Chocolate and bacon – a Southern guilty pleasure!

Quick – name your top 3 food guilty pleasures! Is chocolate in there somewhere? Of course it is! And if you’re from the South, bacon is probably there, too. So while I was pondering these two sinful foods, it occurred to me: Wouldn’t they be delicious together? And so was born the Rogue Belle Dark Chocolate Bacon Ganache Cupcake (say that 5 times fast!). Here’s what you’ll need to reach guilty foodie Nirvana:

• 15 slices Maple bacon
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup melted Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup cold brewed espresso or strong coffee
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• Paper cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Fry up the bacon (preferably in your grandmother’s iron skillet) until evenly brown and crisp, but not burnt. Drain, allow it to cool, crumble and set aside. It’s okay if there are a few burnt spots – just pick them out while you’re crumbling and give them (cooled!) to the dog as a treat.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in the eggs, coffee, buttermilk, melted bittersweet chocolate chips and oil until just blended. Gently stir in 3/4 of the bacon, saving the rest for garnis. Place the paper liners in a cupcake pan and spoon in the batter until each is about 2/3 full. Bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched, 20 to 25 minutes.

While the cupcakes are baking, make the whipped ganache frosting:

• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/3 cup Hershey’s Semisweet Chocolate Chips

Place the semisweet chocolate chips in a stainless steel bowl and set aside. Pour  the cream in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil while stirring to prevent scorching. Remove the hot cream from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate chips. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chocolate is melted.  Place the bowl, uncovered, in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes – 1 hour. Put your electric mixer beaters in there, too. If you’ve never made whipped ganache before, trust me on this one.

Pop the cupcakes out of the pan and cool on a wire rack to prevent moisture from collecting in the bottom of the liners.

Remove the ganache and beaters from the refrigerator. Using the cold beaters, whip the ganache on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until the frosting lightens in color and triples in volume.

When the cupcakes are cool, frost with the ganache and sprinkle the leftover bacon crumbles on top. Dust with cocoa powder if you like.

Suicide Girl Tara Diane (who surely must have Southern tendencies with a name like Tara!) has a recipe for bacon frosting that is extra bacon-delicious if you’re not a fan of ganache.

This recipe is my own creation, but for more amazing cupcake recipes, visit The Sweetest Kitchen.

Amazing Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

I recently wrote about the healing properties of Kentucky Bourbon. I’ve also discovered that this delicious, powerful Southern spirit has more uses around the kitchen, especially for the holiday season. Combined with pecans, you have a classic Southern delicacy. My husband John makes this wonderful pecan pie every Thanksgiving and it’s even better if you sample the bourbon while you’re making it. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 oz Wild Turkey American Honey Bourbon Liqueur
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups whole pecans
• 1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie crust

Preheat the over to 350° F. Stir the corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla extract and bourbon together. Mix in the pecans and chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the pie crust. Place the pie on the center rack of of the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until the center reaches 200° F. If the crust is browning too fast, use a pie crust shield. Cool for 2 hours. Serve with whipped cream, drizzled chocolate and a garnish of fresh mint.