Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

Chocolate? Check. Caramel? Check. Bacon? Check. Delicious? Definitely.

I have had these cupcakes bookmarked FOREVER. Literally, they’ve had a star in my Google Reader for a very long time. I even included them in my Top Ten list back in June of 2009. It took me forever to make them and I’m very glad I did.

I made these for our friend’s annual Pirate Party. The bacon provided a salty and smokiness to the cupcakes that balanced the sweetness nicely. And this caramel frosting is my new favorite. It’s awesome. Hubby thoroughly enjoyed licking the beaters and bowl after I made the frosting.

This chocolate cupcakes recipe wasn’t my favorite. I overfilled mine a little bit and the top of the cupcakes looked almost like meringue after they baked. It was also a little flaky and crispy similar to a meringue. I think not overfilling these would have helped that issue, but if I made these again, I might just use a different chocolate cupcake recipe and add bacon to it.

One Year Ago: Pretzel Chocolate Chip Cookies and Overnight French Toast
Two Years Ago: Raspberry Meringue Cookies

Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes with Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Yield: 24

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes
200 grams of dark chocolate, chopped
3 sticks butter (340 g), at room temperature
2-1/4 cups sugar (250 g)
8 eggs
1-1/4 cup flour (165 g)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened (23 g)
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 pound uncooked bacon

For the Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream
1 1/4 cups sugar (250 g), separated in half (1/2 c + 2 Tbsp per half, or 125 g)
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 large egg whites or enough powdered egg whites and water
Pinch of salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

For the Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Cook the bacon until crispy. Chop the bacon into very small pieces and set aside.

Place chocolate and butter in a metal bowl and put the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until everything is melted.

Remove the bowl from the water and stir in the sugar. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; set aside.

When the chocolate mixture is cool, beat with an electric mixer or your stand mixer for 3 minutes. The mixture will get just a tad thicker.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds between each one. After two or three eggs, the mixture will start to get thicker and shinier.

Once all the eggs are incorporated, add the dry ingredients. Mix on a low speed until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

Add the bacon and fold it in with a spatula.

Scoop the batter into cupcake cups until 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing to a cooling rack.

For the Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Make the caramel
Place half of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear. Let the syrup come to a boil, washing down the sides with a wet pastry brush if necessary to prevent crystals from forming.
Boil the syrup, swirling occasionally, until it changes color to dark amber (~340° on a candy thermometer).

Immediately remove from the heat (the sugar will burn if it gets to 350°). Carefully add the cream, standing away from the pan since the mixture will bubble a lot. Stir the caramel until smooth and transfer to a heatproof bowl to cool. (I actually put the bowl into an ice bath, stirring occasionally, to help it cool faster.)

While the caramel cools, place the rest of the sugar, the egg whites and the salt in the metal bowl of a standing mixer. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water. Whisk continuously until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture reaches 140° Fahrenheit.

Fit the standing mixer with the whisk attachment and put the bowl in place. Beat the mixture on medium-high speed until it is stiff.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and begin adding the butter, a tablespoon or two at a time. Beat until the butter is no longer visible, and add in more, until it is all added. At some point it will look curdled and broken, but just keep on beating and beating until it gets smooth again. This could take a few minutes.

Switch to the paddle attachment and add the caramel and vanilla extract. Beat on low until combined and smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.

At this point you can frost your cupcakes, or you can refrigerate the buttercream for up to 2 days. When you want to use it, take it out of the fridge and bring to room temperature, about an hour. Rebeat in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Recipe as seen on Scrumptious Photography, cupcakes originally from Chockylit, frosting originally from Martha Stewart

Cupcakes, Dessert

19 comments »

27 Responses to “Chocolate Goat Cheese Mousse Tart”

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1

Eva @ Eva Bakes — June 7, 2013 at 8:27 am
What an awesome way to feature goat cheese in a dessert! I never thought of turning it into a chocolate mousse – sounds like I need to try this soon. 🙂
- beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:51 am
  
  You definitely should. I know goat cheese isn’t for everyone, but we really enjoyed the subtle flavor in the mousse.
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2

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic — June 7, 2013 at 8:42 am
Jen, I love everything about this tart – from the chocolate crust to the mousse and the pretty strawberries on top. Yum! Enjoy your birthday month 🙂
- beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 8:52 am
  
  Thanks for humoring me on the whole birthday month thing 🙂
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3

