Maple Bacon Cupcakes

It is not widely known that I am a Gayle King fan. You know Oprah’s best friend. She and I could easily be best friends. Oprah who?

My fandom started when I saw Gayle on Oprah’s show talking about GQ’s list of 20 Hamburgers you had to eat. If you know nothing else about me besides I’m a fan of Gayle’s, know this: I LOVE HAMBURGERS! Her love for food that I loved continued throughout the show series.

So when I saw this article that these were one of Gayle’s favorite cupcakes I knew I had to try them. She didn’t steer me wrong with the burgers so I knew I could count on her for these.

She, or they, did not disappoint me. The cupcakes had a nice sweet flavor to them and who doesn’t love bacon! Well besides my niece. You get a surprise every other bite with that little bit of bacon.

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

(recipe slightly adapted from Oprah)

Ingredients:

For cupcakes:
10 strips bacon
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
Maple syrup, to garnish

For cinnamon buttercream:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Instructions:

Fry bacon according to your preference (in pan or in the oven). Blot excess grease with paper towels. Set aside 2 strips of bacon for garnish. Crumble remaining strips for cupcake mixture.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl combine flours, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter. (Note : if you didn’t leave the butter at room temperature you can place it between wax paper then roll it out with a rolling pin) Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture. Mix well after adding each egg. Alternate between adding dry ingredients and milk, mixing well between additions. Add vanilla and maple syrup. Mix well. Add reserved diced bacon, and mix on medium speed for one minute.

Using a cookie scoop, add batter into prepared cupcake tins, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 24 to 26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make cinnamon buttercream: In a large mixing bowl cream the butter on medium speed until smooth. Reduce speed to low and slowly add powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly sprinkle in the cinnamon and mix.

When cupcakes are completely cool, frost with the buttercream. Chop the reserved slices of bacon into 24 pieces and garnish each cupcake with a piece. Drizzle maple syrup over the top and serve. If not eating immediately, refrigerate for up to 3 days.