Easy Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes Recipe

"My son and I are not huge cake fans, but we couldn't quit eating these!" recipe developer Stephanie Rapone of Pantry to Plate told us. Her mad genius creation — devil's food cake, maple cream cheese frosting, and crispy bacon — is irresistible and maybe even addictive for the bacon aficionado. Like many of Rapone's recipes, she looks for — and finds — shortcuts for the busy parent that cut down on time and labor. Not only are these bacon cupcakes devilishly delish, they're also incredibly easy to make. What's the secret? Boxed cake mix and canned frosting! But Rapone works her culinary magic on both premade ingredients with a couple of seriously clever substitutions that you can do yourself with any cake mix to make the cake more tender, moist, and bakery shop-worthy. We have to be honest and say Rapone's rich bacon cupcakes will sway you from holding fast to a diet since it's pretty impossible to eat just one. But if you want to splurge and get that happy-mouth feeling, this is the recipe to try!

"The store-bought shortcuts make this recipe manageable," Rapone told us. "Making all the elements completely from scratch would be crazy." She prefers devil's food cake mix, but any chocolate cake mix will do. (We're partial to double- or triple-chocolate. The fudgier and darker the chocolate the better!) Also in the ingredients list is canned cream cheese frosting, which has a tartness that usually pairs well with red velvet cake. The usual cake mix's add-ins are oil, water, and 3 eggs. Here's where Rapone changes things up. She substitutes milk for the water, a whole stick of butter (which would make Julia Child happily chortle) for the oil, and 4 eggs instead of 3. You'll probably need to pick up a bottle of the maple extract for the frosting, but everything else you'll likely already have, like brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

If you've ever baked a cake or a batch of cupcakes before, you'll see that Rapone's recipe starts out the same way. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place cupcake liners into two standard-size cupcake pans (the recipe makes 18 to 24 cupcakes). Melt 1 stick of butter in the microwave in 20-second increments. Combine the devil's food or chocolate cake mix in a large mixing bowl with the melted butter, 1¼ cups of whole milk, and 4 eggs. Using a hand mixer, mix the batter until just combined. Be careful to not overmix, which can result in an overly chewy cupcake. Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake liners, and bake the cupcakes 13 to 18 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the center cupcake. 

While the cupcakes are baking, you can make the frosting. (If you've washed up the mixing bowl you used for the cupcakes, you won't need a second bowl.) Combine the cream cheese frosting, 1 teaspoon of maple extract, and a ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt in a mixing bowl. According to Delish, that little bit of salt will cut the sweetness of the frosting and bump up the flavor of the maple extract. Blend the frosting, extract, and salt with a hand mixer, until it's smooth and creamy. If you're planning on finishing the cupcakes in the next two hours, leave the frosting at room temperature. Otherwise, put the bowl of frosting into the refrigerator for later use. 

When the cupcakes are done, take them out of the oven to rest 20 to 30 minutes, and increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. It's time to make the candied bacon! Rapone uses a full pound of regular cut bacon (not thick cut). Cut the bacon into ½-inch pieces, and transfer them to a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the bacon with a ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and toss to evenly coat. Sprinkle ½ cup of lightly packed brown sugar over the bacon, and toss the bacon again. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil, then lay a piece of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on top of the foil. Arrange the bacon on the parchment paper, pressing the brown sugar onto the bacon pieces as you lay them out. Bake the bacon for 10 minutes, then stir the pieces, and bake an additional 8 to 10 minutes, until the bacon is crispy. Watch the bacon carefully at this point so the brown sugar doesn't burn.

Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the candied bacon pieces from the first pan to the second, leaving behind as much bacon fat as possible. Let the bacon rest for 10 to 15 minutes, and then use your hands to break up the candied bacon into smaller pieces. When the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost each one with the maple cream cheese frosting and top the cupcakes with the candied bacon bits. At this point, you've managed to stop yourself from chowing down on one of these beauties, but now's the time to indulge yourself!