Krystal R. — June 7, 2013 at 1:24 pm
Ohhh lalalalala, I totally dig this dessert even more because it has goat cheese and strawberries…some of my fave foods!! Happy Birthday month…you better party and eat like it’s your birthday!!
- beantownbaker — June 7th, 2013 @ 1:52 pm
  
  Oh I’m definitely going to party like it’s my birthday! All month long 🙂
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4

Shannon — June 10, 2013 at 10:24 am
oh yes to the goat cheese in this tart! fabulous. happy birthday month 🙂 you might need to make this a few more times to celebrate?!
- beantownbaker — June 10th, 2013 @ 12:09 pm
  
  Oh I have been baking plenty of deliciousness this month to celebrate 🙂 You know how hard it is to repeat recipes…
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5

Karen — June 10, 2013 at 11:50 pm
Love the idea of incorporating goat cheese in a dessert- I have never seen it down with chocolate before. I will definitely be trying this soon as I have some goat cheese in my fridge waiting to be used 🙂
- beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 7:20 am
  
  Oh yea, goat cheese and chocolate go really well together.
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6

Carolyn — June 11, 2013 at 8:26 am
Oh my, the use of goat cheese in this is phenomenal! I would love to try it!
- beantownbaker — June 11th, 2013 @ 8:46 am
  
  Definitely do! And you could top it with any fruit you like. I think raspberries would be good too.
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7

Consuelo @ Honey & Figs — June 11, 2013 at 9:39 am

Chocolate must work great with goat cheese since they’re both utterly delicious!! This recipe looks magnificent omg I think I would be able to eat the whole tart by myself *-*
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8

Justine @ Cooking and Beer — June 11, 2013 at 1:17 pm

Goat cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to use in desserts, and your tart looks soooo delicious! Thanks for sharing =) Definitely a must try this summer.
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9

Nutmeg Nanny — June 12, 2013 at 10:33 am

Oh wow this is gorgeous! I love this recipe, I bet it tastes heavenly!
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10

Beth — June 25, 2013 at 5:13 pm
I just finished making my second one for this week…we love it…it is so smooth and rich and well D E L I C I O U S!!!…my grandson requested the second one but truth be told I was gonna make it anyway…the bittersweet chocolate and the cocoa in the crust are what make it….if anyone out there hasn’t tried it do so you will be in love….
- beantownbaker — June 25th, 2013 @ 5:38 pm
  
  So glad you’ve enjoyed it! I definitely need to make this again. I have already made it with raspberries but want to try blackberries next.
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11

Beth — July 1, 2013 at 6:10 am
you wont believe it but I made this AGAIN yesterday…I did a play on bananas foster on the top…it was a hit with my company…and good recipes for sweets for the 4th?..lol….
- beantownbaker — July 3rd, 2013 @ 5:02 pm
  
  Wow – bananas foster on top. I would never have thought of that! I am making this tart and this strawberry shortcake for the 4th.
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12

Shashi @ http://runninsrilankan.com — July 15, 2013 at 11:48 am

So sinful and delicious looking 🙂
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13

NaturesComplete — July 17, 2013 at 1:27 pm

Holy yumminess. I never thought of putting goat cheese in. My mouth is watering at the thought. Strawberries are my absolute favorite berry of all time. I will have to for sure try this recipe, Got it saved to my personal file. thank you.
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14

Laura — August 3, 2013 at 12:07 am
I love chocolate mousse and I love goat cheese, so clearly I need to make this!

Also, there is strawberry picking (not sure it is organic though if that matters) up here near Oxford. I can get you the info for next year if driving up here is not a problem (I imagine it depends on what side of Cinci you live 🙂 ).
- beantownbaker — August 4th, 2013 @ 6:44 pm
  
  I definitely don’t mind driving for freshly picked strawberries!!
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15

Kelly Senyei | Just a Taste — September 20, 2013 at 6:17 am
I love absolutely EVERYTHING about this recipe! It’s hard to beat mixing tangy goat cheese with chocolate and berries. What a unique recipe!
- beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:11 pm
  
  It tastes as good as it sounds! I hope you try it.
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16

Lauren — June 1, 2015 at 5:49 pm

WOW! What a wonderful recipe! Definitely one of my new favorites! Happy birthday month!
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April — March 1, 2016 at 5:29 pm

Does this go in the fridge covered or uncovered and how long does it last? Thanks!