Maple Bacon Cupcakes
Decadent Maple Bacon Cupcakes with candied bacon, silky brown sugar frosting and a rich maple brown sugar cake base are the perfect sweet and salty treat for the true bacon lover in your life!
Maple Bacon Cupcakes Recipe
A few years ago, the bacon-as-dessert trend hit and I was living for all of the sweet, salty and umami treats.
(I even collected a bunch of them here in this Bacon Desserts Round-up for inspiration.)
However, I realized recently that it’s been awhile since I’ve seen bacon casually included in a bakery dessert… I guess the novelty of it has worn off, but that doesn’t make them any less delicious!
Today’s maple bacon cupcake recipe takes it’s cues directly from breakfast – it somewhat reminds me of having maple-drenched pancakes with bacon.
The salty-sweet crunch of candied bacon, the well-balanced sweetness of the maple brown sugar cupcakes (with salty bacon cooked throughout and the earthy sweetness of molasses balancing out the brown sugar and maple) topped with a simple and rich brown sugar buttercream frosting all combines for one decadent and utterly satisfying dessert.
The cupcake batter is slightly more dense than my other cupcake recipes. It’s not quite a muffin texture, but somewhere between a light and fluffy cupcake and a dense, chewy muffin.
Maple Bacon Cupcake Variations:
- can use a boxed cake mix, but the flavor of this maple brown sugar cake is definitely not one I think you should miss!
- drizzle with additional maple syrup before serving
- use a cupcake corer and add jam or more brown sugar buttercream to the center of the cupcakes
- if you want a bit less sweetness, skip candying the bacon and just use regular fried or baked bacon
- to add a bit of tang, swap out the brown sugar frosting for cream cheese frosting
Storage: These maple bacon cupcakes can be kept for a week in an airtight container on the counter or in the fridge. (Opt for the fridge if your kitchen tends to run warm.)
Can maple bacon cupcakes be frozen? Yes, you can freeze the unfrosted cupcakes by placing in an airtight freezer bag or your favorite freezer containers for up to two months (this set of freezer containers is a crazy bargain).
More Maple Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
- Sugar-free Maple Pumpkin Muffins
- Maple Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
- Maple Pecan Pie
- Brown Butter Cupcakes with Maple Frosting
- Peanut Butter Maple Cookies
- Maple Syrup Bars from Simply Stacie
- Glazed Maple Shortbread Cookies from Taste of Home
Or, check out our collection of 20+ Bacon Dessert recipes here.
Maple Bacon Cupcake Ingredients
For the Candied Bacon:
For the Maple Cupcakes:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter
- White Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Molasses
- Eggs
- Milk
- Heavy Whipping Cream, or additional milk
- Maple Extract, if desired
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
- Salted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Powdered Icing Sugar
- Heavy Whipping Cream
- Maple Extract, if desired
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: if you want a bit less sweetness, skip candying the bacon and just use regular fried or baked bacon.
Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing Bowl
- Electric mixer <– this is a great hand mixer if you don’t want to make the investment into a stand mixer
- Muffin Pan
- Cupcake Liners
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
- Cutting Board
- Cookie Sheet
- Silicone baking mat
- Piping Bag
- Large Star Piping Tip
How to Make Maple Bacon Cupcakes
For the Candied Bacon:
Preheat oven to 325F.
Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and place the bacon flat on the tinfoil.
Sprinkle half of the sugar over the bacon, then flip the bacon and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
Place a sheet of tinfoil over the bacon and then a second baking sheet overtop.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crisp and cooked through.
Allow the bacon to cool as you assemble your ingredients, and then chop into small pieces.
For the Cupcakes:
Increase oven temperature to 375F
Line two muffin trays with your choice of liners and set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar and molasses until light and creamy, 2 minutes.
Beat in the eggs, milk, heavy cream and maple extract, followed by the dry ingredients.
Stir in 3/4 of the candied bacon pieces.
Use a cupcake scoop to portion 1/3 cup of batter into each of the prepared cupcake liners.
Bake for 18-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean with just a few crumbs.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely as you prepare the brown sugar frosting.
For the Frosting:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and 3 cups of the icing sugar until crumbly.
Add in the heavy cream and maple extract and beat for 2 minutes until smooth. Add more icing sugar, as desired.
Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
Swirl the brown sugar frosting onto the cooled cupcakes, starting from the inside, working out to the edges and then back towards the centre and up.
Top each cupcake with a few pieces of the candied bacon.
Pin this Marvellous Maple Bacon Cupcakes recipe for the perfect sweet and salty dessert:
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Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting
Ingredients
For the Candied Bacon:
- 4 slices bacon*
- 3 Tablespoons white sugar
For the Maple Cupcakes:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon molasses
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream, or additional milk
- 1 teaspoon maple extract, if desired
For the Brown Sugar Frosting:
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3-4 cups powdered icing sugar
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon maple extract, if desired
Instructions
For the Candied Bacon:
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and place the bacon flat on the tinfoil.
- Sprinkle half of the sugar over the bacon, then flip the bacon and sprinkle with remaining sugar.
- Place a sheet of tinfoil over the bacon and then a second baking sheet overtop.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crisp and cooked through.
- Allow the bacon to cool as you assemble your ingredients, and then chop into small pieces.
For the Cupcakes:
- Increase oven temperature to 375F
- Line two muffin trays with your choice of liners and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar and molasses until light and creamy, 2 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs, milk, heavy cream and maple extract, followed by the dry ingredients.
- Stir in 3/4 of the candied bacon pieces.
- Use a cupcake scoop to portion 1/3 cup of batter into each of the prepared cupcake liners.
- Bake for 18-24 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean with just a few crumbs.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely as you prepare the brown sugar frosting.
For the Frosting:
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar and 3 cups of the icing sugar until crumbly.
- Add in the heavy cream and maple extract and beat for 2 minutes until smooth. Add more icing sugar, as desired.
- Scoop the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
- Swirl the brown sugar frosting onto the cooled cupcakes, starting from the inside, working out to the edges and then back towards the centre and up.
- Top each cupcake with a few pieces of the candied bacon.
Notes
*2 if just wanting on top, 4 if you want to sprinkle throughout
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 587Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 59mgSodium: 296mgCarbohydrates: 113gFiber: 0gSugar: 101gProtein: 4g
Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.
I hope your friends and family loves this easy maple bacon cupcakes recipe as much as mine does.
For more scrumptious cupcakes, check out our full cupcake recipe collection here:
For more decadent desserts, check out our full dessert recipe collection here:
