Chocolate Maple Bacon Cupcakes with a Whiskey Cream Filling
These cupcakes have me in such a frenzy of excitement that I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose the best place to start is how these cupcakes came into existence. Well, literally I baked them, but before that they were just a vision of my tasty, chocolate-clouded imagination. Last year my friend was having a big milestone birthday and three important factors came into play when determining what to make her for said birthday. One, she is a health fanatic and does not eat desserts. I’m talking no desserts even during our holiday potluck at work; this girl’s got some serious willpower. Two, she loves bacon and regularly orders a bacon, egg and cheese, minus the bread and cheese. Don’t ask. Three, and this is the important one, she informed me that for her birthday she was going to treat herself to some dessert.
The minute that sentence left her mouth I knew I was tasked with creating the most amazing, decadent, oh-my-Paula-Deen, diet breaking worthy dessert of all time. Each component is more sin-inducing than the previous and you will wonder how you managed to exist up until this point without experiencing such a life altering cupcake perfect morsel.
The base is a chocolate cake recipe that we know and love, fondly referred to as the perfect chocolate cupcake for its incomparable moist texture and rich chocolate taste. They are then stuffed with a whiskey cream filling. A little bit naughty and a whole lot delicious. The maple glaze on top is light enough that it doesn’t add too much richness to the already decadent cupcakes, but the maple flavor still comes through to compliment the bacon.
Oh the bacon. The ultimate dessert garnish is no garnish at all, but the singular component that unifies the entire cupcake. Pan-fried as all proper bacon should be so that it’s allowed to cook in it’s own grease and soak up as much bacony flavor as possible. Then half dipped in chocolate to create a salty-sweet duo that will bring you to your knees, where you will stay while you finish your cupcake because you’re shaking so much from excitement that you can’t be trusted at a full upright position. If you’ve been searching for the one dessert that will make you overjoyed that you broke your diet then make these this weekend.
- 8 pieces bacon, cooked in a frying pan until crispy
- ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons whiskey
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- Line a small cookie tray or cutting board that will fit in the fridge with wax paper then set aside.
- Carefully break the pieces of bacon into roughly 2” pieces. Set aside.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler over medium heat until smooth, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the vegetable oil until combined.
- Dip half of each piece of bacon into the chocolate, let the excess drip off, then place on the wax paper. Once all the pieces have been dipped place in the fridge to set.
- Whip the heavy cream in a chilled mixing bowl until stiff peaks are just about to form.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, being sure not to over-beat the cream.
- Add the whiskey and stir with a spatula until combined. At this point, the filling will taste very strong. The longer the cupcakes rest before eating, especially if resting in the fridge, the more mellow the flavor will become.
- Fit a pastry bag with the Wilton Bismarck tip #230. Fill the pastry bag with the filling.
- Insert the tip halfway into the center of the cupcake and squeeze in some filling. Slowly start pulling out the tip while still squeezing. Remove and stop squeezing in some filling when the top of the cupcake starts to bulge and is just about to crack.
- Place in the fridge to chill.
- While the cupcakes are chilling whisk together the powdered sugar and maple syrup in a small mixing bowl.
- Remove the cupcakes from the fridge. Carefully dip the top of each cupcake into the maple glaze. Place a piece of chocolate dipped bacon on top so it sets with the glaze.
- Place the cupcakes in the fridge to set before serving.