Pancake Cupcakes with Maple-Bacon Frosting
So, bacon is all the rage right now. Bacon and chocolate, bacon and popcorn, bacon and… pretty much anything. Bacon, bacon, bacon. I’m actually not sure why it’s so trendy now; I mean, isn’t bacon something that most people (aside from vegetarians and vegans) have loved since they were a kid eating breakfast on Saturday morning? I, personally, am one of those lifelong bacon lovers. BLT’s, bacon cheeseburgers, bacon and eggs, bacon and pancakes, bacon in mac n’ cheese, bacon and… pretty much anything. Love. And so these cupcakes? Absolutely love. I thought, what naturally goes better with bacon than pancakes and syrup? Not much else, and so these babies were born.
The cupcakes are made from a homemade pancake batter and baked up in a muffin tin. They are light and airy on the inside, just like a wonderfully fluffy pancake should be. The buttercream frosting is spiked with maple syrup and crumbled bacon. It’s important to note that unless you have a large, round decorating tip you are not going to be able to pipe the frosting onto these cupcakes. As you might imagine, the bacon will get stuck in the decorating tip. So just slather it on and call it rustic. And quaint. And then take a huge bite and savor all the salty sweetness in all its glory. If it’s 8am call it breakfast; if it’s 8pm call it dessert. You can’t go wrong either way!
Next time I think I’m going to make a few extra pieces of bacon, crumble them up, then drizzle some maple syrup over, toss together to coat, and then fold into the cupcake batter before filling the muffin cups. The more bacon, the merrier, right?!
What’s your favorite bacon “dish”?
Pancake Cupcakes with Maple-Bacon Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups (366 ml) whole milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 ounce (28.35 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, (2 tablespoons)
For the Frosting:
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, (1 cup )
- 2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a standard muffin pan with liners and then spray the liners with non-stick spray (important step!).
- 2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl; set aside. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the milk and eggs, then stir in the melted and cooled butter. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk together until just moistened and combined. Like pancakes, lumps are okay! Divide the batter between the muffin cups and bake until puffed and firm to the touch, about 10 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then remove cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- 3. To make the frosting, use the whisk attachment of a stand mixer to whip the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar a little at a time, waiting until it's mostly incorporated before adding more. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, scrape the sides of the bowl and increase the speed to medium-high and whip until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup and the vanilla and whip for another minute or so to incorporate. Add the bacon and mix to combine. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting on the cupcakes. Top with additional crumbled bacon if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
one of my fav recipes ever!!! i am getting ready to try it as a jelly roll. if it works, YUM!!! if it doesn’t work, still YUM!! it’ll just be crumbly pancake jelly roll. :-D
I’m going to half the recipe and make them minis. I LOVE your cupcakes! You make these amazing recipes of all kinds! And i’ll be darned I never would have though of a breakfast CUPCAKE!
I made these to take to a church work day and they were a perfect start to our day. I received tons of compliments! They are just the right amount of sweetness. Delicious!
I was wondering if you can use complete pancake mix instead?
Hi Tara, I have not tried that so I’m not sure how it would work, but it’s always worth a try!
I made these yesterday. My husband and I think they are yummy, the other 4 people that have tried them think the strawberry and chocolate cupcakes are better. I think if you are open to different tastes and not cupcake = light and fluffy with sweet icing then you will be pleasantly surprised by these cupcakes. Of course they are not like “normal” cupcakes, they are made from pancake batter, but the way the bacon flavour kicks in to balance the sweet icing is very nice.
Kid approved! Did make some changes…
*Use pancake mix.
*Used 1/2 cream cheese because I didn’t have enough butter for the icing.
*Halved the powder sugar and omitted the syrup in the icing.
*quadrupled the bacon
*drizzled maple syrup on top.
Kids asked for seconds! 🙌🏼
My husbands will be turning 39 in the moring. I am going to make these for him for breakfast!! He tried a Maple Bacon pancake cupcake from a bakery and it was SO good. We try to be vegan most of the time but we are going to take a tiny break for these cupcakes. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! :)
These look awesome and easy, I can’t wait to make them! I was wondering if you could substitute half the butter in the pancake batter for bacon grease to give it a bigger bacon kick without overpowering the cupcakes with bacon bits, or would that just be too much? Also, I’m thinking of adding just a sprinkle of cinnamon on top to tie it all together.
Hi Lisa, Yes, you could substitute bacon grease. Yum!
These look delicious!! I wonder if you could use squash or sweet potato, too? That would be INCREDIBLE for a weekend, holiday morning with some strong coffee. :) Thank you, ma’am. This is really ingenious. God love you for giving us this recipe!!
