The Maple-Bacon Cupcake

Photo: Molly Rundberg

 

Makes 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For cupcakes:

1/2 pound thick cut bacon (about 8 to 10 strips)
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. maple extract (found in the spice aisle)
Maple syrup, to garnish

For cinnamon buttercream:

16 Tbsp. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar (a little less than 1 pound)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. milk
1 to 2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Directions
Active time: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Preheat oven to 375°. Lay bacon on a sheet pan and bake for 8 to15 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Set aside 2 pieces of the bacon for topping, and dice the rest.

Lower heat to 350°. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

In a medium bowl combine flours, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the eggs to butter mixture 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly add the dry ingredients and milk in 2 alternating batches, mixing well between additions. Then add vanilla and maple extracts and reserved diced bacon, and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Scoop batter into prepared cupcake pan, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make cinnamon buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium speed until smooth. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined. Slowly sprinkle in the cinnamon, adding more to taste.

When cupcakes are completely cool, frost with the buttercream. Chop the reserved slices of bacon into 24 pieces and garnish each cupcake with a piece. Drizzle maple syrup over the top and serve. If not eating immediately, refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Recipe is from Oprah- find it here

Make Sustainable Seafood Easy

Consider the affect your food has on our oceans: choose hook and line caught fish (trolling) over trawling (destructive nets dragged along the bottom).

This video highlights some common places to buy seafood and what types you should look out for.

For your convenience try the mobile apps developed by Monterey Bay Aquarium

 

and the Vancouver Aquarium.

Monterey bay also provides location specific seafood guides here.

You can also check out Canada’s seafood guide.

Now there’s little excuse for you not to help our oceans by eating sustainably.

Made potpourri

A super easy and cheap way to get into the holiday spirit!

Go to your grocery or bulk food store and get the following:

Whole all spice, whole cinnamon sticks, bayleaves, and whole cloves.

Try a cup of each all spice and cloves, and about 10 cinnamon sticks and 10 bay leaves.

Break the cinnamon sticks in half or thirds, try scoring a line where you want to break it then break with your hands, if not try using a saw or a hammer to break it up into smaller pieces.

Toss together and Store in a tupperware until ready to use, or put in a decorative bowl for immediate aromatherapy.

Try out different spices if you can find them, I can’t find the original website that I got the idea from but this one is close.

Whole nutmeg, star anise or whole cardamom pods would be good additions.