Chocolate-Bacon Cupcakes

WARNING: These taste terrible.

Chocolate-Bacon Cupcakes

Chef Pichet Ong, Author of The Sweet Spot

Found in I Love Bacon! By Jayne Rockmill

Maple-Brown Butter-Bacon Frosting

8 slices ¼-inch-thick bacon, diced into ¼-inch pieces

1 cup butter

¼ cup milk

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons crème fraiche

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups powdered sugar

Cupcakes

8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 cup cake flour or all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup sugar

¾ cup light brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt

To make the frosting, in a large sauté pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 10 minutes. Using a mesh sieve, drain the bacon bits by pouring the rendered bacon fat into the bowl of a mixer. Set the bacon pieces aside.

In the same sauté pan, melt the butter and cook until it turns brown and gives off a nutty fragrance, scraping the bottom of the pan occasionally so the butter doesn’t burn. When the butter is dark and begins to burn, immediately remove the pan from the heat, scrape all of the browned bits loose, and transfer the contents to the mixing bowl with the bacon fat. Refrigerate the bowl until butter is cold. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together the cream, crème fraiche, vanilla, and maple syrup together; set aside.

Fit your electric mixer with the paddle attachment. When the browned butter is cold, cream it on medium speed with the salt until blended. Add the powdered sugar and continue to cream at medium speed until fluffy, about 8 minutes. Slowly add the milk mixture and continue mixing until smooth and homogeneous. Refrigerate until cold.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

To make the cupcakes, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Put the ½ cup of butter, the sugars, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated, about 2 minutes.

Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, turn the speed to low, and add one-quarter of the dry ingredient mixture. When no traces of flour remain, add one-third of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Continue evenly alternating the flour mixture and the buttermilk, ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix in the chopped chocolate and oatmeal. Divide the batter between 12 muffin cups; each cup should be three-quarters full. Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin and cool completely on  rack.

When the cupcakes are completely cool, fluff the cold frosting with a small offset spatula until soft and spreadable but not runny. Place about 3 tablespoons of frosting on top of each cupcake, then sprinkle on about ½ teaspoon of bacon bits and a pinch of Maldon salt. Serve immediately. Or if you prefer, you can refrigerate the cupcakes until the frosting is firm.

“NOTES: This cupcake is based upon several breakfast flavors: butter, maple, vanilla, cinnamon, egg, oatmeal, chocolate, and bacon. Bacon provides crunch, and the savory quality it adds is surprisingly appealing in contrast to the bittersweet and creaminess of the chocolate. The burnt bits of the bacon and brown butter also add a deep caramel flavor to the soft-textured and light cake. The saltiness of the Maldon salt in the icing makes your mouth water at the first taste, increasing your sensory experience to the spices and flavors in the cupcakes.”