Bacon for dessert? You bet!

By Stephanie Allmon

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

The latest sizzling-hot foodie fad has dessert-lovers feeling positively porkasmic.

Bacon has become the salty yin to the sweet yang of cupcakes, ice creams, bread puddings and chocolate pastries — and it's showing up everywhere from haute cuisine menus to state fair fare around the world.

Time magazine devoted ink to the trend this year, and an episode of the Food Network show "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" still in rotation features foodies' favorite bacon desserts.

Home cooks are whipping up bacon-sweets, too, if food magazines and a recent crop of cookbooks — featuring recipes like maple-bacon milkshakes and sweet-potato bacon fritters — are any indication.

Plus, "we're used to maple syrup falling on bacon at breakfast," Carpenter said.

And in these complicated, turbulent, is-the-stock-market-up-or-down days, a dose of delightful gastronomic nostalgia may be a big reason we're baking with bacon.

For the past few years, the pork product has permeated American culture, with blogs, clubs and food "stuff" (baconnaise or bacon salt, anyone?) devoted to all things bacon. T-shirts proclaim, "Everything tastes better with bacon" and "I liked bacon before it was cool."

Another reason bacon is so hot these days? Chefs love it, Carpenter said.

"I would guess if you asked 100 chefs about their top five foods, bacon would be among them," Carpenter said. "They practically tattoo themselves with bacon."

"Honestly the people who tried it loved it; some days we would get a run on it," he said. "And others would say it was too weird."

While the bacon-fudge recipe is still being fine-tuned for customers (employees have tried it and loved it, he said), McMahan is also thinking of adding a "beignet type thing" with maple and bacon to his menus.

The secret to adding bacon as a "pop" of savory to a sweet dessert, he said, is all in how the bacon crumbles.

"The key is making sure the bacon is crispy," McMahan said. "And add it at the very end so it doesn't taste weird."

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CANDIED BACON

Makes about 12 pieces

One 8- to 12-ounce package sliced bacon

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

Vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Separate the bacon strips and blot them dry with paper towels. Spread the brown sugar out in a wide flat dish. Coat both sides of the bacon with the sugar, firmly pressing the sugar onto each strip.

2. Lay the bacon strips out on a large foil-lined baking sheet (some of the sugar will fall off, but that's OK). Cook the bacon in the oven, turning once, until it is browned and lacquered, 15-20 minutes.

3. Transfer the bacon strips to a lightly oiled baking sheet to cool. Break in half or into thirds to serve.

Nutritional analysis per piece: 177 calories, 9 grams fat, 18 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 16 milligrams cholesterol, 309 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 47 percent of calories from fat.

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MAPLE BACON ICE CREAM

Makes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 quarts

1 cup maple syrup

1/2 pound uncooked bacon

8 egg yolks

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1. In saucepan over medium heat, reduce maple syrup to 3/4 cup.

2. In another saucepan, render the bacon until it is very crisp.

3. Drain the fat and dry the bacon very well with several paper towels. Transfer the cooked bacon to a cutting board and chop the bacon into very small pieces. Set aside.

4. In a bowl, whip the egg yolks with the sugar and maple syrup until the mix is light in color.

5. Blot the pot you cooked the bacon in with paper towels, then add the cream and milk. Heat over medium heat until hot to the touch but not boiling.

6. Ladle 1 cup of the hot cream and milk mixture into the egg mix and stir thoroughly to combine. Pour the egg mix into the rest of the hot cream mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.

7. Strain the mixture into a bowl set on top of another bowl that is filled with ice. This will chill the mixture more quickly and ensure that it will not overcook.

8. Once the mixture is quite cold, freeze it in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

9. Once the ice cream is frozen, fold in bacon bits and freeze overnight.

10. Serve with a hot waffle, caramelized apples and cider syrup.

Nutritional analysis per 1/2-cup serving, based on 2 quarts: 395 calories, 31 grams fat, 23 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams protein, 190 milligrams cholesterol, 238 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 70 percent of calories from fat.

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MAPLE FRENCH TOAST AND BACON CUPCAKES

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1 3.9-ounce box instant vanilla pudding mix

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon potato starch

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup half-and-half, at room temperature

1/2 cup chopped cooked bacon (5 strips)

For the frosting:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 strips bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Prepare the cupcakes: Combine the flours, pudding mix, baking powder, potato starch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl with a whisk.

2. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars with a mixer on low speed until combined, 6 to 8 minutes. Gradually mix in the vanilla and egg whites. Scrape down the sides of the bowl; continue mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the maple syrup and half-and-half, mixing after each addition and ending with flour. Mix until the ingredients are just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the bacon.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about three-quarters of the way. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and cinnamon; beat until combined. Spread on the cooled cupcakes; top with chopped bacon, if desired.

Nutritional analysis per cupcake: 491 calories, 19 grams fat, 76 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 53 milligrams cholesterol, 359 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 34 percent of calories from fat.

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BACON PECAN CARAMEL ICE CREAM BALLS

Serves 4

1/2 pound of Nodine's Smokehouse Honey Bacon

1 pint Central Market Organics Vanilla ice cream (or chocolate, see tip below)

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped fine

1. Heat an iron skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the bacon strips until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to paper towel-lined platter and allow to cool. Crumble the bacon.

2. Blend the bacon crumbles and the pecans on a flat surface such as a plate.

3. While firm, scoop the ice cream into packed ice cream balls. Roll the ice cream balls in the pecan and bacon mixture until well coated. Pop them into a glass dish and drizzle generously with caramel sauce.

Tip: This is also excellent with chocolate ice cream, too. For a surprise kick, spicy food lovers will enjoy this recipe with jalapeno bacon mixed in, too.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 696 calories, 37 grams fat, 88 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams protein, 80 milligrams cholesterol, 858 milligrams sodium, 4 grams dietary fiber, 45 percent of calories from fat.

—Central Market

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Makes about 3 1/2 cups

2 slices bacon (about 2 ounces), cut into thin strips

6 tablespoons cold whole or low-fat milk (about 3 ounces)

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably grade B (about 1 ounce)

Pinch of salt

8 medium scoops French vanilla ice cream (about 1 quart), softened until just melty at the edges.

1. Fry the bacon in a small skillet set over medium heat, stirring frequently, until rendered and crisp, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon to paper towels to drain, and nibble on it or reserve it for another use. Off the heat, briefly cool the fat in the skillet.

2. Place the milk, maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of cooled bacon fat (if there is any more, you can discard it), salt and ice cream in a blender and pulse several times to begin breaking up the ice cream.

3. With the blender motor off, use a flexible spatula to mash the mixture down onto the blender blades. Continue pulsing, stopping and mashing until the mixture is well blended, thick and moves easily in the blender jar, roughly 30 to 90 seconds. Pour into a chilled glass or glasses, and serve at once.

Nutritional analysis per 1/2 -cup serving: 219 calories, 13 grams fat, 22 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 41 milligrams cholesterol, 216 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 50 percent of calories from fat.

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BACON BAKLAVA

Makes 24 pieces

1 large orange

1 pound bacon, cooked until very crisp

2 cups slivered almonds, lightly toasted

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 pound phyllo pastry sheets

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

8 allspice berries, crushed

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Finely grate the zest from the orange and then juice the orange; set the juice aside. Combine the orange zest, bacon, almonds, brown sugar and allspice in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Set aside.

2. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with a little of the melted butter. Using half of the phyllo sheets, brush each sheet with melted butter, fold it in half, and place it in the prepared pan, trimming it to fit, if necessary. Stack the buttered sheets on top of one another.

3. Spread the bacon mixture evenly over the layered phyllo pastry, and then, using the remaining phyllo sheets, brush each sheet with butter, fold, and stack on top of the filling. Brush the top sheet with melted butter. Using a sharp knife, score the top layer of pastry into 24 squares.

4. Bake the baklava until the pastry is golden brown and shrinks from the edges of the pan, about 45 minutes.

5. While the baklava is baking, prepare the syrup. Add enough water to the orange juice to make 1 1/2 cups. Pour the juice into a saucepan and add the granulated sugar and allspice berries. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

6. Transfer the pan with the baked baklava to a wire rack. Strain the syrup and pour it evenly over the warm baklava. Leave at room temperature until completely cool. Cut the baklava into squares to serve. The baklava keeps for 4 to 5 days at room temperature.

Nutritional analysis per piece: 333 calories, 21 grams fat, 28 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams protein, 26 milligrams cholesterol, 396 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber, 55 percent of calories from fat.