The Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes

After doing research, trying out some new things, and using your ideas, I’ve come up with the Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes:

First, I cooked some bacon and reserved the fat drippings, which were used to replace half the butter in the chocolate cupcake batter. The bacon was then diced and dipped into milk chocolate, creating savory/sweet chocolate bacon chips to put inside the cupcakes. And last but not least, fleur de sel was sprinkled on top of the batter just before it was popped in the oven. The result? The perfect balance of sweet, salty and savory in one cupcake.

To top it all off, I made a rich chocolate buttercream and sprinkled fleur de sel and some chopped bacon on top. These are seriously to die for.

The Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes:

Adapted from Joy of Baking’s chocolate cupcake recipe

Makes around 15-16 cupcakes

Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes

  • 1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 C boiling water
  • 1 1/3 C flour
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 1/4 C rendered bacon fat, at room temperature
  • 1/4 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 C sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 t vanilla extract
  • 1/2 C Bacon Chocolate Chips*
  • Fleur de sel

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease cupcake pan or line with paper liners.

Combine boiling water and cocoa in a heatproof bowl. Whisk until smooth and let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream bacon fat, butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly in between. Mix in vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Add room temperature cocoa mixture and mix until smooth. Stir in chocolate bacon chips.

Fill each cupcake 2/3 full and sprinkle the top with a pinch of fleur de sel. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until cupcakes are springy to touch and a toothpick insert in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before applying frosting.

*Save bacon fat from this recipe to use in the cupcake batter. Also, the chocolate bacon chips can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Buttercream

  • 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
  • 2/3 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/3 C powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 1/2 t vanilla extract
  • Fleur de sel
  • 1 slice of bacon, chopped

Set up a double boiler: heat water in a saucepan over high heat. Chop chocolate and place into a heatproof bowl set on top of the saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat on high speed until frosting is smooth and glossy. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkle the top of each with a pinch of fleur de sel and chopped bacon pieces.

44 Comments on The Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes

  1. TaleTellerin
    April 28, 2010 at 1:30 pm (14 years ago)

    I’m somewhat undecided. It sounds great but the bacon on top of the chocolate cream… I think I need to do something culinary growing before I dare to tackle these…

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      April 28, 2010 at 4:22 pm (14 years ago)

      You can try it without the bacon pieces if that’s too much. But the salty/sweet/savory combo is pretty awesome. It sounds weird at first, but actually it’s good! I swear 🙂

  2. Amanda
    April 28, 2010 at 2:11 pm (14 years ago)

    The picture is just lovely!! Well done!

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      April 28, 2010 at 4:22 pm (14 years ago)

      Thanks Amanda!

  3. Cookin' Canuck
    April 28, 2010 at 6:41 pm (14 years ago)

    As odd as it sounds at first read, I’ll bet these are incredible. Salty and sweet – love it!

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      April 28, 2010 at 7:37 pm (14 years ago)

      Definitely – gotta love sweet & salty together!

  4. Eva
    April 29, 2010 at 12:40 am (14 years ago)

    I might just have to try these because for the live of me I can’t imagine how that’d taste XD

    Reply
  5. Jessica
    April 29, 2010 at 1:08 am (14 years ago)

    Bacon and chocolate! I’m afraid to try it out because I know I’ll fall in love with it and won’t be able to live without it!

    Reply
  6. Carol Egbert
    April 29, 2010 at 5:13 am (14 years ago)

    MMMMMMM, does the bacon make it breakfast?

    Reply
  7. Adrianna from A Cozy Kitchen
    April 29, 2010 at 11:35 am (14 years ago)

    These sound freakin’ amazing! I love when things are salty, savory and sweet all at the same time. Beautiful looking cupcakes!

    Reply
  8. Linn @ Swedish home cooking
    April 29, 2010 at 11:40 pm (14 years ago)

    This recipe is crazy. But I believe you that it tastes amazing. Keep on going with your experiments, it is really fun to follow!

    Reply
  9. Jae
    April 30, 2010 at 6:10 am (14 years ago)

    oh my gosh.
    that looks delicious 🙂

    Reply
  10. Jacquelyn
    April 30, 2010 at 8:25 am (14 years ago)

    I bought a Bacon Dark Chocolate bar from Whole Foods this week and had my first taste of the bacon and chocolate craze. Loved it!!! I first heard about it when Claire Robinson of 5 Ingredient Fix on Food Network made churros and dipped them in bacon chocolate sauce. I’m going to make these! I never thought about the bacon drippings in the batter. Yum! Jacquelyn of http://www.cooktolove.wordpress.com

    Reply
  11. Kelly
    April 30, 2010 at 9:14 am (14 years ago)

    Yum. You totally deserve the top 9 for this. I love your tireless effort to invent bacon chips to get here. So yummy! This sounds absolutely fantastic! I also love banana and bacon so I might do something similar, but slightly different – like a banana base with bacon bits & the chocolate frosting and more bacon. Nice job. Totally excited about this and adding to my google reader.

    Reply
  12. SipSoyday
    May 29, 2010 at 8:13 am (14 years ago)

    Just want to say what a great blog you got here!
    I’ve been around for quite a lot of time, but finally decided to show my appreciation of your work!

    Thumbs up, and keep it going!

    Cheers
    Christian, iwspo.net

    Reply
  13. SipSoyday
    June 8, 2010 at 11:53 am (14 years ago)

    Just want to say what a great blog you got here!
    I’ve been around for quite a lot of time, but finally decided to show my appreciation of your work!

    Thumbs up, and keep it going!

