Vanilla cupcakes are dressed up with crumbled bacon and a hint of maple syrup, and topped with a maple buttercream frosting (and more bacon for good measure)! Try my no yeast maple bacon donuts next.
I’m not a big fan of maple. Syrup, candy, ice cream… just, no. Mostly because it reminds me of Canada… but aside from that, just not a huge fan.
I put it on waffles and pancakes, but even then I don’t use much. I do, however, love bacon. And I wanted to make some breakfast cupcakes because in my mind that justifies me eating baked goods in the morning.
But to be fair, I can justify just about anything for breakfast. It’s almost like a game for me.
I ran through some ideas related to eggs, waffles, pancakes (and I came up with a couple other ideas soon to come)… and I eventually landed back on bacon.
After some experimentation I discovered that bacon with a little bit of maple was just right.
Maple and bacon in the batter. Maple in the frosting, bacon on the top. Salty, sweet, bacon-y. You’re welcome.
Description
Ingredients
Cupcake
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (1/4 set aside for topping)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- ⅓ cup milk, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup cream cheese (block, not spread), room temperature
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Cook bacon however you prefer to make it nice and crispy - I like to bake it in the oven. Let it cool on a paper towel-lined plate and then crumble.4 slices bacon
- Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk to combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.1 cup all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking powderPinch salt
- In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, cream butter on high speed. Add sugar and beat again until mixture is combined and fluffy.1/2 cup unsalted butter1 cup granulated sugar
- Add eggs and mix well. Add about 1/2 the dry mixture from the small bowl, add milk, and then add the rest of the dry mixture.1 egg1/3 cup milk
- Add vanilla and maple syrup and mix until well combined. Stir in 3/4 of your prepared bacon to distribute throughout batter.1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- Fill each muffin cup 3/4-2/3 full and bake for about 25-30 minutes. Tops of cupcakes should be just slightly light brown. A toothpick entered into the center should come out clean. Set on wire racks to cool completely.
Frosting
- While cupcakes are cooling, prepare frosting in large bowl by beating together butter and cream cheese on high speed.1/4 cup unsalted butter1/4 cup cream cheese (block, not spread)
- Add maple syrup and cinnamon and mix well. Add powdered sugar and beat on medium-high speed until well-combined.2 tablespoons pure maple syrup1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- Place frosting in fridge for about 15 minutes to let it firm up - the maple syrup causes it to lose a little bit of its fluffiness.
- Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes and add crumbled bacon on top of each. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is generated by an automatic API and does not take variations across specific brands into account. This information is provided as a general guideline and should not be treated as official calculations. Learn more here.
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Erin Banfield
Made these this morning, only adjustment was a pinch of cinnamon in the cupcake batter. They were delicious! Very much worth the effort.
Leslie Kiszka
I’m so glad that you liked them!
Anonymous
Leslie you’re amazing! These are ridiculous in the best way possible ???