The perfect cupcake for “You’re Bacon Me Crazy” movie night!
The movie adaptation of my Scholastic book, You’re Bacon Me Crazy, will debut on the Hallmark Channel on April 4th! I’m thrilled to watch the movie along with foodie friends, readers, and family.
To celebrate the upcoming movie, I’ll be posting bacon-themed recipes from now until April. Give any or all of these recipes a try for your “Bacon Me Crazy” movie marathon on April 4th!
This cupcake recipe combines the sweetness of maple syrup with the salty crunchiness of bacon. Tessa and her Aunt Cleo made cupcakes similar to these in the book.
Baking Supplies You’ll Need
One non-stick cupcake pan and cupcake liners
A spatula and mixing spoons
A hand-held mixer
Oven mitts
Three large mixing bowls
A ziploc bag or piping bag for icing
A plate or skillet for cooking bacon
Ingredients for the Cupcakes
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
Directions for Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Using the hand-held mixer, cream the butter, eggs, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
Stir in the vanilla extract and the maple syrup.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda.
Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Blend with the mixer until the batter is smooth and creamy.
Spoon your batter into the cupcake pan, filling each liner about 3/4 full.
Bake the cupcakes for 15-18 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.
A toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake should come out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow to cool completely before icing.
Ingredients for the Icing
3 cups powdered sugar
Approx. 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (you’ll pour this into sugar slowly until your icing reaches the desired thickness)
Maple syrup for drizzling over icing
3-4 pieces cooked bacon, crumbled into bits and shaped into mini hearts (instructions below)
Directions for icing
First, prepare your bacon. I like bacon crispy and prefer to cook it in my microwave. I place the bacon between layers of paper towels to soak up some of the bacon grease, which makes the bacon crispier. I cook the bacon for 4-5 minutes in my microwave.
BUT…if you want to use some bacon grease in your icing for a little extra bacon flavor, use a skillet instead. Save the grease and then add a drizzle of it to your icing when you mix it.
If you want to keep the recipe super simple, cook the bacon in strips. Once it’s cooked and cooled, crumble it in to bits.
Making the mini-heart-shaped bacon for cupcake toppings is a little more challenging and takes some patience! First, using a cutting board and a knife, slice one piece of bacon into several thin strips (about 1/2 inch wide and four inches long).
Shape the thin bacon strips into little heart shapes.
Cook them for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. If the shapes have changed a little bit while the bacon cooked, you can reshape them while they’re still warm and flexible. Once the bacon cools, it will be hard and won’t bend.
When your bacon is cooked and ready, set it aside.
Pour 3 cups powdered sugar into a large mixing bowl. Pour heavy cream into the powdered sugar a little bit at a time. Beat the sugar and cream together with the hand-held mixer. Keep adding heavy cream, bit by bit, until the icing is thick and fluffy.
Now you’re ready to decorate your cupcakes!
Decorating Your Cupcakes
With a spoon, scoop your icing into a ziploc or piping bag. Seal the end of the bag. Cut a small corner of the bag so that you can pipe the icing out of it.
Once you’ve covered your cupcakes in icing, it’s time to decorate them.
Add mini bacon hearts or bacon bits to the top of your cupcakes. As a final touch, drizzle a little maple syrup over top.
This recipe makes a dozen cupcakes.
Enjoy these cupcakes on April 4th, while you’re watching Cleo and Gabe do battle with their food trucks and their hearts in the “You’re Bacon Me Crazy” Hallmark movie.
