Bacon cupcakes?
By now, you’ve most likely noticed the recent pervasiveness of bacon in grocery stores, in restaurants, and especially on Pinterest… Bacon chocolate bars, bacon vodka, bacon cinnamon rolls, bacon toothpaste?? Scarily enough, all of these items are very much real entities.
And bacon cupcakes: rich chocolate cupcakes with a smokey flavor sure to please any bacon lover in your life.
While a bacon cupcakes recipe might seem out of place on this blog, I wanted to offer a healthier alternative for those interested in trying out the bacon trend without the extra calories and saturated fat… or for those who love Charlotte’s Web and Babe as much as I do! The thing is, you don’t actually need any real bacon to achieve that textbook “bacon” flavor; all you need is a secret ingredient found at pretty much any mainstream grocery store: liquid smoke.
I made a glaze for the cupcakes by taking my Reeses Fudge Frosting and thinning it out with a little extra almond milk. Then I sprinkled a few bacon bits on top (Frontier Bac’uns, Betty Crocker, and McCormick bacon bits all happen to be bacon-free) and they were good to go!
Bacon Cupcakes
- 1 cup spelt or all-purpose flour (135g) (Arrowhead Mills gf also works.)
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder (30g) (not Dutch)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup xylitol or sugar of choice (180g)
- 1/2 cup mayo-style spread, such as Vegenaise (For a mayo-free version, click here.) (110g)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup water (180g)
- 1 tsp liquid smoke
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Place 12 liners inside a muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients and sift very well. In a separate bowl, combine remaining four ingredients and whisk until the mayo spread is completely smooth. Pour wet into dry, and stir until just combined. Immediately divide among the liners—it won’t seem like a lot of filling, but these cupcakes rise a lot! Bake 21 minutes, remove from the oven, then let sit 15 more minutes before removing from the pan. These taste much more fudgey and rich the next day, so bake the day before eating if you can. Store in the refrigerator for optimum freshness. (The recipe for the healthy chocolate frosting shown in the photos is linked under the second picture in this post.)
I can vouch for the recipe working with homemade cashew mayo, Vegenaise (low-fat or regular), or Earth Balance Mindful Mayo. Although I can’t vouch for every single homemade mayo spread out there, the recipe should work as long as your mayo spread includes vinegar or lemon juice and a fat source such as oil or cashews. If you are using a homemade mayo, I recommend omitting any onion powder and mustard called for in your recipe.
Save a horse, ride a cowboy.
Save a pig, eat a cupcake :).
HA! I saw this recipe originally in my feedly and I glanced over it because of course I don’t eat bacon! Then, I saw again and thought WHAAAAT. I will have to try these on my bacon loving boyfriend!
I’ve never heard of bacon cupcakes before! Interesting. I have noticed that Pinterest seems to be spilling over with bacon food lately. xD
Liquid Smoke sounds amazing!
When I saw the title of this post in my inbox, I nearly laughed–how could this POSSIBLY be healthy, much less vegan? But I guess there are lots of ways to makes things taste meaty (or smokey) without meat these days.
Also: You MUST do pumpkin pancakes. Soon. Fall is just around the bend, and we must prepare ourselves. I will be your biggest fan every and I will personally bring cookie dough dip and that mind-boggling cashew-based Oreo pie you have to the next potluck and/or dinner I am invited to. *puppy eyes* Please?
It has been on my to-do list for a long time! 🙂
Hi Katie,
I love your blog! Do you by any chance have a chocolate pudding recipe? The one we like to make has sooo much sugar. Thank you!
I have this one:
https://lett-trim.today/2012/02/06/chocolate-chocolate-chocolate-mousse/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> I’m also working on a version with cornstarch or arrowroot, but it’s proving to be a bit tricky.
I would like to find a cornstarch-type recipe so that I don’t have to get the food processor out for my pudding, but I suppose until I find one your fantastically amazing chocolate mousse will just *have* to suffice. 🙂
Hi,
I love your blog and have tried many of your recipes. I have to be honest though and let you know it’s off putting to see bacon in the title of this recipe. Maybe this recipe could be called smoky flavoured chocolate cupcakes . Just like you said, we don’t need pig flesh to achieve the version of the dead thing. Happy long labour day weekend!
ehhh I might disagree… I think it depends where you are coming from. Personally I was very excited to see bacon cupcakes in my inbox… and that may bring a new ‘type’ of people to her blog who wouldn’t come regularly…. that said I can so see where you are coming from as far as people who don’t like bacon or are vegetarian or vegan 🙂
I looovvvee bacon! ;D haha
that’s cool. i hear ya and raise you a veggie bacon sandwich. 🙂 peace out. happy long labour day weekend!
Thanks for your honesty… I completely understand what you mean, and I guess it’s just not a black-and-white issue and there are good points to be made on both sides. I decided to call them “bacon cupcakes” so that people who would otherwise try a different bacon cupcake recipe might give this recipe a chance instead and see that they’re really just as good when made without any actual bacon in there :).
thanks for replying katie. i love the personal touch… and i hear what you are saying. keep up the awesome work and i guess you can’t please all of the people all of the time, right? but you come pretty darn close. 🙂 anyhoo, i voted for you btw. xo hope you win!!
Aw thanks Lul :).
And seriously, it really means a lot to me when people take the time to leave honest feedback, even if it’s negative. It really helps me to learn for the future.
Ahh i will take all the saturated fat and have real bacon! I need it for my health. I used to use tempeh bacon when i was a vegan, but after that horrid time, i started eating real bacon again and it is awesome! Trader joes has really good stuff if u ever want to try it. No nitrates and uncured. I totally get the bacon obsession since i am now part of the club haha
ohhh baaaccon! ;D
do you think it would work okay/be good with added bacon bits in the cupcake itself? Or would that just not do anything?
🙂 thx
Yes, definitely that would work!
I’m amazed at the controversy here! I was scrolling through the comments to find opinions on the actual recipe, has anyone made these? (Katie you do a great job at peace keeping – as well as great recipes!) I don’t see the harm in calling these ‘bacon’ cupcakes but I am surprised how many meat-eaters here find the need to try to impose their views on what is obviously a vegan blog.
Hi Colleen,
I don’t think anyone has actually made them yet… maybe check back in a few days to see if someone reports back (and read the bottom comments first). But the recipe is similar to this one https://lett-trim.today/2013/01/28/chocolate-mayonnaise-cupcakes/%3C/a%3E%3Cbr /> So maybe some of the reviews on that post could be relevant.
Y’know, I tried a bacon dessert, and I wasn’t impressed. It reminded me of breakfast. If I wanted that flavor, I’d rather have pancakes with maple syrup and thick strips of bacon perfectly cooked on the side (can we tell I’m not a vegetarian LOL). I don’t need it all fancified up as something else. Let the bacon be what it is.
….your point
So decadent and delicious! I love the sweet-salty combination in these cupcakes. Great recipe, Katie!