More bacon & a new kitchen gadget

Boy, how time flies. I know all you regular readers out there (are there any of you?) have been longing for a new post here on Eating in Front of the TV. Well, the day has finally arrived! And here we go.

Last month I celebrated the last birthday of my 20s. I had to work on my birthday this year, so to make it a bit more enjoyable I thought it would be appropriate to add some bacon to my day. There is no more appropriate way to bring bacon to work for your birthday than in the form of cupcakes. That's right, chocolate bacon cupcakes! I wish I would have known about these cupcakes in elementary school, I would have been the most popular kid on the playground.

The other exciting element to this birthday undertaking was the fact that my former roommate gifted me a new kitchen gadget for Christmas called the BabyCakes Cupcake Maker. This machine boasts the ability to produce 8 mini cupcakes in 5-8 minutes.

BabyCakes Cupcake Maker + Chocolate Bacon Cupcakes = match made in birthday heaven.

Here's how it went down.

I love having the use of a stand mixer. Makes baking a breeze.

The BabyCakes in action.

Getting down and dirty with the frosting.

So cute I could just every last one...good thing I took them to work to share with others.

A big birthday smile to go with a big plate of mini cupcakes.

The recipe from All Recipes:

INGREDIENTS:

12 slices bacon 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 cups white sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 eggs 1 cup cold, strong, brewed coffee 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
2.	In a large bowl, stir together the flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, buttermilk and oil. Stir just until blended. Mix in 3/4 of the bacon, reserving the rest for garnish. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter. Frost with your favorite chocolate frosting and sprinkle reserved bacon crumbles on top. Dust with additional cocoa powder. * For the mini cupcakes I halved the recipe and it made 24. And, while I did not watch it while sitting on my couch and eating these delicious cupcakes, I did see the movie The Social Network during my birthday weekend. I have to say I enjoyed the film. I never would have thought a movie about the inception of Facebook could have been interesting, but turns out it really was. And for my birthday dinner I went to Cucina Urbana in San Diego. Fantastic place. The drinks alone will bring my return business. They make their own infused alcohol and they had a jalapeño infused tequila mixed with ginger beer and lime juice that was fantastic.