Bacon Cupcake 

adapted Cupcake Project

Yield - 16 cupcakes

1 lb bacon

1 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup cake flour

1 1/2 tea. baking powder

1/2 tea. baking soda

1/2 tea. salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1/3 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

2/3 cup skim milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.  
2. Place the 18-20 strips of bacon in a large pan on the stove.  Fry until the bacon is very crispy.  Let cool on a plate lined with several sheets of paper towel. (This will be for the cupcake and the frosting)
3. In the bowl of a mixer add the sugar, flour, powder, soda, and salt, mix slowly with the paddle attachment.  Add the butter and beat for several minutes until the mixture becomes nice and crumbly.  
4. While the mixer is mixing, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, oil, and vanilla.  Pour this in the mixer and combine.  
5. Slowly add the milk in and turn on high for a few seconds.  
6. Crumble 10 slices of bacon into the batter and fold in.  Using a standard ice cream scoop, place the batter into lined cupcake pans.
7. Bake 14-17 minutes until a toothpick in a center cupcake comes out clean.  Cool on cooling rack.

Garnish - Candied Bacon

6 slices of bacon

12 teaspoons of brown sugar

1. Lay each strip of bacon on a foil covered sheet pan.
2. Spread about 2 teaspoons of brown sugar on each strip of bacon.  Press in slightly.
3. Bacon for 10-15 minutes checking often for doneness.  Rotate once during baking.
4. Remove the bacon and let cool on parchment paper and then break into thirds.

Whipped Vanilla Frosting

Adapted from Can you Stay for Dinner

Yield - enough to generously decorate 17 cupcakes

1 cups whole milk

5 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (you can substitute extract, but you won’t get the little, adorable and delicious vanilla bean seeds)

1 cups (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cups granulated sugar, NOT powdered!

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the milk and flour.  Keep whisking until the mixture becomes smooth and thick resembling pancake batter.
2. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla bean paste, and allow to cool completely.
3. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy - the mixture will stay grainy, it’ll be ok, I was worried at first, too, but it really turns out wonderfully!
4. Add in the cooled flour/milk mixture and beat until the entire frosting is light and fluffy.
5. Crumble in 8-10 slices of bacon into the frosting, mix with a spatula.  Use a spatula to frost the cupcakes and then place a piece of candied bacon on top.