Saturday, August 4, 2012

PB & J Cupcakes


I had the idea for these cupcakes after using peanut butter buttercream for something else. It seemed so natural.I made the grape and strawberry jelly from scratch, but premade would work fine and probably save your sanity.  Any vanilla cake will do because it's the mix of the peanut butter frosting and jelly that are the stars of this cupcake.






Maple Bacon Cupcakes


After a lot of coaxing, I finally gave in and made these cupcakes. Surprisingly, they were good. I like bacon normally but I don't normally like this kind of cupcake. 

While researching, I read that the secret to making bacon cupcakes is to make sure that you add some of the bacon drippings and it worked! Here's the recipe:


Maple Bacon Cupcakes
Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients1 package butter yellow cake mix
3 eggs1 (5.9 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding
4 tbs softened butter

4 tbs maple syrup
3 tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 - 1/2 cooked bacon (Candied works great too) - Reserve some for garnish
1/4 cup bacon drippings (refrigerated until solidified)
pinch salt


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix yellow cake mix, pudding and brown sugar with hardened bacon drippings and butter until mixed. Add eggs maple syrup and vegetable oil. Gently fold in the bacon. Distribute into cupcake pan and bake for 18 - 21 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Maple Syrup Frosting

Ingredients
2 sticks of softened unsalted butter
4 tbs maple syrup
pinch salt
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Whip butter until light and fluffy. Mix in maple syrup and pinch of salt. Slowly add powdered sugar until it reaches your desired consistency.  Pipe onto cupcakes and garnish with bacon. Enjoy!