Maple Bacon Cupcakes

Maple Bacon Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ⅛ cup vegetable oil
• ⅛ tsp. sea salt
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 lg. eggs, room temperature
• ⅓ cup maple syrup, room temperature
• ⅓ cup buttermilk room temperature
• 1¼ cup all purpose flour
• 1½ tsp. baking powder

Ingredients for Candied Bacon:

• 8 slices uncooked bacon
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 4 Tbsp. maple syrup

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting:

• ¾ cup butter softened slightly
• ⅛ tsp. sea salt
• 2½ cups powdered sugar
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. To make the maple cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin liners.
2. In a stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the butter, oil, salt and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add vanilla and eggs, one by one, beating well in between. Add maple syrup and buttermilk, beating well.
4. Sift flour and baking powder right into the bowl of wet ingredients. Fold until a smooth and creamy batter forms.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in baking tin for 5 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.
6. For candied bacon, keep the oven at 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread out brown sugar on a large plate and set aside.
7. Place bacon on the baking sheet and drizzle maple syrup. Flip the bacon to evenly coat each side with syrup.
8. Place each piece of bacon onto the plate with brown sugar, turning it over to coat each side. Arrange back onto the baking sheet.
9. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, check the bacon every three minutes so that the sugar doesn’t burn. It’s ready when the bacon is golden brown.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheet. Once cool, cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.
11. Make the frosting. Beat butter, sugar and salt until very light and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes.
12. Add in the cold cream cheese, piece by piece, beating well in between each addition. Beat until smooth.
13. Add the vanilla extract and add the whipping cream, tablespoon by tablespoon, until the frosting becomes light and fluffy but still holds its shape.
14. Fill a piping bag fitted with a star tip with cream cheese frosting. Pipe swirls of frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and place bacon pieces on top. Drizzle with more maple syrup.