BACON CUPCAKE-OFF

Disgusting sounding… maybe.

Delicious tasting… yes. 

I recently read about a few bakeries around the country that have created bacon cupcakes. Intrigued, I decided to team up with a co-worker and order some by mail to see what they’re all about. Does the bacon really complement the cupcake or is this all just a marketing ploy?

The first cupcake we tried was from Buzz Bakery in Virginia. For starters, this cupcake came in its own individual carrying case, preventing any frosting mishaps or crushed cake disasters. Clearly, this baker was no rookie. As advertised, the pastry chef paired two of his favorite ingredients: chocolate and bacon. It was a devil’s food cupcake filled with bacon and peanut butter mousse and topped with bacon and peanut butter frosting. Delicious, well-executed, good bacon flavor complemented with the unexpected hint of peanut butter and good quality all around. I’m disappointed to report that they are not still baking these, but they most likely will do a special order.

The other cupcake was from Tee & Cakes Bakery in Denver, Colorado. The cupcake was not meant to be shipped, but to their credit, they did their best to get it to us intact. It was a maple-flavored cupcake topped with chocolate ganache icing and a little strip of smoky bacon on top. The cupcake was more crumbly and delicate than moist and cake-like, while the ganache (icing) was spot on. However, the bacon flavor didn’t really shine through the way I was hoping it would. After all, that IS why I was eating it, right?! Points for the maple flavor, though.

Maybe this was all a bit gimmicky, but both bakeries put some serious thought into their bacon creations. However, while Tee & Cakes Bakery definitely came through with a good, and definitely unique tasting, treat, the Golden Bacon Strip Award goes to Buzz Bakery. I may take it upon myself in the near future to make my own version of bacon cupcakes – from a box, of course! I’m thinking maple cake with a half vanilla/half chocolate icing and crumbled bacon mixed into the frosting. Stay tuned…

 

Bacon Cupcake

 

(Buzz Bakery, 901 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA, 703-600-2899, http://www.buzzonslaters.com)

(Tee & Cakes Bakery, 1932 14^th St., Boulder, CO, 720-406-7548, http://www.teeandcakes.com)