Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Bacon-Chocolate Frosting

Today is the birthday of a very good friend of mine, Sami. She requested that I make my relentless bacon truffles to bring to her potluck, but I thought it might be fun to switch it up a little and make something I've never made before. This is the result of my obsession with combining chocolate and bacon...Beware, this recipe takes awhile, but the end result is incredible!

 Prep time: 15-20 minutes for frosting.

Cook time: 25-35 for cupcakes, 10 for frosting.

You will need:

-2 cupcake pans (or 2 9-inch circular cake pans if you want a full double-layered cake)

-24 little cupcake vessels that you get at the store (if you are doing cupcakes)

-oven

-3 mixing bowls

-handheld mixer 

-baking sheet

-metal cooling rack/ raised metal grate of some sort.

Ingredients for cake:

-2 cups water

-2 cups cocoa powder for cake

-2 3/4 cups flour

-2 tsp. baking soda

-1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter 

-2 1/4 cups white sugar

-4 eggs

-1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Ingredients for frosting:

-1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

-2 cups powdered sugar

-2 tsp. vanilla

-2 tbsp. milk

-cocoa powder to taste 

-1/2 to 1 cup brown sugar or maple syrup (whichever you like best!)

-1 package of your desired bacon (I like to use thick-cut, uncured, applewood smoked bacon!) 

Bacon Prep:

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-Arrange metal rack on top of baking sheet and place bacon on rack [as pictured].

-Bake in oven for ten minutes.

-Pull out of oven CAREFULLY (the bacon grease that has collected in the bottom of the pan will be HOT! I recommend pouring some into a glass jar to keep for another step in this process).

-Sprinkle brown sugar (or spread maple syrup) onto bacon and put back in oven. 

-Cook for 10 more minutes or until crispy.

-Allow to cool completely and cut into small pieces.

Directions for cake:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Pour cocoa powder into a bowl.

-Boil the two cups of water and pour over cocoa powder.

-Stir/whisk chocolate mixture until smooth and blended; set aside and allow to cool.

-In a separate bowl, mix baking soda, baking powder, flour and salt; set aside.

-In yet another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

-Beat eggs one at a time into the butter/sugar mixture.

-Stir vanilla into the butter/sugar/egg mixture.

-Add the flour mixture and the chocolate mixture alternately into the sugary egg mixture, using only small amounts at a time.

-Mix until smooth.

-Pour into cupcake vessels halfway, or split between 9-inch cake pans.

-Bake for 25-30 minutes; Cupcakes and cakes will be done when a knife is inserted and comes out clean.

Directions for frosting:

-In a bowl, mix butter, vanilla and milk until smooth and creamy.

-Slowly add-in powdered sugar and cocoa powder alternately, using small amounts at a time.

-Once sugar is mixed-in completely and you have added enough cocoa powder for your desired taste, add-in as much crispy bacon as you wish and a couple tablespoons of the bacon grease that you saved.

-Mix for five minutes.

(the longer you mix it, the creamier it will get!)

Once your cupcakes are cooled completely, frost them and add a sliver of bacon to the top of the cupcakes. If you decided to do the cakes, frost one, add the other on top and frost it to make a decadent and delectable double-layered cake. I hope that you and your friends enjoy this confection - that is, if you decide to share!


I had leftover batter and decided to make a single-layer cake. I omitted the bacon from the frosting and added strawberries to the top, [as pictured]. Delicious! 

Cheers, Foodies! 
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