JUMPING ON THE BACON BANDWAGON

I'm sure you've noticed lately if you look around the baking websites that BACON has become a big trend when it comes to sweets, which sounds strange because there's hardly any item you can eat that is any saltier! However, we all know how wonderful the salty/sweet combination can be, so it should come as no surprise that this is gaining in popularity!

I decided to test the waters and see if I could create something with bacon that was simple and delicious.  Because I was skeptical, I decided to take the easy way out and use a cake mix and canned icing...I didn't want to waste all my good ingredients if this was going to be a total flop! So, here's what I started with...

After mixing up the cupcake batter and putting it into the oven to bake, I then took to working on the bacon.  Something about the smell of bacon cooking and cupcakes baking together seemed so bizarre to me!

Finally, the cupcakes were finished and set out to cool.  Make sure you allow plenty of time for the bacon to cool completely as well, you don't want it melting your icing!

Finally, it was time to add a little flavor to my icing.  I decided to add maple flavoring to my canned cream cheese icing.  I wasn't sure how using actual maple syrup would work, so I decided to play it safe.  I used about 1/4 tsp for the extra large can of icing.  It gave the icing a nice light brown color and a maple flavor that wasn't too overpowering.

And for the final result...

The bacon combined with the maple cream cheese frosting makes for a yummy, sugary, salty combination that was actually really good! I'd recommend everyone give it a try at least once...as long as you have a salad afterwards! :)