Y'all. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but these were amazing. And I like bourbon zero percent of the time.
So one thing I learned about myself while making these is I'm not great at candying bacon. I'm not horrible at it, but there's definitely room for improvement! I think where I went wrong was on the cut of the bacon. I purchased basic, but definitely needed to get the thick cut--remember that when y'all are making it!
If I'm being completely honest (per usual), I definitely burned the heck out of a batch so these are from batch #2...I also accidentally put 2 sticks of butter in the microwave for 3 minutes instead of 30 seconds lolol. Baking is super glamorous at The Mint Cottage!
I first started with only 6ish tablespoons of maple syrup, but it wasn't quite enough so I just poured a bunch in until it was to my liking. Also, be prepared for things to get a little sticky!
This icing was unbelievably tasty. It tasted just like a pancake--definitely wouldn't mind starting everyday with that as my breakfast!
I'm not gonna lie...I held my nose when pouring the bourbon. The smell was just a leeeeetle strong, and I'm not much of a dark liquor person in the first place.
Now if it was tequila, then I probably would've snuck a little bit for myself! #TequilaGirlProbs
I know this seems a little dramatic, but my batter/dough scooper is life changing. Okay, very dramatic, but I do love it, and it's so much better and more accurate than if you were to pour your batter into each little cup. You can get the same one as me HERE!
The cakes almost tasted like a spice cake, and a few peeps actually thought it was some kind of cinnamon/spice-y cake. Crazy thing is there's no other added flavor besides the bourbon!
Sidenote: You know you have friends that totally get you when they give you things like this cake stand!
Because I had never made these before, I was a little nervous about the baking time and how the liquor would affect the overall cupcake. Sadly, my "jiggle test" doesn't really apply for these baby cakes; and keep in mind that each oven is going to be different, so just start with a shorter amount of time and keep an eye on them.
You don't need a piping bag and tip to ice your cakes like this. A Ziploc bag with the corner cut will also do the trick!
These flavors were really the perfect combo. You have the saltiness of the bacon, the sweetness of the icing, and the cupcake balances those out so it's not super overwhelming as a whole.
Enjoy!