These sound sooo good! Should they be refrigerated if I’m planning on keeping them for several days?
Thanks!
If you refrigerate them they may dry out. I would recommend eating them within a day or so of making them. If you need to keep them any longer, though, then yes, I would refrigerate them.
I love this blog! I just found it and have loved everything made so far! Made these this morning to share at work. I never have whole milk in the house, so used 3/4 c evaporated milk and 3/4 c water. It is a pancake, not a cupcake — tender cake but I doubt it would hold over well so probably best made the day it will be served. This will be my buttercream method for ever and always in the future. I have never made such a light, wonderful buttercream. With or without the bacon, fab!! I chopped 3 slices and used a zip bag with cut corner to allow the frosting to swirl out (no problem with clogs). Brushed some maple syrup on a 4th slice during cooking and broke that into 12 larger pieces to decorate the top. Mmmm.
will the bacon get soggy in the frosting? im making these for my church’s volunteers. they look SOOO good!!!
Hi Mackenzie, If it sits overnight or something, it might get a little soggy, but if you frost these the same day you eat them it’ll be fine.
I tried making these except with fat-free milk, and the cupcakes turned out very gummy and awful! They still tasted buttery (from the 2 tbsp of butter) and I had a lot of lumps in the batter…I guess I either need whole milk or at least 2%? Can I substitute fat-free milk and applesauce?
Hi Marlene, I have never made pancakes (or this cupcake batter) with skim milk; usually always at least 2%, so you could start there. However, gumminess is usually caused from overmixing the batter.
I am known throughout my office as the bacon girl. We are having a bake sale in a couple of weeks and this recipe will be perfect. Plus our family has a Bacon Party every year and I think I will make this for the party. We do almost 100 lbs of slab bacon cut thick on electric griddles. Has become so popular that each of my brothers and myself have to have the same type of party for our friends too. I think this cupcake will be absolutely perfect for that parties. Thanks alot!
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh… I feel like I demolished a pancake buffet… ouchie… but greatolicious!
Done cooking. W/out frosting tastes like dull cakes, hot off the griddle.
Hi! Last comment got deleted when viewing guidelines but basically said “cupcakes in oven smell delish love BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN BACON X 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 yada yada yada” but anyways love bacon.OOPS! I forgot to put will check back when done cookin’ bye. P.S. I <3 BACON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I made these a few days ago and they were a HUGE hit! My family (husband and two boys 6 and 9), neighbors and co-workers all loved them! I did cheat and just used my box pancake mix, but they turned out great! I took your advice and added 2T of maple syrup and 3 cooked strips of bacon to the pancake mix too, and they rocked! Makin the Irish car bombs this weekend, CAN’T WAIT!!!!
Really good recipe! If you sprinkle imitation spice from places like tastefully simple on the cupcakes a few minutes before taking them out of the oven it sinks in just a little and gives it a little extra bacon kick! oh and if you use a sandwich baggie to frost them they turn out really nice!
Thank you for posting these, I just ran across your site and it is now a new favorite!! Amazing cupcakes, my husband loves them!
You know, I was thinking about this…if you put little bacon bits in there along with crushed maple sugar candy, wouldn’t it come out a bit like a McGriddle in muffin form? I don’t know about anyone else, but those are pretty tasty, and the idea of doing this is such a sweet, whimsical one!
Dear God….
THESE CUPCAKES ARE AMAZING!!!
Seriously, my man took one bite and then declared them my “masterpiece!”
Ridiculously sweet (due to the icing) in the most perfect of ways.
I give this recipe five stars!
These were delicious! For next time, because there WILL be a next time, I would bake a tad bit longer than 10″ and really saturate the liners with spray. Mine were a little undercooked and I had a minor sticking problem. Still…so yummy!! I used the Best Ever Cupcake Icing Kit from Bake It Pretty and was able to pipe the frosting no problem! Check it out…it makes icing a breeze! http://www.bakeitpretty.com/best-ever-cupcake-icing-kit/
Thanks for posting!
K
All I can think about is those cupcakes! I really have to try baking them! Thanks so much for sharing! Can’t wait to bake ’em.
I just made these, and they were DELISH! It was a bit sweet on the frosting, but, overall, really yummy. I used Vienna Sausages instead of bacon and it turned out really good. Thanks again for the recipe!
WOW these look amazing! Can’t wait to try this recipe – thanks for sharing!
Wow. I made the frosting today for some bacon donut holes and YUM. It’s not overwhelmingly bacon-y so if anyone is worried about that then don’t. It’s just a lovely, unusual combination. Definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing your creativity!
