love sweet + salty!

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        June 17, 2012 at 12:58 am

        We just poured the rest of the ganache over some vanilla cupcakes tonight for a quick decadent dessert with some friends. No one could resist...

        Reply
    5. Daisy -

      June 15, 2012 at 11:51 am

      I want to make these for Father's Day on Sunday (I mean, what man doesn't like bacon?). I was hoping to be able to bake these as full sized cupcakes instead of mini's. Have you tried that? Does it work?

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        June 15, 2012 at 2:32 pm

        Oh, they’d be delicious as full-sized cupcakes. The original recipe that I adapted the cake from awhile back is from a Martha Stewart recipe for regular cupcakes, so I’m confident they’ll be delicious and moist. If you make them, let me know how the fathers like ‘em!

        Reply
        • Daisy -

          June 17, 2012 at 6:35 pm

          They turned out perfectly! Everyone loves them! And I made them full sized and baked it a few minutes longer (18 minutes). Delicious!

          Reply
          • Sarah Menanix -

            June 17, 2012 at 7:01 pm

            Awesome! Thanks for sharing - I'll have to try full-sized next time:)

            Reply
    6. Sophie Diane Kovatch -

      July 05, 2012 at 7:13 am

      My daughter loves bacon, I will definetly have to give this a try, looks delicious!!

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        July 05, 2012 at 1:55 pm

        Be careful - it's super addicting! Let me know how she likes it:)

        Reply
    7. Jason Kirin -

      September 15, 2012 at 9:52 am

      Added some cayenne to the ganache... Didn't brown sugar the bacon... Turned out amazing.

      Reply
    8. Vera Zecevic-Cupcakes Garden -

      December 26, 2012 at 5:12 am

      This look very interesting, what a creative flavor combo.I've featured this recipe on my blog, hoping that you don't mind, but if you do, please contact me and I'll remove it. All the best.

      Reply
    9. Lori Bell -

      November 11, 2013 at 6:45 pm

      Planning on making these for my husband's B-day -- he loves this combo of bacon and chocolate -- thanks for the recipe!!!

      Reply
    10. lily -

      March 20, 2014 at 3:42 pm

      This is a dumb question but how did you top the cupcakes with the ganache? It looks perfect and I've never known how to do it! Thanks :)

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        March 20, 2014 at 4:07 pm

        Awe - thank you so much! I just used a spoon to drizzle it on top - I pour it right in the center and let it drip down however it wants. Goodluck!

        Reply
    11. Kym -

      January 14, 2015 at 8:53 am

      This is a really really cool recipe! tried once and succeeded!

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        January 14, 2015 at 12:00 pm

        Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Kym! I'm so glad they turned out great for you!

        Reply
    12. Chere -

      July 22, 2015 at 6:04 pm

      Hi there. this recipe sounds amazing! I am from NZ and stout beer is not very easy to come by. Do you think I could substitute if for a different kind of beer or do you think stout would only work? Also, would imitation maple syrup be ok or best with pure? Thanks so much!!!! Cheree

      Reply
      • Sarah Menanix -

        July 23, 2015 at 10:13 pm

        Hi Cheree - These are great questions! This recipe doesn't use stout beer or maple syrup so I think you'll be fine w/out either. Do you perhaps mean a different recipe? I'd love to help you figure out the best substitutes! Cheers!

        Reply

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