This week I strayed from the book. Over this past week I fell in-love with a new band and they made me want to try my “maple bacon and whiskey cupcake” aka “the Ron Swanson” recipe again. The band is bluegrass/punk type of awesomeness called Tigerman WOAH! Do yourself a favor and go check them out here. After seeing them twice and having an amazing time, I felt that I owed them some baked booze. And what recipe could fit them better?! So here it goes!
MAPLE BACON CUPCAKES
(makes 18/19)
Pound of maple bacon, the thicker the better
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp salt
7 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1/3 c. plain yogurt
Here’s where it gets tricky. I used ¼ cup maple syrup, in a cup measure, and then added enough maple whiskey (I use “cabin Fever”) to bring it up to the 1/3 cup line.
For the frosting:
1 stick butter
2-4 cups powdered sugar
Maple whiskey*
¼ cup maple syrup
Make it:
Cook bacon. Turn out onto a paper towel-lined plate to dry and cool. Crumble into small bacon bits. Set aside. Make some small, and some larger and “pretty” I know what you’re thinking, its bacon, its always pretty, but just do it.
Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Let it be.
Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add in eggs, one at a time. Whip it real good. This is a dense cake, you want to give it as much help in the fluffiness department as you can. Stir in yogurt and maple syrup. Slowly add in dry ingredients. Try to not let them explode everywhere.
Take about a cup of your chopped/diced/crumbled (not pretty) bacon and throw it on in. Feel free to add more if you feel like it! You can really never have enough.
I used a cookie scoop and did one heaping blob in each liner in a standard muffin pan and another half one (18 total), and it was perfect. Bake at 350º for 15 minutes (test with a toothpick). Keep a close eye on these guys, over cooking AT ALL is bad. There’s very little room for error. Remove cupcakes to wire rack. While cooling, drizzle with whiskey*. Don’t if you don’t want them to be boooooooooozy. I did though, so I drizzled away.
For the frosting: beat together butter and 2 cups powdered sugar. Whip in maple syrup, and then whiskey*. Continue until you love the frosting, are drunk, or both! I like to play the “one for you, one for me” game, which is apparently a dangerous game at 10 am on an empty stomach. But it WAS fun!
Frost cooled cupcakes with buttercream, drizzle with some more maple syrup, top with prepared pretty bacon pieces. Eat leftovers, if they even made it this long!
Bring to show, hand over to band after the first part of their set. Watch them inhale them with joy. Prepare to stomp and clap along. Party time, excellent.
*Here’s a note, I used both maple whiskey and bourbon in this recipe, but am only going to refer to the maple whiskey. It is all based on how much bite you want your cakes to have. It’s all about taste testing. The maple whiskey is REALLY sweet. Instead of losing the alcohol content by using milk to dull that, I use bourbon. Man, how am I still single?!
Bakes with Booze 