Maple Bacon Cupcakes

These Maple Bacon Cupcakes are bacon-lovers favorite cupcakes! A cinnamon cupcake with a maple Italian buttercream frosting all topped with real bacon.

When I tell people about these cupcakes, there’s always that confused “wait… bacon on top?” moment. Yes! Real bacon! If bacon can go in mac n’ cheese or on top of doughnuts, it definitely belongs on top of a cupcake. A cinnamon cupcake 😋.  I like a lot of cinnamon. I want the ‘BAM I’m cinnamon and you can taste me in this cupcake’ feeling. If you don’t like a lot of cinnamon, then feel free to cut back on the amount. The frosting is, of course, maple Italian meringue buttercream because maple is a great compliment to bacon.

Kitchen Tools Used 

All you need to make these delicious Maple Bacon Cupcakes are:

• Large mixing bowl
• Small mixing bowl
• Cupcake pan
• Cupcake liners (I used silicone cupcake liners)
• Piping bag & desired piping tip (optional) 

Ingredients Needed for Maple Bacon Cupcakes

These Maple Bacon Cupcakes are cinnamon cupcakes with maple Italian buttercream and topped with real bacon. Here are the ingredients you need to make these scrumptious cupcakes:

• Vegetable shortening
• Sugar
• Milk
• Vanilla
• Flour
• Baking powder
• Salt 
• Eggs
• Cinnamon
• Butter
• Maple syrup
• Bacon (I used maple bacon)

How To Make Maple Bacon Cupcakes

Cupcakes

1. Start by preheating the oven to 350F and lining a cupcake pan with liners. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients and then beat on high speed for a couple of minutes.
3. Fold in the egg whites until thoroughly combined. With a large cookie scoop or a spoon fill each liner about ⅔ the way full.
4. Bake for 20-24 minutes. 

Frosting

1. In a small saucepan add ¾ cup of sugar and the water and put on medium heat. While the sugar mixture is cooking add egg whites to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the egg whites start frothing, slowly add the remaining sugar. Keep beating at high speed until egg whites make stiff peaks. If the sugar mixture isn’t ready yet, do not turn the mixer off, but you can lower the speed. The sugar mixture is ready when it reaches 235F or when it pours off a spoon in a thin, steady stream (see picture below).

2. Turn the stand mixer back up to high and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl, but DO NOT let the syrup hit the whisk. Keep beating on high until the bowl is no longer hot, but just slightly warm to the touch.
3. Switch to the paddle attachment and add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Keep beating until the frosting stiffens. This can take a couple of minutes, so if it doesn’t come together right away don’t fret yet. Add the salt, vanilla, and maple syrup and mix until just combined. 

Tip: If after 5-10 minutes the frosting still hasn’t come together, stick the bowl in the fridge for about 20 minutes and then try beating it at high speed again.

4. Pipe or spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes.
5. For the bacon, preheat the oven to 400F and spray or line a baking tray with tinfoil and put four slices of bacon down. Bake for 13 minutes or until the desired level of crispiness. When the bacon comes out of the oven, pat the slices down with a paper towel to remove any excess grease. Then chop it up and sprinkle it on top of your cupcakes!

Tips and Substitutions for Maple Bacon Cupcakes

• Bacon – If you don’t want to deal with real bacon or don’t have any you can use bacon bits. I’ve used that before and it still makes yummy cupcakes, but I don’t think you get as much bacon flavor. 
• Cinnamon – By themselves, these cupcakes might seem pretty cinnamony but I promise the maple buttercream frosting really balances out that cinnamon.  If you don’t want as much cinnamon flavor then feel free to cut back on the amount. 
• Cupcake liners – I decided to try silicone cupcake liners and I gotta say, I was happily surprised. I thought they would stick pretty bad or it would be difficult to take the cupcake out but they worked fantastically. Just spray them with non-stick spray before adding the batter and to clean them just stick them in the dishwasher. It was that easy!

Try some more delicious cupcake recipes!

• Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream (Dairy-Free)
• Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Filling