Chocolate, PB, Toffee, Bacon Cupcakes

Wow, the title of this post is a mouthful!  If you can think of an easier name for these cupcakes, just let me know!  These cupcakes were created for November’s Cupcake Hero challenge ingredient, peanut butter.  I’ve already entered one cupcake into the competition this month, but I just love peanut butter so there was no way I could only enter just one.

My second entry is a chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips and finely chopped crispy bacon baked inside.  It is frosted with peanut butter frosting, sprinkled with finely chopped toffee and topped off with a square of crispy bacon.

They were so yummy!  People laughed at me when I told them of my plan to make these cupcakes, but I’m going to laugh right back at them when I tell them how good these are!

Bacon has been a controversial, yet popular, ingredient in cupcakes these days, and I understand why.  Despite the fact that bacon combined with sweets is a little odd, it does make a great pairing of flavors.  Check out my dark chocolate bacon cupcakes, too.

If you’re interested in these cupcakes, but would like to skip on the bacon, I have a perfect solution.  Omit all the bacon and just roll the tops of the frosted cupcakes in crushed toffee!

Equally yummy!

The only problem I see with this particular cupcake recipe is that the batter is very runny, meaning that a lot of the bacon and chocolate chips will sink to the bottom.  If you make these, I might suggest picking a chocolate cupcake recipe that produces a thicker batter so the mix-ins won’t sink as easily.

Double Chocolate Bacon cupcakes
Adapted from My Sweet And Saucy
Makes 12-14 cupcakes

Ingredients
Approximately 10 strips of bacon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Dutch-processed)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1 extra large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon espresso powder dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water
(I used 1 packet of Starbucks VIA Italian Roast)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Method
Prepare bacon via your preferred method until crispy.  I baked my bacon in the oven at 375F for about 14 minutes.  Place bacon on paper towels to drain the fat and pat dry.  Finely chop the bacon, but reserve 1-2 strips to cut into 1-inch or so squares to top cupcakes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line cupcake pans with 24 cupcake liners.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar together into a medium bowl.

Combine the egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and dissolved espresso powder in a medium bowl and whisk by hand until well mixed. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.  Fold in finely chopped bacon and chocolate chips.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the cupcakes are puffed and feel springy. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

Peanut Butter Buttercream
Adapted from Shazam In The Kitchen
Makes enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes (plus some leftover)

Ingredients
1 toffee candy bar (I used Heath)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Method
Finely chop or crush toffee and set aside.  In large bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix well, adding more milk as needed to make a fluffy spreadable frosting.  Frost cupcakes and sprinkle or roll in chopped/crushed toffee.  Top with a square of bacon if desired.

Related Posts:

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes
• Dulce De Leche Pumpkin Cupcakes
• Zombie Halloween Cupcakes
• Dark Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes
• Chocolate & PB Cupcakes