Chocolate-Bacon Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting

I don’t usually post on Fridays. It feels quite weird. But it’s Halloween and that calls for chocolate! And bacon! And dulce de leche!

Plus, I skipped my usual football food post yesterday. Mostly because the queso fundido I made for the post turned out very different from how I expected it to.

The chorizo I bought… well, it kind of melted when I cooked it. I don’t know how else to explain it. You know how normally chorizo has the same texture as sausage or ground beef when you cook it? Like you break it up into chunks?

Nope, not this chorizo. It was so… melty… that some of it went straight through my colander when I tried to drain the fat.

What?!

We ate it anyway. Obviously. Because queso dip with weird chorizo is still pretty awesome.

This is what I get for going grocery shopping at Target because I wanted to look at their Christmas decorations even though I know Target never has the brands of “weird” food that I like.

And speaking of foods that Target didn’t have: dulce de leche!

But if you have the same problem and can’t find dulce de leche, you can do what I did to make these Chocolate-Bacon Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting.

Take a can of sweetened condensed milk, put it in your slow cooker, cover it completely with water, and let it cook on low for 8 hours. You’ll have perfect dulce de leche when it’s done!

If you’ve never made anything with chocolate and bacon together, you absolutely must. It just works so deliciously. And the dulce de leche cream cheese frosting makes it even more magical. If you’re more of a cookie person, I’ve got a candied bacon chocolate chip cookie recipe that is a favorite among all my friends!

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Chocolate-Bacon Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting

adapted from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

Ingredients

• For the candied bacon:
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 6 slices bacon cut in half

For the cupcakes:

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup brewed espresso or coffee
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 4 ounces milk chocolate chopped
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 1 cup jarred dulce de leche
• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• sea salt for topping

Instructions

Make the candied bacon:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and set a rack on a foil-lined baking sheet.
2. Whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. Toss the bacon in the sugar mixture until coated, then arrange on the rack in a single layer. Bake until dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to a plate and pat dry with paper towels. Chop 3 pieces of bacon; set aside.

Make the cupcakes:

1. Combine the vegetable oil, espresso, brown sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwave until hot, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth, then set aside to cool, about 15 minutes.
2. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda and fine salt in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla to the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture and continue whisking until combined.
3. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Divide the batter among the cups, then sprinkle with the chopped bacon. Bake until the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting:

1. Beat the dulce de leche, cream cheese and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until combined. Top the cupcakes with the frosting. Chop the remaining 3 slices of bacon and place on top of the frosting.. Sprinkle sea salt over the frosting.