Bacon Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcake
Friday, 21 May 2010
UPDATE: This cupcake is a finalist at the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup! Please vote for it here by July 1st and you’ll be entered to win an OXO prize pack! Thanks for your support.
I got some mixed reactions from my Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes. I think most people either love or hate bacon and chocolate together – there is little in between. I’m in the love camp (obviously) so when I heard about the Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup from Project Cupcake and Scoopalicious, I immediately thought about the possibilities. I could take the Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes and add in another dimension; bacon chocolate ice cream!
I don’t know if anyone sells bacon chocolate ice cream (I may be on to something here…) but either way I wanted to try making it myself. I chose to make chocolate sorbet for a deep, almost bittersweet chocolate flavor without being overwhelming rich when combined with the cake and buttercream frosting. I added some chocolate covered bacon chips to the sorbet and WOW! It was even better than I’d imagined. Picture eating rich chocolate sorbet and suddenly there’s a burst of flavor in your mouth. Sweet, then salty, savory and a little chewy. If you like chunks in your ice cream and you enjoy salty/sweet combos, you will love this!
I made the Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes, cut them in half, and put a generous scoop of bacon chocolate sorbet in between the layers.
Et voilà! The Bacon Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcake was born. The sprinkle of fleur de sel and bacon pieces on top adds a nice balance of salty to the sweet buttercream. Plus the little chunks of chocolate covered bacon provides bursts of salty flavor to break up the rich chocolate of the cake and ice cream.
I’d never thought to make an ice cream cupcake before but it’s an ingenious idea – cake + ice cream + frosting = delicious (what’s not to like?). Doing the bacon/chocolate combo brought it to the next level, as it was a great balance of salty and sweet. Wish me luck in the contest – I hope the voters love the idea of bacon and chocolate!
Bacon Chocolate Sorbet
Adapted from Vanilla Garlic’s chocolate sorbet. The hint of peanut butter makes the sorbet creamy without adding extra flavor.
Makes around 3 cups
- 375ml water
- 37g cocoa powder
- 150g sugar
- 1/2 t vanilla extract
- 22g of peanut butter (organic works best)
- 150g chocolate (60%-70% cacao), broken into pieces
- 2 pinches of salt
- 1 C Chocolate Bacon Chips*
In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together water, cocoa, sugar, vanilla and peanut butter. Continue whisking and bring mixture to a boil, then remove from heat. Add the chocolate and salt and let sit for a minute. Whisk until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture is glossy. Cover and chill in refrigerator for 3-4 hours (or overnight).
Once chilled, stir in chocolate bacon chips and place mixture into an ice cream maker. Follow manufacturer’s directions.
Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes
Adapted from Joy of Baking’s chocolate cupcake recipe
Makes 14-16 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 C Chocolate Bacon 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.
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
- 2 slices of bacon, cooked and 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.
*Save bacon fat from the chocolate bacon chips 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.
No. 1 — May 21st, 2010 at 7:21 am
I love ice cream, but I like the idea of a sorbet with the cupcake!!
No. 2 — May 21st, 2010 at 9:43 am
Bacon chocolate sorbet? Hello, friend! Sounds fantastic! Thanks for entering.
No. 3 — May 21st, 2010 at 10:56 am
It worked really well! The sorbet was really creamy (both the chocolate and peanut butter contribute to that I think) and the chocolate flavor was incredibly deep and rich.
No. 4 — May 21st, 2010 at 10:56 am
Thanks! I’m excited – what a great idea for a contest and the prizes are fantastic!
No. 5 — May 21st, 2010 at 11:05 am
I lovelovelove bacon and chocolate together – I mean, sweet & salty are always made for each other, right! I will definitely have to try this; it looks delicious!
No. 6 — May 21st, 2010 at 4:21 pm
I hope you win the contest! When I saw the title of this post…I couldn’t help but want to make a batch of these. Yum!
No. 7 — May 21st, 2010 at 6:07 pm
I know, they are such a great combo but people are so afraid to try it!
No. 8 — May 21st, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Thanks Monet!
No. 9 — May 22nd, 2010 at 12:55 pm
I love bacon!! where on earth do you find chocolate bacon chips….I am really intrigued!
No. 10 — May 22nd, 2010 at 1:04 pm
I made them – find the recipe here: http://52kitchenadventures.wordpress.com/2010/04/27/chocolate-bacon-chips/
Basically just chopped bacon dipped in chocolate, they taste amazing!
No. 11 — May 29th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
So I cam back to look at these again for inspiration…and I forgot to tell you the first time…I loved how you split these cupcakes. What a great and unique idea!
No. 12 — May 29th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Thanks for the feedback, Monet! I have to admit that it wasn’t really my idea – Stef over at Project Cupcake has a guide to making ice cream cupcakes and I used one of her ideas. You can see it here: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/04/ice-cream-cupcakes-how-to-make-them.html
Before her, I’d never even imagined making an ice cream cupcake! It’s such a brilliant idea.
No. 13 — June 3rd, 2010 at 9:13 pm
I just had Bacon Beer Brittle from Annetes here in Napa and instantly thought of you. I love their Fiery Beer Brittle! Its sweet and savory and spicy all at once. The bacon added a whole other level of savory. You would have looooooved it!
Check this out- https://anettes.securesites.com/shop.html?Category=Beer%20Brittles%20plus…&Product_ID=119
No. 14 — June 16th, 2010 at 7:03 am
[...] 16, 2010 in Contest I’m excited to announce that the Ultimate Bacon Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcake I made last month is a finalist in the Ice Cream Cupcake [...]
No. 15 — June 16th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
good luck
No. 16 — June 16th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
I’ve never tried bacon and chocolate together, but I do love bacon with maple syrup, so it’s not too much of a leap, I think! ;-D
No. 17 — June 17th, 2010 at 9:31 am
Bacon in a dessert? That sounds so interesting! I’m super intrigued, and a little bit disgusted. But I assume it is super delicious. I guess I’ll have to try it to find out!
No. 18 — June 17th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Wow! I’d never thought of having chocolate and bacon before! It sounds… umm… interesting! I’ll have to give it a go sometime – looks delicious though!
No. 19 — June 17th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
my two favorite things chocolate and bacon… i have to try this one! sadly I have to wait until the weekend (diet) and my wife is a vegetarian… is it possible to 1/2 the recipe?
No. 20 — June 17th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Yes, halving it should work fine. Let me know how it turns out!
No. 21 — June 17th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
Somehow, I think I’ve missed out on the chocolate/bacon combination all my life! I’m definitely going to have to try this and see where I stand
No. 22 — June 22nd, 2010 at 11:02 am
[...] You’re looking at a bacon chocolate cupcake cut in half and sandwiched in between a heaping scoop of bacon chocolate sorbet! The third layer is sweet butter cream topped with bacon bits! (Thx 52kitchen) [...]
No. 23 — July 2nd, 2010 at 12:40 pm
[...] Doesn’t that cupcake look delicious? Seriously. There’s even ice cream in the middle. Thanks to Daniel for sending it to me, via 52 Kitchen Adventures. [...]
No. 24 — July 2nd, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Oh my goodness, these are heaven. Chocolate and bacon, wow! Thanks for sharing! I like the idea of salty and sweet.
No. 25 — July 31st, 2010 at 2:15 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sheila, Sheila. Sheila said: @damana omfg – i want these ones
http://tinyurl.com/2bjuhm5 [...]
No. 26 — June 10th, 2011 at 11:02 am
[...] perfect timing for the annual ice cream cupcake contest at Cupcake Project. Last year I entered my bacon chocolate ice cream cupcake, which was a [...]