Maple Buttermilk Pancake Cupcake with Bacon Frosting

I use this recipe for mini cupcakes, but am SURE it would be utterly decadent no matter what form it took!!

Maple Buttermilk Pancake Cupcakes

From Country Living Magazine

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

favorite butter cream frosting 

bacon, crisp cooked & diced (to your preference - I use as much as I can)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven 350 degrees F.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ginger together. Set aside.

Then beat the butter and sugar on medium speed in a large bowl until they are fluffy. (Your butter must be soft!) Add in eggs, syrup and vanilla. Mix until blended.

Then mix in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Do about one-third of the flour and then one-third of the buttermilk, and so on.

Fill muffin or cupcake tins, either lined or buttered, according to your preference.

Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until your tester comes out clean. I use a steak knife.

Cool totally.  

I frost my minis with a light layer of plain butter cream (I add about 1 TBS bacon drippings), enough to hold onto the diced crisp bacon.  Basically the same instructions if you're making a sheet cake.  If I was making a layer cake, would go hog wild with the bacon, frosting the flat side of each layer than sandwiching with diced bacon in between AND including bacon all over the top & sides.