I made these a few weeks ago, and they were a huge hit. Only one of my housemates wouldn’t try a cupcake, and he’s a very picky eater. Obnoxiously picky.
If you make a batch of these, but are concerned about friends/family not liking the bacon part, just leave the bacon pieces off of a few cupcakes- the frosting is perfectly sweet, and the pancake batter has very little sweetness, so it works well on its own :)
i made these today. i put some frozen blueberries in the batter and sprinkled on some bacon that i baked in brown sugar rather than adding it directly to the frosting. my husband and kids LOVE them. thanks!!!! they were easy to make.
I made these yesterday and oh my geezers… They are UH-MAZE-ING! They’re like breakfast in a cupcake. I took them to work and got my coworkers to try them too… they’re all believers now and want the recipe! Thanks for sharing this!
I made these for my daughter to bring for the last day of school. The pan/cupcakes turned out great but the icing was way extremely sweet, maybe I’ll try less sugar next time. Hope the kids enjoy them
I’m in the midst of making these for an event at school tomorrow, the pancakes just came out and are perfect. But I wonder if they will keep there lovely light fluffy texture in the fridge over night? Maybe I should wait until the morning to frost them?
Hi Annissa, I usually never recommend refrigerating cupcakes because it tends to dry them out and makes them dense. You can frost them once cool, but then I would store them in an airtight container at room temperature to maintain their texture.
even with the bacon bits in it? I too, would love to know! :-)
I am making these for my hubby for father’s day & 40th bday! I can’t stop licking the icing bowl. These are OUTSTANDING and I know he will love his breakfast in bed, as soon as I get my tongue of the wisk!
Can this icing be stored, or frozen? I think I will keep this around for pancakes & cupcakes all the time!
Happy birthday to your hubby! You can store the frosting in the refrigerator for a few days; you’ll need to let it come to room temperature and whip it up a bit before you use it again.
Have you tried adding anything to the pan/cupcake batter? Such as bananas, walnuts or something you would add to normal pancakes?
Hi Bernice, I have not yet tried any adaptations to the batter, but would love to hear if you have!
These cupcakes are AMAZING. They were a huge hit after people got over the bacon on a cupcake. I used turkey bacon, so for anyone wondering how they are…..THEY ROCK!!
Wow, these sound yummy! I LUV bacon!! I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog. I will be cooking up a lot of your recipies!! :)
I just made these! I incorporated cream cheese into the frosting. It was awesome! Although I must admit I felt should have added more bacon in the cup cake and on top. The cupcake itself came out a little dry, perhaps I baked it too long? Making another batch tomorrow morning. This time I’ll add lots more bacon and pay closer attention to the time.
Thank you for this recipe. I was so excited to make it!
I LUVS CUPCAKES AND BACON
CUPCAKES+BACON = DELICIOUSNESS
amazing
i have to make em
so i made these this morning and they were very good but I think I made a huge mistake.
The recipe said to leave the cupcakes in for about 10 minutes but i left them in for 17 minutes because after 10 minutes, the cupcakes were still wet in the middle (i did the toothpick test). Should I have turned off the oven even though the cupcakes were not fully baked yet? The result was they became very dense and chewy when they cooled.
The frosting was good. I used just 1 stick of butter (didn’t want left over frosting) and it was more than enough to frost all 12 cupcakes. I just halved the amount of powdered sugar and added an extra tblsp of maple syrup. It was quite sweet so i splashed some milk in there to even it out. Once I put the bacon in, the sweetness and saltiness balanced out very well.
Overall, it tasted amazing but I know I definitely screwed up on baking the cupcakes.
This cupcake is definitely amazing and inspiring. Next, am going to try it with mini m&m’s inside the pancake batter and top with M&M’s. Our favourite cafe does M&M pancakes, will try that and see how it is. But the bacon is divine in these!
Can I substitute 2% milk for the whole milk?
Yep!
So backed up on email. Sorry for the late response on this.
I also don’t understand all the bacon stuff going on lately BUT I do love it. These look amazing. Never thought of making muffins with pancake batter. Cool idea.
This is such a great idea! I just started following your blog and love your ideas!! Can’t wait to try this next weekend in place of our traditional pancakes :-)
I made these for my husband and his buddies this weekend. They loved them. What’s not to like about bacon. I put more bacon in the frosting – doubled it. Oink Oink
Yay for making the boys happy! Glad your hubby and his friends enjoyed these! And more bacon is always better :)
Hi Michelle ~ I’m a new (big!) fan of your blog. I found it a few weeks ago when I was looking for a unique brownie recipe to make for my boyfriend. I knew your salted caramel brownies were the right ones for me when the post started by talking about a Pens game! I grew up in Pittsburgh and am in North Carolina now for grad school. My boyfriend’s still in the Burgh and the brownies were just the right thing to take with me on my trip back home. I made a double batch and gave them to friends here in NC, too, and everyone is absolutely in love with them. I don’t even have words for that caramel sauce.
I just made these cupcakes for a girlfriend’s birthday. She’s a breakfast food junkie ~ in fact when I showed up with the cupcakes she was in the middle of making pancakes for dinner! They are amazing and she loves them. I wasn’t sure if I would since I’m not crazy about syrup on my breakfast meats, but I do. I love them. The plain pancake cupcake is perfection with the super sweet icing and the salty bacon. Next time I think I will put more bacon in the icing. I topped them with another three crumbled slices, but I still wanted more. Not that I have ever seen a food that I thought was bacon-y enough.
Thanks for two great recipes so far. I can’t wait to try more of your goodies!!
Hi Kelly, first of all, welcome to the site! So happy to have you! And thrilled to “meet” another Pittsburgher! I’m so glad you (and others) loved the brownies and the pancakes. Safe travels back and forth to NC!
Ha! I have always wanted to try a bacon sweet treat. But it’s funny, we have bacon and maple syrup together all the time – just seems funny when you put it on a cupcake. But I am all about :D
Ok, I made these for a bake sale and they were a hit! Greasing the liners is definitely a step that CANNOT be skipped (I used PAM and they still stuck a little to the liner a bit). I cannot wait to make these again!
Oh yay, always happy to hear when something is a bake sale hit! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks ladies!
Bacon really does make everything better! What a treat these would be.
Has anyone tried this recipe with Turkey Bacon? I am not trying to cut calories, but it’s what I have in my fridge and don’t think I need two types of bacon in there.
I pretty much stick to buying ONLY turkey bacon and I have found that the results are pretty close when using it to substitute regular bacon. The flavor doesn’t quite pack the punch that real bacon does, but if it’s all you have I personally think it does the trick (maybe add a slice or two for extra flavor). The ONLY thing that I require real bacon for is my clam chowder recipe. No substitutions there!!
I agree with Tania, I think you would be just fine using turkey bacon for this. It’s of course not quite the same, but will still be delicious! :)
I think I need these right now! Bacon makes everything better! I think it’s the rage now because people are finally figuring out that they can add bacon to, not only savory dishes, but sweet ones as well. Thanks for sharing! I like the addition for the next batch. Great idea!
You had me at bacon! Yum!
Wow, wow, wow! Michelle, you never cease to amaze!!!
My son, Charlie, doesn’t eat a lot of sweets but he loves bacon. He is turning twelve on Tuesday and these are going to be perfect for his birthday celebration. I can’t wait to get baking… or should I say baconing! Thanks!
Happy Birthday to your son Jennifer! I hope he enjoys these cupcakes as his birthday treat!
My boyfriend and I host brinners for our friends all the time. We made the beer waffles with apples last time (and they were delicious), but I think these are definitely on the menu for the next one!
As a side question, have you ever heard of a cookie called a date-nut swirl? They are my boyfriend’s favorite, but I’ve never had them and haven’t had much luck finding a recipe for them!
Brinners sound like such a fun idea! I love it, and so happy the beer waffles were a hit! About the date-nut swirl cookie, I haven’t heard of them, but I love all date/nut baked goods, so I am going to see what I can find! Stay tuned.
Fabulous idea for a Cupcake…love it!
These are so much fun! Yum!
This takes bacon and pancakes to a new level!
This is almost too much for me to handle. I’m not kidding. There are no words for this ridiculously FABULOUS creation! YUMMM!
Love these cupcakes… I definitely think they would pass for a perfectly acceptable breakfast food! Very fun idea.
Since these cupcakes have pancake mix and bacon in them, I’m going to file them under “breakfast recipes.” Sound good? Great. =)
My jiggly bits are very excited. I can not wait to make these.
I will let you know how it goes. Oh my.
WOW ! absolutely amazing, when I first saw the title I’m pretty sure my mouth dropped down to the floor and my heart started racing ! I cant get over the clever-ness of you using bacon, not am I only obsessed with your blog I’am overly obsessed with bacon, and I think you just completed my heart with this recipe, I CAN NOT WAiT to try it ! Thank you brown eyed baker !!!
How fun are these? Yes, the more bacon the merrier. I love crisp bacon, lots and lots of crisp bacon :)
I am SO definitely going to have to try this. And for the vegetarians in my family I think Ill turn it into another classic: blueberry pancake cupcakes!
Katie – Awesome idea, I think that would be delicious!
Those look so yummy!
Bacon in brownies is pretty good. Also bacon ice cream. Now I want bacon!
Those chicken bites Amanda is talking about are A-MAH-ZING!!! We usually make them for our Christmas Party every year and that is the one thing my husband looks forward to. Now, with these cupcakes, I am sure he will be super happy!! I can’t wait to try pancakes in cupcake form!!
Love the idea of the pancake batter in a cupcake. I’m going to add this to my brunch menu. Much easier to serve than pancakes.
Thanks so much for sharing,
Joanne
Oh these are so cool! Love the pancake batter. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Those look delicious! Your buttercream looks so light and fluffy!!
One of my favorites is a Paula Deen recipe (It’s also a favorite for football Sundays). Bite size pieces of chicken breast wrapped in half-slices of bacon, rolled in a mixture of brown sugar and chili powder, and then baked until crispy and caramelized! I might actually make a batch next time we have a Steelers game on TV here (why do they always have to show the Ravens games??). And maybe some pancake cupcakes for dessert :)
Oh Amanda, those chicken bites sound so good! Do you have a link to the recipe? Are you in Maryland?
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sweet-chicken-bacon-wraps-recipe/index.html
Here is the link! I live in Northern Virginia, just outside of DC, but when the Ravens or Redskins have a game at the same time as the Steelers, we get bumped! I guess it’s off to a bar again to watch!
Thanks Amanda, I am definitely going to try those! My boyfriend lives in MD, so we usually go to the bar, but we streamed the game yesterday and hooked up the laptop to the TV. Not perfect quality, but it was great to stay home and watch!
Wow! These sound great. Never would have though of bacon with a cupcake, but yummy! My grandmother always said “everything tastes better with bacon”!
I officially love your grandmother. Wise, wise woman :)
Oh, I just totally need to try this! What an interesting idea! They look so good and the batter is so unique for a cupcake!
These look incredible! I am always on the lookout for more bacon recipes…I agree the more bacon, the better!
These”cupcakes” would be good for a brunch!! Less messy and more taste, than just pancakes!
I haven’t quite warmed up to the idea of baking with bacon yet, but I always like to try new things! These look absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos and recipe!
One of the reasons I love your blog is that you think outside of the box . . . while I hadn’t thought of making my pancake batter into muffins (what a GREAT idea for my next brunch potluck!), I have made french toast in my waffle maker AND on my niece’s George Foreman grill . . . the nieces and nephews love it when auntie suggests these “odd” ideas . . .
I must say that my favorite bacon meal right now is BLTs. I par-cook thick slice bacon in the oven and then layer it in a plastic container for the freezer. I’m still getting ripe tomatoes from my garden and I can have a sandwich within minutes of picking the tomato by slipping the bread into the toaster, the bacon into the micro for a minute and a half . . . yummers!
Love the idea of parbaking bacon in the oven and then storing it in the freezer. Awesome idea!
Yummmm bacon. It really is everywhere right now. I made bacon waffles last weekend and that salty flavor mixed with sweet is just perfect :)
Wow! What an amazing idea!! I want one!!!
That looks sooo good. I just added it to the list! I LOVE BACON!
These look incredible!
My favorite breakfast is French Toast with Bacon. Yummy! Also my boyfriend and I have a meatloaf recipe and one of things we do is cover the outside with bacon. Most of the time it is turkey bacon, but it sure is delicious.
Tania, you need to post that receipe somewhere! I usually don’t like meatloaf, but I think wrapping it in bacon is just the thing I need!!
Yummy – will be making these this weekend.
Wow, great idea for the pancake base. Those look incredibly moist and fluffy.
I can see my family loving these. You’re right, vegetarians sure wouldn’t eat this (me) but it doesn’t mean we can’t bake it!
those look awesome! do you think they would be too sweet if you left out the bacon?
Hi Lauren, Hmm… the icing is sweet, if you leave out the bacon I might try cutting down on the maple syrup to cut down on the sweet. The cupcake itself isn’t overly sweet though.
You are killing me softly with this one Michelle. It looks incredible and I am feeling pretty bummed that I can’t enjoy this one right now.
I am a self-proclaimed bacon junkie!!
It’s true, she really is a bacon junkie. ;)
I loooove bacon in a turkey BLT!
i never knew you could take pancake batter and bake it into cupcakes! that’s really neat! these look delicious with the yummy frosting!