    Cheers
    Christian,Earn Free Vouchers / Cash

    Reply
  14. belanjadarirumah.com
    June 29, 2010 at 9:36 am (14 years ago)

    Outdoor cooking contribute to the success of your evening barbecue in the yard, if you want to admit they are so important or not. Even if you only have a plan and a barbecue in your garden, it still makes sense to choose.

    An outdoor kitchen is like a blanket, with one fundamental difference, which lasted the best and worst of the kind, quality and sustainability is not a matter of opinion. All materials purchased should be robust, easy to use and cheap enough not to exceed the budget.

    Reply
  15. Canary
    February 13, 2011 at 10:05 am (13 years ago)

    I just made these for my boyfriend for Valentines Day! Haven’t tasted them yet but they look amazing :] !

    unfortunately i did not have the Fleur de Sel, but I’m sure it will be fine without it

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      February 13, 2011 at 10:08 am (13 years ago)

      Canary – that’s awesome! Hope you both enjoy them. Happy Valentine’s Day!

  16. Veronica
    March 8, 2011 at 8:32 pm (13 years ago)

    I want to make these for a bridal shower, I know the bride-to-be will love them, but I am curious, do I need to sprinkle the fleur de sel right before serving or would it be ok if I did this hours before hand?

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      March 8, 2011 at 9:20 pm (13 years ago)

      Veronica – I would put it on right before so it doesn’t sink in. Let me know how they turn out. Enjoy!

  17. Danny
    April 7, 2011 at 3:15 am (13 years ago)

    What type of bacon did you use for these? I am assuming that since you use unsalted butter you don’t buy low sodium bacon? Should I use a thick cut? Also, does it matter if I bake the bacon or pan fry? Do you cook the bacon till it is crispy crispy or just slightly crispy?

    I was going to make these and do a test run prior to the actual serve date but i’ve run out of time.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      April 7, 2011 at 3:09 pm (13 years ago)

      Danny – I used regular old bacon – definitely not low sodium, and it wasn’t labeled as thick cut. Sorry I can’t be super specific, as I buy my bacon at the meat counter and as such it’s not really packaged. I baked mine until it was cooked through and just slightly crispy. I believe I also patted it down with a paper towel to remove excess grease. Good luck!

  18. Danny
    April 7, 2011 at 8:46 pm (13 years ago)

    Thanks you’re a doll! My bf’s parents are coming over for brunch for the first time and I really want to impress them! Hope this does the trick!!!!

    Reply
  19. Veronica
    April 12, 2011 at 7:00 am (13 years ago)

    I made these this weekend. I found them to be a little too dense but the flavor was pretty good.

    Maybe I overworked the batter?
    Also the frosting hardened a little more than I would have liked. I prefer my frostings to be a little creamier than this one, although the fact that it wasn’t allowed me to make some cute swirlies.

    Reply
  20. recette de barbecue
    May 31, 2011 at 3:12 am (13 years ago)

    Why does the photos not appear on Safari Browser ? i can’t see anything.. 🙁

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      May 31, 2011 at 10:05 pm (13 years ago)

      @recette de barbecue – can you see them now? I can see the photos in both Safari and Firefox. Let me know if it continue to be an issue.

  21. Christine
    June 11, 2011 at 8:15 am (13 years ago)

    Mmmm mmm delicious!

    I live in Korea, where I cook out of the world’s smallest toaster oven and rarely find American baking products (like bacon), so I’ve kind of given up on baking recently… sad sad. But then I saw this recipe, the seemingly perfect combination of the two loves of my life (chocolate and bacon), and went on a vendetta to make them. Difficult search, totally worth it! Keep up the creativity, you’re awesome!

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      June 11, 2011 at 8:21 am (13 years ago)

      @Christine – That’s great! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂

  22. Candace
    July 28, 2011 at 9:07 pm (13 years ago)

    Is there another substitution for the Fleur de sel? I really want to make these, but can I use regular salt? Or sea salt?

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      July 28, 2011 at 9:46 pm (13 years ago)

      @Candace – You can try sea salt. I think regular table salt would be too harsh.

  23. Sofia
    November 11, 2011 at 9:24 am (12 years ago)

    I tried these cupcakes for a grow up school treat, any most people enjoyed them very much.

    The one issue I had was the chocolate covered bacon pieces all fell to the bottom of the cupcake. I had chpped them and dipped in chocolate. They were neither too large or too small. I drained the chips and placed in the refrigerator.

    Reply
  24. Mike T.
    February 22, 2012 at 9:18 am (12 years ago)

    The picture of this yummy sounding goodness does not come up? Is the link broken?

    Reply
    • Stephanie
      February 22, 2012 at 7:59 pm (12 years ago)

      @Mike T. – thanks for letting me know. I fixed the photo so you should be able to see it now.

  25. deebee
    November 5, 2012 at 6:20 pm (11 years ago)

    cupcake was extremely dense, and the bacon fat was over powering. left a gross after taste.
    the frosting was good but too sweet.
    it was kinda time consuming, and a waste since they didn’t come out as i hoped. kinda gross. i love bacon, and i love chocolate and together bacon and chocolate are amazing.. but this recipe was a flop; i followed it to a T.

    Reply
  26. AStark
    August 4, 2014 at 3:30 pm (10 years ago)

    I Loved it. The only thing is the Frosting is WAY to rich!

    Reply
  27. Hanna @ Filipino Recipes
    December 1, 2016 at 8:33 am (7 years ago)

    OMG! this recipe is making my mouth water. Love your idea of adding a bacon on a chocolate cupcake. Will definitely cook this one this Sunday! Thank you!
    Hanna @ Filipino Recipes recently posted Rocky Road Icebox Cake Recipe

    Reply

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