In Which I Finally Bake Those Cupcakes...

I've been craving maple-bacon cupcakes lately.  I know - strange, huh?  I'm not sure where I got the idea for it, but I have been really wanting to try it out.  So I thought, and I thought, and I came up with a brilliant plan: I would make them for my dad on Father's Day.  I mean, they have bacon in them.  They are a suitably masculine cupcake, I think.  So I Googled and found recipes for maple cupcakes and maple/bacon buttercream frosting.  I had decided earlier that I would actually write down my grocery list so I wouldn't forget anything.  And then, being me, I promptly decided to ignore that decision.  So, without any list, I headed off to the grocery store. 

I made it through the store with no mishaps, and when I got home I decided to get to it.  After all, I had a deadline.  So I set up my work space and then pondered what music mood I was in.  I wanted something whimsical - we all know how I love whimsy - but not particularly girly.  After all, I was trying to make a "manly" dessert.  After trying a few songs and not feeling that any of them fit my mood I began to be discouraged.  What would be right?  Not Disney - no, as far from "normal" as it is for me to refuse Disney, I couldn't listen to them while baking for my Dad.  Not country - as much as I love it I just didn't feel like it fit the day.  Certainly not The Darkness - this was for my Dad, after all.
I finally settled on music from Glee.  There's a certain whimsy to the songs, but are also easy to sing along to and can keep me motivated to keep going. 

With the music question settled I finally began mixing ingredients.  Flour?  Check.  Baking powder?  Got it.  Salt?  No problem.  Butter?  Just got it.  Brown sugar?  Brown sugar?  Broooowwwnnn....Suuuuugaaarrrr.  Crap.  Alright.  Granulated it is.  What can I add to fix the texture?  Eggs...Another egg?  Nah.  What do I need?  Wait a second.  Why don't I just find a new recipe?  Alright.  Back to the computer. 

Ah ha!  Found a new recipe.  And we're good.  Eggs?  Check.  Vanilla?  Obviously.  Buttermi-Okay.  No buttermilk.  Maybe regular milk instead?  And what else do I have?  Ah ha!  Pancake mix!!  And of course maple syrup. 

Mix it together and voila!!  Maple cupcakes.

And now for the buttercream.  Just a bit of a warning:  this is pretty much a heart attack in frosting form.  And it's insanely sweet.  Just so you know...

This was so simple!  Cream the butter with the sugar.  No worries.  Add the syrup, and the bacon...Is there even any bacon left?  It's possible that I ate it all...Ah!  There are still a few pieces.  Perfect!!  I chopped them up and suddenly realized that I was singing along to "Last Christmas."  My Glee music had played through the normal songs and into the Christmas album.  I hadn't noticed, partly because I love, love, love Christmas music, and partly because the weather had settled into a heavily foggy gloom.  It felt like December.  I paused.  Should I keep it on Christmas music?  Or should I change it?  After a few seconds I decided to actually change it - so I just started the playlist over again.  I'm glad I did: I think they turned out well.

Although, really, I do need to work on my pastry bag technique.

And if you want the recipe, here it is:

Maple Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pancake mix
1/2 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. Stir in buttermilk and maple syrup. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, stirring only until batter is just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Divide evenly into prepared muffin tin.
Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.. Turn cupcakes out on to a wire rack to cool before frosting.
Makes 12 cupcakes.

Maple-Bacon Buttercream
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 slices of bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled

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.