These maple bacon cupcakes are full of flavor from real maple syrup and then topped with bourbon brown butter frosting and candied bacon for a delightful sweet and savory treat!
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Why You'll Love These Cupcakes!
- Brown butter maple buttercream- The light, fluffy buttercream frosting is made with toasty brown butter and rich maple syrup for the perfect fall cupcake!
- Moist maple cupcake base - These maple cupcakes are super light, tender, and full of flavor!
- Candied bacon - The candied bacon is sweet, salty, and crispy and makes a stunning garnish.
- Super easy to decorate - All you need to make these cupcakes beautiful is the candied bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup!
You might also like these butter pecan cupcakes or this brown butter bourbon chess pie!
Ingredient Notes
Use high quality ingredients for the best flavor in these maple bacon cupcakes!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cupcakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Buttermilk - If you don't have buttermilk you can use either regular whole milk or sour cream! You can also make your own buttermilk by using 1 cup milk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice!
Bourbon - This is optional, but I love adding a little bit of bourbon to the cupcakes and frosting for extra rich flavor!
Bacon - I recommend using high quality, thin cut bacon for this recipe for the best flavor and the prefect amount of crispiness. You can also get maple bacon for even more maple flavor!
Pure Maple Syrup - If you do nothing else, please use REAL maple syrup for these cupcakes! It can be a little pricey but the flavor is unmatched! Use dark maple syrup for the most robust flavor!
Vanilla Extract - I use my homemade bourbon vanilla extract for extra bourbon flavor and it's so good! You can also find delicious bourbon vanilla on Amazon and at Trader Joe's! But regular vanilla will also do in a pinch.
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter!
I recommend making the brown butter the night before you make the maple cupcakes, so that it has time to fully cool to room temperature!
Since both the cupcakes and the buttercream call for brown butter, I find it easier to just make one large batch and then weigh out the difference using a kitchen scale (½ cup of butter weighs about 113 grams).
However, if you don't have a scale you can just make two separate batches of brown butter!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Candied Bacon
Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. [The parchment is NOT optional. If you bake it directly on the sheet, you'll end up needing to toss the whole pan.]
In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup and bourbon. Then spread the brown sugar on a small plate.
Brush each strip of bacon with the bourbon maple syrup and then coat with the brown sugar.
Arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Then transfer the bacon to a second parchment lined sheet and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and caramelized. It's important to watch closely for the last few minutes as the sugar can burn quickly.
Switching the baking sheets might seem unnecessary, but it helps prevent the bacon from burning from the sugar caramelizing too fast.
How to Make Maple Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk the brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract together until combined. Then whisk in the maple syrup and eggs.
Stir in the buttermilk and bourbon, then add in the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thick.
Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
While the cupcakes are still warm, brush the tops of the cupcakes with maple syrup for extra flavor!
Let the brown butter maple cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Frost the cooled cupcakes and then garnish with the candied bacon slices and then a drizzle of maple syrup!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cupcake Decorating Tips
Make sure you let the maple cupcakes cool completely before frosting!!
For these big beautiful brown butter maple frosting swirls on these maple bacon cupcakes, I use the 9FT tip from this decorating kit. The tips are much larger than standard sizes and so fun for decorating cupcakes!
Garnish the cupcakes with the candied bacon slices and then a drizzle of maple syrup!
Recipe FAQ's
These cupcakes will last in the fridge for up to 3 days. However, they taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let them sit at room temperature for about an hour before serving. Wait to top with candied bacon and maple syrup until right before serving.
Of course not! You can absolutely substitute regular unsalted butter. I just love the flavor that brown butter adds.
Just a little, but yes! The alcohol in the cupcakes does cook off, but there is bourbon in the frosting too so these cupcakes should only be served to people over 21.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Maple Bacon Cupcakes with Bourbon Brown Butter Frosting
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Candied Bacon
- 12 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons bourbon, optional
- ½ cup light brown sugar
Maple Cupcakes
- ½ cup unsalted brown butter, melted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup, plus extra for brushing
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup buttermilk, substitute sour cream
- 2 tablespoons bourbon , optional
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Brown Butter Butter Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted brown butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon bourbon, optional
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Candied Bacon
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. [The parchment is NOT optional. If you bake it directly on the sheet, you'll end up needing to toss the whole pan.]
- In a small bowl, mix together the maple syrup and bourbon. Then spread the brown sugar on a small plate.
- Brush each strip of bacon with the bourbon maple syrup and then coat with the brown sugar.
- Arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Then transfer the bacon to a second parchment lined sheet and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and caramelized. It's important to watch closely for the last few minutes as the sugar can burn quickly.
- Switching the baking sheets might seem unnecessary, but it helps prevent the bacon from burning from the sugar caramelizing too fast.
Maple Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the brown butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract together until combined. Then whisk in the maple syrup and eggs.
- Stir in the buttermilk and bourbon, then add in the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thick.
- Pour about ¼ cup of batter into each cupcake liner (they should be about halfway full).
- Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.
- While the cupcakes are still warm, brush the tops of the cupcakes with maple syrup for extra flavor!
- Let the maple cupcakes cool completely before frosting.
Brown Butter Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the softened brown butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy.
- Slowly add in the maple syrup and bourbon until fully combined. Beat the buttercream for 3-4 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and then garnish with the candied bacon slices and then a drizzle of maple syrup!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Bailey says
Can I make the cupcakes a few days or week ahead of a get together and freeze them? Then take them out to thaw the morning of get together? Can I make the frosting the night before and put in fridge then soften the morning of get together and frost cupcakes? Or what do you recommend?
Kyleigh Sage says
I don't love freezing cupcakes because the texture is just never as good afterwards, but you can. Ideally I'd recommend making the cupcakes the day before and storing them in an airtight container at room temp. Then also making the frosting the day before and storing it in the fridge, just let it come up to room temp before frosting.
Melanie says
Everything came out great loved the recipe and was very easy to do actually the only thing I’d say is I did need to add some milk to my frosting when I was whipping it it could’ve been my fault but it wasn’t creamy enough at first and that fixed it right up. I also thought maybe if you cook off bacon and have some bacon grease saved you can add that to the cupcake batter for more bacon flavor if that’s ur kind of thing
Caitland says
These cupcakes are DELICIOUS! I made them (as mini cupcakes) for a mom’s back to school brunch alongside mimosa cupcakes and the husbands all finished them off the following day. Everyone loved them so much that my friend requested them for his 40th birthday party. Maybe a little more involved than your basic cupcake but absolutely worth the extra effort!
tabby says
this was such a great recipe! my boyfriend and I decided to not make candied bacon but candied walnuts as a topping instead. the texture and flavor of the cake was an amazing maple flavor and the frosting was incredible!!! our friends absolutely loved them.
Silvia says
Hi there! I've made these in the past and they are absolutely fantastic. I was wondering if they can be made into a cake? Thank you!
Kyleigh Sage says
Yes! This recipe converts to a 9 inch square cake or 8 inch round cake (or a 2 layer 6 inch round cake). But if you double it, it will make a 2 layer 8 inch cake. If you do 1 1/2 times the volume of the cupcake batter, it would also work as a 9x13 inch cake! For cakes you'll just have to increase the baking time (usually 25-35 minutes).