Chocolate Stout Cupcakes With Maple Bacon Frosting Recipes

CHOCOLATE-STOUT CUPCAKES WITH MAPLE-BACON FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
• Bring stout and butter to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. Set aside, stirring occasionally, until butter has melted. Mix in cocoa powder until smooth.
• Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
• Mix eggs with sour cream in a large bowl using an electric mixer on low until well combined. Add beer mixture slowly, followed by flour mixture, until batter is smooth.
• Divide batter between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 17 to 19 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Leave the oven on.
• Meanwhile, lay bacon strips on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Baste with 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup, covering both sides.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes. Turn bacon over, baste with remaining syrup, and bake until browned and crisp, about 8 minutes more, watching to make sure not to burn.
• Remove bacon and lay strips on parchment paper so they don't stick to foil upon cooling. Let cool completely, 10 to 15 minutes. Chop into pieces.
• Combine butter and powdered sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in cream cheese until smooth. Beat in maple syrup. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with bacon bits.

CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES WITH MAPLE-BACON BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 12-cup muffin tin and line with cupcake liners; set aside. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; set aside.
• In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter, both sugars and salt. Cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. With machine running, add eggs one at a time, and mix until well incorporated, 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, turn mixer speed to low, and add 1/4 of the dry ingredients. When no traces of flour remain, add 1/3 of the buttermilk and mix until incorporated.
• Continue alternating flour mixture and buttermilk, ending with flour. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, and gently mix in chopped chocolate and oatmeal. Divide among muffin cups; each should be 3/4 full. Bake until a tester comes out clean, 30 minutes. Turn out of tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
• Make the frosting: In a heavy skillet, cook bacon over low heat until fat is rendered and meat is crisp. Set a sieve over bowl of mixer, and pour skillet contents into sieve. Reserve bacon bits. You should have no more than 3 tablespoons bacon fat in mixer bowl; set aside additional bacon fat for another use.
• Return skillet to heat and add butter. Butter will melt, then foam, then separate into golden liquid and white solids. Let butter cook, scraping bottom of pan occasionally to prevent burning, until milk solids toast and turn brown. Transfer browned butter to mixer bowl and refrigerate until cold.
• In separate bowl, combine milk, cream, crème fraîche, vanilla and maple syrup. In mixer bowl, cream bacon fat and brown butter with salt until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and mix at medium speed until fluffy, about 8 minutes. With mixer running, pour in milk mixture and continue mixing until smooth. Refrigerate until cold.
• Frost the cupcakes: With small offset spatula, fluff frosting until soft and spreadable but not runny. Spread about 3 tablespoons frosting on each cooled cupcake. Sprinkle a pinch of bacon bits and a pinch of flaky salt on top. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 6 hours.