Chocolate Stout Cupcakes With Maple Bacon Frosting Recipes

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.

CHOCOLATE STOUT CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at time. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
• Lightly grease 24 muffin tins. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 12 to 13 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out.
• To make the icing: In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream. On low speed, slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Icing can be made several hours ahead and kept covered and chilled.
• Top each cupcake with a heap of frosting and dust with cocoa.

PANCAKE CUPCAKES WITH MAPLE BACON BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners.
• Beat sugar and shortening together in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Sift pancake mix and flour together in a separate bowl; add baking powder. Combine buttermilk and egg in another bowl.
• Add flour mixture to the creamed shortening in batches, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, beating batter briefly after each addition. Mix until combined; batter should be thick, not runny. Spoon batter into the muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean, 15 to 16 minutes.
• Cool cupcakes on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool, about 20 minutes.
• Beat butter at high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Sift in powdered sugar slowly, beating until well combined. Add maple syrup, bacon, vanilla extract, and salt; mix well. Pipe buttercream onto cooled cupcakes.