Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Stout
A dark, malty stout cake under maple cream cheese frosting, with bacon candied in brown sugar, espresso powder and cayenne chopped through the frosting and snapped over the top. Makes 24.
Ingredients
Candied Cayenne Bacon
- 10 slices thick-cut bacon about 1 pound
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper use 1/2 for a gentler version
- 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder
The Maple Stout Cupcakes
- 1 cup stout beer room temperature, not an imperial or barrel-aged stout
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream full fat, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup Grade A dark for the most flavor
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 ounces full fat cream cheese room temperature
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Equipment
- Stand or hand mixer
- Cupcake pans
- Cupcake liners
- Sifter
- Food Processor
- Small pot
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Two rimmed baking sheets
- Cooling racks
Instructions
Candy the Bacon
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Stir the brown sugar, cayenne and 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder together in a small bowl. Press half of it onto one side of the bacon slices, turn them over and press the rest onto the other side. It will not look like it is sticking, which is fine.
- Set wire racks inside two rimmed baking sheets and brush the racks lightly with oil. Lay the bacon on the racks and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the fat has rendered and the sugar is bubbling across the whole surface.
- Cool the bacon completely on the racks, then refrigerate at least 1 hour until it is hard and snaps. It is soft out of the oven and only goes brittle once the sugar sets. This can be done a day ahead.
Make the Maple Stout Batter
- Bring the stout to a simmer in a small pot over medium heat, let it bubble for about a minute, then take it off and cool it to room temperature. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Cream the 12 tablespoons of butter with the granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Whisk the cooled stout, sour cream, 2 tablespoons maple syrup and vanilla together in a jug and pour it into the running mixer in a slow stream. The batter will look curdled at this point, which is normal.
Bake and Cool
- Add the dry ingredients on the lowest speed and mix only until the last streak of flour disappears. Scoop the batter into the liners about two thirds full, using an ice cream scoop so they match.
- Bake 20 to 24 minutes, turning the pans front to back halfway, until the tops spring back and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool 10 minutes in the pans, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely before frosting.
Whip the Frosting
- Pulse 6 slices of the chilled candied bacon in a food processor until finely chopped.
- Beat the cream cheese and the 8 tablespoons of butter on medium speed until light and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat until fluffy, then mix in the 1 tablespoon maple syrup, the salt and the chopped bacon.
Frost and Finish
- Frost the completely cooled cupcakes, then snap the remaining 4 slices of bacon into 24 shards and press one into each swirl shortly before serving.
Notes
Candy the bacon first. It needs an hour in the refrigerator to go brittle, and six of the ten slices are chopped into the frosting. It is soft straight out of the oven; that is the melted sugar, and it sets as it cools.
Quantities re-derived from the 2012 original, which used 2 cups of flour against 2 cups of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of liquid for 24 cupcakes. Flour is up to 2 3/4 cups, granulated sugar down to 1 1/2, baking powder added with the soda reduced, and a third egg added. The frosting went from 1 pound of cream cheese with 4 tablespoons of butter to 12 ounces with a full stick, so it holds a piped edge.
Cool the cupcakes completely. Cream cheese frosting slides off anything still warm.
Make-ahead: bacon 1 day, unfrosted cupcakes 2 days or frozen 2 months, frosting 3 days without the bacon stirred in.
Storage: 4 days refrigerated, brought back to room temperature before serving. Press the bacon shards on shortly before serving.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 232mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 560IU | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg