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.
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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!
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!